You should now all know that you need to eat less calories than your burning in order to loose weight. You should also know that the 3 main nutrients (in no particular order) and their calorie value per gram are as follows:
Protein: 4 calories/g
Carbohydrate: 4 calories/g
Fat: 9 calories/g
Now it's the protein that I want you to take a particular interest in. Protein has the highest thermic effect out off all the above macro-nutrients. So why should you care? Protein takes the most calories to digest out of any nutrient. So while a gram of protein pre-digestion may have a caloric value of 4 per gram, due to the energy required for the body to digest that gram of protein that gram isn't 4 calories at all, its closer to 2.5-3.
Doesn't sound like much does it? Let me put it in perspective.
Lets take a common breakfast meal bacon and eggs on toast
(The numbers are rough estimates so you can merely understand the concept and may not be the true calorie value)
4 whole eggs: 30g protein, 15g fat, 0g carb
5 medium pieces of bacon: 50g Protein 25g fat 0g carb
2 slices of wholemeal toast: 5 grams protein, 0g fat 30g carb
Now due to the fact that protein=4cals/g carbs=4cals/g and fat =9cals/g the above would be added up as follows:
Eggs: 30x4+15x9=255 cals
bacon: 50x4+25x9=425 cals
toast: 5x4+30x4+140 cals
Total: 255+425+140=820
Now if we take into account that proteins actual calorie value is between 2.5 and 3 cals/g theres a difference in total calorie value. To make it fair I'll use the number 2.7 as its in between the above bracket. Here are the new calculations.
Eggs: 30x2.7+15x9= 216 cals
bacon: 50x2.7+25x9= 360 cals
toast: 5x2.7+30x4=133.5 (rounded to 134)cals
Total: 216+360+134=710
As you can see there is a overall difference of 110 calories between the two. Now lets say you had this meal 3 times a day (breakie lunch and dinner) along with 3 snacks for a total of 6 meals eaten every 3 hours. That would mean that, even for someone who has calculated the exact amounts of macro-nutrients down to the decimal point, due to the fact they haven't factored in metabolic digestion they have actually encountered a 330 calorie deficit (110x3 of the above meals). And that's not including the snacks either! So that number could potentially be 500+ calories that the individual has failed to account for!
So how does this affect you? It can be both a positive and a negative thing depending on whether you are bulking or cutting.
Bulking: You should all know now that to gain eight you should have a caloric surplus, meaning you are consuming more calories through food than you are expending through physical activity and daily bodily function. When your bulking you will have a perceived calculation of what your total calorie intake may be. So here's a hypothetical: (again these numbers are a rough estimate and not necessarily based on the actual number of required daily calories so don't apply the following to yourself just because you are a similar weight, actually find out for yourself) lets say a motivated bloke keen on looking the part weighs 90kgs. In order for him to maintain that 90 kg bodyweight he needs to eat 3000 calories a day. This same bloke has a goal to gain 5 kgs in order to reach 95 kgs. In order for him to achieve his weight-gain goal he must achieve a caloric surplus. As a result he raises his calories from 3000 a day to 3500 a day for 6 weeks in order to reach his goal. Now this guys very motivated to achieve his goal so hes educated himself a little on nutrition so hes very precise about what he eats and more importantly the macro-nutrient breakdown of each meal. So he's gone and calculated every gram of Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate hes consuming in this caloric surplus. Lets say that he was actually eating the bacon and eggs on toast meal FOUR times a day with 3 snacks. Now when you apply the fact that protein is actually around 2.8 cals/g not 4 cals/g that extra 500 calories (from 3000-3500), fundamental in achieving his goal of 95kg body weight, now diminishes by 440 (remember how there was an 110 total calorie difference in the meal explained earlier, just times that by the number of times this blokes consuming that meal, 110x4=440). So now that 500 calorie surplus is a 60 calorie surplus (500-440). Now when you factor in those 3 snacks hes having. Your 500 surplus could potentially be back to only maintenance level, in other words you wont gain any weight whatsoever!!!! All because of one little fact that you didn't account for! The solution? When on a caloric surplus still consume high amounts of protein but increase your quality carb intake at breakie peri-workout (before after and during workouts) and lunch.
Cutting: For cutting the fact that protein=between 2.5-3cals/g as opposed to 4cals/g is highly beneficial. As established in the bulking article, if you calculate your protein intake and multiply that number by the perceived calorie value which is seen as 4clas/g (but you guys know otherwise now!) without even knowing it you have actually achieved a deficit! So when it comes to protein intake for cutting, keep it as high if not higher than you would if bulking so as to take full advantage of this hidden nutritional factor.
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