Ep 10: Your Body is Not a Calculator: The Weight Loss Secret Diet Apps Don't Tell You

Your body is not a Calculator:  The Weight Loss Secret diet apps don't tell you

Show Notes

In today's episode of the Why Weight podcast, I'm tackling the myth that's keeping so many women stuck in their weight loss journey: calorie counting. If you've been diligently tracking every bite, staying under your calorie limit, and still not seeing results, you're not alone. As a nutritionist who's maintained a 30kg weight loss for over two decades, I'm sharing why traditional calorie deficit approaches fail—especially for women over 35—and introducing a more effective, sustainable strategy I call "caloric variability."

Drawing from 13 years of coaching experience and my own weight loss journey, I explain how our bodies respond differently to various food types regardless of calorie content, why stress sabotages fat burning, and how mixing up your approach can kickstart your metabolism without the constant struggle. I'll show you why your body isn't a simple calculator and how understanding the chemistry of food can transform your weight loss experience.

Ready to break through plateaus and lose weight without feeling perpetually deprived? This episode provides actionable strategies to get your metabolism firing again, particularly for those struggling with hormonal changes and stress as they age.

What You'll Learn

• Why the "calories in, calories out" model fails for many people, especially women over 35
• How constant calorie restriction creates stress that actually prevents fat burning
• The truth about different types of calories and why they're not all processed equally by your body
• My "caloric variability" approach that keeps your metabolism guessing and burning fat
• The "driving gear" analogy that explains how to strategically alternate between different eating styles
• Why short bursts of restriction followed by baseline eating creates better results than constant deprivation
• Practical tips for implementing caloric variability in your own life starting today
• How hormone changes affect weight loss as we age and what to do about it

Key Moments

• Introduction to why calorie counting often fails: Despite what diet apps and social media "experts" claim, your body is not a simple calculator—it's a sophisticated chemistry lab responding to the types of food you eat.
• The stress factor: Constant calorie deficits put your body in survival mode, especially after age 35 when hormones change and stress impacts metabolism differently.
• The inner cavewoman concept: Your body's primal survival mechanisms fight against prolonged calorie restriction by slowing metabolism and holding onto fat stores.
• Not all calories are equal: Why 100 calories of broccoli, chicken, and avocado all affect your body completely differently, regardless of their caloric value.
• Introduction to caloric variability: How mixing up calorie intake prevents plateaus and keeps your metabolism active.
• The driving analogy: Why jumping straight to extreme dieting is like shifting from reverse to fifth gear—your engine will blow up.
• Implementation strategies: How to determine your "fourth gear" actions and implement them strategically without stressing your system.
• Summary of approach: Doing things smarter, not harder, through strategic calorie and nutrient timing rather than constant restriction.

Coming Up Next

Next week, I'll dive deeper into specific caloric variability strategies with real-world examples you can implement right away. I'll share exactly how to structure your eating patterns throughout the week, provide meal ide