Energy Balance

I'd like to touch on a fundamental concept in nutrition - energy balance.

Energy balance refers to the amount of energy you take in compared to the amount of energy you expend over a specific period of time. Energy balance is what ultimately determines how much you weigh. 

We consume energy through what we eat and drink. We expend energy through voluntary exercise, movement, and simply being alive. A positive energy balance (calorie surplus) results in weight gain, and a negative energy balance (calorie deficit) results in weight loss. 

For example, on any particular day if you consume 2,000 calories and expend 2,500 calories, you are in a state of negative energy balance or a 500 calorie deficit for that day. If you continue in this pattern, in about one week you will have lost a pound of fat (3,500 calorie deficit for the week). 

This may sound very obvious, but there are many fitness and nutrition influencers out there who would have you believe some other reality. They will tell you the reason you aren’t losing weight is any number of things, and then proceed to sell you their supplement stack or secret diet plan to fix it.

They will tell you your hormones are out of whack. It’s because of too many blood sugar spikes or high cortisol levels. You're eating wrong for your blood type. Carbs make you fat, or your body just can’t process carbs. It’s the lectins or phytates in the grains and vegetables. It’s the seed oils, red dyes, fillers, and preservatives. 

Sound familiar? The reality is, if you aren’t losing weight it's because you aren’t in a sustained calorie deficit (or negative energy balance). Weight loss happens over days, weeks, months, and years in the exact same way that weight gain happens. 

Here is an easy way to assess any diet: if a diet (or nutritional strategy) results in weight loss, it does so by creating rules and guidelines that keep you in a sustained energy (calorie) deficit. It really is that simple. It's not magic. When you realize that all diets work by producing a calorie deficit, you can clearly see that there isn’t only one diet that works. The next time your friend or family member tells you that they have lost a bunch of weight on their new diet, just ask yourself how that diet created an energy deficit. 

All of the popular diets you have heard of (keto, carnivore, vegan, Whole 30, paleo, etc.) create rules and restrictions that indirectly reduce how much energy you take in. Of course this doesn’t work for everyone. You can also gain weight on any of these diets, but many people lose weight. Why? If you look at what all of these diets have in common, you will see that they all promote whole, unprocessed foods and mostly exclude processed foods. In other words, none of them are the Standard American Diet (SAD). 

Hopefully you are starting to understand that it is not necessarily what you are eating (some metabolism-boosting super food), but more importantly what you are omitting (processed food) when you adopt any of these diets. No particular food in isolation causes weight gain or prevents weight loss - it's the total quantity of energy intake that determines your body weight. Processed food is designed to taste so good that it's hard to stop eating it, and most excess calories are coming from these foods.

Instead of focusing on a dogmatic and restrictive diet protocol that is ultimately unsustainable, you can start to base your diet around overarching principles. For example: build your meals around high-quality protein from multiple plant and animal sources. Eat fiber-rich foods like beans, legumes, nuts, fruits, and veggies. Cook most of your meals, instead of eating out. Eat on a regular meal schedule. Limit alcohol and sodas (beverages with calories) and processed foods. When you start consistently adopting these principles, you indirectly reduce your weekly energy intake. 

If your goal is fat loss, one of the most impactful places to start is simply gaining awareness of your habits. That's where tracking comes in. Tracking is just data collection. You can track calories, certain foods, or frequency of certain behaviors. The idea is to see where you are accumulating excess energy (calories) and design a plan to reduce that intake. 

If I were your nutrition coach, this is an example of what I may ask you to track. For one week, choose one of the following habits to track. Don't rely on memory - keep track on the Move With Kai app, a spreadsheet, or a notepad. 

1. Consume at least 25 grams of fiber per day 

2. Eat 4-6 servings of combined fruits and vegetables per day

3. Get 25-30 grams of protein per meal or 0.6-0.7 grams per pound of body weight per day (90-105 grams for a 150lb person).

4. Record how many times per week you eat out (aim for 1-2 times per week max)

5. Record how many alcoholic beverages and sugar sweetened beverages/sodas you drink per week (aim for 0-4)

These are just a few examples of healthy nutrition habits you should have in place if you want to maintain a healthy body weight. You can't leave things up to chance. You need a plan.

If you found this info helpful and want to discuss more strategies in detail, reach out to me and let’s set up a consultation! I would love to help you get on a path that you can sustain for a lifetime.