Why Your Body Isn't a Calculator

Right now, as you read this digest, your body is making decisions about every calorie you consume. But here's what the diet industry doesn't want you to know: it's not counting calories, it's responding to hormones.

I recently stood in the House of Lords explaining why calorie counting fails. The resistance was fierce, even from health experts.

The calorie myth has been drilled into us for decades, and for big food companies, it's incredibly convenient. Simply blame the individual: "Eat less, move more. You just need more willpower."

None of this is actually true.

Here's where the calorie model truly falls apart. When you reduce your food intake by 500 calories, your body faces a choice: access 500 calories from stored fat, or reduce your metabolic rate by 500 calories. Which option it chooses depends entirely on insulin.

If insulin remains elevated (from frequent eating or processed foods), it blocks access to your fat stores. Your body has only one choice: metabolic slowdown. You become a slower burning, more tired version of yourself. You feel cold, exhausted, irritable. The equation balances, but you haven't lost fat.

However, if your body can access stored fat easily (when insulin is low), those 500 calories come from your fat stores. Your metabolic rate stays normal, you maintain energy levels, and you actually lose body fat.

Same calorie reduction. Completely different outcome.

This is why in the past if you tried reducing calories, you felt constantly hungry, tired and cold, only to regain weight the moment you returned to normal eating. You were fighting your hormones.

Your action today: Stop counting calories. Start understanding hormones. Focus on foods that keep insulin low and stable: high fibre vegetables, quality proteins, healthy fats, whole unprocessed foods.

The Clubwell app will track calories for you, but the measurement that truly matters is the one right below it, the mass of your food.