Yes, calories==energy. But why is it necessarily "spill out all over"? If thermodynamics apply (and they do), then adding more fuel to a fire makes the fire burn hotter. Or, to keep the car analogy, pumping more gas to the engine makes the engine run faster, and thereby consume all the fuel being pumped into it.
So, by analogy (and since we're talking about simple thermodynamics), eating more calories should make your metabolism run faster. More fuel, more fire, higher rate of fuel consumption. This is definitely true for those people who can eat lots of food and never get fat. Ectomorphs.
So, why doesn't this rule apply to everyone? Why do some people store what they eat as fat and others just burn it all off regardless of how little they exercise. Why aren't we all ectomophs? Genetics may come into play, sure, but all humans have the same genome.
The difference must be related to differences in our bodies. Which means differences in hormonal reflexes, differences in responses to certain types of food, etc.
It is about calories, but it's not _just_ about calories. It's about our bodies, too, and how we've conditioned them to process different kinds of foods.
Highly recommend "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes.
Adding more gas to a car will not burn more. There is a system to regulate the consumption of fuel (throttle) just as a human body. Its not a burn pit.
And is this old metabolism debate still going on? Last time I checked most overweight people actually had higher metabolic rates.
So, by analogy (and since we're talking about simple thermodynamics), eating more calories should make your metabolism run faster. More fuel, more fire, higher rate of fuel consumption. This is definitely true for those people who can eat lots of food and never get fat. Ectomorphs.
So, why doesn't this rule apply to everyone? Why do some people store what they eat as fat and others just burn it all off regardless of how little they exercise. Why aren't we all ectomophs? Genetics may come into play, sure, but all humans have the same genome.
The difference must be related to differences in our bodies. Which means differences in hormonal reflexes, differences in responses to certain types of food, etc.
It is about calories, but it's not _just_ about calories. It's about our bodies, too, and how we've conditioned them to process different kinds of foods.
Highly recommend "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes.