3500 = 1 lb myth

psuLemon

midwesterner85 wrote: »

psuLemon wrote: »

nataliehinkley2 wrote: »

Regardless of the calculations, I think your hormone/insulin responses to different types of calories would make a difference in how much weight you lose. If I cut 3500 of protein vs those calories of sugar would yield different results, right?

Well protein and carbs are both stimulate insulin. Protein is also a thermogenic, so if you cut a ton of protein, you would have a lower tdee and most likely be deficient in protein. If you look at isocaloric studies there is no difference in fat loss if carbs and fats are adjusted. Typically though, high protein diets do tend to have the greatest losses and greatest ability to maintain metabolism over time since protein maintains muscle.

Maybe I misunderstood, but I thought calorie counts (speaking of U.S. food packaging labels regulated by the FDA) were based in part off of the Atwater formulas. If that is correct, isn't the thermogenic effect of protein built into the calories reported?

(1)Another factor rarely mentioned, though, is that Atwater's formulas are averages. Did his test subjects not return a range of results? So the true nutritional value is different for me than it is for you. For a single meal, that may not be enough to make a difference. In a year, though... it could mean substantially different weight loss results.

(2) And then finally, not all of the same macro is the same. Within carbs, for example, the nutritional calories of a mono-saccharide is different than a poly-saccharide. In proteins, different amino acids have different calorie amounts.

Now combine the estimate / average based on macros (2) and that we are all different anyway (1) to get an wonky estimate. Add that the FDA allows some variability. Now your calorie amounts could have quite significant discrepancies, particularly if you spread that over a long period of time.

The cost of digestion is not calculated into the calories on nutritional labels. Additionally, there is some variation in the cost (proteins range 20 to 30%; carbs are 5 to 6%; and fats are 1 to 2%).

1.) Like all formula, it's going to be on statistical averages and there might be some personal variation.
2.) While there are minor difference, TEF doesn't have wide ranges for carbs/fats. So the individual difference isn't huge.

Overall though, difference in total TDEE from TEF is not huge.


Hopefully, this addresses the questions.