Still hungry? Consider your macros

Meals containing EXACTLY the same amount calories but different macro splits (protein, carbohydrate and fat), can have contrasting effects on perceived hunger and your subsequent food intake.

In a study on the effect of carbohydrate on overeating, Ludwig et al. (1999) found that the rapid absorption of glucose (sugar) following high-GI meals containing refined grain products or potatoes, induced a cascade of hormonal changes that promoted excessive hunger, leading to an 81% increase in calorie intake.

Conventional diets are doomed from the start according to these results, as very low calorie diets containing refined, starchy carbohydrate intensify hunger, eventually leading to overeating.

Reference

Ludwig, D.S., Majzoub, J.A., Al-Zahrani, A., Dallal, G.E., Blanco, I. and Roberts, S.B., 1999. High glycemic index foods, overeating, and obesity. Pediatrics, 103(3), pp.e26-e26.

Why you should increase your protein intake

 Before even getting bespoke, I always suggest to my guys that they start by increasing protein intake at the expense of carbohydrate to moderate their calorie consumption. Rather than regurgitating bro-science, I’m going to refer directly to Halton’s 2004 protein study to explain why:

The two main benefits of a higher protein diet are satiety and thermogenesis (the production of heat in the body).

Thermogenesis increases energy expenditure as your body digests, absorbs and disposes of the ingested macronutrients. Protein exerts a far greater thermic effect than either fat or carbohydrate, averaging 20-35% of energy consumed, whereas carbohydrate can be as low as 5% (Westerterp 1999). It might not make much difference initially, but over months it could become significant.

A higher protein diet greatly improves the chances of adhering to a calorie deficit long-term because of the satiety effect. However, your state of fullness is also influenced by a wide variety of additional factors such as taste, food volume, nutrient density, fiber content and glycemic index. A high-carbohydrate diet (especially refined carbohydrates) has the reverse effect and actually decreases satiety, and as a result, increases subsequent calorie consumption (Ludwig 1999). Higher protein diets also have the added benefit of lowering blood pressure.

The International Society of Sport Nutrition (ISSN) recommends 1-1.8g of protein per kg of bodyweight, dependant on training goal. And when partitioning macros, I normally suggest 20-30% of total calories come from protein sources.

References

Halton, T.L. and Hu, F.B., 2004. The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 23(5), pp.373-385.

Westerterp, K.R., Wilson, S.A.J. and Rolland, V., 1999. Diet induced thermogenesis measured over 24 h in a respiration chamber: effect of diet composition. International journal of obesity, 23(3), pp.287-292.

Ludwig, D.S., Majzoub, J.A., Al-Zahrani, A., Dallal, G.E., Blanco, I. and Roberts, S.B., 1999. High glycemic index foods, overeating, and obesity. Pediatrics, 103(3), pp.e26-e26.

Liquid calories

If a (female) client has been prescribed circa 1,600 calories to achieve a calorie deficit and they’re trending close to that number they will lose weight (as per previous post). HOWEVER, if they decide to treat themselves to a latte every morning the results could be very different.

Lets look at the numbers. According to Starbucks, a venti, whole-milk latte has 299 calories (the skinny version of the same stature has 174 calories). So if the client in question has just one latte each day, by the end of the week they would have consumed an extra 2,093 calories – well over an extra day’s worth of food in liquid calories. So forget any fat loss.

And according to Drink Aware, a small (175ml) glass of wine is 159 calories. Multiply that by a big night out and you can see where this is going… I’ve stopped short of telling clients they can’t have a drink, but if you’re asking yourself “why am I not losing weight?” then you need to consider all the variables. Once again, it comes down to calorie balance.