Calories in, calories out is BS

     I want to take you back, once again, to a point in history where the military wanted to study low calorie diets to see what would happen to healthy young soldiers. I want to say it was sometime in the 50's, but don't quote me on that. It was a massive undertaking where soldiers were kept in a controlled environment and ate only what the researchers provided. 

    They were placed on a 1200 calorie diet consisting of vegetables, fruit, and protein (a typical "balanced" diet). Throughout the course of the study, the soldiers lost weight for about the first 2-4 weeks, around 10-15 lbs each. Then all weight loss stopped for the rest of the study. The soldiers went mad with hunger, chewing 27 pieces of gum per day and trying to steal each other's food whenever possible just to stave off the hunger pangs. 

    By the end of it, their muscles and brains had shrunk, their moods could best be described as "depressed", and they were finding it hard to think straight. Their BMR (basal metabolic rate) had dropped so far that refeeding syndrome became a problem near the end, and once the study was over and they were allowed to eat as much as they'd like, they gained all the weight back and then some. 

    My point is, if they had controlled their HORMONES via a natural human diet full of animal fat and flesh, they would not have experienced any of these negative repercussions. I would never tell anyone to count calories or track macros, I wouldn't even tell them to eat 1200 "calories" worth of food unless they were 4'8" and weighed 99 lbs. Because this type of flexible dieting simply does not work long term and will lead to further health issues and early death. 

    When you eat a mixed macro diet and combine it with starvation amounts of food (a low calorie diet), you are setting yourself up for failure simply because it is a miserable existence. Your insulin will still get spiked and your blood sugar will go through the roof for an hour or 2, after that happens your blood sugar will drop like a rock, leaving you hungry due to the release of ghrelin and leptin (2 powerful hunger hormones), plus the fact that your body is jonesing for a fix of sugar.  

    When your blood sugar is always stable, you are in control of your destiny. You can eat animal products to the point of being full without worrying about sending your blood sugar through the roof, and simply wait until your natural hunger returns to eat meat and do it again. The animal fat and protein will protect you from muscle loss, keeping your metabolism roaring, and the fact that your insulin levels are always low will further protect you from muscular atrophy. A low carbohydrate diet is extremely muscle sparing, so your metabolism will not dip like the soldiers did. 

    When you "count calories", which is almost impossible due to the fact that food labels can be incorrect by up to 20%(!?) in either direction. This means your 100 calorie pack of cookies could be 120 calories of straight, empty sugar. It will also NOT be satisfying in the least, it will spike your blood sugar through the roof, and you will be eating a second bag in 15 minutes. 

    Meanwhile, you could eat 6 eggs and 4 ounces of steak cooked in butter every single meal, feel full and satiated, protect your muscles, and correct your hormones, not a single calorie counted. 

    I would still like you to be mindful of your "macros", these are fat, protein, and carbs, the main substances that make up your food. Simply pick foods that are high in fat, have a decent amount of protein, and no carbohydrates and eat as much as you would like until you are full, but not stuffed. Your body is a perfectly designed machine that will take these building blocks and create testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, muscle tissue, bone, and connective tissue. You will switch over to using fat as fuel and your body fat will simply "feed" off of your own body fat until you reach your ideal weight. The entire time your energy will be stable, your hunger will be nonexistent, and your mood will be elevated.  

    Long story short, CICO is load of crap, you can't "burn" calories because you are not a bomb calorimeter. Always remember, it is about food MASS, not calories. In order to eat 100 "calories" of spinach, you would have to eat 15 CUPS of that garbage, along with all the oxalates present in the leafy green that make your life miserable. To get 100 "calories" of steak, you simply have to eat 2 ounces, but I guarantee you will feel more satisfied from those 2 bites of steak even when compared to the huge pile of spinach. Always remember, you can lose fat and gain muscle (increase your metabolism) if you are running on the right fuel and getting your hormones under control. Also, calories in, calories out is BS.