Component #1: Calories
The 1st diet component we’re going to look at is calories, and with good reason. Like I
mentioned before, calories are everything. They are the true key to an effective diet. No
other part of your diet influences what your body does anywhere near the level that
calories do.
In fact, calories are the only diet component that will truly differ or change based on
what your goal is.
Meaning, once everything else (protein, carbs, fat, etc.) is set to an optimal range or
percentage of your total calorie intake, it can all remain set that same way and you’ll still
build muscle or lose fat or do whatever else you are trying to do without any problem.
The only significant dietary difference between goals is calorie intake.
Like I said, calories are key.
The reason why is actually pretty simple once you understand some basic things.
Calories In
See, everything we eat and drink contains calories. With the exception of obvious stuff
like water, all foods and drinks contain some amount of calories.
Since these are the calories being consumed and therefore taken in by your body, they
are commonly referred to as our “calories in.”
Calories Out
On the other hand, everything we do burns calories. They are what our bodies use for
energy to do everything we need to do.
From intense exercise like weight training and cardio, to simple daily tasks like standing,
talking and brushing your teeth. In addition, your body actually burns a significant
number of calories each day on its own just keeping you alive and functioning properly.
You know, doing stuff like breathing, pumping blood, digesting food, etc.
Since these are the calories that we are using and burning, they are commonly referred
to as our “calories out.”
Calories In VS Calories Out
What you just learned is the back story that serves as the basis for the most important
part of your diet.
Above all else diet related, the results you get depend most on your body’s battle
between calories in and calories out.
And what I mean by that is, what your body will do (lose weight, gain weight, maintain
weight) is decided by which side most often wins this battle.
Confused? I think this calls for a chart…
The Cause, Effect & Result of Your Calorie Intake
What this chart basically shows is the scientifically proven law of thermodynamics and
the basics of how energy balance takes place within the human body.
Of course, this is definitely going to take even more explaining before it becomes
perfectly clear. So, let’s break this chart down…
If Calories In Beats Calories Out = Caloric Surplus
In this scenario, there is what’s known as a caloric surplus.
In plain English, this means you consumed more calories than you burned and there
was a “surplus” of left over calories that never got used.
In even plainer English, you are eating more calories than your body knows what to do
with. It already burned all of the calories it needed to burn and used all of the calories it
needed to use, but you are still continuing to give it even more calories.
Since your body has no immediate use for these excess calories that you are
consuming, there is only 1 thing it can do: store them on your body in some form.
See, your body is pretty smart. Since it uses calories for energy, it will use whatever
calories you consume to perform whatever tasks it needs to perform on a daily basis.
If you give it additional calories beyond that amount, it stores them on your body for
later use.
And, there are primarily 2 ways for these excess calories to be stored on your body:
1. As fat.
Now this first scenario is pretty obvious. This is, after all, how fat people get fat in
the first place. They eat too much. Or really, they consistently consumed more
calories than their body’s needed, so the excess was stored in the form of fat.
So, for anyone who has ever gained any amount of fat, this is how and why it
happened. You consumed more calories than your body burned, and those extra
left over calories that were never used for anything were stored on your body as
fat.
2. As muscle.
This second scenario might surprise and confuse some people. But, it really
shouldn’t. You see, muscle can’t be built out of nothing. As you can probably
imagine, creating new muscle tissue requires a lot of energy and therefore a lot
of calories.
Meaning, in order to build any amount of muscle, your body needs additional
calories beyond the amount that it usually needs. In this case, those excess
calories will be stored on your body in the form of muscle.
So, a caloric surplus will always result in either muscle gain (good), fat gain (not good),
or both (also not too good).
And this of course leads to a very obvious question:
What causes the excess calories to be stored as muscle instead of fat?
Quite simply: The proper muscle building signal.
I’ve been explaining it all along. The optimal amount of intensity, volume, frequency etc.
etc. etc. combined together to form a proper weight training program that is focused on
progressive overload.
THAT is what sends a signal to your body to use the available excess calories to build
new muscle RATHER than just store them as fat.
And THAT is the difference between someone eating enough to support muscle growth,
and someone just eating too much and getting fat.
And to a lesser but still significant degree, getting various other aspects of your diet just
right will also play an important role making your body store excess calories as muscle
rather than fat. (We’ll get to them later.)
If your primary goal is building muscle, there must be a caloric surplus. It’s
a requirement, and it’s the #1 muscle building “supply.”
If Calories Out Beats Calories In = Caloric Deficit
In this scenario, there is what’s known as a caloric deficit.
In plain English, this means you burned more calories than you consumed and there
was a “deficit” of calories.
In even plainer English, you are not supplying your body with all of the calories it needs.
It already burned/used all of the calories you consumed, but it still needs more.
Since you are consuming less calories than your body needs, there is only 1 thing it can
do: find some alternative energy source on your body.
Like I said before, your body is pretty smart. It will use whatever calories you consume
as energy to perform whatever tasks it needs to perform on a daily basis. If it still needs
more calories beyond that amount, it’s going to use the calories that it previously stored
on your body.
And, there are primarily 2 sources that you body will use for energy when this happens:
1. Your stored body fat.
Now this first scenario is pretty obvious again. This is, after all, how you lose fat.
You eat less. Or really, you consistently consume fewer calories than your body
needs, so it uses your stored body fat for energy instead.
So, for anyone who has ever lost any amount of fat, this is how and why it
happened. You burned more calories than you consumed, and this forced your
body to dip into your fat storage and use/burn your own body fat for energy.
2. Your muscle tissue.
And again, this second scenario might surprise and confuse some people. But, it
really shouldn’t. Like I said, muscle is really just calories that were stored on your
body. You may like it much more than fat, but your body doesn’t really care.
So, when you are in a caloric deficit and your body needs to find some alternative
energy source, it WON’T just completely ignore your muscle tissue and only use
fat. It can (and will) use both.
So, a caloric deficit will always result in either fat loss (good), muscle loss (not good), or
both (also not too good).
And this of course leads to another very obvious question:
What causes the body to burn stored body fat for energy instead of muscle?
Quite simply: The proper muscle maintenance signal.
The same things that signal your body to use excess calories to BUILD muscle (rather
than get stored as fat) are the same things that signal your body to MAINTAIN muscle
and only burn fat. You know, a proper weight training program that gets all of its
components just right.
And just like before, there are various other aspects of your diet that will also play an
important role in getting your body to maintain your muscle, but we’ll get to them later as
well.
However, the big point here is…
If your primary goal is losing fat, then there must be a caloric deficit. It’s
the #1 fat loss requirement.
If Calories In = Calories Out, Then… = Maintenance
That’s right. Calories in doesn’t just have to beat calories out, and calories out doesn’t
just have to beat calories in.
They can actually tie.
This scenario is what I (and many others) like to refer to as maintenance.
In plain English, it’s when you consume the same number of calories that you burn or
burn the same number of calories that you consume. It’s all the same thing, really.
It’s when there is no caloric surplus or caloric deficit. Meaning, there is no excess
energy that needs to be stored on your body (as muscle or fat), and there is no reason
to dip into your stored energy (fat or muscle) to burn that instead.
Rather, everything will just be “maintained” as is. No weight loss, no weight gain, no fat
loss, no fat gain, no muscle loss, no muscle gain. Just maintenance.
And here’s where we finally get to the good stuff. Because, when “Calories In” is equal
to “Calories Out,” it means you are at your calorie maintenance level.
And it’s your calorie maintenance level that is the starting point for figuring out exactly
what your calorie intake should be in order for you to reach your goals and make your
body do what you want it to do.
And once you have that figured out, you’ll then have the key component to putting
together the rest of your diet (protein, fat, carbs) as well.
So, let’s get to it…
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