Physiological Process of losing weight

At the most basic level, weight loss occurs when your body uses more calories than you consume. Your body burns calories at rest, just to keep your various physiological systems functioning correctly. You burn calories through activity and using your muscles. You also burn calories by digesting and metabolizing the food you eat. Even thinking, which requires cellular communication between the neurons in your brain, burns calories. You take calories in, of course, through food. Therefore, the process of losing weight almost always begins with reducing the number of calories you eat and increasing the number of calories you burn, thus creating a "caloric deficit." The most readily variable method of burning calories is physical activity, so exercise goes hand-in-hand with healthy nutrition in losing weight.

When your body faces a caloric deficit, it must turn to stored sources of energy to meet its caloric needs. Most of the body's excess calories are stored as fat, and the goal of most people in losing weight is to lose fat. As the body needs more energy than it takes in through food, it turns to these reserves (in addition to glycogen/sugar and sometimes protein reserves), and fat stores begin to deplete. As a rule of thumb, the body must have a caloric deficit of about 3,500 calories to lose one pound of stored fat. This translates to one pound fat loss per week if your daily caloric deficit through decreased intake and increased output is 500 calories.

I have to disagree with your stance. There is more and more research coming out of the science literature to suggest that this old way of thinking is not true. A calorie is not the same across the board and therefore the old adage that a calorie in v's a calorie out diet has been proven not to work.

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Originally Posted by Louise

I have to disagree with your stance. There is more and more research coming out of the science literature to suggest that this old way of thinking is not true. A calorie is not the same across the board and therefore the old adage that a calorie in v's a calorie out diet has been proven not to work.

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But surely you have to have a calorie deficit to be able to lose weight? therefore dieting is surely a case of calorie v's calorie out?

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Originally Posted by Morris1954

But surely you have to have a calorie deficit to be able to lose weight? therefore dieting is surely a case of calorie v's calorie out?

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You are right, in terms of weightloss only. You do have to burn more calories than you consume. However, I do think that people should be aware that not all calories are equal, in the sense that if a person has a requirement to consume 1400 calories, consuming 1400 calories of pizza has a different affect on the body than consuming 1400 of fruit, vegetables, legumes, healthy fats, nuts and seeds. In addition 500 calories of jelly tots is different to 500 calories of fresh fruit, they are both 500 calories, but they have different impacts on the body, both in the short and long term.

But in terms of just weightloss on a basic, rudimentary level, then yes it is calories in v's calories out.

I recently read a book called the obesity code by Jason Fung. It's a fascinating book, that offers insight into the causes of obesity and how we can overcome them. You don't have to have suffered from such extremes of weight to appreciate reading this book.

The OP does not take into account how the individual foods affect the body. So for example 100 calories of Brussels sprouts has a different affect on the body than 100 calories of a jam donut. The donuts will cause a greater insulin spike and a greater release of sugars into the blood stream the body has too much sugar than it needs so it stores some of it as fat. Conversely the sprouts release energy slowly, so the body has the time to use the energy and has no need to store it. Therefore rather than helping you to lose weight the wrong type of calorie can actually cause you to store fat.

I agree with Gymbunny, it has long been established that a calorie is not just a calorie, someone eating 1200 calories of processed food, will have a different health outcome than a person eating 1200 calories of wholefood.

It is this concept that people need to understand in order to regain their health, weight is just a by-product of ill health.

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Originally Posted by antiobesitycenter

At the most basic level, weight loss occurs when your body uses more calories than you consume. Your body burns calories at rest, just to keep your various physiological systems functioning correctly. You burn calories through activity and using your muscles. You also burn calories by digesting and metabolizing the food you eat. Even thinking, which requires cellular communication between the neurons in your brain, burns calories. You take calories in, of course, through food. Therefore, the process of losing weight almost always begins with reducing the number of calories you eat and increasing the number of calories you burn, thus creating a "caloric deficit." The most readily variable method of burning calories is physical activity, so exercise goes hand-in-hand with healthy nutrition

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I’m not sure I agree with your sweeping statement, the art of long term weightloss is far more complex than what you are suggesting here and there is very little evidence to suggest that exercise will result in weightloss. What is guaranteed is that the age old diet is proven to work AND proven to fail. The body is far more complex a machine to think it works purely on a calorie in v’s calorie out basis, and this is where most diets fail.

When your body faces a caloric deficit, it must turn to stored sources of energy to meet its caloric needs. Most of the body's excess calories are stored as fat, and the goal of most people in losing weight is to lose fat.

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Originally Posted by john1

When your body faces a caloric deficit, it must turn to stored sources of energy to meet its caloric needs. Most of the body's excess calories are stored as fat, and the goal of most people in losing weight is to lose fat.

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That was already stated in the OP, what was your point?