08/10/2020
Below shows just how many factors influence the energy balance in our bodies...at the end of the day it isn't always just "calories in, calories out" (CICO). This image comes from an Precision Nutrition article that I really like. It quotes:
"The Energy Balance Equation—and therefore CICO—includes all the complex inner workings of the body, as well as the external factors that ultimately impact “calories in” and “calories out.”
Imperative to this, and often overlooked, is your brain. It’s constantly monitoring and controlling CICO. Think of it as mission control, sending and receiving messages that involve your gut, hormones, organs, muscles, bones, fat cells, external stimuli (and more), to help balance “energy in” and “energy out.”
It’s one hell of a complicated—and beautiful—system.
Yet the Energy Balance Equation itself looks really simple. Here it is:
* [Energy in] – [Energy out] = Changes in body stores*
*Body stores refers to all the tissues available for breakdown, such as fat, muscle, organ, and bone. I purposely haven’t used “change in body weight” here because I want to exclude water weight, which can change body weight independent of energy balance. In other words, water is a confusing, confounding variable that tricks people into thinking energy balance is broken when it’s not.
With this equation, “energy in” and “energy out” aren’t just calories from food and exercise. As you can see in the illustration below, all kinds of factors influence these two variables."
This is why, when I look at health, I look at many other factors, including hydration, sleep and stress.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you want to discuss your health more...if you've been dieting and not getting the results you want...or if you just want to FEEL BETTER!
