Cheat to Lose?When Bad Foods Help Good People

Energy Balance

1 lbs of fat = 3500 kcal

Expenditure

Basal metabolism Activity Digestion

Input

FAT 9 kcal/g CHO 4 kcal/g PRO 4 kcal/g Alcohol 7 kcal/g

Your Metabolism Is Smarter Than You Are

Sullivan EL & Cameron JL. (2010). Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol

Energy Has to Balance Here…

Calories Matter… But You Can’t Measure Them!

Conventional Dieting

Diet + Exercise > Diet Alone

Ballor, D.L., Katch, V.L., Becque, M.D., Marks, C.R., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 47(1): 19-25, 1988.

Avoiding the Metabolism Slow Down1. Exercise: Train Hard

• Weight training (particularly when restricting calories)• Protects lean mass

• High intensity interval training• Had greater impact on caloric expenditure post-exercise

• Is there anything else we can do to protect metabolism?

• Of course there is…

Metabolism Protection Through Dieting…

1. Leucine (an amino acid) stimulates muscle synthesis2. Complete proteins are generally more difficult to metabolize (i.e. break down and use for fuel)

• They cause us to become more inefficient• This is a good thing!

Functions of Protein

1. Muscle repair & growth• stronger

2. Immune system function• healthier

3. Appetite regulation• Superior weight loss?

The Evidence

16 weeks: 2 resistance training workouts, 5 days walking

• Same total energy & fat intake

• High Protein group• 1.6 g protein/kg body weight• < 1.5:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio

• Low Protein group• 0.8 g protein/kg body weight• > 3.5 :1 carbohydrate to protein ratio

Individual weighing 70 kg• 112 g protein• ~170 g carbohydrate

Individual weighing 70 kg• 56 g protein• ~200 g carbohydrate

The Result

• Changes in relative body fatness (%Fat) for adult women after 16 wk of consuming reduced-energy diets with a ratio of carbohydrates:protein > 3.5 (CHO) or < 1.5 (PRO) with or without a supervised exercise program (EX: 5 d/wk walking and 2 d/wk resistance training).

Protein and Digestion

• Thermic effect of food• Energy cost to digestion

Energy Cost to Digestion

• Fat• 1-3% meal energy digestion

• Carbohydrates• 3-7% meal energy digestion

• Protein• 20-25% meal energy digestion

Protein Target for Appetite Control• Step 1: Establish protein needs

• For basic health: 0.8 g/kg• Maintain a lean, muscular physique: 1.5-2.2 g/kg

• 90 kg individual (198 lbs)• 90 kg x 1.5-2.2 g/kg = 135 – 198 g/day

• Spaced over 3-6 feedings

Protein Meal Plan

• Breakfast: 2 eggs + 1 cup egg white (36 g)• Snack: Protein bar (30 g)• Lunch: Canned tuna + salad (30 g)• Training shake: (25 g)• Dinner: Chicken breast (25 g)

• Daily total: 146 g (not counting vegetable protein)

Protein Sources

10-15 grams 15-25 grams 25-40 grams

1 ½ cups milk 1 can mini tuna 1 can salmon

2 slices deli meat 1 cup egg whites 1 scoop protein power

2 eggs 1 filet white fish 1 high protein bar

1 cup legumes 1 can sardines 4 oz steak/pork/lamb

½ cup tofu 3 turkey pepperonettes 1 cup cottage cheese

3 pieces turkey bacon

1 cup yogourt

50 almonds

3 tbsp peanut butter

Higher Protein Diets Summary1. Requires energy to digest the food we eat

• Protein is by far the most difficult macronutrient to digest

2. Fewer calories available to use for fat storage• A good thing!

3. Protein helps protects lean mass when calorie intake is low• Pair with resistance training… best effects!

Avoiding Weight Loss Plateaus

Fat Loss = A Hormone Problem

• Takes several days of low-energy dieting for Leptin levels to fall!

• Body fat is designed to regulate itself!!• Humans are not optimized for weight loss• Obesity no longer just a disorder of simple caloric excess• Fat incredibly metabolically active

• Leptin, estrogen

What Hormones Should Look Like

Why Weight Loss Progress Stalls

• Cortisol• Stress hormone

• Leptin• controls satiety

• Ghrelin• Sparks hunger

• Thyroid• Controls metabolic rate

Diet Evidence from Last Time

• Low Carb• Generally more effective for

weight loss (short-term)• Needed to consider individual

differences though…• Why doesn’t low-carb work

forever?

Nelson MD et al. (2010).

If Low Carbs Work Better For Weight Loss, Why Not Just Avoid Carbs All The Time?

Carbohydrates, Blood Sugar & Insulin • Carbohydrate based foods can lead to significant swings in

blood sugar• In response, our bodies secret insulin (a storage hormone) to

help dispose of the sugar• As glycogen or new fat

• When insulin is circulating, fat oxidation is suppressed• i.e. when sugar readily available in the blood, no need to burn

stored body fat for energy

Any wonder frequent high-carb meals don’t lead to as much fat loss for many people??

Insulin and Fat Oxidation

• So let me gets this straight, regular insulin pulses (as a result of high carb meals), is going to turn off my rate of fat burning?

Yes

But…• Isn’t insulin one of the most potent anabolic

hormones that helps build/maintain lean mass

Also Yes

Carbohydrates also have very positive effects on leptin and thyroid hormones as well…

Putting Both Approaches Into Action• Low Carbohydrate Diets

• In general, produce quicker and more substantial weight loss than higher-carbohydrate diets

• Bad Side• Negatively impact muscle building hormones (insulin)• Leptin drops quickly

• metabolic slow-down

Putting Both Approaches Into Action• High Carbohydrate Diets

• In general, not as effective for weight loss, but lead to superior training results

• Necessary for optimizing certain hormones

• Bad Side• Store more weight/fat than necessary

• Too many insulin swings• Easy to overindulge, particularly refined carbohydrates

The Solution?

• Carb-Cycle• Periodically introduce very-high carbohydrate days in a

low-carbohydrate diet• i.e. 5-6 days low-carb, 1-2 days high carb

• High-carb days maintain good insulin/leptin response

• Low-carb days provide regular fat loss

Strategic Cheating Guidelines

1. Rewards meals are NOT• an excuse to stuff your face• a signal to fall off the wagon• To be used “daily”

2. Cheating must be earned via good behaviour• The best diets have about 90% rates

• This means if you regularly aim to eat 5 meals a day (35 meals a week), you have leeway to indulge 2-3x

Types of Re-Feeds

• Infrequent, big re-feeds• Higher carbohydrate intake every 1-2 weeks during a

lower carbohydrate intake phase• Caloric goal: 3-3.5x ‘diet’ calorie level

• Frequent, moderate re-feeds• Higher carbohydrate intake every 3-4 days during a

lower carbohydrate intake phase• Caloric goal: increase CHO by 150-250 g/day

Carb Targets for Better Results• Carbohydrates have the ability to be uniquely

fattening… as well as potent muscle builders– Blame the insulin response

• Fat Loss: 1 – 1.5 g/kg bodyweight• 90 – 135 g carbs per day

• Muscle gain: 2 – 4 g/kg bodyweight• 180 – 360 g/day• N.B. “Hard gainers” may need even more!

Hypothetical Carb Cycle

Carbs in the Real World10-20 grams 20-35 grams 35-50 grams

1 apple 1 slice bread 1 cup dry cereal

1 pear ½ bagel 1 cup cooked rice

1 cup milk 1 banana 1 cup cooked pasta

1 cup berries 1 medium sweet potato 1 medium baked potato

2 bottles beer 1 cob corn 1 cup cooked oatmeal

1 cup grapes 1 cup fruit juice

1 cup soda

What is a Serving of Carbs?

Figuring Out Fat Intake

• Decide on your goal and eat accordingly

• i.e. 2000 kcal as a weight loss goal (90 kg, 35 yr, 1.74 m tall)

• 198 g protein x 4 kcal = 792 kcal• 130 g carbs x 4 kcal = 520 kcal • 792 + 520 = 1312 kcal• 2000 kcal – 1312 kcal = 688

• 688 kcal/9 kcal/g = 76 g

• Fat intake should be about 75 g for this person

– Set your protein and carbohydrate targets first, then have fat intake fill in the balance

Navigating the Holidays with Refeeds

Carb-cycle Pros and Cons• Pros

1. Carb cycling may help control leptin and ghrelin levels2. Carb cycling can maximize glycogen stores and improve

workouts during a low calorie period3. Dieting is easier if we know we are still allowed our

‘comfort foods’

• Cons1. With a lower carbohydrate intake, fiber intake will also

be lower2. Re-feed ≠ free access to buffet