Up next in 10
Is it as simple as calorie intake & TDEE? | Nutritionist Explains | Myprotein
336 views
Jan 30, 2025
'How many calories should i eat?' is probably a question you've typed into google many a time. Do you really know how many calories to take in and expend? Some burning questions we want to know the answers to! Elle Kelly, a registered dietitian and sports dietitian talks through daily calorie intake and the simplicity of understanding the accuracy of calorie counting. Elle also sheds some light on the calorie count in foods and how we can breakdown what they amount of calories does for each individual. ********************************* Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MyproteinUK?sub_confirmation=1 ➡️ If you like this, you'll love this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuMuT4YG1Og&t=11s ➡️ Find more Nutritionist Explains here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbLIyA6AlS4&list=PLkb17OgnhB-E3HuYJuEacRqMjrokvPxpI&pp=gAQBiAQB Download the Myprotein app: https://bit.ly/3dhVVUE 📱 ********************************* #calories #energy #Myprotein Is it as sim ple as calorie intake & TDEE? | Nutritionist Explains | Myprotein
View Video Transcript
0:00
is it really as simple as calories in
0:02
versus calories out the word calories
0:03
should come with a disclaimer as it's
0:05
often a controversial topic should you
0:08
count them do they even count are they
0:10
all equal my name is l and I'm a
0:12
registered dietitian and sports
0:13
dietitian and in this video we're going
0:15
to explore whether you need to be
0:17
counting your calories and whether it's
0:18
really as simple as calories in versus
0:21
calories
0:24
out firstly what is a calorie the
0:27
definition of a calorie is the amount of
0:29
energy require re ired to raise the
0:30
temperature of 1 G of Water by 1° C but
0:34
in simple terms calories are a unit of
0:36
measurement of energy that our body uses
0:39
or that a food or drink provides us when
0:41
calories are displayed on food labels
0:43
they State the energy in terms of kilo
0:45
calories or kcals the term kilo calories
0:48
and calories are often used
0:49
interchangeably and refer to the same
0:51
amount of energy however in certain
0:53
countries Energy may be expressed as
0:55
kilo or KJ rather than kilo calories
0:59
kilo jeels are a different unit of
1:00
measurement and require a conversion to
1:02
calories one calorie equates to 4.18 KJ
1:07
so for example 100 kilo calories is 418
1:11
KJ what does calories in versus calories
1:13
out even mean the concept of calories in
1:15
versus calories out is commonly spoken
1:17
about within the fitness space and in
1:19
the context of weight management loss or
1:21
gain calories in versus calories out is
1:24
a simplified way of explaining that in
1:26
order to maintain your weight the
1:28
calories that you consume from food
1:30
should equal the number of calories that
1:31
your body uses according to this view it
1:34
also means that weight loss or weight
1:36
gain is solely determined by the balance
1:38
between energy intake and energy
1:40
expenditure but is it really that simple
1:43
firstly let's think about the accuracy
1:45
of actually measuring the calories we
1:47
consume and the calories that we use
1:49
fitness trackers and calorie tracking
1:51
apps estimate the amount of energy that
1:53
your body uses and depending on your
1:55
goals may suggest a certain number of
1:57
calories are required when apps and and
1:59
other fitness trackers dictate a figure
2:02
to follow it is often based on
2:04
population averages with most of them
2:06
only asking a limited number of
2:07
Lifestyle questions making it difficult
2:10
to accurately recommend the energy
2:12
requirements of an individual the most
2:14
accurate way of measuring the amount of
2:15
energy that an individual requires is
2:17
through a technique known as direct
2:19
calorimetry which measures the rate of
2:21
heat loss using a calorimeter this is
2:23
very rarely used due to its high cost
2:26
but also because of the practicalities
2:27
of it estimation equations are thought
2:29
to be good enough to use as an indicator
2:31
for how much energy the body may need
2:33
however it's really important to
2:35
appreciate that the body's energy
2:37
requirements change every day energy
2:39
requirements are not just dictated by
2:40
how active our lifestyles are but will
2:42
also be influenced by our sleep if we
2:44
have any illnesses and based on our
2:47
individual body composition and genes
2:49
fluctuations in hormones can also
2:51
influence energy requirements for
2:52
example various Studies have found that
2:55
during the Lal phase of the menstrual
2:56
cycle women can experience up to a 20%
2:59
increase inre in their metabolic rates
3:01
as a result of the increase in
3:02
progesterone these are all things that
3:04
go on within the body that we cannot see
3:06
or that trackers can measure and
3:08
accommodate for so it's really important
3:10
to be flexible and accept that energy
3:12
requirements of our body will shift the
3:14
calories that we consume are also based
3:16
on estimations the only way to confirm
3:18
the amount of calories of food can
3:20
provide us is to put it in a bomb
3:22
calorimeter which is a container that
3:23
measures the heat generated by a food
3:25
when it is burned so the figures on the
3:27
back of packets are based on averages
3:29
rather than actual individual
3:31
measurements for each food there is a
3:33
legal allowance for calories on packets
3:34
to be up to 20% inaccurate this means
3:37
that the energy that the food may
3:38
actually provide can be 20% more or less
3:41
than the number of calories listed on
3:43
the packet but even if we did have an
3:44
accurate measure of how many calories
3:46
are in a given food we don't know
3:48
exactly how much each of us is going to
3:51
absorb and extract from that food in
3:53
order to obtain calories from the foods
3:55
we eat they need to be digested so that
3:57
the nutrients can be absorbed all foods
3:59
are are broken down differently and
4:01
things like processing and cooking can
4:03
actually change the digestibility of
4:04
foods for example research suggests that
4:07
only about 70% of the calorie content of
4:10
almonds is absorbed whereas the calories
4:12
from almond butter are more likely to be
4:14
absorbed as it is simpler to digest and
4:16
digestion itself is a process that costs
4:19
energy which usually accounts for about
4:21
10% of the overall energy that the body
4:23
requires each day this is referred to as
4:25
the thermic effect of food which is a
4:27
measure of how much different foods
4:29
increase inre energy expenditure due to
4:31
the energy required to digest absorb and
4:33
metabolize the nutrients for example
4:35
proteins are thought to require up to
4:37
five times more energy to digest in
4:39
comparison to carbohydrates and even
4:41
more than fats more evidence is also
4:44
emerging that the gut microbiota which
4:45
is the collection of bacteria that live
4:47
in the gastrointestinal tracts can play
4:50
a role in influencing how much energy is
4:52
extracted from food there are two
4:54
bacteria dominant in the gut bacteria
4:56
Deets and futes and an imbalance in
4:58
these bacteria has been shown to alter
5:00
the amount of calories and nutrients
5:01
that are extracted from foods and can
5:03
lead to increased storage of
5:05
triglycerides in adapost tissue as well
5:08
as a slower release of hormones that
5:09
regulate appetite and that could promote
5:11
a higher food intake fiber is usually
5:13
not broken down during digestion but it
5:16
can be metabolized by certain species of
5:18
bacteria within the gut microbiome
5:20
through a process known as anerobic
5:21
fermentation as the gut microbiome have
5:23
an ability to break down these typically
5:25
indigestible polysaccharides the amount
5:27
of energy that can be extracted from the
5:29
diet increases with researchers
5:31
expecting this to represent up to 10% of
5:33
daily energy intake more high quality
5:35
studies are required to further
5:37
establish this link but it does
5:38
reiterate that there are certain things
5:40
that go on within our body every day
5:42
that we probably don't realize impact
5:44
the amount of energy that our body needs
5:46
and uses all of which food labels
5:48
calorie tracking apps and fitness
5:49
trackers do not account for as a
5:51
dietitian one of the biggest misund
5:53
understandings that I hear is that
5:55
people believe that low calorie equals
5:57
healthier or better and this is isn't
5:59
always the case reduced calorie or low
6:02
calorie variations of food are achieved
6:03
by reducing a certain nutrient within
6:05
that food like the fat or the sugar
6:07
content and usually replacing it with
6:09
things like artificial sweeteners or
6:10
other agents to improve the texture and
6:12
taste certain sweeteners can cause
6:14
digestive discomfort for some
6:15
individuals and there is research
6:17
emerging that high intakes of artificial
6:19
sweeteners within the diet May alter our
6:21
gut microbiome which is the collection
6:23
of bacteria in our digestive system that
6:25
are important for our digestion our
6:27
immunity and our absorption of nutrients
6:30
however the research on this is still
6:31
inconclusive and most of the studies
6:33
have been in animals removing or
6:35
reducing certain nutrients in a food can
6:37
mean that it is less satisfying both
6:39
physically and mentally for example fat
6:42
is a highly satiating nutrient and
6:44
lowfat variations of things like yogurt
6:46
are thought to be less filling than
6:48
their original products lowc calorie
6:50
versions of food can taste differently
6:51
too which may result in the eating
6:53
experience being less enjoyable leaving
6:56
an individual feeling dissatisfied
6:58
calories are not the same as nutrients
7:00
the amount of calories in a food gives
7:01
us an insight as to how much energy that
7:04
food can provide us but this does not
7:05
tell us how nutritious a food is even
7:08
when a food or meal provides the same
7:10
amount of calories as another they can
7:12
have very different impacts on our
7:13
energy levels our health and how we feel
7:16
this is often where we hear the phrase
7:18
calories are not created equally for
7:20
example a dut may have a similar amount
7:23
of calories to a chicken and grain salad
7:25
bowl having the salad bowl rather than
7:27
the doughnut is likely going to provide
7:28
us with a bit more protein and fiber
7:30
than the doughnut would which will help
7:32
to keep us Fuller for longer this
7:33
doesn't make the doughnut bad for you or
7:36
that the chicken salad is better but it
7:38
highlights that just because foods are
7:40
similar in calories they can still offer
7:42
a different range of nutrients whilst
7:44
our body does need energy it requires
7:47
specific nutrients for optimal
7:48
functioning too focusing solely on
7:50
quantity of calories rather than quality
7:53
of nutrients could lead to not getting
7:55
enough of the nutrients that we need
7:56
like protein and essential fatty acids
7:59
or having too much of the nutrients that
8:01
we want to limit such as trans fats I'm
8:03
not saying that counting calories is all
8:05
a waste of time as close estimations can
8:07
be better than no knowledge at all
8:08
calorie counting can be a helpful tool
8:10
for some individuals to create an
8:12
awareness around the amount of calories
8:13
that they are consuming this doesn't
8:15
necessarily help people to make
8:17
healthier food choices as calories are
8:19
difference to nutrients but it may guide
8:21
an individual to fuel their body
8:23
appropriately but as we can see
8:24
fluctuations and energy requirements are
8:26
going to happen and this is where
8:28
relying on counting apps to tell you
8:30
what to eat and how much to eat and when
8:32
to eat can be unhelpful the body will
8:34
try to account for these changes in
8:36
energy requirements through increasing
8:38
hunger signals and this can be really
8:40
frustrating for someone who's trying to
8:41
religiously Count Their calories and
8:43
stick to a certain number calorie
8:45
counting is usually not recommended as a
8:47
long-term strategy for health or weight
8:48
management and there is evidence that
8:50
counting calories can increase the
8:51
likelihood of developing a disorted
8:53
relationship with food there is a lot
8:55
more to food than calories and nutrients
8:57
food should be enjoyed it's it's part of
8:59
celebrations and social occasions and
9:01
seeing it as simply numbers is not
9:03
helpful or necessarily healthy the
9:05
concept of calories in versus calorie
9:07
eyes completely simplifies weight
9:09
management and fails to account for the
9:11
fact that humans are not textbooks it
9:13
can make people feel disheartened as in
9:15
practice it's not actually as easy as it
9:17
sounds there is so much more that
9:19
impacts our weight than just the food we
9:21
eat and how much we move like genetics
9:23
and illness it is certainly not as
9:25
simple as calories in and calories out
9:28
calories are not the same as nutrients
9:30
and the quality of our diet plays a
9:32
large role in relation to our overall
9:34
health counting calories alone can
9:35
detract from ensuring that we are
9:37
getting the right balance of nutrients
9:39
that our body needs to function
9:40
optimally this doesn't mean that
9:42
calories don't count because it is
9:43
important to ensure that we're
9:44
supporting our body's energy
9:46
requirements appropriately however we
9:48
don't necessarily need to be counting
9:50
our calories our body can regulate our
9:52
energy intake on its own so I hope that
9:55
this video helped to clear that up if
9:57
you have any questions please be sure to
9:59
leave them in the comments below and
10:01
don't forget to like And subscribe to
10:03
the my protein YouTube channel for more
10:05
great evidence-based nutrition
10:11
information
#Fitness
#Healthy Eating
#Nutrition
#Public Health
#Weight Loss