Why do calories matter?

[testosteroni]

So I've been working out seriously again and I've been focusing on increasing my protein intake. I started drinking whey and eating cans of tuna and other good sources of protein, aiming for approximately 1g of protein per pound of body weight. At the same time, I've been cutting down on fat, trying to reduce the flab around my stomach. The problem is, I've been ignoring calories, so I don't know if I'm maintaining a calorie surplus or not. I still don't really understand why calories (and not the actual amount of nutrients) matter for muscle growth. I noticed that a serving of canned tuna only has 60 calories, but 13g of protein. If I ate ten servings in a day and nothing else (which I know is a terrible idea), that gives my muscles all the protein they need, despite being only 600 calories. So why wouldn't my muscles grow under those circumstances? What prevents them from using the protein? Would drinking soda until I induced a calorie surplus, magically result in my body suddenly being able to use that protein?

I know I'm an idiot and I appreciate you guys helping me straighten this out.

[wolfotehmoon]

Your body needs energy, and the most efficient way to get it is by breaking down carbohydrates. So, you need at least a moderate amount of carbs just to live, let alone endure a strenuous workout regime.

[testosteroni]

OK, but where do calories fit into the picture. If I have enough energy to complete my workouts, why should I be worried about carbs or calories and not just protein.

[inflated]

Originally Posted by testosteroni

OK, but where do calories fit into the picture. If I have enough energy to complete my workouts, why should I be worried about carbs or calories and not just protein.

The basics of nutrition are calories---calorie deficit you will lose weight, too many calories you will store that excess energy as fat.--that is the oversimplified version---I suggest getting a biochemistry book if you want to get deeply into the subject and truly have an understanding of what happens when you consume proteins, how your body makes fat, how sugars are used or stored, why calcium, sodium, and potassium are key elements of metabolism etc. The easiest thing is to find a good book on nutrition that gives the basics.

[wolfotehmoon]

"
Now, why are they important? They're energy. That's really it. In fact, a calorie (although in reality we're talking kilocalories - kcal) is simply a measure of how much chemical energy is required to raise 1kg of water 1 degree celsius. When you eat foods they're basically a big pile of chemicals which your body will eventually convert to glucose and further at the cellular to ATP. This is the fuel of the body. It powers everything."

Most important part, IMO. Food doesn't contain calories, they ARE calories, in a sense. They're just a property of the food that helps you determine how much of it there is, and indirectly, how important they are to you.

From what I understand, the daily caloric allowance or w/e is just a guideline, to tell you about how much food you should be getting in. The important thing is where those calories are coming from.

@Drew
You sure about that figure? Seems a bit excessive. :S I was always under the impression that your body didn't actually NEED all of that protein; rather, the point was to always have enough protein so that when your body started repairing muscle, all that it needed was there.

Also, one thing that I've NEVER had answered: no matter how many xbodyweight you need in grams of protein a day, no one ever says whether that's LEAN body mass, or total body mass. Important distinction, especially for overweight guys who still want to build muscle.

[Hunkskunk]

Originally Posted by drew

Dude!

You're first big problem is your protein. 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight would barely be enough for an skinny woman! You need between 1.5-2 just to maintain muscle health and between 2-4 (preferably closer to 4) grams per pound of bodyweight to actually bulk up with muscle.*

*For the guys who have mentioned hearing 1-2g per day those calculations usually refer to grams per kg of bodyweight.

Um.. this conversion is whack. I weigh 80 kg, or 170 pounds. If I were to eat one gram per kilo, that'd be eighty, but if I were to eat 2 per pound, that'd be 340. These numbers are off by an order of magnitude. I believe you need 2-4 per kilo, or 1-2 per pound to put on the muscle.

[DragoniteXY]

@ Drew: Excellent post!

@testosteroni:

You are trying to build muscle mass and loose fat at the same time. Human body doesn't work that way - it can't selectively burn the fatty cells from your waist while it builds muscle cells in your skeletal muscles. You either do one or the other.
Also, you need plenty of carbs if you want bigger muscles - because large quantities of carbs (pardon my bad english, but it's 04:33 here) are stored in the muscle cells - those are the fuel for all the work you do with them; muscle cells do not have transport systems which would allow that glycose to leave the cell, contrary to liver which acts as a carb storage unit (body hugry - liver breaks down carbs to glycose and ejects it in the bloodstream through it's transport system on the membraine). If you eat only protein, your body will simply convert it to carbs and, consequently, to fat. In theory, you could eat only protein and get fat, or eat only fat and get skinny, depending on your activities.
Mind also that certain organs prefer different sources of energy (allthough it all comes down to ATP/ADP/AMP system): heart, ironically, prefers the fatty acids due to continuous work; brain works only on glycose (if you starve yourself with protein, available protein will be broken down and converted to fatty acids, which will be broken down to smaller components and transported via bloodstream to feed the brain - which is not a good thing, since it's an emergency system, and those smaller components who's name I can't remember right now interfere with the blood's pH). If I remember my physiology exam well, kidneys are probably using most of the energy from the food, because they employ active transport against the blood current (this is reverse translation from serbian, there's probably correct name for this process on wiki).

SO, don't stress yourself with callories, don't restrict yourself with drastic dieting and you will grow .

[BIGJOEY]

ok seems to be some confusion on calories. calories are a unit of heat expanded by the body to heat water inside it 1 degree c. If your trying to build lean mass then you need to insure your protein , carbs and good fats are correct. any inbalance in these will create results one does not want. If your trying to drop some fat around the midsection then i would suggest doing 30 mins of hit cardio on empty stomach that will force your body to tap into the fat stores. Also age does have a factor in this whole process as well as your food eating schedual. There is some debate aon how much protein the body needs to grow. the standard depends on your exercise level factor , age etc is 1.5-2 g per 1 lb of body weight. if you need more help contact me

[smithgerry]

According to me, the number of calories that you should eat it compute of your weight, age, height, your different activity levels and whether you are trying to gain or lose your weight. We can eat 400 calories less per day, we can burn 400 extra calories per day through exercise. So try to maintain it.

[inm]

Also, calorie intake influences your hormonal state. when the body senses a state of starvation, it shuts down all growth processes by controlling hormones.
You can read a LOT on the subject on Lyle Mcdonald's site
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/

p.s. low fat diets are not heaqlthy.
600 calories/day intake will cause you to loose more muscle than fat.
Calculate your calorie needs, and eat 400-700 less than that. make sure you fulfill your protein needs first, than your fat needs, and last, carbs.

[Zap]

Calories are weird. Just eat when you're hungry, but make sure you eat something nutritious. Whenever I do cardio, I wind up eating only 1,500 or so calories, which is actually much lower than what I should be eating, yet I'm fine. Then again, I have extra flub so those kind of take the place of calories when I'm running low. However, for strength training, you should ALWAYS load up on calories, carbs, and protein before and after the work out. This way your muscles won't take much of a hit and they'll be able to repair themselves faster.

You should also eat an hour or two before working out, otherwise your body fights to keep blood mostly circulating in your muscles AND your digestive system, which just spells trouble and cramps.

[FuzzyKB]

Originally Posted by testosteroni

So I've been working out seriously again and I've been focusing on increasing my protein intake. I started drinking whey and eating cans of tuna and other good sources of protein, aiming for approximately 1g of protein per pound of body weight. At the same time, I've been cutting down on fat, trying to reduce the flab around my stomach. The problem is, I've been ignoring calories, so I don't know if I'm maintaining a calorie surplus or not. I still don't really understand why calories (and not the actual amount of nutrients) matter for muscle growth. I noticed that a serving of canned tuna only has 60 calories, but 13g of protein. If I ate ten servings in a day and nothing else (which I know is a terrible idea), that gives my muscles all the protein they need, despite being only 600 calories. So why wouldn't my muscles grow under those circumstances? What prevents them from using the protein? Would drinking soda until I induced a calorie surplus, magically result in my body suddenly being able to use that protein?

I know I'm an idiot and I appreciate you guys helping me straighten this out.

The largest problem here is that what works is different for each person. There are commonalities, but each of us has requirements that create a set of variables.

When you try to gain mass or BULK about 80% are not easily able to do this without going through a complicated process that involves some increase in body-fat, which is used in your workouts as fuel. The fat is converted into what is called glycogen and it is this that fuels your muscles allowing you to lift heavier weights and progress more quickly. The smaller percentage of people can convert directly from digestive tract to workout. One of the ways to determine which category you fit into is to use very rudimentary diabetic test sticks and see how much your blood sugar drops during increased exercise. If you have a substantial drop, your body is exhausting the fuel from the digestive tract and is looking for fuel elsewhere that it is not finding. You will burn the glycogen first and the blood sugar other than about a 15 point variation goes second during exercise. This slows the other processes necessary for mass building.

Many supplements out there are at least in theory designed to combat this problem with pre-workout, post-workout and all the rest. The effectiveness of all of this may be questionable, but these are the ideas, and, I would imagine that they are going to have at least some effectiveness in a percentage of people.

When you eat carbohydrates some will metabolize quickly and others will not. You can also drink carbohydrates which is surprisingly more effective. The problem is finding carbs that are not more of a problem than a benefit.

Inside the United States, a company by the name of Martinelli's makes small individual serving bottles of apple juice that have ZERO artificial sugars and are not made from concentrate. These are good for post workout.

Carrots, Potato, and Corn are carbohydrates that metabolize quickly and generate a considerable spike in blood sugar relatively quickly. Broccoli, Spinach, Cauliflower and some kinds of beans do not metabolize quickly and are not as prone to create a sugar spike.

One of the interesting ways to learn about this is actually more simple than complicated text books used by Nutritionists. What is far more simple and faster is using materials designed for diabetic individuals. The information supplied from these sources will in far more simple language break it down for you. I believe that Diabetes for Dummies or some equivalent could be of help to bodybuilders. You are using stock information in a different way. Diabetic individuals in some ways use diets that more resemble those of bodybuilders in that all things taken in must be measured and controlled.

Everything here is a process. One of the errors made by many is that we cannot pour in protein and instantly convert it to muscle. It is one of a number of building blocks necessary for bodybuilding, but it is not the only one.

One of the most interesting studies you can do is to go way back in the sport of bodybuilding and examine the diets of bodybuilders starting in the 1950's and then progress into the 1960's and 1970's. Many of the products available today did not exist. These men had to build the mass for the most part with food.

Today, many are playing chemical roulette. At that time (50's -70's) there were steroids, but the only thing they were using were testosterone and testosterone derived substances. Today the array of chemicals is incredible and if one knows enough pharmacology direct use of testosterone derived products is not even necessary.

The main idea you want is a balanced diet with a good emphasis on protein and protein that is easily metabolized.

Try and keep your body fat levels in check within reason. Most people in training have an off season weight that is 25-30 pounds heavier than the weight at which they would compete. This is "old school" and for the most part it still works for the greatest percentage of people.

Bodybuilding is in it's own way a science. Each person has to explore and find out what works for them.

During a bulking cycle one must find a caloric intake that results in weight gain at a rate that is not more than 3-5 pounds per week. Once peak weight is reached which is done in steps, you use the weight and burn it in your workouts.

If you notice most powerlifters are not thin guys. The fat that they have is used to fuel their lifts. In bodybuilding the goals are muscle growth not muscle lifting capacity, yet there is the common fuel issue.

The idea also is to remember that if you make a mess of this one the excess weight becomes more difficult to get off. You have to keep your body in store and burn modes and not get it into "conserve weight at all costs" mode which can happen.

The average active person can utilize 2500-2700 general calories per day. A bodybuilder in heavy training (and I mean absolute training to failure) can easily burn double that amount. The size and weight of the individual also plays a role with a larger individual burning more. Some of the largest muscles trained to failure can burn calories in large quantities.

More interesting illustrations can be found in the hit television show "The Biggest Loser". Sometimes the biggest people are the most successful and this seems a mystery to some. In reality it is not. A guy who weights 500 pounds is going to have extremely strong legs. Most of us would look at lifting 500 pounds as a heroic effort. The legs of one of these heavyweights must lift 500 pounds every time this guy gets out of a chair or every time this woman walks into Winchells Donut Wholesale. The mass that these muscles have achieved just to maintain mobility of the individual when the diet is modified to reduce caloric intake will because of their extreme size burn calories at an incredible rate. This is why some of these people can lose twenty or more pounds in a single week. It is the fuel requirements of the quads, calves, and hams that create this loss at their immense size and strength requirement.

In coming seasons I suspect that you are going to see some interesting things that begin to really illustrate how all of these principles work.

Calorie intake and composition have no set rules. If you eat good carbs they supply some energy but this is not metabolized as directly as one would think. If you eat bad carbs you tend to store it more easily than the good ones, and, if you eat a great deal of fat the body tends to store this as it is being mislead by the food into thinking that storage is necessary. All forms of fat burn off, percentage wise you just need to find the best balance that works for you as an individual.