08/12/2025
We hear about “calories in equals calories out” as if our bodies work like machines - where energy goes in, energy comes out. But that’s not how human bodies work at all.
And we think about “energy” as if it’s one thing. But there are many kinds of energy:
• heat
• electricity
• light
• sound
• movement
• chemical energy
And each one is measured differently - volts, lumens, decibels, joules… because they all behave differently.
Here’s where nutrition gets confusing:
A calorie is only a measure of heat.
Literally: how much a food warms up water in a lab.
But your body doesn’t run on heat.
Your body runs on ATP -the chemical energy your cells make and use every single second.
And ATP can’t be measured in calories because it depends on far more than heat. It’s affected by enzymes, hormones, stress, nutrient quality, gut health, metabolism… the list goes on.
So relying on calories assumes:
1️⃣ Your body extracts energy from food with the same efficiency.
It doesn’t - different foods and different bodies vary hugely.
2️⃣ ATP production is predictable and linear.
It isn’t - hormones, mitochondria, (the power houses inside your cells) illness, stress all change it.
3️⃣ Your metabolism stays stable.
It doesn’t - it can differ by hundreds (even up to 1,000!) calories a day.
Basically, counting calories is like trying to measure electricity with a thermometer. You’ll get a number… but it’s not the right tool.
And for many people, obsessing over those numbers leads to binge-restrict cycles, constant guilt, and a miserable relationship with food.
A strong, healthy body starts with unlearning the calorie rules we were all taught and relearning how to listen to your body instead.
Tune in.
Trust your body
And free yourself from the numbers.
If you have no idea where to start with this, comment FREEDOM to get my breaking the cycle tool kit, and I’ll send it your way
