I attended a lecture the other night of a prominent obesity expert and researcher. She seemed to buy full bore into the “bath tub” model of energy balance. (Energy in minus energy out) Now, I’ve seen lay people and lay publications do this, but never have I had chance to see a scientist do this.
It blew me away! How can one honestly think that a caloric defecit or surplus of a few calories is going to make any meaningful difference? If I eat exactly one calorie more then I expend today, in ten years will I have gained a pound of fat? Who knows! I find it more likely that the body accomodates small variances in energy balances and that putting yourself into a small energy defecit, say 200 calories (about a light beer ain’t it?) would result in a short period of time in simply lowering the energy expenditure to match the new intake. What was hypocaloric is now isocaloric. That shouldn’t be new to anyone here.
I think everyone should read JB’s “New View of Energy Balance” and I might even print out a copy for this gal when I see her tomarrow: