Understanding Calories

One of the most commonly held diet myths is “To lose one pound of fat you need to create a deficit of 3,500 calories”. This is wrong at every level. First of all, one pound does not equal 3,500 calories. You will see this formula in government literature, in just about every diet book, in private health booklets and all over the internet. The next time you see it, or hear it, ask where it comes from. You will not get an answer.

The first part of the calorie formula is the assertion that one pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. You will struggle to find anyone who can demonstrate the precise calculation behind this, so I’ll offer this as a suggestion:

1. One pound equals 454 grams (decimal places aside, this is a fact);
2. Fat has nine calories per gram (this is the universally accepted conversion, but it is an estimate and significantly rounded down from even the original estimate);
3. Human fat tissue is approximately 87% lipid (this is a widely accepted conversion, but it is also an estimate).

Putting these together, we can derive the sum that 454 grams of body fat tissue has approximately the calorific energy of 395 grams of pure fat (454 grams x 87%), that is 3,555 calories (395 grams x 9).

3,555 is close enough to 3,500 you may think, until you see the absurdity of how precisely the formula is applied.

According to those who believe this formula, this difference of 55 calories (in this case from the calculation being approximate) would make five to six pounds difference a year. The National Obesity Forum web site states “one less (sic) 50 calorie plain biscuit per day could help you lose 5lbs (2.3kg) in a year – and one extra biscuit means you could gain that in a year!” No it won’t. I can’t even get an estimate of the formula to closer than 55 calories ‘out’. Even if the 3,555 were correct (and it isn’t), this would mean we all need a 55 calorie biscuit, no fewer, every day or we will be five pounds lighter in a year anyway. Every person who didn’t have that biscuit every day should have lost 141 pounds over the past 25 years.

With little effort I can find evidence in obesity journals that fat has anywhere between 8.7 and 9.5 calories per gram. The same (1911) obesity journal that says that human fat tissue can be 87% lipid also says that it may be 72% lipid.

Taking the extremes of these, we can establish a range whereby one pound of fat could contain anywhere between 2,843 and 3,752 calories. Given that it is currently held that one pound is 3,500 calories we could (according to this formula) inadvertently gain 80 pounds every year at the low end of the calculation and lose almost 30 pounds in the same year if one pound is 3,752 calories. Don’t worry about any of this – because the formula doesn’t hold at any other level either.


Mark Harris, PhD
Exercise Physiologist/Nutritionist
TexasMetabolics@gmail.com
Texas Metabolics

Why you should NEVER EAT JUNK FOOD AGAIN!

Why you should never eat processed foods again!!!

Resisting the urge to drink that soda pop or eat those chips can be tough, especially if you have grown accustomed to eating these highly addictive foods as part of your normal diet. But once you understand a little bit more about how these and other processed foods affect your mind, body, and even your soul, it becomes easier to make healthier food choices that enrich your being rather than sap it. Here are nine motivating reasons why you should cut processed foods from your diet for good:

1) Processed foods are highly addictive. Your body processes whole foods much differently than it does refined, processed, and heavily-modified "junk" foods. Processed foods tend to overstimulate the production of dopamine, also known as the "pleasure" neurotransmitter, which makes you crave them constantly. Your body ends up not being able to resist the temptation to continue eating junk foods in excess, which can lead to obesity and other health problems.

2) Processed foods often contain phosphates that destroy your organs, bones. Many processed foods contain phosphate additives that augment taste, texture, and shelf-life. But these additives are known to cause health problems like rapid aging, kidney deterioration and weak bones, according to the Rodale Institute, which makes foods that contain them far less attractive to those in the know.

3) Fresh foods are actually cheaper than processed foods. People with junk food addictions often claim that fresh, healthy foods are too expensive. But according to numerous studies and assessments, whole foods made from scratch end up costing less per serving than their unhealthy, processed equivalents. According to Rodale, a single serving of 100 percent organic chili made with fresh ingredients and grass-fed beef, for instance, is about 50 cents cheaper to make than buying a can of chemical-laden, microwaveable chili from the grocery store.

4) Processed foods cause chronic inflammation. One of the leading causes of chronic illness today is inflammation. And studies continue to show that refined sugars, processed flours, vegetable oils, and many other nasty ingredients commonly found in processed foods are largely responsible for this inflammation epidemic. So the next time your body craves a candy bar or a box of cheese crackers, consider the fact that heart disease, dementia, neurological problems, respiratory failure, and cancer have all been linked to the chronic inflammation caused by processed food consumption.

5) Processed foods ruin digestion. Because they have been stripped of their natural fibers, enzymes, vitamins, and other nutrients, processed foods tend to wreak havoc on the digestive tract. Chronic consumption of such foods can throw your internal ecosystem off balance, harming beneficial bacteria and exposing your system to infection. So you can basically think of those gummy bears and that piece of cake as literal poison for your system, which may help deter you from eating them.

6) Processed foods destroy your mind. If you suffer from chronic bouts of brain "fog," or have difficulty concentrating and thinking normally, chances are your diet has something to do with it. And a recent study out of Oxford University lends credence to this possibility, having found that junk food consumption can cause people to become angry and irritable. Nutrient-dense whole foods, on the other hand, can help level out your mood, sustain your energy levels, and leave you feeling calmer and more collected.

7) Processed foods are loaded with GMOs. The basic buildings blocks of most processed foods on the market today are derived from laboratories, not nature. Genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), which have been linked to infertility, organ damage, gastrointestinal disorders, and cancer, are prolific in processed foods. Excess consumption of these poisons promotes weight gain, acidifies your blood, and can even permanently alter the composition and function of your intestinal flora.

8) Processed foods are loaded with pesticides. In order to effectively grow the GMOs used in processed foods, conventional farmers have to apply Roundup (glyphosate) and other pesticides and herbicides, many of which end up in the final product. According to data compiled by Rodale, breakfast cereals alone have been found to contain up to 70 different types of pesticides, including warehouse fumigation chemicals and other residues.

9) Processed foods are not actually food. One of the ways you can assess the nutritional value of food is to see how animals, insects, bacteria, and fungi respond to it. Real foods will actually rot or grow mold, for instance, while fake, processed foods remain largely the same in appearance and shape no matter what their age. As we reported recently, processed food is essentially synthetic, and the industry that produces it admits that heavy tampering and crafty modifications are necessary to make it taste real, even though it is not.

I know it's so easy just to pop food into a Microwave or drive though a fast food line at McDonald's many of us use the excuse that we don't have time to cook.
Well let me ask you this,"Do you have time to deal with cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure or a host of other diseases caused by eating these toxic foods?"

In the long run these foods are VERY EXPENSIVE, they ruin your health, and you spend a fortune trying to fix the damage caused by eating the toxic foods.

Great Advice for Adding Lean Muscle Mass to Your Physique

Great Advice for Adding Lean Muscle Weight to your Physique

1. Free Weights vs. Machines

 While I have nothing against machines and cables, there is no doubt that the greatest muscle builders are free-weight compound exercises, like Squats, dead-lifts, bench press and military overhead press There is nothing wrong with using machines or cables, but if you want to see positive gains faster, make free-weights the cornerstone of your program.

2. Use Proper Form

Using proper form on all of your exercises will assure that you are stimulating the muscle that you wish to target. Those that “throw” the weights up when doing side laterals or barbell curls, for example, are only cheating themselves out of growth. Once you reach failure using strict form, THEN it is ok to use momentum (to a reasonable degree) to try and extend your set a bit further.

3. Don't Over-train

Our bodies have limited amounts of recovery ability, as well as a limited amount of “energy” to put toward building new muscle tissue. So, here a few sub-guidelines to follow to keep you from overdoing it.
A. Train no more than 4 days per week.

B. Do not train more than 2 days in a row without taking a full day off from the gym.

C. Workouts should last no more than 45-60 minutes.

4. Eat Adequate Amounts Protein

This is perhaps the most important of all the advice. Muscle is protein. Protein is required to build and repair muscle tissue. Not eating enough can hinder your gains no matter how well thought out your training and supplementation programs are. How much protein is enough?

For most serious trainees, at least .8 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body-weight should be consumed daily.

5. Use the Right Supplements

While it is not 100% necessary to use supplements in order to make progress, they certainly can hasten results. Things such as Magnesium Citrate, Kre-Alkalyn, BCAA’s, L-Glutamine, (NO Nitrous Oxide), L-Carnitine. may aid you in training, minimize recovery time and increase ability to train harder.

6. Rest is as Important as the Training and Diet get your Sleep.

Fact: The only time the body can rebuild itself is when you sleep. There are many hormonal functions that only occur when you body is in total rest. For those of you that are really looking to make changes in your physique sleep is the most crucial element in repairing the damage you've done while training. The body disposes of waste in the muscle cells and rebuilds the muscle that you tore apart in the gym. Not getting ample amounts of sleep will impede your recover time and can lead into an over-trained state and progress will come to a halt.