This calorie-based description of the three primary macronutrients
has been used as the basis for dozens of weight loss programs,
especiallyprograms that advocate low-fat, reduced-calorie intake.
These programs are based on sound science, but once again, the
science is laboratory science, not human digestive tract science.
The reasoning behind these low-fat, calorie-based approaches to
weight loss has been simple. Why risk consumption of one
macronutrient type (fat) when that nutrient type contains more than
twice as many calories (9 per gram) as the other two basic types
(protein and carbohydrate at 4 per gram)? While this reasoning
seems sound in terms of the mathematics, the successful weight loss
experience of many individuals on high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets
has seemed to contradict it. But there is not really a contradiction
here at all. Individuals are not identical in their digestion. They are
differently matched to different foods. Some individuals clearly do
better on higher fat, lower carbohydrate diets—even if those diets
contain the exact same number of calories as higher carbohydrate,
lower fat diets! Figuring out the best dietary balance for your weight
management—especially the best balance of proteins, carbohydrates,
and fats—is important. It’s also a task that is separate from the task
of counting calories.
Do Calories Matter?
If human digestion of food is so individualized and different from
the laboratory analyses, do the lab analyses of food calories really
matter? Yes, they do! No matter how well matched you are to your
weight management meal plan, you simply cannot lose weight if
you do not pay any attention whatsoever to calorie intake. You cannot
lose weight if your body digests food and releases the exact same
amount of energy from the food needed to maintain your muscle
mass, fat mass, and water weight. In this sense, calories definitely
matter. Paying attention to calories is worthwhile. But counting calo-
ries isn’t the whole story, and it doesn’t take the place of health-pro-
moting nutrients that you need to burn fat. The key is that you need
more nutrients and fewer calories.
Healthy Weight Loss — Without Dieting