The 5 Laws of Metabolism
Simplistic models can be useful for providing general overviews, but they often omit important details, like exceptions to a rule and nuance. The "eat less, exercise more" weight loss model suffers greatly from this problem.
As a general concept, this diet advice is true... for someone who sits on the couch and does nothing. But it's only a good idea for a short period of time because the body compensates. And without clarification, this advice is understood to mean eat as little as possible (whether it be carbs or calories), and exercise as much as you can (whether it be longer, harder, or more frequently).
This regularly repeated mantra has limited use and, more often than not, backfires on those who try to adhere to it. It's been proven conclusively not to work for most people over the long run. The fact is, eating less and exercising more can easily disrupt metabolic balance and put a person in a metabolic tailspin of constant weight loss and regain.
Frameworks are better than mantras. They aren't perfect, but they provide more detail, allow for more nuances, and have fewer exceptions.
