Are We Eating To Much Or Not Enough?

The key to weight loss is creating a calorie deficit. In other words, burn more calories then we eat. But to what degree is this deficit most beneficial? Twelve hundred calories must be better than sixteen hundred. Therefore, the less we put in our mouths, the more weight we will lose. Is this really how our bodies work? Our bodies are smarter than we think.


Diets in the media are everywhere giving us messages that if we eat less, we will lose weight. More importantly, do these and other similar diets promote long-term fat loss? In most cases, the answer is “NO.” When calorie restriction is too low, the body doesn't necessarily know when its next meal is coming. The body will take the few calories it is receiving and store them as fat to be used later. This is counter-productive to building lean muscle mass and ultimately fat loss.


The first thing that needs to be addressed is the difference between weight loss and fat loss. Weight loss is just that--weight loss. The loss may be fat or lean body mass. Studies have shown these low calorie diets can cause up to 45 % loss of lean body mass. Fat loss, however, is fat loss. Losing muscle mass or lean body mass is not productive. Lean body mass is the most metabolically active tissue in the body. More lean body mass means greater caloric expenditure. So are we really looking for weight loss or fat loss?


Most low calorie diets look at fat intake as a way to increase fat mass. In reality, fat is needed to help burn or oxidize fat. Fat prevents an increase in the insulin hormone that helps release stored fat. Dietary fat also helps in building lean body mass by increasing testosterone and other androgens as well as reducing heart disease and cancer. Therefore, dietary fat is a very important macronutrient significant for the loss of fat and ultimately weight loss.


Protein is a very important component in a diet. Unfortunately, most low calorie diets don’t allow adequate protein intake. Protein has the greatest thermic effect of feeding so our body will burn more calories (upwards of 30%) assimilating and digesting protein than carbohydrates (6%) and fats (3%). Protein provides essential and non-essential amino acids that are the building blocks of precious lean muscle. In addition, protein takes longer to digest giving one a greater feeling of satiety and preventing hunger pangs.


Diets high in protein are not dangerous. Many claim that high protein diets will strain or damage the kidneys. There has never been one scientific study that has shown that diets high in protein harm the kidneys in any way in healthy individuals. Generally speaking, one gram per pound of body weight is ideal for healthy individuals.


Low calorie diets rarely take into account the effects on hormone levels. When fewer calories are consumed, the body compensates by reducing many of the hormones involved with thyroid function/metabolic rate. Thus, the increasing production of an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase conserves food energy by storing calories as fat.


The thyroid maintains body temperature and produces hormones that usher oxygen into our cells. Raising the body temperature to appropriate levels is important in digesting foods and transporting oxygenated energy into cells.


A resting metabolic rate accounts for the basic functions of the body, from liver function to maintenance of body temperature. Any decrease in these functions will obviously effect caloric expenditure.
Assume a caloric daily burn is 2,000 calories a day (fairly typical for the average woman). This is split as follows:


• 1,300 calories from assumed resting metabolic rate
• 150 calories from assumed thermal effect of food
• 650 calories from assumed non-exercise activity thermogenesis and thermal effect of activity
• Total: 2,000 calories expended


A typical example to lose fat is cutting daily caloric intake to around 1,200 calories. Initially, there is rapid weight loss, especially if dieting is new. However, the body adapts to the new eating pattern in three or four days. As soon as this happens, our thyroid production slows along with other compensating bodily functions. After just seven to ten days, calories expended become 1,805.


In just eight weeks, our body compensates by moving less than before. This movement is not having the same effect on energy expenditure. Different hormonal signals occur--one intentional, voluntary effort, and the other unconscious, involuntary action. The current caloric expenditure has decreased to 1,605 calories.


The professional dieter can have a caloric expenditure as low as 1,330 calories over time. It is essential to keep the thyroid functioning at an optimal level for long-term fat loss.

In addition to understanding the function of the thyroid, the protein hormone leptin plays a crucial role in fat loss. Leptin is released from fat cells in direct correlation to total fat mass. A person with 30% body fat will release twice as much leptin as someone with 15% body fat. When leptin is released, it acts to decrease appetite and increase thermogenesis. Three days of fasting in lean females has produced around a 60 % fall in leptin levels. Carrying a given amount of body fat and consuming a certain amount of calories makes our brain adapt to the amount of leptin created and perceived as normal.


Cutting back on eating and lowering your body fat produces less leptin causing the brain to release fewer neurochemicals that give us a sense of well being. The brain starts to behave much like a drug addict going through withdrawal. Becoming ravenous, and feeling more stressed, anxious, and depressed are signs.


Not all low calorie diets are bad; however, there are some major aspects missing. Below are seven effective tips that may appear simple at first glance but will encourage lifestyle change:


1. Eat every 2-3 hours, no matter what. Eat 5-8 meals per day.
2. Eat complete (containing all the essential amino acids), lean protein with each meal.
3. Eat fruits and/or vegetables with each food meal.
4. Ensure your carbohydrate intake from fruits and vegetables. (Exception: workout and post-workout drinks and meals)
5. Ensure 25-35% of your energy intake is from fat, with the fat intake divided equally between saturates (e.g. animal fat), monounsaturates (e.g., olive oil), and polyunsaturates (e.g. flax oil, salmon oil). Add a fish oil supplement to be sure of an adequate omega 3 intake.
6. Drink only non-calorie containing beverages--the best choices being water and green tea.
7. Eat mostly whole foods (except workout and post-workout drinks).


Calorie counting is not desirable in most cases. There still needs to be a calorie deficit. If one is not already practicing the above-mentioned habits, counting calories is pretty much pointless. Depending on the individual, the above steps may need to be tweaked; however, following these seven tips will most likely insure eating enough calories and keeping the metabolism in check.
Coming from a low calorie diet, it may take the body time to return hormone levels back to normal. I have, personally, seen cases where it has taken ten weeks for the individual’s metabolism to return to normal and see the benefits of introducing more calories. In other words, do not expect miracles in 30 seconds. Changing one’s lifestyle takes time.
Now check yourself and see. Are you eating too much or not enough?

Post Training Nutrition

I recently had someone ask me if they should be eating after training, in short YES!!!

After training your body presents these three factors:

1. Glycogen Stores are low
2. Protein Breakdown is increased
3. Muscle Protein Balance is negative

Glycogen is muscle energy. Low glycogen stores mean that there's less cellular energy for daily life and certainly less energy for subsequent workouts. In this situation, training and performance suffer.

Protein Breakdown indicates that body tissues (which are made of protein) are being degraded. Increases in protein breakdown can lead to losses of muscle mass.

Muscle Protein Balance is regulated by the balance between Protein Synthesis and Protein Breakdown in the following way:

Muscle Protein Balance = Protein Synthesis - Protein Breakdown

Failure to rapidly bring the body back into recovery mode (i.e., to increase glycogen stores, to increase protein synthesis, and to prevent protein breakdown), has severeal potential consequences:

1. Prolonged muscle soreness and fatigue.
2. Poor subsequent performances on the track, field, and/or in the gym.
3. Symptoms of and or full-flegged staleness and overtraining.
4. Minimal gains in muscle mass despite a well-designed training program.
5. Losses of muscle mass and a secondary lowering of metabolic rate can occur if volume and intensity get high enough

So what should I be consuming after a workout? A good starting point would be (depending on goals and type of training):

Consume one meal of 0.8g of carbohydrate and 0.4 g of protein / kg of body weight immediately after training. Another meal should be consumed either 60-90 minutes later or normal eating should be resumed eating every 2-3 hours depeding on the individuals goals.

These products below are quality supplements that will help solve this post training deficit. If you need more information or would like to place an order, contact me.

Cytofuse - A pioneer in post workout nutrition, Cytofuse transports the most advanced whey protein available. Formulated with all of the naturally-occurring growth factors and bioactive peptides, Cytofuse is a potent trigger to promote protein synthesis and glycogen replenishment. Some information on the company can be found HERE

Ultra Peptide 1.0/2.0 - Strictly premium proteins such as pure undenatured low temperature processed micellar casein, cross flow microfiltered whey isolates, and hydrolyzed whey peptides. Also included are a small amount of "functional carbohydrates" which can help to assimilate the amino acids into the body in a great tasting form while maintaining low and stable blood sugar levels. Important to maximize lean tissue growth, strongly enhance your immune system, and dramatically speed up your recovery between workouts.

ICE - Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's) actually have the capability to independently stimulate protein syntheses within the muscles and create an anabolic environment during intense training. They also can tremendously reduce the level of soreness in the days following your workouts therefore dramatically speeding your recovery, which of course is of the utmost importance to the drug-free athlete.

Seven More Keys To Success

1. Lift For Strength - I would say the best thing I did in the past 6 months was to start following a upper/lower split instead of following a "bodybuilding" routine. My outline looks like so:

Monday - Lower Body

Tuesday - Upper Body
Wednesday - Activation Work/Slow Steady Work/Off

Thursday - Lower Body

Friday - Upper Body
Saturday - Kettlebell/Body weight Work
Sunday - Off

To get strong you have to lift for strength. My maximum effort lifts now have a rep scheme of 6x4, 5x5 or 8x3 for most part, depending on the week. You would think putting this much stress on your body lifting up to 90% of your maximum would lead to injury. Keep good form and you'd be surprised what a difference you'd see if you traded that squat from 3x8 to 8x3. Let your nutrition influence your physique and your training influence your strength. After only 16 weeks of switching from a body part split to a lower/upper split I've noticed a huge difference not only my physique but also my strength.

You don't need to follow a "bodybuilders" routine to get big

2. Decreasing Aerobic Work - This was a hard one for me to give a try, let alone actually see it work. Doing less has helped me a great deal. Strength gains are hindered if aerobic work is to heavy. I realized I was putting a lot of effort into aerobic work when I could do something fun like finishing up a workout with pulling a sled or some kettlebell work in interval fashion for example. The thought of running on the treadmill four times a week makes me bored just thinking about it.

3. Adding A Lot Of Single Leg Work - Playing baseball for the past four years at the college level has put some nasty imbalances in my legs. I'm lucky because I throw right and swing left so that has helped keep imbalances from getting to bad but they are still there. My right hip is less mobile compared to my right. The left knee pain I was having I thought was because of catching in college. But when I started incorporating some heavy single leg work the pain started to diminish. I've covered this in a past post, but fix imbalances/mobility issues and most people depending on the situation will see a loss of pain.

4. Working On Weaknesses - I have always had terrible deadlift form. Not because I can't deadlift, mainly because I've never felt comfortable with my technique. After just 16 weeks I took what used to be a 385 lbs deadlift to a 435 lbs deadlift. Sure a lot is thanks to improving mobility in my hips and thoracic vertebrae but I don't know how I went through years of training without a deadlift.

I also had terrible internal rotation (GIRD) in my throwing arms shoulder. Adding both dynamic and static movements to target the posterior capsule helped a bunch. Not only has pain in my shoulder diminished but my lifts (pull-ups, push-ups, rows....) have improved greatly once full mobility was reached.

Loosen up that posterior capsule

5. Getting Away From Program Design When Needed - There are days when you get to the gym and you don't have it. A cookie cutter approach doesn't work. I don't go a week or mini cycle where I don't need some modification in what I planned on doing. No reason beating yourself into the ground on what may not feel good that day. An example would be a deadlift switched to a trap bar deadlift a day where your deadlift doesn't feel up to par.

An somewhat extreme example of this is due to my shoulder I have dropped barbell benching for the past 16 weeks. Push-ups love me. Once I feel my external rotation strength and my internal rotation improves to where I want it I know I'll more then likely see a new personal record in my bench.

Another point that is somewhat along the same lines is it amazes me how in tune you get to your body. The days when I feel that left hip become a little more active than my right in a lift, I can tell. If I can't get that right glute/hip to "wake up" with some activation work it's time to modify and find a new exercise.

6. Incorporating A Deload Week - This the hardest thing I have ever done but plain and simple a deload is where volume is dropped so your body has a chance to recover from the previous 3 weeks. It's hard to stop when you know you have more in you after a lift but this little modification has helped. The intensity is still there but to a point. The weeks after a deload week my mind and body can tell a difference.

7. Nutrition Changes - I've put on 25-30 pounds in a little over 16 weeks. I was on a very low carbohydrate following for a long while and seen great results. When I tried to start putting weight on adding 100-200 grams of carbohydrates to my post workout meal/shake has make a big difference. I'm not as lean as I used to be (which was a hard thing to get over at first!) but I know if I started to cycle my carbohydrate intake a bit I would see a difference within a couple weeks. Again, I'm just amazed how in tune you get to your body not only on the training side but on the nutrition side also.

The pyramid sucks