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…
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
Down
1. 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 synthesis
2.
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 Summary
1. 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
• 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
• Takes several days of
low-energy dieting for
Leptin levels to fall!
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 World
10-20 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 levels
2. Carb cycling can maximize glycogen stores and improve
workouts during a low calorie period
3. Dieting is easier if we know we are still allowed our
‘comfort foods’
• Cons
1. With a lower carbohydrate intake, fiber intake will also
be lower
2. Re-feed ≠ free access to buffet