EB. 124: Forget About CICO: A Smarter Approach to Fat Loss

The Energy Balance Podcast

In this episode we discuss:

• An alternative framework to CICO for conceptualizing fat loss
  
• Why eating less and exercising more is not the best solution for fat loss
• Why excess energy does not cause fat gain and instead leads to fat loss
  
• How you can get stuck in a cycle of weight gain, undereating, and constant hunger, and how to get out of that cycle

Free Energy Balance Food Guide: https://jayfeldmanwellness.com/guide

Free Energy Balance Mini-Course: https://www.jayfeldmanwellness.com/energy/

Check out the Energy Balance Solution program here: https://www.jayfeldmanwellness.com/solution/

Click here to check out the show notes: https://www.jayfeldmanwellness.com/ep-124-forget-about-cico-a-smarter-approach-to-fat-loss/

Timestamps:

0:00 – intro

1:06 – recapping the problems with CICO

5:02 – the Energy Balance approach as an alternative to CICO for fat loss

12:12 – why calories do not equal energy and considering the possible fates of the food we consume

17:39 – efficient mitochondrial function as a central piece that determines whether substrate will be stored as body fat

19:39 – the amount of food you eat does matter

21:46 – conceptualizing Energy Balance with numerical units

24:00 – fat gain as a consequence of impaired mitochondrial function

29:01 – how you can lose fat while eating more

33:12 – the effects of energy availability on hunger and stress hormones

36:41 – how stress hormones, along with energy deficits, cause the body to break down muscle, bone, and skin for energy

43:16 – the benefits of having an energy surplus: improved sleep, immune function, digestion, cognitive function, and more

46:20 – comparing the Energy Balance approach with CICO and the major cost of the advice to “eat less and exercise more