Ep. 123: Debunking the CICO Myth: Calorie Deficits Are NOT Required For Fat Loss

In this episode we discuss: Whether “calories in, calories out” is physiologically accurate The many misconceptions related to “calories in, calories out” Why a calorie deficit is NOT required for fat loss Why “calories in, calories out” does not mean that eating less and exercising more is good advice for fat loss What most people miss when it comes to “calories in, calories out”   Free Energy Balance Food Guide: https://jayfeldmanwellness.com/guide   Free Energy Balance Mini-Course: https://www.jayfeldmanwellness.com/energy/   Check out the Energy Balance Solution program here: https://www.jayfeldmanwellness.com/solution/     Click here to check out the show notes: https://www.jayfeldmanwellness.com/ep-123-debunking-the-cico-myth-calorie-deficits-are-not-required-for-fat-loss/   Timestamps: 0:00 – intro 1:07 – questions about the calories-in, calories-out (CICO) model of weight loss that I’ll be answering  7:18 – what is (and isn’t) a calorie?  11:49 – misapplications of CICO and why CICO is not physiologically accurate in the ways most people use it  19:46 – why the idea that “a calorie is a calorie” is misleading  29:11 – how energy in food is measured and the inaccuracy of food labels  36:16 – the impact of behavioral compensation and metabolic adaptation on energy expenditure  42:07 – how cutting calories lowers metabolism, reduces thyroid function, and increases stress hormones, appetite, and weight regain  48:26 – Herman Pontzer’s Constrained Model of Energy Expenditure and the adverse effects of energy deficits  52:21 – whether CICO can accurately represent physiology  1:00:04 – a simplified version of CICO  1:05:41 –why calories do not equal usable energy or weight  1:13:27 – examples demonstrating the issues with common CICO misconceptions  1:21:09 – summarizing the central issues with CICO and how you can lose body fat without a caloric deficit  1:28:13 – whether there’s value to CICO