When it comes to the causes of weight loss and weight gain, the science is not controversial. Perhaps it is so simple that people need to believe it’s really more complicated.
Let’s say it was calculated in a scientific laboratory that you burn 2,000 calories each day.
1. If you eat 2,000 calories you’ll be in energy balance and your weight will remain stable. You eat 2,000 calories and your body burns 2,000 calories. No net gain or loss.
2. If you eat 1,700 calories, but your body burns 2,000, you’ll lose weight because you’ll be in a 300 calorie deficit. Your body will have to call upon stored body fat to make up for the 300 calorie deficit.
3. If you eat 2,300 calories, you’ll gain weight because you’ll be in a 300 calorie surplus. You can’t burn the extra calories, so they’ll get stored.
While the science of weight gain and loss is simple, the reasons why people eat too much are not so simple. Appetite and appetite control have both physiological and psychological aspects. Appetite control is where the real challenge of weight loss comes in. So when someone says “I don’t know how I gained weight”, you can confidently assure them that they gained weight because they ate more calories than their body had use for. Alert them to the fact that their thought process should be more along the lines of “I don’t know why I’m eating more than I need”. That’s the real, and more complicated, question.
Ignore the Noise
For completeness, here are things that don’t make you fat:
- insulin
- pH balance
- white rice
- twinkies
- your thyroid
- gluten intolerance
- sugar
- fruit
- your body temperature
… and the list goes on and on.
If you are told that someone can do everything right, yet still not lose weight, rest assured that this “someone” isn’t doing everything right.
The only all-encompassing “right” thing to do is to create a caloric deficit through diet and/or exercise. Then you’ll lose weight. If you don’t create a caloric deficit, you aren’t doing everything right.
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