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METABOLIC CONFUSION AND FAT LOSS
Part 1
For several years, cutting-edge nutritional experts have been discussing the
fat-loss benefits of varying one's daily caloric intake. The concept being
thrown around is that calorie varying will allow you to stay on a diet for a
longer period of time without hitting the dreaded "plateau". A plateau, quite
simply, is a dead-end road in your fat loss journey. It usually occurs when the
body has become too acclimated to a daily caloric deficit, whether it is caused
by under-eating, over-exercising, or both. Once the body experiences a
prolonged caloric deficit, fat loss results usually come to a screeching halt.
This is because the body's natural response to a caloric deficit is to lower
it's metabolic rate in an attempt to save energy. Since anyone trying to lose
body fat obviously wants his or her metabolism to be higher instead of lower,
this causes an immediate problem. However, some experts have suggested that
there is any easy way to break this cycle and establish a
new and higher metabolic rate in the body. They simply suggest that you
increase your calories for one or more days from time to time to re-boost your
metabolism to a higher level. This theory of metabolic re-adjustment has been
lauded by some and criticized by others. I happen to agree with the technique
and the theory behind it, and I've personally used it with great success.
Some people, however, have not had much success with calorie varying, and others
have even found it counter-productive. Why is it not working for everyone?
This is another example of how a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
I've actually seen this technique (when improperly applied) do much more harm
then good. The problem is that this well-intentioned recommendation has led to
sporadic and inconsistent dieting. Let me give an example of where things tend
to go wrong for people.
Let's suppose that you want to lose fat, and you put yourself on a low-calorie
diet. You will no doubt lose some fat initially, but very soon, your fat cells
will hold onto their fatty acids for dear life, refusing to liberate any more
fat for fuel. Your metabolism has adjusted to this low caloric intake and, for
the sake of your "perceived survival", has become quite defiant in your quest
for a six-pack. So you're at a standstill, frustrated yet determined. You're
training hard and dieting strictly, but nothing is happening to your waistline.
Congratulations; you're experiencing a metabolic slowdown.
You feel like you're at the end of your rope, however, you refuse to give up!
You scour the internet for any information that can help you break through your
metabolic plateau. Finally, you come across an article stating that, to escape
the grasp of a metabolic slowdown, all you have to do is simply increase your
calories for a few days to recharge your metabolism. You think, "This is
exactly what I need". Or is it? You double your calories for the next several
days, and, wonder of wonders, you gain fat. What went wrong? Was the article a
bunch of nonsense? Is calorie varying a total waste of time? Do you want throw
your hands in the air, give up completely, and eat a pizza? This, my friends,
is where metabolic confusion was born.
Let me explain where this hypothetical person went wrong. Now, if you were on a
low-calorie diet, and all of a sudden, if you were to splurge for a weekend and
dramatically increase your caloric intake, do you think that this will just
speed up your metabolism and you'll immediately start losing fat? Or will your
"starving body" see this as an opportunity to store some fat from this calorie
surplus to save up for a "rainy day"? I'm sure you can guess the answer! The
problem is that, more often then not, if a diet contains variances in caloric
intake that are too extreme, the body will undoubtedly lay down fat tissue.
To better understand this, let's use my client Chris as an example. He came
into see me six months ago. Chris had been stuck at 218 lbs for four weeks and
was clearly desperate. He was 34 years old, weighed 218 pounds, and based on
body fat analysis; we determined that he had approximately 30 pounds of fat to
lose. I immediately knew where Chris had gone wrong once I took a look at his
well-kept training and nutritional diary. He had eaten a substantially
different caloric intake every day. He did this by design, in his words, to
"shock his metabolism every day". I'll show you one week of his caloric intake.
The prior 4 years approximately: 3600 calories
Monday: 1400 calories
Tuesday: 3130 calories
Wednesday: 1148 calories (now wonder why he's stuck!)
Thursday: 3026 calories
Friday: 1308 calories
Saturday: 3306 calories
Sunday: 1227 calories
As you can see, before Chris had started to become conscious about fat loss, he
had been eating approximately 3600 calories per day. This was the caloric
intake that his metabolism had adjusted to before he began dieting. Then, after
years of contemplation, he finally decided that the 40-inch waistline was not
working for him anymore. He woke up on a particular Monday; feeling more
motivated than ever, and began his fat loss journey with an intake of just 1400
calories and a vigorous workout program. Then, on Tuesday, he changed things up
and ate around 3000 calories. He kept eating this way and working out for
months, and for the first 8 weeks, it seemed to work like a charm. He felt
better, he lost fat, and his appearance improved. However, after about 8 weeks,
Chris hit the wall. He peaked at 218 lbs, and couldn't lose another ounce. For
the next month or two, Chris' weight fluctuated between 218 and 220, but
basically, he was completely stuck. That's when he met
me.
Chris' basic problem is that his caloric varying was too drastic. With wide
variances like Chris had used, his body never "knew" what his baseline caloric
intake is. Does his body recognize the 1400-calorie day or the 3300-calorie day
as his baseline? Perhaps it's an average of the two. Metabolic confusion
should start to become more and more clear to you.
With his initial caloric reduction and increase in physical activity, his body
initially gave up some fat for fuel, for certain. After all, he had just
reduced his calories by more than 50% below his baseline. So some fat loss
would be expected. However, as he lost some fat (along with water and lean
muscle tissue due to the severe drop in calories), his body metabolism
undoubtedly plummeted over the month or two that followed, as his body suddenly
found itself in the unfamiliar position of having to scrounge for energy every
other day. Finally, his metabolism had dropped sufficiently that he simply
couldn't lose any more fat.
My solution to Chris' problem was basically to use his own philosophy, which I
actually like, but with some logic and moderation. First, however, I had to
re-set his baseline metabolic rate. So I put Chris on what I like to call a
"pre-diet" diet. I simply took Chris' average caloric intake per day, which was
around 2100. I then had him eat 2100 calories EVERY day consistently for one
week. The following week, I increased his intake to 2400 calories every day. I
continued increasing his daily caloric intake each week until he was at about
2800 calories per day. He did not gain any fat during this time, because his
metabolism was steadily increasing as his calories were increasing. The
increased caloric intake and consistency of this pre-diet helped set up Chris'
body to be more responsive to the diet that was to follow.
After this initial pre-diet phase, the real diet began. And that's when Chris
finally achieved the fat-loss results that had eluded him for so long. Do you
want to learn the specifics of the diet I designed for Chris? Then tune in for
part two as I spill the beans! Until then, I encourage each one of you to be
conscious of your diet this week. Try to take note of your own caloric intake.
Is it consistent? Does it fluctuate? If so, by how much? I'm not asking you
to change anything yet. Just try to take a closer look at your diet, and the
caloric fluctuations (if there are any) that your body undergoes from day to
day.
John Alvino
Part 1
For several years, cutting-edge nutritional experts have been discussing the
fat-loss benefits of varying one's daily caloric intake. The concept being
thrown around is that calorie varying will allow you to stay on a diet for a
longer period of time without hitting the dreaded "plateau". A plateau, quite
simply, is a dead-end road in your fat loss journey. It usually occurs when the
body has become too acclimated to a daily caloric deficit, whether it is caused
by under-eating, over-exercising, or both. Once the body experiences a
prolonged caloric deficit, fat loss results usually come to a screeching halt.
This is because the body's natural response to a caloric deficit is to lower
it's metabolic rate in an attempt to save energy. Since anyone trying to lose
body fat obviously wants his or her metabolism to be higher instead of lower,
this causes an immediate problem. However, some experts have suggested that
there is any easy way to break this cycle and establish a
new and higher metabolic rate in the body. They simply suggest that you
increase your calories for one or more days from time to time to re-boost your
metabolism to a higher level. This theory of metabolic re-adjustment has been
lauded by some and criticized by others. I happen to agree with the technique
and the theory behind it, and I've personally used it with great success.
Some people, however, have not had much success with calorie varying, and others
have even found it counter-productive. Why is it not working for everyone?
This is another example of how a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
I've actually seen this technique (when improperly applied) do much more harm
then good. The problem is that this well-intentioned recommendation has led to
sporadic and inconsistent dieting. Let me give an example of where things tend
to go wrong for people.
Let's suppose that you want to lose fat, and you put yourself on a low-calorie
diet. You will no doubt lose some fat initially, but very soon, your fat cells
will hold onto their fatty acids for dear life, refusing to liberate any more
fat for fuel. Your metabolism has adjusted to this low caloric intake and, for
the sake of your "perceived survival", has become quite defiant in your quest
for a six-pack. So you're at a standstill, frustrated yet determined. You're
training hard and dieting strictly, but nothing is happening to your waistline.
Congratulations; you're experiencing a metabolic slowdown.
You feel like you're at the end of your rope, however, you refuse to give up!
You scour the internet for any information that can help you break through your
metabolic plateau. Finally, you come across an article stating that, to escape
the grasp of a metabolic slowdown, all you have to do is simply increase your
calories for a few days to recharge your metabolism. You think, "This is
exactly what I need". Or is it? You double your calories for the next several
days, and, wonder of wonders, you gain fat. What went wrong? Was the article a
bunch of nonsense? Is calorie varying a total waste of time? Do you want throw
your hands in the air, give up completely, and eat a pizza? This, my friends,
is where metabolic confusion was born.
Let me explain where this hypothetical person went wrong. Now, if you were on a
low-calorie diet, and all of a sudden, if you were to splurge for a weekend and
dramatically increase your caloric intake, do you think that this will just
speed up your metabolism and you'll immediately start losing fat? Or will your
"starving body" see this as an opportunity to store some fat from this calorie
surplus to save up for a "rainy day"? I'm sure you can guess the answer! The
problem is that, more often then not, if a diet contains variances in caloric
intake that are too extreme, the body will undoubtedly lay down fat tissue.
To better understand this, let's use my client Chris as an example. He came
into see me six months ago. Chris had been stuck at 218 lbs for four weeks and
was clearly desperate. He was 34 years old, weighed 218 pounds, and based on
body fat analysis; we determined that he had approximately 30 pounds of fat to
lose. I immediately knew where Chris had gone wrong once I took a look at his
well-kept training and nutritional diary. He had eaten a substantially
different caloric intake every day. He did this by design, in his words, to
"shock his metabolism every day". I'll show you one week of his caloric intake.
The prior 4 years approximately: 3600 calories
Monday: 1400 calories
Tuesday: 3130 calories
Wednesday: 1148 calories (now wonder why he's stuck!)
Thursday: 3026 calories
Friday: 1308 calories
Saturday: 3306 calories
Sunday: 1227 calories
As you can see, before Chris had started to become conscious about fat loss, he
had been eating approximately 3600 calories per day. This was the caloric
intake that his metabolism had adjusted to before he began dieting. Then, after
years of contemplation, he finally decided that the 40-inch waistline was not
working for him anymore. He woke up on a particular Monday; feeling more
motivated than ever, and began his fat loss journey with an intake of just 1400
calories and a vigorous workout program. Then, on Tuesday, he changed things up
and ate around 3000 calories. He kept eating this way and working out for
months, and for the first 8 weeks, it seemed to work like a charm. He felt
better, he lost fat, and his appearance improved. However, after about 8 weeks,
Chris hit the wall. He peaked at 218 lbs, and couldn't lose another ounce. For
the next month or two, Chris' weight fluctuated between 218 and 220, but
basically, he was completely stuck. That's when he met
me.
Chris' basic problem is that his caloric varying was too drastic. With wide
variances like Chris had used, his body never "knew" what his baseline caloric
intake is. Does his body recognize the 1400-calorie day or the 3300-calorie day
as his baseline? Perhaps it's an average of the two. Metabolic confusion
should start to become more and more clear to you.
With his initial caloric reduction and increase in physical activity, his body
initially gave up some fat for fuel, for certain. After all, he had just
reduced his calories by more than 50% below his baseline. So some fat loss
would be expected. However, as he lost some fat (along with water and lean
muscle tissue due to the severe drop in calories), his body metabolism
undoubtedly plummeted over the month or two that followed, as his body suddenly
found itself in the unfamiliar position of having to scrounge for energy every
other day. Finally, his metabolism had dropped sufficiently that he simply
couldn't lose any more fat.
My solution to Chris' problem was basically to use his own philosophy, which I
actually like, but with some logic and moderation. First, however, I had to
re-set his baseline metabolic rate. So I put Chris on what I like to call a
"pre-diet" diet. I simply took Chris' average caloric intake per day, which was
around 2100. I then had him eat 2100 calories EVERY day consistently for one
week. The following week, I increased his intake to 2400 calories every day. I
continued increasing his daily caloric intake each week until he was at about
2800 calories per day. He did not gain any fat during this time, because his
metabolism was steadily increasing as his calories were increasing. The
increased caloric intake and consistency of this pre-diet helped set up Chris'
body to be more responsive to the diet that was to follow.
After this initial pre-diet phase, the real diet began. And that's when Chris
finally achieved the fat-loss results that had eluded him for so long. Do you
want to learn the specifics of the diet I designed for Chris? Then tune in for
part two as I spill the beans! Until then, I encourage each one of you to be
conscious of your diet this week. Try to take note of your own caloric intake.
Is it consistent? Does it fluctuate? If so, by how much? I'm not asking you
to change anything yet. Just try to take a closer look at your diet, and the
caloric fluctuations (if there are any) that your body undergoes from day to
day.
John Alvino
