LEVEL 1 - ENERGY BALANCE (Part 4) Metabolic Magic Flashcards
How can the difference in energy balance create strange scenarios?
“Because of the difference in the energy value of fat and muscle (and glycogen for that matter), in some cases strange things can happen. For example, gaining a small amount of weight in a deficit, losing small amounts of fat in a surplus, or even gaining small amounts of fat in a deficit are all technically possible because of the differences in the water and energy contents of di erent tissues of the body.”
What is the amount of energy your body liberates from 1 lb of pure body fat by burning it to “replace” an energy deficit?
4270 Kcals
What is adipose tissue composed of?
Mostly of pure fat, but also contains water and some minerals.
How many calories are necessary to gain a lb of muscle?
Muscle mass is in large part water, and on top of that, protein (which is what muscle is made of) has less than half the energy per gram than fat does (~4 kcals/g vs ~9 kcals/g, more on this to come next level). Thus, to gain a pound (~0.5 kg) of muscle requires ~830 kcals to be “deposited” in the body (only ~1/5th the energy content of pure body fat).
What are some instances where Metabolic magic can occur?
Gaining muscle in a calorie deficit, losing fat in a calorie surplus.
Explain the study where participants gained weight at a calorie deficit?
One of the groups in this study gained 1.3 lbs (0.6 kg) of bodyweight on average after 16 weeks. To get to this change in weight, they lost 2.4 lbs (1.1 kg) of fat mass, while gaining 3.7 lbs (1.7 kg) of muscle mass on average. So, they must have been in a surplus because of the gain in bodyweight right? Believe it or not they were actually in a de cit of about ~65 kcals per day!
How is this possible and how can I know that? Well, the amount of energy your body liberates from 1 lb (~0.5 kg) of pure body fat by burning it to “replace” an energy de cit is ~4270 kcals. Likewise, if you are in a surplus of ~4270 kcals and you generate no lean body mass and only fat, that will result in the gain of 1 lb (~0.5 kg) of pure body fat. I know you’re wondering “Why isn’t the value 3500 kcals?” Well in this case, that is because 3500 kcals is the value of 1 lb (~0.5 kg) of adipose tissue, which is comprised mostly of pure fat, but also contains water and some minerals. When tracking bodyweight changes at home, the “3500 calorie rule” is a good estimation tool, but lab measurements track changes in pure body fat rather than adipose tissue, and a pound of pure bodyfat therefore has a higher energy content.
Changes in lean mass however carry a much smaller energy value. When using a body composition measuring device such as a DEXA scanner, lean mass changes include their respective water contents (and in a 2 compartment model, measuring only fat mass and fat-free mass, water is considered fat-free mass). As I previously mentioned, muscle mass is in large part water, and on top of that, protein (which is what muscle is made of) has less than half the energy per gram than fat does (~4 kcals/g vs ~9 kcals/g, more on this to come next level). Thus, to gain a pound (~0.5 kg) of muscle requires ~830 kcals to be “deposited” in the body (only ~1/5th the energy content of pure body fat).
So what that means is that despite gaining 1.3 lbs (0.6 kg) of total weight, the subjects were in a net de cit of 7300 kcals over the course of the study as it requires a surplus of only ~3100 kcals to build 3.7 lbs (1.7 kg) of muscle while a loss of 2.4 lbs (1.1 kg) of fat meant a ~10400 kcals energy de cit was “replaced” by burning body fat (10400 kcals –3100 kcals = -7300 kcals). Meaning over the 16 weeks (112 days) of being observed, the participants gained weight while being in a ~65 kcals daily de cit (-7300 kcals divided by 112 days is 65 kcals/day)!
Granted, this is an extreme example. Overweight individuals can lose fat at a rapid pace because there is more of it to mobilize, people who are untrained make rapid gains in lean mass, and age-related muscle atrophy is essentially detraining; and detrained lifters make rapid progress when performing resistance training until they get back to baseline. Thus, in rare situations like this it is in fact possible to gain weight in a deficit because there are less calories in the same weight of muscle tissue (due to the water content and energy density) compared to fat tissue. Thus, the total weight of hydrated muscle gained can be greater than the weight of body fat lost, and because the energy value of the total fat lost is greater than the muscle gained, weight gain can actually occur in a deficit.
Explain the study where participants lost fat while on a calorie surplus?
If someone well trained ceased training all together, was bed ridden due to injury, and started eating a low-protein diet in a slight de cit, conceivably over time they could gain a small amount of fat while making up for the de cit primarily by metabolizing large amounts of lost lean mass for energy. It would not be unrealistic in this scenario for a lifter to lose say 13 lbs (~6 kg) of muscle and gain 2 lbs (~0.9 kg) of fat over a 16 week period. If this occurred, the hypothetical individual would have actually been in a small de cit on a day to day basis despite the slight gain in body fat.
Why is dedicated periods to weight gain/loss better than doing both at the same time?
Having dedicate periods to either lose or gain weight are recommended because they occur at a faster rate than attempting to both gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.
What is the main difference between dieting for muscle gain or fat loss?
The rate of weight gain should be slower to avoid gaining excessive body fat, you don’t need to enforce this caloric increase every day. Calories can vary between days, but this needs to be your average caloric increase from maintenance on a day to day basis over time.
Give an example of a chart for gain weight at different training ages.
What if you are not losing or gaining weight at a targeted pace?
If you are not gaining weight or losing weight at the targeted pace, you can adjust your intake based on the “3500 calorie rule” to reach your target. Having this first level under control is honestly about 70 to 80% of the battle when it comes to getting your diet in check. The subsequent pieces of The Pyramid combined will make up the rest.
