By: Michael Beiter

I'm presenting tomorrow in front of 120-plus ladies at the Iowa Association of Women Police.

My topic: How Diets Really Work and The Importance Of Sleep

This slide always gets some hoots and hollers Here are the notes I'll present with it:

Firstly, although it is not "written on the box," many themed diets (e.g., Paleo, low-carb, keto) work because they are roundabout methods of achieving a calorie deficit. If you cut out processed foods (Paleo diet) from your diet, you will likely eat more fiber and less refined carbs while consuming fewer calories.

This 'calorie in, calorie out' equation is generally regarded as the main principle in whether you gain or lose weight. Those who don't believe it or try to persuade you otherwise are trying to make a quick buck!

Eat more than you need, gain weight (both muscle and fat, regardless of macronutrient ratio), or eat less than you expend, and you will lose weight (primarily fat, but some muscle too).

When we want to gain weight, we must eat more than we need to supply the body with sufficient energy and nutrients for it to be able to lay down new muscle tissue.

It's impossible to override or lose weight/gain muscle through some other mechanism. The laws of physics tell us so.

However, secondary factors can help you achieve a deficit/surplus that is sometimes mistakenly adopted as an alternative, e.g., low-carbohydrate diets.

You see, even if you cut out carbohydrates but still consume more calories than you burn in a day, your body can synthesize fat cells (adipose) from carbohydrates through a process that has a terrifying name – De Novo Lipogenesis (Think lipo – fat, Genensis – creation).

Even vegetarians will gain fat if they eat in a caloric surplus.

Conversely, weight loss, specifically fat loss, only happens in a caloric deficit.

By eating the same amount of calories you expend, you will neither gain nor lose weight; you will maintain.

So calories matter, a lot. I think you should count them.