The Weight Loss Advice Doctors Learn in School is Incomplete (And Why That Matters for Your Family)

"Just eat less and move more."

How many times have you heard this advice? Maybe from your pediatrician when discussing your child's weight. Maybe from your own doctor. Maybe you've even said it to yourself while staring in the mirror, wondering why you can't seem to follow such "simple" guidance.

Here's what I need you to know: while this advice may work for some people, it's not the answer for a significant amount of other people, myself included.

So if you've tried this and it hasn't helped you lose extra weight, you are not alone and there is nothing wrong with you.

I Used to Give This Advice Too

As a pediatrician, I was taught the calories in/calories out model in medical school. For years, I confidently told parents: "Create a 3,500 calorie deficit through diet and exercise, and your child will lose one pound of fat." I believed this with complete certainty because this is what I learned from respected professors and textbooks.

I also tried to follow this advice myself. I counted every calorie, measured every portion, tracked every workout. But it didn't give me sustainable weight loss - it gave me hunger and frustration.  And because I was sure this was the only way to lose weight, I felt hopeless and assumed that I couldn't get it right.

I can't recall a single patient that was able to find success with this method either.  

Turns out, the problem wasn't us or our willpower. The problem was the model itself for our particular physiology.

Why "Eat Less, Move More" Fails More Families Than It Helps

Think about it: if weight loss were truly as simple as calories in versus calories out, wouldn't we have solved obesity by now? Wouldn't the millions of motivated parents trying to help their children be seeing consistent, lasting results?

The reason this approach fails over and over isn't because people lack determination. It's because the human body is infinitely more complex than a simple math equation.

The body is always trying to stay alive.  When you restrict calories, your body sees this as a threat to it's survival.  It fights to stay alive by slowing metabolism down. It also spikes hunger hormones up in an attempt to get you to eat more food. The body becomes more efficient at storing whatever food it gets. It resists fat loss.  Restricting calories, you feel hungry all the time, think about food constantly, and eventually your biology overrides your willpower.

Then comes the shame: "I failed again." "My child has no self-control." "We're just not disciplined enough."

None of that is true.

There's a Different Model (And It Changes Everything)

In recent years, researchers have developed a different understanding called the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of Energy Balance. Instead of focusing solely on calorie quantity, this model looks at how different foods affect our hormones—and therefore our metabolism, hunger, and fat storage.

Here's the key insight we ignored in medical school: a calorie from a sugar cookie creates a completely different hormonal response in the body than a calorie from a piece of chicken.

When your child eats that sugar cookie, their blood sugar spikes rapidly. This triggers a large insulin response. Insulin is a fat storage hormone—it tells the body to store energy as fat and makes it harder to access stored fat for fuel. Within a couple hours, blood sugar crashes, triggering intense hunger and cravings for more quick-energy foods.

When your child eats chicken, blood sugar rises gently. Insulin response is minimal. The body can easily access stored fat for steady energy resulting in the desired fat loss. Hunger and cravings remain stable for hours.

Same number of calories. Completely different effect on your child's body.

Why This Matters for Your Family

Understanding this model changes everything about how you approach your family's health:

It removes shame. Your child isn't lacking willpower when they can't stop thinking about snacks after a carb-heavy breakfast. Their hormones are literally driving those thoughts.

It explains individual differences. Some children are more "carb sensitive" than others—their bodies have stronger insulin responses to carbohydrates. This is why your neighbor's child might eat pizza daily without weight gain while your child seems to gain weight easily. It's not fair, but it's not anyone's fault either.

It shifts focus from restriction to nourishment. Instead of counting calories and battling hunger, you can choose foods that naturally regulate your child's appetite and energy.

It makes sustainable change possible. When your child's hormones are balanced, they naturally feel satisfied with appropriate amounts of food. No more constant food battles.

Real-Life Examples of How This Plays Out

Scenario 1: The Traditional Approach Your child has a breakfast of cereal with milk (about 300 calories). By 10 AM, they're asking for a snack. You give them crackers (150 calories). By lunch, they're ravenous and eat quickly. The afternoon brings more snacking and crankiness. Total daily calories might be "appropriate," but everyone feels frustrated.

Scenario 2: The Hormonal Approach Your child has eggs with cheese and some berries for breakfast (also about 300 calories). They're satisfied until lunch. They eat a reasonable lunch and don't think much about food until dinner. Everyone feels calmer around food.

Same calories. Completely different experience.

This Isn't About Perfection or Elimination

I'm not suggesting your child can never have cereal or cookies. I'm suggesting that understanding how different foods affect their hormones gives you power to make informed choices.

Some days you might choose the cereal because it's quick and your child likes it—and that's fine. But on days when you want stable energy and fewer snack requests, you know eggs and berries will serve your family better.

Where to Start

If you're tired of the calorie-counting battles and ready to try a different approach, here are some simple first steps:

Notice patterns. Pay attention to how your child feels and behaves after different types of meals. Do they seem more satisfied after protein-rich breakfasts? More cranky after sugary snacks?

Experiment with one meal. Try changing just breakfast for a week. Add more protein and see what happens to morning hunger and energy levels.

Focus on addition, not subtraction at first. Instead of taking away foods, add more satisfying options. Include protein and healthy fats with meals and snacks.

Trust your observations. Your child's individual response to food is more important than any general guideline.

The Bigger Picture

Every child's body responds differently to food. Some are sensitive to carbohydrates and gain easily, others aren't. Some need more protein to feel satisfied, others need more fat. There's no one-size-fits-all approach.

What matters is figuring out how your individual child's body responds to the foods they're eating. This requires patience, observation, and a willingness to experiment—not perfection.

Weight gain isn't a personal failing or a lack of character. Some bodies simply store energy more easily than others, especially when eating foods that trigger strong insulin responses. Understanding this can free your family from shame and open the door to lasting change.

Moving Forward with Compassion

If the "eat less, move more" approach has left you feeling defeated, please know: the failure wasn't yours. You were following outdated advice that doesn't account for the complexity of human metabolism and hormones.

Now that you understand how food choices affect your child's hormonal responses, you can approach family nutrition from a place of curiosity rather than restriction. You can work with your child's biology instead of fighting against it.

This isn't about finding the "perfect" way to eat. It's about discovering what works for your unique child and your unique family. Some experimentation will be required, but the payoff—stable energy, natural appetite regulation, and peace around food—is worth it.

Your child's body is designed to maintain a healthy weight when their hormones are balanced. Your job isn't to force this process through willpower and restriction. Your job is to provide the kind of nourishment that allows their body to do what it naturally wants to do.

That's not just better science—it's better for your family.

This blog is part of my mission to support parents raising healthier, happier kids in today's world. Come connect with me at www.sheilacarrollmd.com.