By Will Brink (continued
from page 1 Optimal
Diet )
Page 2
Weight loss vs. fat loss!
This is where we get into the crux of the true debate and why the two
schools of thought are not actually as far apart from one another as
they appear to the untrained eye. What has become abundantly clear from
the studies performed and real world evidence is that to lose weight we
need to use more calories than we take in (via reducing calorie intake
and or increasing exercise), but we know different diets have different
effects on the metabolism, appetite, body composition, and other
physiological variables. Thus, this reality has led me to the unified
theory of nutrition which states:
"Total calories dictates how much
weight a person gains or loses; macro nutrient ratios dictates what
a person gains or loses"
This seemingly simple statement allows people to understand the
differences between the two schools of thought. For example, studies
often find that two groups of people put on the same calorie intakes but
very different ratios of carbs, fats, and proteins will lose different
amounts of bodyfat and or lean body mass (i.e., muscle, bone, etc.).
Some studies find for example people on a
higher protein lower carb diet lose approximately the same amount of
weight as another group on a high carb lower protein diet, but the group
on the higher protein diet lost more actual fat and less lean body mass
(muscle). Or, some studies using the same calorie intakes but different
macro nutrient intakes often find the higher protein diet may lose less
actual weight than the higher carb lower protein diets, but the actual
fat loss is higher in the higher protein low carb diets. This effect has
also been seen in some studies that compared high fat/low carb vs. high
carb/low fat diets. The effect is usually amplified if exercise is
involved as one might expect.
Of course these effects are not found
universally in all studies that examine the issue, but the bulk of the
data is clear: diets containing different macro nutrient ratios do have
different effects on human physiology even when calorie intakes are
identical (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11).
Or, as the authors of one recent study
that looked at the issue concluded:
"Diets with identical energy contents can have different effects on
leptin concentrations, energy expenditure, voluntary food intake, and
nitrogen balance, suggesting that the physiologic adaptations to energy
restriction can be modified by dietary composition."(12)
The point being, there are many studies confirming that the actual ratio
of carbs, fats, and proteins in a given diet can effect what is actually
lost (i.e., fat, muscle, bone, and water) and that total calories has
the greatest effect on how much total weight is lost. Are you starting
to see how my unified theory of nutrition combines the "calorie is
a calorie" school with the "calories don't matter" school
to help people make decisions about nutrition?
Knowing this, it becomes much easier for
people to understand the seemingly conflicting diet and nutrition advice
out there (of course this does not account for the down right
unscientific and dangerous nutrition advice people are subjected to via
bad books, TV, the 'net, and well meaning friends, but that's another
article altogether).
Knowing the above information and
keeping the Unified Theory of Nutrition in mind, leads us to some
important and potentially useful conclusions:
An optimal diet designed to make a
person lose fat and retain as much LBM as possible is not the same
as a diet simply designed to lose weight.
A nutrition program designed to create
fat loss is not simply a reduced calorie version of a nutrition
program designed to gain weight, and visa versa.
Diets need to be designed with fat
loss, NOT just weight loss, as the goal, but total calories can't be
ignored.
This is why the diets I design for
people-or write about-for gaining or losing weight are not simply
higher or lower calorie versions of the same diet. In short: diets
plans I design for gaining LBM start with total calories and build
macro nutrient ratios into the number of calories required. However,
diets designed for fat loss (vs. weight loss!) start with the
correct macro nutrient ratios that depend on variables such as
amount of LBM the person carries vs. bodyfat percent , activity
levels, etc., and figure out calories based on the proper macro
nutrient ratios to achieve fat loss with a minimum loss of LBM. The
actual ratio of macro nutrients can be quite different for both
diets and even for individuals.
Diets that give the same macro
nutrient ratio to all people (e.g., 40/30/30, or 70,30,10, etc.)
regardless of total calories, goals, activity levels, etc., will
always be less than optimal. Optimal macro nutrient ratios can
change with total calories and other variables.
Perhaps most important, the unified
theory explains why the focus on weight loss vs. fat loss by the
vast majority of people, including most medical professionals, and
the media, will always fail in the long run to deliver the results
people want.
Finally, the Universal Theory makes it
clear that the optimal diet for losing fat, or gaining muscle, or
what ever the goal, must account not only for total calories, but
macro nutrient ratios that optimize metabolic effects and answer the
questions: what effects will this diet have on appetite? What
effects will this diet have on metabolic rate? What effects will
this diet have on my lean body mass (LBM)? What effects will this
diet have on hormones; both hormones that may improve or impede my
goals? What effects will this diet have on (fill in the blank)?
Simply asking, "how much weight will I lose?" is the wrong
question which will lead to the wrong answer. To get the optimal
effects from your next diet, whether looking to gain weight or lose
it, you must ask the right questions to get meaningful answers.
Asking the right questions will also help you avoid the pitfalls of
unscientific poorly thought out diets which make promises they can't
keep and go against what we know about human physiology and the very
laws of physics!
People that want to know my thoughts on
the correct way to lose fat should read my ebook Diet Supplements
Revealed, see this website:
Diet-Supplements.ProHealthGuide.com
If you want to know my thoughts on the
best way to set up a diet to gain weight in the form of muscle while
minimizing bodyfat, consider reading my ebook Muscle Building
Nutrition (AKA Brink's Bodybuilding Bible) at this web site: Muscle-Nutrition.ProHealthGuide.com
BTW, both ebooks also cover supplements
for their respective goals along with exercise advice.
There are of course many additional
questions that can be asked and points that can be raised as it applies
to the above, but those are some of the key issues that come to mind.
Bottom line here is, if the diet you are following to either gain or
loss weight does not address those issues and or questions, then you can
count on being among the millions of disappointed people who don't
receive the optimal results they had hoped for and have made yet another
nutrition "guru" laugh all the way to the bank at your
expense.
Any diet that claims calories don't
matter, forget it. Any diet that tells you they have a magic ratio of
foods, ignore it. Any diet that tells you any one food source is evil,
it's a scam. Any diet that tells you it will work for all people all the
time no matter the circumstances, throw it out or give it to someone you
don't like!
About the Author - William D. Brink
Will Brink is a columnist, contributing consultant, and writer for
various health/fitness, medical, and bodybuilding publications. His
articles relating to nutrition, supplements, weight loss, exercise and
medicine can be found in such publications as Lets Live, Muscle Media
2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n
Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International,
Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For
Doctors. He is the author of Priming The Anabolic Environment and Weight
Loss Nutrients Revealed. He is the Consulting Sports Nutrition Editor
and a monthly columnist for Physical magazine and an Editor at Large for
Power magazine. Will graduated from Harvard University with a
concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major
supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition
and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having
commentary published in JAMA. He runs the highly popular web site
BrinkZone.com which is strategically positioned to fulfill the needs and
interests of people with diverse backgrounds and knowledge. The
BrinkZone site has a following with many sports nutrition enthusiasts,
athletes, fitness professionals, scientists, medical doctors,
nutritionists, and interested lay people. William has been invited to
lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions
and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous
radio and television programs.
William has worked with athletes ranging from professional bodybuilders,
golfers, fitness contestants, to police and military personnel.
He can be contacted at:
PO Box 812430
Wellesley MA. 02482.
BrinkZone.com
Email: will@brinkzone.com
Article References:
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Wittert G, Argyiou E, Clifton PM. Effect of a high-protein,
energy-restricted diet on body composition, glycemic control, and lipid
concentrations in overweight and obese hyperinsulinemic men and women.
Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Jul;78(1):31-9.
(2) Baba NH, Sawaya S, Torbay N, Habbal Z, Azar S, Hashim SA. High
protein vs high carbohydrate hypoenergetic diet for the treatment of
obese hyperinsulinemic subjects. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1999
Nov;23(11):1202-6.
(3) Parker B, Noakes M, Luscombe N, Clifton P. Effect of a high-protein,
high-monounsaturated fat weight loss diet on glycemic control and lipid
levels in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2002 Mar;25(3):425-30.
(4) Skov AR, Toubro S, Ronn B, Holm L, Astrup A.Randomized trial on
protein vs carbohydrate in ad libitum fat reduced diet for the treatment
of obesity. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1999 May;23(5):528-36.
(5) Piatti PM, Monti F, Fermo I, Baruffaldi L, Nasser R, Santambrogio G,
Librenti MC, Galli-Kienle M, Pontiroli AE, Pozza G. Hypocaloric
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(6) Layman DK, Boileau RA, Erickson DJ, Painter JE, Shiue H, Sather C,
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women. J Nutr. 2003 Feb;133(2):411-7.
(7) Golay A, Eigenheer C, Morel Y, Kujawski P, Lehmann T, de Tonnac N.
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Disord. 1996 Dec;20(12):1067-72.
(8) Meckling KA, Gauthier M, Grubb R, Sanford J. Effects of a
hypocaloric, low-carbohydrate diet on weight loss, blood lipids, blood
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overweight women. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2002 Nov;80(11):1095-105.
(9) Borkman M, Campbell LV, Chisholm DJ, Storlien LH. Comparison of the
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in normal subjects. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1991 Feb;72(2):432-7.
(10) Brehm BJ, Seeley RJ, Daniels SR, D'Alessio DA. A randomized trial
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(11) Garrow JS, Durrant M, Blaza S, Wilkins D, Royston P, Sunkin S. The
effect of meal frequency and protein concentration on the composition of
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(12) Agus MS, Swain JF, Larson CL, Eckert EA, Ludwig DS. Dietary
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