Input on Your Output

In dealing with people who desperately want to lose weight and fat on a daily basis, I continually get the impression people either do not understand or choose to ignore the basics of metabolism. I realize I've posted on this and related topics over and over again on this blog, but I'm a big believer in reinforcing the basics, and, based on the questions I get over and over again, there is a need for this.

Let's take a look at the components of your metabolism and how you expend energy:

1.  Your Basal or Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): this is the number of calories used by your body each day at rest and represents an astounding 70% of your total calorie expenditure. It might be hard to believe, but even if you simply sat on the floor all day long, your body would still burn a certain number of calories in order for it to function (the energy used to keep your heart beating, respiration, release of hormones, cellular processes, etc.). An easy-although inexact- way to estimate your basal metabolic rate is to multiply your current body weight by 12.

2.  Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)/General Movement: any muscle contraction in the body burns calories. Getting up and down out of a chair, putting groceries away, opening doors, climbing stairs, etc. all burn calories. Obviously, some people receive more general physical activity per day than others. A construction worker doing manual labor all day long will obviously burn more calories through general physical activity than a white-collar worker who sits at a desk all day.

3.  Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT)/Structured Exercise: exercise and the "stuff" you do while training with me is physical activity, but it is structured, and the rate of energy expenditure per minute of activity is much greater than the general activity listed above. This type of activity also helps to maintain lean muscle mass, which is important for preventing a decline in resting metabolism (discussed above) as we age. Finally, consistent EAT improves various components of fitness and performance: muscular strength, conditioning, mobility, flexibility, injury prevention, etc. 

4.  The Thermic Effect of Feeding (TEF): quite simply, this is the number of calories your body uses in order to process and assimilate the food you eat, and actually represents about 10% of the calories your body uses daily (assuming a mixed diet). The TEF value of protein is 20-25%, the TEF value of carbohydrates is 5% and the TEF value of fat 2-3%. So, if you eat 100 calories worth of pure protein, you’ll only absorb 75-80 of those calories. If you eat 100 calories of pure carbohydrate, you’ll absorb 95 of those calories, and, if you eat 100 calories worth of pure fat, you’ll absorb 97-98 of those calories. It becomes obvious eating a diet higher in protein is a great way to increase the thermic effect of feeding, meaning you’ll expend more energy through processing and end up “netting” fewer of those calories.

Take a look at the above again...where do you fall short and what areas can you manipulate to improve your weight/fat loss efforts?? Here are my suggestions for improving each of the 4 areas above:

1. RMR: strength train. If you want to prevent a decline in your RMR, lift some weight. If you put a consistent mechanical stress and overload on all of your major muscle structures, you'll be able to offset the age related loss of lean muscle tissue. If is important the weight you lift challenges you: lifting very light weights will not stress the higher threshold muscle fibers (type II fibers).

If you begin to lose muscle tissue as you age (and you will if you don't do something about it), your RMR will slow down. For every pound of muscle you lose, you will expend 6 fewer calories daily. Let's say you lose 5 lbs. of muscle from age 30-40. That's 30 less calories per day you are expending. 30 calories per day X 365 days/year=10950 calories. That's 3 lbs. worth of calories. If you've heard the phrase "creeping weight gain", this is what we are are talking about. I often hear folks past age 30 tell me "I'm not eating anymore than I used to but I'm still picking up weight". They are telling me the truth: their input probably hasn't changed, but their output has because they are losing muscle.

2. NEAT: move more on a daily basis. We've all heard the advice to take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away at the grocery store, etc. I used to laugh at this advice. I don't anymore.

I'm telling you, adding in just more, low intensity general movement whenever possible can really, really add up. There was an article in last month's issue of Men's Health magazine which highlighted the importance of NEAT. It can actually have a bigger impact in terms of calorie expenditure than running 20+ miles/week. The key is to consciously move more, fidget more, etc. Go out for more walks. Cut your own lawn if you are not already. Get a dog. Play with your kids. Intentionally park further away when you go to the store...all this stuff.

3. EAT: get in more structured workouts. In addition to burning more calories and directly impacting RMR, assuming the program is sound, you are going to get stronger, get in better condition, move better and pain free, prevent injuries, relieve stress etc.

4. TEF: change the composition of your diet in favor of more protein. As noted above, protein has the highest TEF value. By simply rearranging the percentage of protein, carb and fat in your diet, you can make a positive impact. NOW, it's important you understand I said rearrange the the composition of the diet...NOT add in more protein (calories) on top of what you are already eating.

So, there you have it...a crash course in metabolism and how to manipulate if for better weight/fat loss. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.