Why Counting Calories for Fat Loss is Useless & What Actually Works (The Mass Balance Model) 👇 1/ If you still believe in CICO (Calories In, Calories Out) for fat loss, you’re using the WRONG model. The human body is NOT a closed system—it’s an open system. Fat loss is about mass, NOT calories. Let’s break this down step by step. 🧵👇 2/ Closed systems vs. open systems: A closed system (like a bomb calorimeter) traps energy inside, with NO mass exchange. 🔥 The human body is an open system—it constantly exchanges both mass and energy with its environment. 🌎 3/ Why does this matter? 🔥 CICO assumes the body is a closed system—like a furnace where calories are “burned” to create weight loss. 🚫 Wrong. The body doesn’t store or lose “calories.” ✔️ The body metabolizes and stores molecules (mass), NOT energy. 4/ Mass has weight. Energy (calories) does not. When you metabolize food for fuel, mass leaves the body as CO₂, H₂O, ketone bodies, urea, and waste. You lose mass, NOT calories. 5/ If CICO were true, all isocaloric diets would cause the same weight loss. But studies show low-carb diets cause more fat loss than low-fat diets—despite identical calorie intake. Why? Because mass excretion changes depending on what you eat. Carbs increase insulin → trap mass in fat cells. Fat increases ketones → increases fat oxidation & mass excretion. 6/ The Mass Balance Model (MBM) explains this perfectly: ✔️ Fat loss = Mass In - Mass Out (not calories!) ✔️ The body eliminates fat as CO₂, water, bile acids, ketones, & waste. ✔️ What you eat determines how much mass you retain vs. excrete. 7/ CICO ignores: 🚫 Hormones (insulin, glucagon, leptin, cortisol) dictate fat storage & excretion. 🚫 Fat metabolism increases CO₂ & ketone excretion—NOT just calorie burn. 🚫 Food quality alters metabolic pathways—NOT just energy balance. 🚫 The body doesn’t “store energy” as fat—it stores molecules with mass as fat. 8/ Why is obesity reversal so EASY under MBM? ✔️ Drop insulin → Mass can leave fat cells. ✔️ Prioritize protein & fat → Higher satiety, lower food mass intake. ✔️ Ketogenic state → More fat metabolism → More CO₂, Water & ketones excreted. ✔️ Fasting → No insulin → Full access to fat stores. 9/ How do you actually LOSE fat without counting calories? 🔥 Eat for low insulin & high fat metabolism: 🥩 Meat, eggs, fish = High protein → Increases glucagon → Metabolizes fat. 🥓 Butter, tallow, animal fats = Fuel without insulin spikes. 🚫 No sugar, no seed oils, no refined carbs = Prevents insulin traps. 💧 Water & electrolytes = Supports metabolism & fat loss. 10/ Forget about "burning calories." 🔥 Weight loss happens when stored molecules EXIT the body. 🔥 Increase CO₂, water, ketone, & bile excretion. 🔥 The more fat metabolism, the more fat you lose—independent of calories. 11/ What does NOT matter? ❌ Starving yourself ❌ Tracking every calorie ❌ “Burning off” what you eat ❌ CICO nonsense 12/12 Fat loss is about removing stored mass—not creating a calorie deficit. ✔ Optimize your diet for hormonal balance & mass excretion. ✔ Low insulin, high protein, high fat = sustainable fat loss. ✔ Stop counting calories & start using the Mass Balance Model!