A Calorie Is NOT Just a Calorie
What you eat affects your metabolism and fat storage.
When the COVID Pandemic first started and everything was canceled, my husband and I had a lot of time to get caught up on our reading.
The first book that I grabbed was a gift from my Mom ♥️ that had been sitting on the shelf for far too long, and it was time.
📖 Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-Control, and My Other Experiments in Everyday Life, by Gretchen Rubin.
This book was so timely. With the lockdowns, I had a lot of time on my hands to follow some of the awesome recommendations in the book.
Then, I went on and got the next book (also from Mom ♥️ that I had not yet read).
📖 Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives, also by Gretchen Rubin.
This one was also a quick read.
Gretchen shared all kinds of amazing ideas and suggestions, including another book recommendation:
📖 Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It, by Gary Taubes.
In her book (Better than Before) Gretchen shared the story about how she had totally changed her dietary habits after reading Gary’s book, and I wanted to learn more first-hand.
So, Robert (my husband) ordered it online and it arrived a couple days later.
I read it in two sittings.
Then I handed it to Robert, and he read it in two sittings as well.
We were blown away.
That was the catalyst for a major pivot on our journey towards The Goo-Free Lifestyle, which I’ve been sharing with you here, on Substack.
In this newsletter, I am going to share with you:
Why a calorie isn’t just a calorie,
How reading food labels can help you avoid hidden sugars and carb substitutes, and
Why you should shift your focus from counting calories to eating whole foods that nourish your body.
So, let’s get to it.
Not all Calories are Created Equal
If you're trying to improve your health or lose weight, chances are you've heard the phrase “calories in, calories out.”
This commonly used phrase suggests that weight loss is simply about consuming fewer calories than your body burns.
But here’s the catch: not all calories are created equal.
In the book Why We Get Fat, Gary Taubes makes the case that it’s not just about how many calories you consume — it’s about the type of calories you consume and how they affect your body.
Don’t Rely Just on the Calorie Count
We've been told for years that weight loss is simply about eating fewer calories than you burn. But as Taubes argues, this overly simplistic model ignores a major factor in how our bodies process food:
The type of calories we consume matters more than the number of calories.
Not all calories are metabolized in the same way.
For example, when you eat carbohydrates, your body breaks them down into sugars, which can spike your blood sugar and cause insulin to rise.
High insulin levels promote fat storage in the body (Insulin basically tells the body to store fats that are floating around in the blood stream to store these fats so that blood sugar can be processed first).
Meanwhile, fats and proteins have a much more stable effect on insulin levels and don't trigger the same fat storage response. With less sugar in the blood stream, the body can process the fats and proteins for more immediate usage as energy (instead of storing them).
📌 Actionable Tip:
Instead of obsessing over calorie counts, focus on the nutrient density of your food.
Prioritize whole, unprocessed foods like vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats. These foods provide more vitamins, minerals, and fiber with fewer negative effects on your metabolism, even if they have a higher calorie count than processed alternatives.
Hidden Sugars and Carbs in Processed Foods
If you’re trying to lose weight or improve your health, one of the most important things you can do is learn how to spot hidden sugars and carbs in processed foods.
Many products contain sugars or carbohydrate substitutes that don’t appear on the label as “sugar” but still have a high glycemic index, meaning they cause a spike in your blood sugar.
One common example of a hidden sugar is maltodextrin, a carbohydrate made from starch that can cause your blood sugar to rise quickly, similar to glucose.
It’s often found in "low-fat" or "sugar-free" products, and just because it’s not labeled as sugar doesn’t mean it’s not doing damage to your metabolism.
📌 Actionable Tip:
When shopping, read labels carefully and look for ingredients like maltodextrin, high-fructose corn syrup, glucose syrup, and other forms of sugar or refined starches.
These hidden sugars contribute to insulin spikes and can make it much harder to lose weight or manage blood sugar levels.
Even if a product claims to be "sugar-free," it may still contain other ingredients that can affect your blood sugar and insulin.
And don’t be deceived by sugars that claim to be “natural” — they are often just as bad as the chemically-processed and synthetic sugars.
Focus on Whole Foods (Avoid Processed Foods)
One of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your diet is to focus on whole, minimally processed foods.
Whole foods, such as vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, and nuts, have a lower glycemic index than processed foods and won’t cause the same blood sugar fluctuations.
They also contain more fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which support your overall health.
📌 Actionable Tip:
When you’re at the grocery store, try to shop the perimeter.
This is where you'll typically find the fresh produce, meats, dairy, and other whole foods. Avoid the center aisles where most processed foods are found — those are often filled with products that are high in sugars, refined carbs, and unhealthy fats.
In addition to shopping smarter, try meal prepping to ensure you always have healthy, whole food options available. This will help you avoid reaching for processed snacks or convenience foods that can derail your health goals.
For more on how to shop for whole foods, check out my latest article:
Stop Tracking Just Calories
It’s time to stop obsessing over calories.
While cutting calories can help you lose weight in the short term, focusing solely on calorie restriction doesn’t address the root cause of weight gain: hormonal imbalances, particularly with the hormone insulin.
When you eat high-carb foods, your body produces insulin to help manage the blood sugar spikes.
If your insulin levels remain elevated throughout the day, your body will store fat instead of burning it. This makes it much harder to lose weight, even if you’re in a calorie deficit.
📌 Actionable Tip:
Instead of tracking calories, focus on balancing your hormones by reducing refined carbs and sugars.
Eating more healthy fats (like avocado, olive oil, and fatty fish) and protein (like eggs and lean meats) will help stabilize your insulin levels and support fat loss.
This approach is much more sustainable than constantly counting calories.
The Bottom Line
The idea that "a calorie is a calorie" is an oversimplification of how our bodies process food.
It’s not just about how many calories we eat — it’s about what those calories are made of and how they affect our metabolism.
To lose weight, improve health, and feel your best, focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods, and reduce your intake of refined carbs and sugars that spike insulin levels.
By shifting your focus from counting calories to choosing nutrient-dense foods, reading labels for hidden sugars, and focusing on whole foods, you’ll support a healthier, more balanced approach to eating that doesn’t rely on calorie counting.
🔥 Hot Tip! 🔥
If you want to get serious and lose the weight, feel better, and get healthy, try this exercise:
Go into your pantry and identify all of the foods that contain ingredients that are on The Goo Index (linked below).
Then, either move them all together to a new shelf, or tag them with a bright orange sticker. This way, you will know which ones are not Goo-Free.
Instead of wasting food, you can use up these foods as you normally might do…but the bright orange sticker will remind you (or others in your household who do the grocery shopping) to not buy them again when they run out.
This approach will avoid too much food waste and simultaneously help you to wean off of the bad stuff.
Goo Luck! 🍀
Want to learn more about how to cut ultra-processed foods from your diet?
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If you’re not sure about a specific ingredient and want to learn more about whether it qualifies as Goo, leave a comment or reach out and ask me!
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(a Goo-Free coffee, of course!)
I love that pantry sticker idea. It would really bring it into the light and you wouldn’t be able to subconsciously ignore the evidence like we so easily do.