How Calories Work

In my previous post, I stated that you need a deficit of 3500 calories in order to burn 1lb of fat. However the issue of weight loss is a little more complicated than a simple math equation. Also all weight loss does not equate to "fat loss". The food you eat are going to account for 85% of your weight loss effort at least. In order for you to be successful on this journey, you must pay attention to what you eat, how much you eat, and how often you eat. Despite what most people think, cutting calories across the board does not lead to long term weight loss and in fact will most likely lead to even more weight gain over a long period. So how do calories work and how can you get them to work for you?

   Calories basically come from 3 things: Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fat. Your body needs all 3 of these things to survive and maintain good health. Each of these 3 items are what nutritionist call "macro nutrients". Each of these macro-nutrients break down into different types of sub nutrients which I wont go into detail in this blog, but there are general rules regarding these what will help you to begin burning fat when applied properly. 

Protein: Calories from protein are the most difficult type of calories for your body to absorb. for every 100 calories of protein you eat, your body expends roughly 15 calories to try to absorb it. This means that you only net 85 calories for every 100 calories eaten of protein. The other good thing about protein, is that unlike simple carbohydrates that spike your blood sugar and lead to fat storage, protein leads to what is called "muscle synthesis" which is the repair process your muscles go through that makes them stronger and bigger. Since your body has to burn a lot more calories to maintain muscle than it does fat, you are increasing your natural metabolic rate by eating high protein foods. You need to eat protein every chance you get. The average person should eat between .5g-1g of protein per pound of target weight. This means that if your target weight is 160lb. You need to be eating between 80-160g of protein a day. Increasing the amount of protein in your diet will help you stay satiated longer because of the longer digestive process, but it will also help you maintain more fat burning muscle which will increase caloric burn and help the fat stay off once its gone.

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are probably one of the most misunderstood macro nutrients. The fact is your body needs carbohydrates for energy. The problem with our society now is that we overindulge in processed foods that contain large amounts of simple sugars (carbohydrates) and we end up taking in a disproportionate amount of carbohydrates than our body needs for energy. The result is extra stored fat. The key to dealing with carbohydrates is to let nature handle it. In other words, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits  should be your primary source of carbohydrates. The reason why is because these carbohydrates are more nutrient dense and complex then their refined counterparts. Swap out all of your white breads for 100% whole wheat. Swap out your white rice for brown rice, and swap out your crackers for something like Trisquits and what you will find is that you are almost tripling your fiber and cutting in half the amount of sugar you are taking in. The enhanced amount of fiber can cut the calorie absorption by 15%. The decreased blood sugar spike from eating these more complex carbohydrates will also slow down and reduce the amount of fat storage. You will also recieve greater gains on the treadmill during your workouts. If done right, carbohydrates will actually fight against your fat instead of adding to it.

Fats: So lets go ahead and get this out of the way, FATS ARE GOOD FOR YOU! Like carbohydrates, fats are often misunderstood, but they are extremely important when it comes to cholesterol and heart health. While the smallest percentage of your diet should still come from fats, you should maximize the fats you do eat by eating the healthy ones. Fat breaks down into 3 types: saturated, mono-saturated, and poly-saturated. The key is to focus on getting most of your fats from mono and poly saturated sources. Healthy lean meats like salmon as well as nuts are good sources of these fats. Butter (in moderation) is also another good source of fat. Fats absorb into your body the easiest of all the macro nutrients so you do want to limit how many calories come from fat, but if you focus on getting fats from lean meats and nuts, you will increase your heart health, joint health, and many other aspects of your bodily functions that may have been lacking before when the majority of your fat was coming from saturated fat.

Understanding these macro nutrients and how they interact with your body is important to making good food decisions when you are in the grocery store or at restaurants. Even without exercise, effectively combining these foods will work extremely well towards helping you lose extra pounds and keeping them off.