Thursday, July 16, 2009

Response to Anonymous on the Law of Thermodynamics

Regarding the oft repeated assertion that 'a calorie is a calorie' as regards weight loss ...

When tested, results often show that one can eat more calories on a restricted carb diet and be less hungry and lose more weight. The reasons are many and I refer you to Good Calories Bad Calories should you wish to learn more. The body is not a closed system, and your interpretation of the Law of Thermodynamics (LoT) imply that it is. What do I mean? “Calories in = energy expended + fat accumulated/depleted” is correct, but only if one realizes that some calories drive hormonal responses which have an effect on the equation. Eat more protein, feel less hunger, be more active, thus expend more energy. Eat more carbohydrate (measured by glycemic load in particular), feel more hunger and behave like hungry people do: rest more, thus expending less calories, and eat more.

Do teenagers grow because they eat too much or because their bodies are responding to the complex interaction of hormones?

Do pregnant ladies gain weight because they eat too much or because their bodies are responding to the complex interaction of hormones?

Do post-menopausal ladies gain weight more easily because they suddenly begin to eat too much, or because their bodies are responding to the complex interaction of hormones?
Do tall thin people (ectomorphs) just magically match their consumption and expenditure (thus remaining slender despite what appears to be high food intake)? Or are they genetically programmed to a different hormonal response than endomorphs?
If you met two people, one tall and thin and the other shorter, wider, with a large pelvis and heavy bones – don’t you already know that one will struggle more with their weight than the other? You do, and you know it long before you know which one is the least disciplined in the non-food arenas in their lives.

Research that shows, repeatedly, that the obese consistently eat less than many or most of those who are not obese.

Do those who are heavier than we think they should be eat too much, or are they responding to the hormonal mileu they have created by eating foods which we are not designed to eat?

I think the later. Obesity is not the result of a character flaw, it is a result of widespread consumption of foods (primarily cereal gains, sugar and agricultural products which have exceptionally high carb content) we are not genetically adapted to. These foods drive a hormonal response the results in energy accumulation as fat.

No comments:

Post a Comment