Simple Nutrition Insights

The Science of Calories and Optimal Wellness

• Leonila • Episode 42

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How much do you really know about the calories you consume every day? Discover the truth about how these little units of energy power your body and why understanding them is crucial. In this episode, we demystify calories, breaking down how carbohydrates, proteins, and fats transform into the energy that keeps your organs functioning and your body moving. We'll explore the critical role your liver and brain play in this energy expenditure, consuming a significant portion of your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Ever wondered why you can't seem to shake off those extra pounds, despite all your efforts? Learn how calculating your BMR can be a game-changer for your health journey. We'll uncover how factors like age, gender, and activity level influence your BMR, and why lean body mass is key. We'll also highlight the risks of restrictive diets and the importance of accurate BMR measurement methods, from equations to body composition scans like DEXA. Regular scans can be especially beneficial for those dedicated to strength training, as they reveal true progress beyond what the scale shows.

Imagine the dangers of severely cutting calories and over-exercising, leading to muscle loss and severe health issues. Through a compelling case study, we'll highlight the potential consequences and stress the importance of balanced nutrition and realistic goal-setting. Our goal is to shift the conversation from mere weight loss to overall health and well-being. By understanding how balanced meals and listening to your body contribute to a healthier, happier life, we'll provide you with the tools to make informed decisions about your nutrition and fitness. Join us as we prioritize health, longevity, and a positive relationship with food in your wellness journey.

BMR
The Energetic Functions of the Body
Thyroid Function and Metabolism 

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Speaker 1:

Hey, hey, welcome back to another episode in the Simple Nutrition Insights Podcast. I am your host, leonila Campos, registered dietitian, and in today's podcast, I want to talk about calories and just all about calories how our calories affect our bodies, the role in our day-to-day activities and our bodies our day-to-day activities and our bodies. Because I think that oftentimes we think about calories in the negative way, right, like, oh, I should restrict my calories or I shouldn't eat that many calories, x, y, z. But when we really think about, or as we talk about, okay, what are really calories? Right, so calories are a unit of energy. Basically, the foods that we eat provide those units of energy. Right, provides calories. But, believe it or not, right, our bodies use those calories for different functions. Right, for different reasons. Every single organ in our bodies need those calories. Right, to function properly, and so I think this is important to remember as we talk about calorie calories. Right, to function properly, and so I think this is important to remember as we talk about calorie deficit, right, as we talk about the function of calories. And so, again, right, today's topic is about calories how our bodies use calories and their function in our body and in our organs. Right, so that's the main thing. And so when we think about, okay, once we consume food right, regardless of the type of food, because everything that we eat, right, it has to be converted into the simplest form of the macronutrients, right per se. So let's say we eat an apple, right, the apple is going to be converted into sugar or glucose, right, there's some fiber there, but sugar. There's some vitamins and minerals too, but the macronutrient right, which is the bigger molecule it's going to be, it's a carbohydrate. It's going to be turned into sugar. Sugar is a fuel source for our bodies, right.

Speaker 1:

And so when we think about these macronutrients which provide calories and energy, we have three macronutrients, right, we have carbohydrates, we have protein and we have fats, and all the foods, essentially right, that we consume are going to be divided into these three macronutrients. So each macronutrient, right, is going to give you some calories, so carbohydrates. So carbohydrates and protein are going to give you the same amount of calories per, say, right. So they give you one gram of protein. One gram of carbohydrate are going to give you four calories, right, four calories per gram. And then fats they're more calorie dense, so they're going to one gram is going to give you nine calories, right. And then alcohol is in between. Alcohol is going to give you seven calories per gram.

Speaker 1:

So, again, to recap that little section there, right, we have three macronutrients carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Each macronutrient, it's going to give you some calories, right? Proteins and carbs are going to give you four calories per gram. Fat is going to give you nine calories per gram, and so those are again units of energy. Water, obviously, there's not, um, there's zero calories there. And then we have, you know, we have, uh, minerals and vitamins, which are not going to give you any calories, but they are also essential.

Speaker 1:

So, as we consume something, right, and we think about, okay, eating something, our body is going to digest those nutrients into their simplest forms, right. Already mentioned carbohydrates are going to turn into glucose or sugar molecules, right, which are the simplest form of carbs. And then we have protein, which are going to turn into amino acids as we digest them and metabolize them. And then fats are going to be digested and metabolized into fatty acids and our bodies are going to be able to use them in those simpler forms, right. But that process requires energy, and the way that we get energy right is from food. And so when we think about just the process of digesting food, of digestion, it requires energy.

Speaker 1:

So, as I was doing this research and I am going to link this article for you to have, our organs require massive amounts of energy. It is just so amazing, as I was really looking into this and I was looking at how much energy our organs use, right, or are part of that, and I'm going to introduce this new term for you, which is called our basal metabolic rate right, and that is basically the rate at which our bodies use food or food energy to sustain life and to do different activities, you know, walking, or if it's resting, right, just our rest. So this basal metabolic rate right is mostly coming from our organs, right, basically, our body doing what it needs to do to keep us alive, our body doing what it needs to do to keep us alive. And so, to give you an example, right, there are two organs that account for the higher percentage of our basal metabolic rate, and that is your liver and your spleen, meaning that when you eat this, the energy from those foods are used mostly by these two organs. Right, 20 percent of our basal metabolic rate are used for the liver and the spleen basically to do those jobs right, that that they need to do liver, detoxify and store glycogen and, you know, use that for, like you know, to produce glucose. We needed to to send it into our systems. Again, I talked about detoxification, fat soluble vitamins and metabolizing and synthesizing lipids, cholesterol, right, triglycerides. But the liver has a huge role right in our in our system and in our day-to-day, and so it makes sense that 27 of our basal metabolic rate is, you know, taken by the liver and the spleen. The next one down is your brain 20% of your basal metabolic rate is used by our brains.

Speaker 1:

Now, I'm going to let you think about this for a moment. Right, our liver and our brain use the most percentage for our fat-based metabolic rate, and so when we think about the food that we consume, right, this article mentions that about 75 percent of the calories burned a day, right is just for these basic functions, 75 percent of our calories. Right, and I'll talk about in a little bit when we, when we under eat severely right, how our body functions get affected by that decision. And so there are different things, right that are going to affect our basic metabolic rate. But I want to continue with this chart. Right, we talked about the liver and the spleen right Accounting for 27% of our basic metabolic rate, 19% from our brain.

Speaker 1:

Our skeletal muscle right Accounts for 18%, our kidneys 10%, our heart 7% and other functions right About the rest of the night. So even when we sleep, right, our body is working. Our body is working 24 sevens and they're using that energy that we consume right for these functions. Now we can argue okay, how about if we are overconsuming? Right, we are consuming more calories than what our bodies are actually using and needing, not only for our base of metabolic rate right to support these functions, but another concept here our total daily expenditure, right Meaning accounts for our base of metabolic rate and our activity factor right, how active we are. Let's say, we're exercising every day, or once or twice a week or whatever, which is another formula that I am going to add. It in the show notes too, but you don't really have to worry about that just yet.

Speaker 1:

I want you to really understand the base of metabolic rate right and the importance here in our body. And so we have our base of metabolic rate, again right. On top of that, this is just our basic needs right To keep us alive. And now, if we add the activity factor right, we're exercising, we're being more active. If you're an athlete, you're using massive amounts of energy right, for performance and for recovery and repairing. But let's say we're not athletes. Right, we are exercising maybe three times a week. That's an activity factor, right, plus whatever your body is is needing to keep you alive.

Speaker 1:

So our bodies are work. Right, our bodies do lots of work. Even when we're asleep, our bodies are using energy. Right. When we eat and we digest food, your body uses energy to do that. It creates a thermic effect. Right, it creates heat.

Speaker 1:

And so sometimes and I think this is probably I don't know this is probably where the the concept of, like, don't eat so late, right? Uh, because you're just gonna go to sleep and not burn anything, which is not true. We already established that our bodies are using calories and energy, right. Of course, it's going to matter how much we eat at night, right? Are we just eating because we're deciding to eat or because we don't have anything else to do? Then, yes, we probably shouldn't be doing that, right. But if we're eating later because that's the only time where we have to eat, it doesn't mean right, it doesn't equate that you are going to gain weight because you're not burning anything. No, right, it doesn't equate that you are going to gain weight because you're not burning anything. No, that's not true. The concept is that you continue to burn calories throughout the night, even when you're asleep, even when you're at rest.

Speaker 1:

So it's important to remember that, right, that the base of metabolic rate is the rate at which your body uses food or food energy to sustain life and to do different activities, and it is divided into our different organs. Right, we already established that the liver and the spleen take a huge amount of that account for that base of metabolic rate. And then the brain right, brain functions so oftentimes you can, and I've seen these right. Brain functions so oftentimes you can, and I've seen these right, when I have patients that come to me that have followed really restrictive diets, right, or really low calorie diets, which is below, way below, their basal metabolic rate, that they seem to be irritable, right, their mood changes, their immune system gets affected. Affected, they are foggy or they can seem to think or they're losing their memory. Because when you think about how much, how much energy the brain uses, right, and we're not getting enough calories for those essential functions. They are get affected, right. They do get affected long term. And so this is where it comes.

Speaker 1:

You know, it really is really important to really know our basic metabolic rate, which is going to depend on our age, right, it's going to depend on our gender, it's going to depend on our activity, right, but it's also going to depend on our lean body mass. So, the more leaner that we are, the more lean muscle mass that we have, right, the higher our metabolic weight is going to be, because lean body mass right, skeletal muscle mass requires a higher percentage of our basic metabolic weight versus having higher amounts of fats, right, because when we think about the role of fat, it's a form of storage, the form of insulation between our organs, right, but it's not very metabolically active versus our muscle mass. So that's why that is also taken into account when we're calculating our basal metabolic rate, right, taking into account, when we're calculating our basal metabolic rate, right Again, which is the energy needed while at rest. And so when we think about, okay, what are some of the things, some of the other things that can affect our basal metabolic rate, again, one of them I mentioned having higher amounts of lean body mass, right, if we are in a really cold environment, your body is working really hard to try to keep that internal temperature where it needs to be. Our bodies are very sensitive, right, and our bodies also like homeostasis. So stability, right, keeping everything at equilibrium, keeping everything the same, regardless if we like it or not. And so if we are in a very cold environment, right, your body's working really hard to keep that temperature where it needs to be. Same thing, right. When we're in an environment where it's really hot, it's trying to cool you down, Keep that internal temperature where it needs to be. So, yeah, I mentioned that.

Speaker 1:

And what accounts? Or how can we calculate our basal metabolic rate? Okay, you can find lots of calculators online, but they are based on essentially different formulas, right. One of them is the Mifflin-Singer equation. The other one is the Harris-Benedict equation, or the catch-McCardle formula, which takes into account muscle mass, right. Again, we do want to take into account our muscle mass, because, in our body, 5%, because that's how our body composition is right, and it's going to give us a more indication of if our basal metabolic rate is higher because of that higher lean body mass. Let's see, yes.

Speaker 1:

Now let's talk about how. About eating below our basal metabolic rate, right? So, as you put these numbers in right your age and your gender and if you have your lean body mass or your body composition, essentially, which is ideal, I always recommend, if possible, for my clients to get an in-body scan. If you're able to get a DEXA scan, even better, because it's more accurate. Now, you do have to remember that these are just estimations, right? So the DEXA scan is going to give you a better estimation of your body composition. The other ones, right. There might be some differences there, but at least it'll give you an overall idea of what your basal metabolic rate is going to be, give you an overall idea of what your basal metabolic rate is going to be. And so if we have the more components that we have to calculate, that usually the more accurate it is going to be right.

Speaker 1:

And so I usually ask my clients to have a body scan, right, so we can see what the muscle is right, that composition, what our body fat percentage is. And then we do that, right, so we can see what the muscle is right, that composition, what our body fat percentage is. And then we do that right, ideally every month, every six weeks, as another data point, because we already know that the scale is not always giving you the full picture. Right, and I think this is really important to remember, to remember. Right, because, if you are, if you're wanting to lose weight, right, but you're also doing strength training and adding muscle mass, most likely the scale, on the number on the scale, is not always going to go down. Right, because you're building muscle mass, and so this is where the body scan is going to give you more of that information. Right, like, oh, you're losing body fat, but you're also increasing your muscle mass, which is helping you to increase your basic metabolic rate. Right, the amount of calories that your body is using to sustain life, which is what we want. And so, if we just take the number on the scale, you're going to be very frustrated, especially as women. Right, because we go to the scale to tell us how well we're doing, even though we're doing amazing. Right, even though we're making behavioral changes, which are the harder things to do, even though we're making behavioral changes which are the harder things to do. And so it's really important that you not only look at the number on the scale. Right, you can take a look at it. Right, it's a data point, but don't just base all your progress and everything that you're doing on that number, because you're going to be disappointed. So it's important to remember that, um, let's see um resting rate, of right, okay, perfect.

Speaker 1:

And then, once you find your basal metabolic rate right, which is again the weight that your body, uh, the energy that your body needs, um, to keep you alive, then then there's something called total daily energy expenditure, right, which is the amount of calories, amount of energy that you use, that you burn right, on a daily basis, depending on your activity level. There's something called activity factors, right, and so you would really want to be honest here, in the sense, like you don't want to overestimate your total daily expenditure, right, because that means that you could be overeating, right, you could be adding extra calories. So find your basal metabolic rate that's the amount of calories that your body needs to keep you alive. Ideally, you don't never want to go under that number, right, because that means that you're eating less for what your body needs to survive, right? If you do that long-term, then your base of metabolic rate is going to decrease, right, because the whole purpose of your body is to survive, right, and to keep you alive, and so functions daily functions that it does are going to decrease, right, because there's less energy, right, energy is only going to come from food.

Speaker 1:

Of course, we have stored energy, right, either in the form of glycogen, which is found in your liver and your muscles, but you use that right away, right Even to think you use energy, right. And so then we have fat stores, which also store energy, right, but you're always going to use sugar or glucose first. Once that is done, then you're going to go into your fat stores, right. Once that's done, that's usually when you're really under eating and you're like starving yourself, right, like you're not eating enough, and so then that'll go. Once there's no more fat stores right, then your body is going to again, because the whole purpose of your body is to keep you alive. Then it's going to go and get protein from your muscles, is going to go and get protein from your muscles, but you have to remember that your organs are muscles, right, and so then your muscles are going to be affected.

Speaker 1:

You're going to have issues with your heart, right, with your blood pressure, with your immunity right, with injuries in your liver, and so there's so many things that affect your body when you go under your basal metabolic rate for a long period of time. And you're not going to lose weight when you go under your basal metabolic rate for a long period of time because, on the contrary, it's going to decrease the amount of energy of your metabolism essentially right, that's what it is, it's BMRs, essentially of your metabolism, and so, because your body's keep trying to keep you alive, it doesn't care that you're wanting to lose weight, right, because you're only giving your body enough calories to stay alive. So it doesn't matter if you're going to, if you, if you want to lose extra 10 pounds, right, eating below your BMR or your basal metabolic rate is not going to do any good, right, on the contrary, it can actually create more damage and you're not going to lose any weight. So it's interesting that and I think it's really good that we're talking about these, because oftentimes I have clients that come to me and they're like you know, I've been eating I hardly been eating, right. And of course I ask more questions and I make sure okay, let's see where our calories are coming from and if we truly are not eating enough, right, maybe we're eating a thousand calories.

Speaker 1:

Or, you know, I actually had a client that said, you know, I was giving this prescription right by a doctor because she wanted to lose weight. Right, and although it was under medical supervision, this patient was having issues already, health issues. Right, she was only eating about, she said, about 900 calories and she was exercising every day. Right, like hardcore workouts. And yes, she said I lost a lot of weight, I was fainting at work. Right, I couldn't concentrate, I was sick all the time, I was shaky. Now, you cannot, you cannot ignore the signs that your body's giving you. Right, like, hey, you're not feeding me enough, I can't do these daily things that I have to do with only this amount of calories. Yet, right, you're like pushing me at the gym, you're making me work.

Speaker 1:

She has, she has injuries now, injuries that haven't haven't gone away. She had a back injury, right, because she was pushing her body so much with not enough energy right To repair and recover. And so now that she came to me and we're working on, like, making these behavioral changes, right, and this is something that I just found out. And she's like she said, you know, because when I talk to my clients, right, and we create this plan and we create these changes. We go at the client's pace, right, this is not a plan that I'm creating for you, with the exception of a meal plan. Right, but I'm creating a meal plan based on your goals, based on your preferences. But the nutrition plan itself, right, is based on what you want to do. Right, on what you can do and how realistic it's going to be.

Speaker 1:

And so there are fears, right, as I asked her you know what's your confidence level accomplishing these goals? And she said you know what's your confidence level of accomplishing these goals? And she said you know it's a six, and so anything below a seven or eight, right. Then we talk about the challenges. We talk about, okay, what are the things, the obstacles that you can think of that maybe are preventing you from giving yourself a higher number? And what she said is you know of a higher number. And what she said is you know fear. I have this fear of failing, right. I have this fear of taking on these goals again, right, and losing the weight and just feeling miserable, right, or feeling like I'm getting sick. And this is more trauma. Right, because to her, these are tangible triggers. She went through this very traumatic experience where she was only eating this very low amount of calories and exercising so much. And now she has this back injury. Right, she has these other injuries.

Speaker 1:

And so when we talk about these goals, right, although this weight loss is something that she wants to do, we're really starting from scratch, really starting from like basic things. Right, let's just talk about what balanced meals look like. Let's just talk about listening to your body, and this is really hard, right, because she has these fears, and so, now that she was open with me, we can really start working on those fears. On a nutritional standpoint, right, um, she has a therapist, and so I I encourage her to talk to her therapist about these, because these are things that you know are on the scope of practice, but she really needs to work on these things.

Speaker 1:

And so, when we think about these goals that we have, right, let's say weight loss, we really have to learn from the experts. Right, and we really have to look at, okay, what do I really want, right, at the end of the road, at the end of my journey? Right, what do I really want to get out of it? So interesting, because I've been doing this for over eight years. Right, I've been a dietician for over eight years, but in the nutrition field for over 12 years, and so before I used to hear this is probably maybe three, four years ago I used to hear often I just want to lose weight. Right Now, it's more so. I want to be healthy, right. I want to learn how to have a better relationship with food. I really want to learn how to make healthy meals and balanced meals. Or I really want to live longer, right, I want to get to my 80s and still be able to walk and still be able to do my daily things.

Speaker 1:

Now, this is very powerful, right, because it's not about weight loss right Now, it's about health, it's about well-being, and I think when we change that mindset, right, it really helps us, because we're not going to be looking at the scale, right, we're really going to be looking at how I feel on a day-to-day. Right, I went from, let's say, you know, having energy to having more energy, or I went from being moody and like forgetting things to being more focused, right, or remembering things. Now, we don't think about these things in relation to nutrition, right, but it's all about nutrition, because it is so true, what we eat matters. Right, because when we think about the wholesomeness of food, right, it not only provides us macronutrients, right, carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It provides vitamins, it provides minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals. They all work in unison right To have to provide a healthy environment for us. Right To live. And so it is amazing to see the transition now hopefully stays like that. Right, that it goes beyond the weight loss. Right, it's about health and wellbeing and so a little bit of a tangent there. But I think it is really important to remember that. Right that when we have these goals and we think about, okay, what do I want to accomplish, right? Yes, I might be wanting to lose weight and I'm calculating my basal metabolic rate that my body still needs energy. Right, my body still needs fuel for the day-to-day things. Right, for me to function, to think right, thinking requires massive amounts of energy. So it's interesting.

Speaker 1:

Another story here that you know I have a client that started a new job and she goes home exhausted, right, and she's like it's not physical tiredness, it's like my brain. You know, I can't seem to get myself to do anything else, but she's learning a new job and she has trainings every other day. Right, every other day she has to learn something new on top of whatever she needs to do, right back at her work. And so it makes sense, right, it makes total sense that you're not going to have any energy to go home. Think about what you want to eat, think about what you want to exercise or what you want to do for your exercise, because your brain is exhausted. Also, you use so much energy, right, to think and learn. Also, you use so much energy right to think and learn. And so, when you're under eating right, when you're not eating enough, you, when you're not feeling yourself properly, right, the proper nutrients your brain suffers. Right.

Speaker 1:

And so, um, it's important to, to to think about food in different ways, right, not only about how it looks. Right, not only about looking at oh, it gives me calories, but how it functions in our bodies. Right, the role in our brains, the role in our liver, in our kidneys, in our heart. Because, essentially, right, that's what it comes down to. Once we eat something, right, what is the purpose? How is this food going to? Once we eat something, right, what is the purpose? How is this food going to help my body? Right, I think it's very powerful when we think about that food in that way. Right, if I eat something sugary. How is that going to help my body, right? What is the role of it in my body? And so, not in a form of punishment, right, but and really helping us to understand that food plays a huge role in in how our bodies function.

Speaker 1:

So, uh, based on metabolic rate, right, the amount of calories or energy that our bodies use for our day-to-day things, for our organs, for sleeping, for recovery and repairing, and then we have total daily expenditure, right, the amount of calories that are needed. So, basal metabolic rate plus activity factor, right, when we are more physically active. And I can get into like, really counting calories, right, really knowing where your calories are coming from. But I think I've done a couple episodes on that already, so I'm not going to spend so much time. I am going to mention something, though that in order for you to know how many calories you are consuming, you have to track, right, you really have to understand where your calories are coming from If you want to have an understanding and awareness of where those calories are coming from.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to give you another story here. I had a client right that she mentioned we were following a meal plan that I created for her right mentioned, we were following a meal plan that I created for her right, and the first, the first four weeks, she saw, you know, she saw results, and then you know she has kids and so things you know got in between. And then, as we were talking about trying to figure out, okay, what is it like, what happened? It hasn't been six months, right. There's another's, another definition here, another term called metabolic adaptation, right. When we do something for a long period of time, our bodies become adapted right to what we do, and so we have more of these homeostasis. Again, in terms of weight loss, that usually happens around six months, six to 12 months, and I did an episode with Dr Landry on that so you can go back to and listen to it. So, metabolic adaptation, right.

Speaker 1:

So I was thinking it can be right that we're at this metabolic adaptation because only it's only been about a month. And so, as we keep talking, right, and she's like, yes, I need to, like, I really need to remember not to eat the leftovers that my kids leave on the plates, and I was like, oh, my goodness, that's where the extra calories are coming from. Right, because even if we think, oh, it's only two chicken nuggets, or it's only half or a quarter of a sandwich, right, or a little bit of that, whatever. But if we do that right, on a consistent basis, the calories are going to add up. And so she agreed, she came up with this idea. She agreed, like you know what? I am just going to throw it away, it's okay, right, and not eat them.

Speaker 1:

Once she was able to do that, then she started to see progress again. So, but if we're not aware of it, right, if we're not aware of it, right, if we're not aware of where our calories are coming from, then how are we going to know what to do, right? The same thing where, like, maybe we're really under eating, like, how are we going to know if we're under eating if, in our minds, we think that we're eating enough? That's another important thing to remember, and so having some knowledge, having awareness of the things that we do, are going to give us the opportunity to create a change and create a plan, an actionable plan, right? So, yes, it's important to do that, and that can help you with your progress. So I think that is it for now, my friend.

Speaker 1:

Again, I'm going to link in the show notes the articles that I found to do this episode right. Essentially, the basal metabolic rate article, what composes your metabolism by your basal metabolic rate, which, again, most of your basal metabolic rate is going to be used by your liver and your spleen, then your brain and then these other organs too, and then you can find the amount of calories that you need by using the formula total daily energy expenditure and taking into account your activity factor expenditure. And take it into account, your activity factor again, don't don't overestimate your activity factor, right, if you're active only once or twice, but use that that number that it gives you for activity factor. Uh, if possible, um, try to see if you can get a body scan, right, if you have where you live, they have a deA scan or a place where you can use a DEXA scan is even better, but you can use these other ones. That will give you kind of an estimation of it.

Speaker 1:

And then don't do just one, right, if possible, as you're making changes. If nothing changes, right, then there's really not a point to do another one because nothing has changed. But if you are, you know, strength training, doing strength training, you're trying to build more muscle mass, lean mass, then it's a good idea to check that, but also for the purpose of not just using the scale as a way to measure your progress. And that is it, my friend. So let me know what you think, let me know if this was helpful. Thank you so much for your time. Stay safe and stay strong, and I will see you and talk to you in another episode. Bye-bye for now.