03 Jan Are You a CICOpath?
CICO means calories-in-calories-out. We have been taught this doctrine for years now. The calories you eat should equal the calories you burn to maintain your weight. So to lose weight, eat less or move more. You can eat anything you want, just not too much.
That sounds logical, doesn’t it? But it’s utterly false.
CICO means your body acts like a furnace. You add fuel then burn it off. However, your body is more like a chemical factory. A little of this substance mixed with a little of something else, and boom! A chemical reaction.
Insulin will make you fat
The chemical (actually hormone) that’s the most important for weight gain is insulin. Through a chemical process, your body produces insulin when you eat. And too much insulin drives weight gain.
Insulin usually spikes after eating refined carbs like desserts, but also breads, chips, white potatoes, rice, and processed food containing sugar. Most processed foods contain sugar, like the little cartons of flavored yogurt that have as much sugar as a candy bar. Foods that are mostly fat like nuts, butter, or oils, barely spike insulin. That’s why some people add fat to their coffee for breakfast, or eat nuts, which are high in fat, for snacks.
So what you eat tends to matter more than how many calories you eat.
All foods spike insulin some. So every time you eat, there’s an opportunity for insulin to drive up your fat. That’s why some people eat less often, maybe only two meals a day, or have a small eating window in a day. This is called intermittent fasting. Fasting is a tradition in many religions and is generally not harmful and can actually be beneficial.
Cortisol will make you fat
Besides insulin, another chemical called cortisol drives weight gain. Cortisol is released when you are stressed. One of the things it does is make sure you keep your weight up. Think about our evolution. A common cause of stress was food scarcity so it makes sense (at least in the olden days) for cortisol to make you hang on to the pounds.
Want a sure-fire, proven way to mess with both your insulin and your cortisol? Get too little sleep. You will find yourself craving sweets and starches the next day. You may even feel your belt a little tighter. I do. If I don’t sleep, I can actually measure a difference around my waist. Yuck. So, I focus on doing everything I can to maximize my chances of good restorative sleep. If you need tips, see here.
How is CICO working for you?
I bet you have personal experience with the CICO approach. Did you actually lose weight? If so, did you put on even more pounds as soon as the diet ended, or did you hit a plateau? This is typical. Research shows that these results are amazingly consistent. Starve yourself and your hormones will come to your “rescue”. Starving is stress and stress means cortisol. Cortisol means fat.
Some people ramp up their exercise program to lose weight. That rarely works for weight loss. If you stress your body, you will also ramp up cortisol. The cortisol will ramp up your fat stores. This is why I don’t go to yoga daily. Well, I would have difficulty making time to go everyday, but I would also over-stress my body. I try to go often enough to challenge myself, and to allow recovery.
These aren’t your only two hormones. All your hormones work together and if you mess with one, the others will be affected. An imbalance in hormones can lead to weight gain. And hormones aren’t the only cause of weight gain, but an important one.
It’s time to stop being a CICOpath
Eat real, whole foods. Avoid sugar and refined or processed foods. Eat 3 meals a day or less. Well, maybe have a snack if you are adjusting to this type of eating, or if you have a strenuous workout. Eat fat and don’t be ashamed. It can sustain you between meals. Caution: eat the healthy fat options like olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, and grass-fed, organic butter. Eat as many vegetables as you can. They are powerful for balancing hormones and all systems of the body.
Need help figuring out how to eat and achieve a healthy weight? Contact me. I’m a National Board Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach. I can help you find food to eat that you love and fits your lifestyle. I will listen to your concerns and help you tap into your intuition of what you need to be your healthiest, happiest self.
Share your own experience with CICO in the Comments below.
This article is for information purposes only. See Disclaimer below.
Dr. Hyman on Hormones and Losing Weight
Shawn Mynar interviewing Dr. Ken Berry on hormones
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