This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth, Manukora, and AquaTru. Have you ever changed your mind when presented with new information? I have—especially about the importance of calories and calorie tracking. A few years ago, I realized I was under-muscled and “skinny fat,” which shifted my perspective. In today’s episode, I share past interviews with guests who offered insights into why calories and tracking can be beneficial for my goals of losing weight and building muscle mass. Today on The Dhru Purohit Show, we have a special compilation episode featuring Dhru's conversations with guests on how calories and tracking can help establish a baseline and guide progress. Dr. Gabrielle Lyon explains why we should approach calorie tracking like how we manage finances and other areas of life. Max Lugavere emphasizes that the type of calories matters and how tracking can influence weight loss, maintenance, and gain. JJ Virgin shares why a 21-day tracking commitment using an app can jump-start weight loss goals. If you’re looking to understand the importance of calories and tracking, this episode is for you! Dr. Gabrielle Lyon is a Washington University fellowship-trained physician in nutritional science and geriatrics and is board-certified in family medicine. She founded the Institute for Muscle-Centric Medicine and has a private practice that services leaders, innovators, mavericks, and executives in various fields. Max Lugavere is a health and science journalist and author of the New York Times best-seller Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life and The Genius Life: Heal Your Mind, Strengthen Your Body, and Become Extraordinary. Max also hosts The Genius Life, a top health and wellness podcast. JJ Virgin is a renowned health and fitness expert, bestselling author, and prominent media personality. With over three decades of experience in the field, she has become a trusted authority in nutrition, weight loss, and wellness. She is the author of four New York Times bestsellers and actively contributes to the health and wellness community through speaking engagements, online programs, and her podcast, Well Beyond 40. In this episode, Dhru and his guests dive into: Dhru's personal journey (01:03) Dr. Gabrielle Lyon’s thoughts on calorie tracking (04:55) Discipline to obtain a baseline (08:22) Biggest mistake in the weight loss journey (13:31) The misconception that you can’t overeat healthy foods (19:47) How to use a digital food scale and weight loss (21:37) Olive oil pour (25:21) Two opposing schools of thought (33:35) The positive benefits of extra virgin oil and calories (37:48) JJ Virgin's tips on calorie tracking for a few weeks (41:21) Apps for tracking (42:31) What made Dhru change his mind (45:00) Final thoughts (47:16) Also mentioned: Michelle Shapiro Holistic Dietician Get Max’s Fat Loss Cheat Codes This episode is brought to you by Cozy Earth, Manukora, and AquaTru. Right now, get 40% off your Cozy Earth sheets. Just head over to cozyearth.com/dhru and use code DHRUP. Upgrade to the creamiest honey, packed with antioxidants and prebiotics. Just go to manukora.com/dhru to get $25 off the Starter Kit and boost your energy, immunity, and digestive health today! Black Friday sale is all month long. AquaTru is a countertop reverse osmosis purifier with a four-stage filtration system that removes 15x more contaminants than the bestselling water filters out there. Go to dhrupurohit.com/filter/ and get $150 off when you try AquaTru for yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: Why should you audit your calories?
Hi everyone. Have you ever heard an expert say, calories do not matter? Not only have you probably heard somebody say that, but you might've even heard me say that in the early episodes of this podcast, because I looked up to a lot of people who at the time held this belief. And then when presented with new information, I changed my mind.
And today's episode is all about how and why I think it's so important for everybody that follows me and my audience that not only wants to look good from the outside, that means be strong, be fit, move closer towards your optimal body composition, but also feel good on the inside. And I'm Now, are they the whole story? No, but they absolutely matter. And it is possible to overeat healthy food.
I know because I had a major light bulb moment on my own journey, even though I'm somebody that never struggled with weight gain. I fell into the category of skinny fat, which is very common for my phenotype. Individuals from Asia who are under-muscled, that's me.
I grew up vegetarian, under-eating on protein, not working out a lot, largely because I didn't feel like I saw a lot of progress in the gym because I wasn't having enough protein. And even though I was active physically, I was flabby a little bit around the waistline and under-muscled around the rest of my body. I was skinny fat.
Chapter 2: What does Dr. Gabrielle Lyon say about calorie tracking?
In fact, when I first went in to measure my body composition, I was pretty surprised that somebody who was pretty skinny and lean like myself, even though I was 40 years old when I first did it, measured in at about 26% body fat. When I went to a few of my friends and started asking questions as to how this was possible, I found out some pretty shocking truths.
And some of those truths were I was under eating on protein. I was overeating on fat, even though All the fat in my diet was a good source of fat. I was under eating on fiber at various times in my diet. And even me, yes, even me, I was overeating in those instances when I would have a healthy processed food, like a lot of the things that they sell at Air One and Whole Foods.
I was overeating those calories without having something that we're talking about today, which is calorie awareness. Calories are not the full story. But yes, I personally do believe, and the evidence supports this, and the guests today on today's compilation episode are going to dive deep into this, is that you can overeat even healthy foods and still gain weight.
which is why we need to understand the power of calorie awareness, which is exactly what today's compilation episode is all about. The three people that we have featured today were part of the community that helped me change my mind and evolve my thinking to say,
Absolutely, the quality of the food you eat matters the most, but we can't throw calories out the window and say that they don't matter. That's a good recipe for under eating on protein, under eating on fiber, overeating on fat and overeating on processed foods. And yes, that even includes healthy processed foods that are out there.
You know, in this world of wellness, there are different camps and you'll often hear polarizing information. There'll be the people that say the only thing that matters is calories and quality of food doesn't matter that much. That's one extreme. And another camp that says calories don't matter and they're not a good way and a good direction of tracking them that leads to weight loss.
And the truth is somewhere in between. And that's what today's episode is about. Our first guest that we have featured was one of the first people that really helped shift my mind on this topic and bring a lot of nuance to the picture. And that is Dr. Gabrielle Lyon.
I'm featuring part of our interview together that was done in the past where Gabrielle Lyon specifically talks about this idea of doing a calorie audit, why it matters and why it's so important. Now, before we jump into what Dr. Lyon has to say, I just got to mention this.
As I've learned from all my friends in the space who are way more qualified than I am on this topic, if somebody has a history of disordered eating, they really need to be working with somebody who's trained in helping individuals work through that process.
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Chapter 3: What is the biggest mistake in the weight loss journey?
Some of the advice that is here on today's episode, while it's largely beneficial to 99% of the population, it will probably not be beneficial to somebody who is dealing with disordered eating. So just note that. And in the show notes, we'll put some resources for those that are looking for resources. Let's Let's jump into my first conversation for today's compilation episode.
Dr. Gabrielle Line, who talks about the importance of tracking with all areas of our life, but especially nutrition and how at least auditing your calories for a short period of time, which is what the guests are advocating for today, could be something that could help you achieve your health goals. So we already know you want to track protein because most people are under eating on protein.
From there, what do you think about tracking other calories? Do you track your money? Drew. I think this is where people get confused because a lot of people have budgets, but they may not look at the date. They have spending allowance.
But overall, but you had to sit down and create a budget, right? Yes. You also track the gas in your car and you also track the numbers of, I don't know, your blood pressure or your cholesterol numbers. You get a baseline, right? Yeah. We get a baseline for everything. It is unfair to say that we should not track calories, at least in the beginning. You have to get a baseline.
Beginning is how long? How long would you say people track calories?
Two to four weeks. Okay, two to four weeks. Two to four weeks. Put it in an app. Otherwise... You know, there's a way forward. There's a way forward that could take you a really long time, whether it's months or years, a way forward where you're just going to begin to clean up your diet slowly. Or you can say, you know what? Here's my target. I want to lose weight, build muscle, X, Y, and Z.
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Chapter 4: Why can healthy foods lead to overeating?
They owe it to themselves to track. I'm not asking for forever, I'm asking for two to four weeks. Get a baseline and perhaps you never have to do it again. Get a baseline, get an understanding of where you are. After that, you should design a diet that is within your goals.
And I put in a handful of tracks in the book, whether it is a longevity plan, whether it is a weight loss plan, or whether it is a muscle building plan. Build out your diet. You'll prioritize protein. You can decide if you are metabolically healthy or unhealthy, meaning do you have 10 or more pounds to lose? If you have 10 or more pounds to lose, perhaps lower your carbohydrate.
Chapter 5: How can a digital food scale help with weight loss?
You can either increase your protein or increase your fat, but lower your carbohydrate a little bit. As it relates to designing a diet, figure out what your macronutrient profile is going to be. then track it and see what that looks like so you know. Once you know, then it doesn't have to be a complicated thing. But you do have to know. Because let's say tracking calories is a losing battle.
There's a national weight registry. And we know that those individuals that do not regain weight track their weight and their calories.
Say that one more time. So we know that people that do not regain weight that they lost, they track their weight and they track their calories. Yes. So that's your goal. If you want to improve your body composition, which is usually for people, they'll say losing fat. They'll say losing weight.
What they really mean is losing fat.
Losing fat. Yeah. And for you, it would also be, hey, I want you to drop some fat and build some muscle, which also might be in so many people. in my gym, especially women, are so mind blown that actually their weight doesn't change that much, but they look incredible. Yeah. I'm sure you have this all the time because you used to also... Did you compete? I did. Yeah. You used to compete.
So you know that world firsthand. So really what people are looking for is body composition shift.
That's what they're looking for. And again, if you... We have to hold people to a high standard. I know that you're saying and that many people say that people will not track. But I think we can hold people to a higher standard. And I think by holding them to a higher standard, we can actually move the needle.
And that is as it relates to body composition, as it relates to tracking, as it relates to exercise, you have to know what you're doing. And in every other domain in life, we track. We just do. And for some reason, this idea of not tracking calories, it doesn't have to be forever, but we do have to get a baseline. And I do believe calories matter.
And we do have to have an understanding of where we are to determine where we're going. And it doesn't have to be complicated. It can be simple as long as it's disciplined.
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