In Episode 3 of "Escape from Caloriegate," I introduce a new metaphor to explain Bergmann and Bauer's lipophilia idea, using a hilarious bit from one of my favorite shows, South Park. I believe new metaphors -- new ways of looking at old problems -- can be the key to powerful insight and also some good laffs.

So let's peer under the hood at the The Dastardly Doings of the Magical Energy Gnomes…



•    Great episode of South Park featured villains called the Underpants Gnomes;
•    Their business scheme was genius:
•    Phase 1: Collect Underpants
•    Phase 2: ?
•    Phase 3: Profit!
•    Matt and Trey could easily have been ragging on the calories-in-calories-out people
•    Hardcore obesity diagrams show insane amounts of "stuff"
•    Always end up the same: arrows lead from "postive energy balance" to "overstoring of fat in the fat cells"
•    But how exactly do these "excess calories" transform into "excess fat"? Diagrams never say. Sound familiar?
•    Phase 1: Eat "Too Much"
•    Phase 2: ?
•    Phase 3: Store Fat!
•    Might it be possible that the entire obesity research community has hoodwinked us with the equivalent of the South Park Underpants Gnomes' scheme?
•    Indeed. "Phase 2" is off their radar. For all they care, Magical Energy Gnomes could be doing the hard labor of converting "excess calories" into "stored fat."
•    I say… "Just Say 'No' to Magical Energy Gnomes!"
•    Actual Biochemical Stuff is needed to stick "energy" into your fat cells -- there must be a mechanism(s)
•    Three preemptive responses to critics:
•    1) I'm not saying that Phase 2 is "only about" the hormone insulin.
•    2) Thermodynamics is indeed real. When you get fat, you must store more mass/energy than you burn. (But who gives a sh*t?)
•    3) I am NOT saying that concentration of usable biochemical energy in our body is IRRELEVANT to this whole shebang.
•    Magical Energy Gnomes don't exist: "calories" do not magically become "fat"
•    Actual Biochemical Stuff is absolutely required
•    Breaking the spells of the Gnomes - puzzlers for you
•    Can You Really "Overeat" Yourself into Obesity?
•    Why Does It Matter That Our Fat Tissue Is an "Organ"?
•    An Identical Magical Fix for Obesity AND Anorexia?
•    Most people know low carb = good for fat loss
•    But in "Life Without Bread," doctors Allan and Lutz detail how they treated anorexics with a low carbohydrate diet
•    The money quote from Life Without Bread: "they [i.e. anorexics] will eventually reach a larger body mass compared to when they began the low-carbohydrate program. The new weight, however, will be in all the right places."
•    Only two conclusions possible:
•    Conclusion #1. Low carb diets are magical. They magically help fat people become thin and help gaunt people gain fat. Makes No Freaking Sense.
•    Conclusion #2. Low carb diets do something to normalize how the fat tissue is regulated in both cases.
•    We need mechanisms, mechanisms, mechanisms, not Magical Energy Gnomes
•    Forget the fat tissue for a second. Think about body temperature
•    Body temperature is regulated: you are not at equilibrium with your environment
•    Paradox with complex systems in our body, like the one for temperature
•    We can sun in Death Valley and go for polar bear swims -- our bodies will rebound back to 98.6 easily
•    But a proverbial "grain of sand in the oyster," like the flu, can throw off body temperature and give us a fever
•    What if we treated this as a simple problem of "overheating" and told people to take ice baths?
•    Not smart! If an infection caused the flu, you should aim to treat the infection itself using, for example, an ANTI-BIOTIC.
•    System that regulates our fat is similar to one that regulates temperature
•    "Stuff" -- bad genetics, a bad diet, medications, normal life changes, etc -- can throw off this regulation.
•    The SYMPTOM of this dysregulated system might be obesity or anorexia or some other fat storage change
•    Treating obesity as a simple problem of "overeating" is like treating a high fever as a simple problem of "overheating."
•    Just speculating here, but two distinct fluctuations probably go on, and these overlap with each other and cause much confusion:
•    #1. Normal healthy fluctuations in the amount of fat we store, like normal swings in body temp
•    #2. Fluctuations in fat storage that indicate illness or malfunction, like a fever indicates a flu.
•    You can get sick without a getting fever; likewise, you can probably damage your fat tissue without gaining excess fat in the short term.
•    We all focus way way WAY too much on short-term fat gains and losses. Some fluctuation must be normal.
•    Instead, let's ask: What might make our fat tissue sick? What might make it healthier?
•    We'll never ask these questions while the Calorie Wizards reign.
•    Mantra to banish the Calorie Wizards:
•    It's Overstoring, Not Overeating.
•    It's Overstoring, Not Overeating.
•    IONO, NOT CICO
•    IONO, NOT CICO!!