When I first started my fitness journey, I was on a weight-loss mission. At the time I was counting calories, eating super healthy, and working out as much as possible. As the number on the scale dropped so did my energy levels, my mental clarity, my sleep, and my mood. I never thought much of it until I competed in a weight loss and fitness challenge at my local gym. At the beginning of the challenge, they took my weight and measured my body fat percentage. They repeated this once more weeks later at the end of the program. I had worked out aggressively every day and stuck to my meal plan flawlessly. Understandably, I was shocked when they showed me the numbers. Sure, I lost a little bit of weight, BUT the real kicker was that my body fat percentage was higher than when I started! I even had them check again, and sure enough, I had gained body fat? How was that possible?
What I didn’t understand at that time was that there is a very big difference between eating to lose weight and eating to sustain muscle mass while losing fat. This concept is something that many trainers, athletes, and even nutrition coaches seem to miss. The old concept of “calories in = calories out” is something that has led us all astray. Instead of looking at calories as something to avoid or burn, we really should look at them as having a vital purpose. When we take in fuel or calories, we are taking in nutrients that contain energy for countless functions. Consider this, for you to perform a bicep curl, your arm will require the following: Calories containing Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Amino Acids, Fats, B vitamins, Sodium, Chloride, and more. After you complete the workout, you will continue to require all of those nutrients to restore optimal function of the bicep muscle tissue and maintain its shape. If at any point, we are deficient in even one of those nutrients we will lose the efficiency of our bicep curl. Not only that, we will be profoundly limited in our ability to retain that muscle.
Now let’s say I work 10-hour days, thinking, walking, standing, talking, then I go to the gym for an hour. Think of all the nutrients that my body requires just to maintain my baseline function. Things like my heartbeat and breathing. Next, consider the nutrients that I require for my workout and subsequent repair processes. If I am eating a 1400 calorie diet to lose weight, I might find success according to my scale. However, I will have performed every one of my tasks at work with a poorly functioning brain, depleted muscles, and felt anxious and irritable at least several times throughout the day. Furthermore, those muscles that I just spent hours working on in the gym are now being broken down. I am working against myself.
How does this happen?
Muscles, being comprised of mostly protein, are the chosen source of amino acids when we do not have enough protein from our diet. Amino Acids are essential for our body's structure, brain function, digestion, movement, detoxification, and all organ function. So, if your body has to choose between having sculpted biceps or maintaining something like your liver function, it’s going to choose to keep you alive. The longer that we go on in the deficit the more that our bodies will have to rob Peter to pay Paul…Or in this case steal some protein from your muscles to pay your liver.
Now, some of you may be wondering about those who have an abundance of body fat and are not working out intensely. In this case, muscle breakdown may not happen quite as quickly as someone with lower body fat or someone who is working out regularly, but it will happen eventually. The good news is that there is an abundance of fat cells to mobilize for energy, but our bodies will still require more nutrients at some point. Most urgently it will require minerals (This is why many successful fasting protocols incorporate some form of minerals) Regardless, fat cannot be converted to protein or amino acids. Therefore, at some point, your body will require the intake of amino acids and will begin to break down muscle tissue to maintain your baseline functions. Not to mention the metabolic adaptation that can occur when restricting nutrient intake for a prolonged amount of time. But that’s a topic for another day.
What is the takeaway from all of this?
If we are looking to reduce our body fat percentage and maintain muscle, we need to be certain to take in enough nutrients to sustain our baseline function and support the maintenance of our muscle mass. Assuming that we also want to perform our best at work, perform as an athlete, have stable energy levels and moods, and support our overall health then we need to make sure that we consume foods that have a high micronutrient to macronutrient ratio. (Micronutrients being those vitamins and minerals like sodium and magnesium, and Macronutrients being Fats, Carbohydrates, and Proteins.) We need to remember that calories are energy, not something to be feared. But above all, we need to understand that food is fuel and how and what we consume dictates how we function, feel, and look.
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