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Nutrition can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. Especially if you're following the ONLY RULE OF WEIGHT LOSS - calories in vs calories out. But it can get much more complex, so let's take a look at a more specific area of nutrition: Calories and macro-nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fats).
There Are No Shortcuts!
Calories: A unit of heat measurement.
A calorie is a very, very small amount of energy. When carbon atoms bond, they share energy. This bond can then later be broken down and release energy in the form of heat. A calorie is simply the amount of heat released when food is broken down.
Structurally, foods are all built differently. Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats all have different types of chemical structures. This is why different foods have different calories counts.
Foods are broken down into three main types of structures. Short simple chains of carbons (Carbohydrates), complex long chains of carbons (fats), or folded polygonal rings of carbons called amino acids (proteins). Each category has a different amount of potential energy when measured by grams.
Carbohydrates contain 4 Calories per gram.
Proteins contain 4 Calories per gram.
Fats contain 9 Calories per gram.
As these foods are digested, they provide energy in the form of heat. The amount of food consumed is directly proportional to the amount of energy released. Meaning if your body needs 2000 Calories per day to function, but you consume 2200 Calories, you will slowly and gradually gain weight. On the other hand, if you only consume 1800 Calories, you will slowly and gradually lose weight.
Many diets recommend limiting fats. If you notice the calorie count, fats contain nearly twice as many calories per gram. Two grams of protein is less calories than one gram of fat. Most successful diet plans involve building meals around protein and carbohydrates, as they contain less calories per gram.
BUT, what about diet plans like the ketogenic diet? Many people see successful weight loss eating high levels of fat. A ketogenic diet cuts out almost all sources of carbohydrates, which are prevalent in most foods we eat. Completely eliminating an entire macronutrient will severely limit the amount of foods you can eat - thus restricting your calories overall. It still comes down to calories in versus calories out. If you overeat calories on a ketogenic diet, you'll gain weight.
Apply this logic to all diets and you'll see the underlying principle of calories in versus calories out.
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