3500 calories - is it a myth?

[useitorlose]

This is so widely used, but where does it come from, and do our bodies know about it?! I found this interesting so thought I would share:

https://www.zoeharcombe.com/standalone/1lb-does-not-equal-3500-calories/

Can you explain what you mean more without us clicking on a link? Thanks

In a nutshell - doctors, scientists, dieticians etc. cannot explain where the 3500 calorie deficit = 1lb of fat lost claim comes from. Neither can they come up with a plausible theory that could replace it.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/calories-in-a-pound-of-fat

Seems plausible it’s an average between 3,400 and 3,700.

Agreed, but that article supports the first one - we cannot create a deficit of 3500 calories and expect a guaranteed outcome.

That's not quite what the article is saying, it explains what the theory is behind saying a pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. It explains that this formula is flawed due to estimates used, and therefore the true EXACT amount of calories in a pound of fat is unknown and has a wide deviation.

Listed food calories on packaging is permitted to be off by as much as 10%.
that is again another flaw in the concept.

Those things aren't opposed, and Zoe Harcombe asserts them all. She's yet to be proven wrong.