Calorie Counters Can't Explain This

It's time they opened their minds

I just got a text from John, a client I began working with in January.

He has lost 34 lbs and doesn’t even want to lose any more weight. Calorie lovers will explain this through a caloric deficit equation. They will say that he had a 34 lb x 3,500 calorie per pound deficit over these 150 days, or about a 770 calorie deficit per day on average.

That’s perfectly fine, and maybe it’s even true. But the big question is how come John could maintain this lifestyle enjoyably, without tracking anything or going hungry, while others suffer to experience half the results?

Hunger is the major elephant in the room when it comes to calorie counters. They’ll insist that to lose fat “You just need to get comfortable being hungry, bro!” And of course you will, if you’re relying on semi-arbitrary numbers to tell you how much to eat.

But I am 100% certain that within 10 years it will become obvious that fat loss is primarily hormonal. We already know that ghrelin, leptin, and cortisol play roles in how our bodies manage energy and store fat. What is less well understood is how to properly regulate them to achieve the weight loss results you’ve been looking for.

While I’m no endocrinologist, I will say that the only way an intuitive (non-calorie tracking) fat loss system can work, is by better regulating the participant’s hormones. Hunger must be kept in check and the body must be receiving signals to add lean muscle and ditch fat. And I have to believe that following changes are hugely responsible for our success: