Slayer's Den

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Eat More, Get Ripped​

Is calorie balance less important than calorie turnover? Here's what you need to know.​

You probably know someone who's lean and muscular and has maintained that impressive body for years. Hopefully, you are that person. But if not, what can you guess about this perpetually fit individual?

Well, some might say that person must follow a specific diet plan, track every calorie, and count every macro. (In fact, many diet gurus would say that's the only way to not be fat.) If you're a real Negative Nancy, you might say that while that guy or gal looks good, they must be miserable because they're always dieting.

Well, here's the twist: They might be eating as much as they want and not dieting at all. So what's their secret? Well, according to some research, those folks have a high rate of energy flux.

What's Energy Flux?​

Energy flux is the balance between energy intake (through food) and energy expenditure (through movement or metabolic processes). Think energy turnover. Dr. John Berardi originally defined it as, "The amount of energy you ingest through your diet and the amount you burn through the sum total of your metabolic activity."

By "energy" we are talking about calories, but energy flux goes beyond calories-in, calories-out (or a deficit vs. a surplus). That's called energy balance – a static measure focusing on the balance between intake and expenditure.

Energy flux instead focuses on the rate energy moves through the system, not just the balance. It describes the overall flow of energy, in and out, over time. Essentially, energy flux focuses on how much energy is being processed.

Within the flux system, people fall into different categories:

1. Low Energy Flux: Both intake and expenditure are low. A person doesn't exercise/move much but also doesn't eat much.
2. Mid Energy Flux: This individual consumes moderate calories and matches this with moderate exercise/movement (maintenance).
3. High Energy Flux: High intake and high expenditure. This person's body is processing or turning over a lot of energy/calories. He or she eats a lot but also expends a lot.
4. Out of Balance Energy Flux: This individual is on a strict low-calorie diet, in a bulking phase, or just overeating. Researchers like Dr. Bill Campbell define this as a person having an energy intake value that's 33% greater than or less than their energy expenditure value.

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What's the Best Flux?​

According to studies and weight-lifting researchers like Campbell and Berardi, you want to mostly be in a high energy flux state – eat a lot and move a lot.

People in this state are lean and muscular (without dieting) and tend to stay that way, even as they age. Berardi notes, "A boost in energy flux would most likely lead to an increase in lean mass, a decrease in fat mass, and an increase in metabolic rate. Physiologically, it's better to exercise as much as you can while eating as much as possible – as long as you're gaining muscle and losing fat – than the reverse."

The "move a lot" portion improves insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning – your body shuttles calories toward muscle instead of storing them as fat. The "eat a lot" portion fuels activity and muscle growth if you're lifting.

The Surprising Study​

In one energy flux study, researchers tracked 162 young men and women for three years. In the beginning, they established their energy balance and tested their body fat percentage. The participants were labeled with one of the flux categories listed above, but the "out of balance" participants were tossed out. Then they just lived their lives as they always had.

The goal was to see how energy flux predicted body fat levels a few years into the future. Here's what they found:

• Low Energy Flux: On average, these participants had an energy intake of 1800 calories and an energy expenditure of 2225 calories. In three years, they went from about 18% body fat to 21% body fat.
• Mid Energy Flux: These men and women had an energy intake of 2500 calories and an expenditure of 2475 calories (energy balance). They went from about 18% body fat to just over 21% body fat.
• High Energy Flux: These participants had an energy intake of 3275 calories and an expenditure of 2825 calories. They went from about 18% body fat to just under 16% body fat.

Yes, those eating a lot (a 450-calorie positive energy balance) and moving a lot got leaner over time. The low and mid groups should've lost body fat according to most dieticians, but they didn't. Instead, they gained fat. So, energy balance does not predict future body fat levels, but energy flux does.


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How to Use This Info​

Paraphrasing part of Dr. Campbell's review of this research in his Body by Science newsletter:

1. If you want to be lean in the future, have high levels of energy intake and high levels of energy expenditure – a high flux rate.
2. If you want a future body composition that's lower in body fat than it is today, the worst thing you can do, according to Dr. Campbell, is reduce your calories and be sedentary. This, of course, is exactly how most non-lifters try to lose fat. It works in the short term because a negative energy balance always works for a while, but in the long term, they gain it back because they're not resistance training.
3. High energy flux, however, rules the day, and lifting should always be part of that. A muscle-heavy person should be able to go through periods of low intake and low expenditure and be just fine. Life sometimes gets in the way, but extra muscle makes it okay.
4. Regarding body-fat setpoints and homeostasis, if you want to force your body to adopt a new, leaner body composition, eat more and move more, not the other way around.

How to Enhance Energy Flux​

While "eat a lot and move a lot" works, it’s not always practical. The great equalizers are lifting weights and protein intake.

Eat more and move more? Sure, but also make sure a lot of that food is protein-based. Remember, it's almost impossible to store "excess" protein as body fat. It's quite easy, however, to store carbs and dietary fats.

A protein first strategy autoregulates the rest of your dietary choices and makes the whole energy flux thing work more efficiently, even if you're not in a high flux state all the time. Remember, part of the energy expenditure equation involves metabolic processes, and processing protein requires the most energy.


https://vip.t-nation.com/MDprotein