Thoughts on CICO . . . Or: Dipping my toe into the (cess)pool.

I’m 54. Fifty-fucking-four . . . and this is still being “hotly” debated in the scientific community, on the interwebs, across dinner tables, and in my office. I was introduced to this concept as a babe – a child of an extreme dieter and ultimately morbidly obese mother who starved herself on the regular to achieve a societally-accepted version of attractiveness. The older I get, the more things come ‘round again (wearing wide-whale brown cords this fall!) and so this is where I find myself again, talking to the women who I coach about calories and weight loss and nutrition and . . . . their confusion about it all. Color me frustrated. Let’s talk it though!

Here's the deal: when it comes to losing extra pounds, it's all about the balance between the calories you take in and the calories you burn. It's the law of thermodynamics. The ultimate secret to weight loss, but wow - bringing it up can cause an uproar.

You've probably seen the eye-rolling, right? "Calories in, calories out is so old-school!" Or they hit you with, "This person believes that 1,000 calories of sugar are the same as 1,000 calories of lentils!" It can be a bit frustrating, but let's get one thing straight: nobody actually thinks that way. It's just simplifying things way too much. Life is not simple. Body-systems are super not-simple.

The truth is, the whole idea of calories-in, calories-out (we'll call it CICO) is the real deal. Let's break it down in a way that makes sense. I can already hear the skepticism, but bear with me; take my hand and we'll get through this together.

Some folks get it all mixed up, thinking that a calorie is a measure of food. Instead, it's a measure of energy. That calorie count you see on a food label? It's all about the energy that food could give your body.

Now, don't get me wrong; all calories aren't exactly the same. It's more like all calories have the potential to be energy for your body, but not all are created equal. Some calories come wrapped in food packages with different characteristics that can affect how your body uses them. The real question isn't whether CICO is true – it totally is – but whether these effects are big enough to make a noticeable dent in your weight loss journey.

Let's dive into how your food choices can affect how your body handles calories:

Absorption

1. Complex Carbs: Some carbs, like lentils, are harder for your body to break down compared to simple sugars. That means some of those calories might slip through without getting fully absorbed.

2. Food Texture: The size of food particles can affect how well your body absorbs calories. Take almond butter versus whole almonds, for example.

3. Gut Health: Different foods nourish different kinds of good bacteria in your gut. Some of those calories might get used up by those little microbes, leaving less for you.

Burning Energy

1. Nutrient Processing: Your body needs to work to break down carbs, fats, and proteins to use their energy. This process, known as the thermic effect of food, uses about 10% of the calories you eat.

2. “Metabolism Boosters”: Some foods, like caffeine or spicy stuff (capsaicin, found in chili peppers), can give your metabolism a little nudge. It’s tiny, please don’t get too excited.

3. Hormonal Effects: Food can mess with your hormones that control metabolism. This is where less-processed, fiberous and protein-rich foods shine. Keeping your insulin (the fat-storage hormone) in check might help your body burn more calories.

No doubt, there are more ways your food choices can affect how your body handles calories, and scientists are still figuring some of them out. Plus, feeling full and satisfied matters. If a certain food helps you eat less later on, you'll naturally consume fewer calories.

Now, you might wonder why we're all hung up on counting calories instead of just focusing on eating good stuff. Well, the thing is, while these factors do matter, they're not the be-all and end-all. Study after study shows that diets based on these details don't outperform each other significantly in the long run.

Here's the interesting part: the idea that food quality matters more than just calories has taken hold in the public's mind. All these little details are kinda trivial. In controlled studies, when people ate fewer calories, they lost weight pretty predictably, regardless of what their diet was mostly made up of – whether it's mostly carbs or mostly fats.

Now, this doesn't mean your food choices don't matter. Highly processed foods, which are high in calories but low in nutrients, are super easy to overeat. I call them “food with no brakes.”

Sure, you could throw your calorie balance out of whack by chowing down on calorie-dense foods. But when you're enjoying a fairly balanced diet with mostly whole foods, the specific ratios of protein and carbs don't have a huge impact on your weight loss journey.

If you're not completely convinced by what I'm saying, you can do a little digging on your own. Check out places like PubMed, where you can find all sorts of research papers. Look for those meta-analyses, which summarize a bunch of studies. You'll see, it's tough to find a diet that's way better than others in the long run.

The hesitation about calories being at the center of your weight management journey is probably because they're a bit mysterious. You can't see or count them directly. But here's the cool part: you've got tools on your side. Nutrition labels, calorie counts, and, of course, that trusty scale and your hard pants. If you're not seeing the results you want, it might be time to tweak the equation a bit.

I’ve left out a discussion of the joy, pleasure, comfort, and connection that consuming food can bring . . . it can be immense. I don’t want this post to incite stress. There is always room for Cheetos. I’m aiming to talk through the effects different food has on your body, and to assure you that no “one way” is the “right way” to manage your health and your weight. What works for you is the right way. Bigger bodies, smaller bodies . . . what I wish for you is a healthy, happy body.

Let me know your thoughts.