Energy Balance
The relationship between calories consumed and calories expended — the accounting identity underneath all weight change.
Energy balance is thermodynamic bookkeeping: intake versus expenditure, with body stores absorbing the difference. A sustained negative balance means weight loss; the controversy is never the math but the behavior of its terms — hunger pushes intake up as stores fall, expenditure adapts downward, and both sides of the ledger negotiate with each other.
That's the frame that reconciles "calories count" with "it's not just willpower": GLP-1 medications work on the intake term (appetite, satiety), exercise and muscle work on expenditure, and neither suspends the equation — they change what the equation costs to live with. Any program claiming exemption from energy balance is selling physics violations.
This glossary entry is general information, not medical advice, and is written to be consistent with FDA prescribing information and primary trial publications as of its last review. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider for personal medical decisions.
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