Have you heard about the debate going on in the world of calories and fat loss?
Some people think that consuming excess calories will NOT make you fat as long as the calories are coming from quality food.
Some people think that excess calories will ALWAYS make you fat...no matter what the food source is.
In this email, I'd like to share with you my real world experiences.
In my practice, 25 years and counting, I've noticed way too many instances (myself included) where consuming an excess number of calories DID NOT make a person fatter, or bigger.
In fact, I've witnessed far too many instances where a person will LOSE BODYFAT when eating in excess.
How can this be?
The die-hard calorie in/calorie out guys will scream "It's impossible! It's the law of thermodynamics."
And this is what had me stumped for so many years.
I knew I needed to solve this puzzle while still adhering to the laws of thermodynamics.
So let me share with you a model that explains this in a logical way.
Let's assume we have a person who's daily basal metabolic rate is 2000 calories. If we factor in an extra 500 calories for daily activity, this person will need a total of 2500 calories per day to maintain their bodyweight/bodyfat.
So in this scenario, anything they eat in excess of 2500 calories should be stored as fat, right?
Hypothetically, if this person ate 3000 calories per day for 7 days, they should gain one pound of fat.
But what if they did not gain ANY weight and there was no change in their bodyfat?
I've seen this happen...and it would make me crazy.
How could this possibly be?
For many years, I'd just chalk it up to bad math.
But then I thought...
Why do we assume that "excess" calories ALWAYS goes to the fat cells?
What if your body, instead, sent the excess energy to other areas of your body.
Remember, there are trillions of cells making up 1,000's of systems in your body.
Digestive system
Nervous system
Cardiovascular system
Immune system
Reproductive system
Hair growing system
and soooo MANY more...
Why is it that we assume excess calories always go to fat when there are so many other systems where energy can be utilized.
Wouldn't it be feasible that excess calories could be taken up by the cells of these other systems rather than just fat cells?
Going back to my previous example of consuming 500 extra calories per day...
What if those excess calories were taken up by your nervous system and, subsequently, you felt more alert, more energetic and had sharper focus.
Maybe some of those "excess" calories were taken up by your digestive system to facilitate the elimination of old, broken cells while generating new, healthy cells.
My point is, there are millions of ways your body can utilize excess energy BESIDES storing it as fat.
One caveat to this model...
I've found this only works if you're healthy.
If you have been living a sedentary life and eating poorly for years, you're fat cells can become "greedy".
In other words, no matter how many calories you consume, your fat cells will try to steal the energy away from the other systems of your body and you'll feel like shit.
In this scenario, you may even find yourself getting fatter EVEN IF you're in a calorie deficit.
If you notice you're gaining bodyfat and your energy levels are waning, and you're starting to feel old...
Beware...
If you allow yourself to fall of the "metabolic cliff" and into poor health...it's MUCH harder to come back.
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Want help with your nutrition, your fitness, and securing a high level of health so you never need to worry about calories, bodyfat, low energy, and feelings of being "old" ever again?
Reply back to this email and tell me a little bit about your situation and where you think you can improve.
Don't wait for the perfect time to start...
The perfect time is NOW.
Your Health Coach
Tony Bevilacqua
Athletic After 40