The Calorie Economy: How Your Body “Spends” Energy Like Money
(Inspired by content from @bt.healthcoach and Jennie Carolan)
Ever wonder what really happens after you eat? Imagine every calorie as a dollar entering your body’s economy. That’s the concept behind a viral explanation of metabolism, a creative look at how your body “spends,” “saves,” and “invests” the energy you eat.
When you grab a fast-food meal like a burger, fries, soda, and a donut, you’ve just deposited about 1,000 “calorie dollars” into your body’s account. Those calories get processed through your digestive system, absorbed into your bloodstream, and distributed as energy to every organ and muscle that needs it.
But just like in any economy, where and how those calories get spent depends on your body’s activity level, muscle mass, and metabolism.
The Fast-Food Economy: Quick Cash, Low Return
https://www.instagram.com/p/DQqGyifjfxt/
In the video’s analogy, after your meal is digested, each organ asks for its share of the “budget.” The heart, kidneys, and brain get what they need to function, about 800 calories in total. But if your muscles aren’t active, they don’t demand much energy. That leaves a few hundred calories left over, which get deposited into the “fat savings account” and stored as triglycerides for later.
That’s how unused calories become body fat. The more often you eat in surplus without movement, the more your body continues to “save” energy it doesn’t use.
The Whole-Food Economy: Investing in Health
Now compare that to a balanced meal like salmon, quinoa, avocado, and asparagus. The same 1,000 calories behave differently. These foods take more energy to digest because of their fiber, protein, and nutrient density. In metabolism terms, that’s called the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), the amount of energy your body burns just to process what you eat.
Protein has the highest thermic effect. Your body uses up to 30% of its calories from protein during digestion. That means 100 calories of protein may only “net” you about 70 usable calories. Carbohydrates and fats have lower thermic effects, around 5–10% and 0–3%, which is why higher-protein meals can subtly boost your daily calorie burn.
If you exercise, even a 20-minute run or a strength session, your muscles “request” more fuel to repair and recover. When your bloodstream doesn’t have enough energy left from food, your body “withdraws” from stored fat, turning those triglycerides back into energy. That’s how fat loss actually happens.
Understanding Your Body’s Energy Budget
Every day, your body spends energy across four key categories known as Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE):
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) – 60–70%
The calories your body uses just to stay alive for breathing, circulating blood, regulating temperature, and supporting organ function. - Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) – ~10%
The calories burned during digestion, absorption, and nutrient breakdown. - Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) – 15–30%
Energy burned from daily movement such as walking, fidgeting, standing, cleaning, and other non-exercise activity. - Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT) – 5–10%
Calories burned from intentional workouts like weight training, cardio, or sports.
Together, these make up the balance between Calories In (everything you eat and drink) and Calories Out (everything you burn).
- Calorie Deficit (In < Out): Weight loss as your body uses stored fat for energy.
- Calorie Surplus (In > Out): Weight or muscle gain depending on your training.
- Maintenance (In = Out): Your body weight stays stable.
Why Tracking and Testing Matter
Your hormones, sleep, stress, and training intensity all influence how efficiently your body spends energy. That’s why two people can eat the same meal but have very different results.
At APEX Performance Wellness & Rehab, we help clients find their true energy balance through science-based testing and coaching. With DEXA Scans and RMR Analysis, we identify how your metabolism works, how efficiently you use oxygen, and how to adjust your nutrition and training for lasting results.
For those looking for options with Nutrition Coaching, here are 3 different ways we can help you (or, we can become a part of your company’s wellness program):
Calories aren’t your enemy; they’re your currency. How you spend them determines your results.
📍 Learn more about Wellness Testing in Portland and start making your calories work for you.
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