The Magnetic Diet - Carbs vs Calories

Calories, Muscle, and Fat…Oh My!

The other day in the grocery store I overheard a young woman who was buying packs of hot dogs tell the checker that her father ate little else. She explained that he was on a diet designed by a famous doctor who had written a book on losing weight through a diet low in carbohydrates and high in protein and fat. I wondered if she or her father knew that the doctor himself had died of a heart attack. Anyone who tells you that you must cut out carbs to achieve a lean physique is sorely mistaken.

Carbs don’t matter (much)—but calories do. There, I said it. Now let me explain. The food you eat turns into energy through the body’s digestive processes. The measuring unit of the energy produced from food is called a calorie. When we talk about the fuel our car burns, we usually describe it in terms of gallons of gas. Similarly, when we talk about the fuel our body burns, we describe it in terms of calories. When you walk or run you are burning calories, but your body also burns them when you’re sitting still and even while you sleep. All of the many different processes going on inside the body use fuel measured in calories that come from the food you eat.

The body needs a certain number of calories to get through each day, and this amount varies based on your age, weight, percentage of muscle, and activity level. If you consume more calories than your body requires, it will store the excess calories for later use. Take in 3,500 calories above your needs over time, and you will gain one pound.

The process also works in reverse. If you are physically active enough and use more calories than you eat, you create a calorie deficit. To get extra fuel, the body turns to its stored energy and depending on certain factors—such as whether you are performing strength conditioning and aerobic exercise—it will burn fat, glycogen, or muscle protein. When you use 3,500 calories more than you take in over time, you lose one pound. This sounds simple enough, but here is how it works.

The body typically absorbs the food from a typical meal in approximately two to four hours. During this time, known as the “absorptive state,” the pancreas releases the powerful hormone

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