I’ll never say that calories don’t matter. They do, but the calories in vs calories out (CICO) model definitely needs to be scrutinized, maybe repaired, or possibly even forgotten.

Here’s why we need to ask questions about CICO though. Let’s imagine that you’re a firm believer in CICO and we conducted an experiment on mice where we fed them more stearic acid (9 grams of fat per calorie) compared to safflower oil (also 9 grams of fat per calorie), nothing should happen, right?! A calorie is a calorie. Open and shut case.

This study here did a more robust version of that.

Here’s what happened with the stearic acid group versus other groups who were fed combinations of seed oils:

• Visceral fat was reduced approximately 70% in the stearic acid group
• The percentage of total body fat decreased by 25% in the stearic acid group
• Lean body mass increased by 4% in the stearic acid group (the mice also didn't lift weights)
• The stearic acid diet reduced blood glucose levels

🤔 Interesting.

Today we’re going to go over the many issues and flaws with calorie restriction.

Calorie restriction, especially excessive calorie restriction is not an effective long term solution for fat loss.

The vast majority of weight loss programs are centered around calorie restriction. This is how most people have traditionally tried to lose weight and have failed over and over again.

Excessive Calorie Restriction Does Not Guarantee Lose Weight (Especially Long Term)

Today you’re going to learn:

• What Calorie Restriction is
• What Happens to Our Bodies When We Restrict Calories
• Why Calorie Restriction Fails
• What to do Instead

What is Calorie Restriction?

As you already know, restricting calories or achieving a calorie deficit typically means that you’re either eating less food or you’re artificially increasing energy expenditure, often through exercise.

The calories in vs calories out model actually makes logical sense though.

When I first started helping people lose weight, almost a decade and a half ago, I 100% subscribed to this dogmatic approach. How could you not?

It’s just so easy to think, “If there’s 3500 calories in a pound of fat, and I know that I burn about 2000 calories a day… if I only eat 1500 calories per day, I’ll lose about one pound of fat each week! Science and math prevail!”

In many cases, when someone’s weight wasn’t budging, I would even recommend people to consume 1000 calories a day.

I have to apologize for that. I just didn’t know any better.

It took me two years to come to the realization that maybe what we’re recommended is completely and utterly wrong.

I now have this firm belief that humans are arrogant and we think we can outsmart our own bodies.

The reality is, by attempting to outsmart ourselves, we end up unintentionally inflicting more damage and create a much bigger problem. And calorie restriction, particularly severe calorie restriction, is creating some major issues.

What Happens to Our Bodies When Restricting Calories?

Though restricting calories has been a fairly mainstream form of fat loss dating back to the early 1900s, calorie restriction was officially recommended to us by the USDA in 1980 with the Dietary Guidelines for America.

In my opinion, this has failed miserably. The average weight of a male and female in 1980 was 166.3 pounds and 146.5 pounds.

Today it’s 197.4 pounds for men and 170.4 pounds for women (there’s obviously a lot more to consider here).

Here are some detrimental things that can happen to our bodies if we restrict calories too much and for too long:

• Restricting calories increases stress and cortisol.
• Restricting calories can down-regulate thyroid function, which slows your metabolic rate.
• Restricting calories means restricting nutrients. This can deplete numerous types of vitamins involved in cellular energy production and also deplete vitamins and minerals that are crucial to proper hormone production and regulation.
• Restricting calories can contribute to anxiety and depression (which is associated with impaired energy production in our cells)

Question - Have there been any studies done on calorie restriction and any of the associated effects?

The Minnesota Starvation Experiment

The Minnesota Starvation Experiment was a calorie restriction experiment that was performed in 1944 over a 24 week period.

The average starting weight of the participants (all men) was 155 pounds and prior to the experiment, they were eating approximately 3200 calories per day. During the experiment, calories were restricted to approximately 1570 calories per day.

Here’s what happened:

• Muscle waisting: The average weight dropped to 116 pounds
• Cold intolerance: This is a sign of decreased thyroid activity
• Obsession with food
• Anxiety/Depression
• Some of the men started to hoarding utensils
• It took between 6-12 months for participants to recover. They also regained their weight back.

This study is really interesting for many different reasons. Why?

• They originally ate more, but weighed less - Prior to the study, the men were 155 pounds and ate 3200 calories per day. Today the average man weighs 197 pounds and it’s estimated that they consume approximately 2500 calories per day.
• People today routinely restrict calories to 1500 calories per day. This is unbelievably common.
• It took 6-12 months for the subjects to recover.

The big takeaway from this experiment is that reducing calories can encourage weight loss, but it comes at a severe cost.

Why Calorie Restriction Fails

Now my question for you is if you put yourself into a state of chronic stress, while slowing down your metabolic rate and impairing the production of energy in our body, is that going to be a healthy way of losing weight?

The simple answer to this question is… absolutely not.

Now, with the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, we identified some specific side effects of calorie restriction. Now let’s discuss some additional issues with it.

• The body adapts to a prolonged low-energy/low calorie state by conserving fuel and shifting into a conservation mode. This results in reduced thyroid activity and decreased metabolism and reduced thyroid activity ➡️ Lower energy availability affects various bodily functions, including brain function, skin health, and digestion. Remember, it took 6-12 months for the test subjects to recover.
• Restricting calories also decreases reproductive hormone levels, and lower reproductive hormone levels is obviously a bad thing. In males, severe calorie restriction can lead to a decrease in testosterone levels, sperm count, and sperm quality. In females, it can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), and anovulation (failure to ovulate).
• Calorie restriction increases stress and cortisol levels. If you want to learn more about cortisol, check out last week’s newsletter.
• The practice of modern calorie restriction - app tracking, using scales, measuring food, and even surpassing your calorie budget can further create significant emotional stress.
• Approximately 66% of the adult population is on medications and one of the many side effects taking meds is unwanted weight gain, often independent of calories consumed.
• You can't eat whatever you want. Many people (like my previous self) believe you can eat whatever you want, but as long as you’re in a deficit, you’ll lose weight. However, too much of our food has been infiltrated and infected with toxic chemicals, which can impair our hormone function, digestion, and how we detoxify our bodies.

What to do Instead of Restricting Calories

Fat loss is much more complicated that just eating less modern food.

• Prioritize nutrient dense food - E.g., Red meat (ruminant animals) are extremely nutrient dense and those nutrients are highly bioavailable. Conversely, pasta is just energy in the form of carbohydrate with little to no micronutrients.
• Focus on B-vitamins, minerals, and fat-soluble vitamins (A,D,E, & K)
• Eliminate all the food that isn't filling, that's also less nutrient dense - Processed foods containing refined carbs, processed sugars, refined oils, and also alcohol.
• The best proteins are animal meats
• The best carbs are fruit
• The best fats come from animal sources and coconut oil. These are higher in thermogenic fatty acids. Never eat refined seed oils.
• If you are currently heavily restricting calories, slowly increase your food consumption.
• Do things that increase your metabolic rate - lift weights, get sunlight, and sleep.

Actionable Tip for the Week:

⭐️ Stop thinking about calories. Eat the most nutrient dense, whole foods you can find. ⭐️

 Cheers,

Tim

PS: I take requests and suggestions. Let me know if there's anything you want me to write about or make a video about. Would love to hear from you!