ENERGY BALANCE BASICS

Usually people that go to the gym have one of two goals; to lose weight (lose body fat) or to gain weight (build muscle). Setting fat loss/muscle gain goals are a much healthier and more defined approach than setting weight loss/weight gain goals.

The following two statements should be a the centre of your nutrition programme:

• Everyone* who has ever eaten more than they burn has gained weight.
• Energy in > energy out = weight gain
• Everyone* who has ever eaten less than they burn has lost weight.
• Energy in < energy out = weight loss

*Everyone refers to the healthy population in this case.

Some might ask, can I just build muscle and lose fat at the same time? This usually only happens in beginners, if ever, because a beginner’s body has no experience with resistance training. After a short time of proper training you will have to choose whether to lose fat or build muscle if you want to do either optimally.

To ensure that weight loss/weight gain is in the form of fat loss/muscle gain other dietary aspects come into play and you must be on a proper training programme. These will be discussed elsewhere.

Your energy balance determines whether you lose or gain weight and thus it will determine whether you are losing fat or building muscle.

Additional points (more on these later)

1. You can lose fat faster than you can build muscle.
2. The higher your body fat is the more potential you have to lose fat.
3. Beginners have more potential to build muscle than advanced trainees.
4. Calorie deficits can be greater than calorie surpluses.
5. Taller people have more potential to lose body fat and build muscle.

ENERGY IN, ENERGY OUT

Energy is measured in calories. It comes from everything we eat and drink. Energy out comes from basal (resting) metabolic rate, energy used during exercise, energy used during daily tasks and energy used to digest food. All of these can be manipulated, some more so than other, to alter your energy balance.

CALCULATING ENERGY BALANCE

We are going to start with some simple equations:

• Energy in > energy out = weight gain
  1. Energy in > energy out + a training programme that supports muscle growth = muscle gain

• Energy in < energy out = weight loss
  1. Energy in < energy out + a training programme that supports muscle retention = fat loss

Energy/Calories In: The Math

To track your energy in you will need to weigh everything you eat and drink, add up all your protein, carbs and fat and multiply them by their respective calories per gram.

• Protein: 4 calorie per gram
• Carbs: 4 calorie per gram
• Fat: 9 calorie per gram

Alcohol: 7 calorie per gram (which actually equates to 5.7 calories due to the thermic effect of food, the beer blanket!)

Fat in ones diet has long been blamed for excessive weight gain. As you can see if you eat more fat than carbs your calorie intake will be higher. Excess calories is the reason for excess weight gain.

As you can guess tracking your calories isn’t as easy as it sounds. “My Fitness Pal” is a handy website and app that will track your data and do the math for you. The more you use it the easier it gets.

Energy/Calories Out: The Math

To calculate our maintenance calorie needs we do the following:

STEP 1: First your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is calculated using the following formula:

If you have a descend estimation of your body fat*, and thus lean body mass, you can use:

*The only true way to accurately calculate your body fat is with a DEXA scan or underwater (hydrostatic) weighing. You will need a lot of money and/or access to a university lab for either of these. You can get an idea of your body fat through caliper and measurement formula. Unfortunately these are not very accurate, and even less so with very high body fat or very low body fat individuals.

STEP 2: Next introduce an activity multiplier to account for energy expended during daily activity and exercise.

• Sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2
• Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): BMR x 1.375
• Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): BMR x 1.55
• Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): BMR x 1.725
• Extra active (very hard exercise/sports and physical job or training twice a day): BMR x 1.9

You will be left with your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)

Energy balance is an educated estimate that needs tweaking

Don’t get caught up on your energy in, energy out numbers. They are an educated estimate.

You will need to tweak these figures for a number of reason:

• Everyone’s NEAT factor will be different.
• Peoples NEAT factor can change with a change in their calorie intake.
• It is impossible to accurately quantify the calories you burn during exercise.
• It is notoriously difficult to accurately quantify your calories in.

For example, let’s say you’re 6 foot tall, 82kg and 10% body fat and I’m 6 foot tall, 82kg and 10% body fat. Both of us are on the same training programme. Our TDEE should be the same right? However you need 3000 calories to maintain and I need 2000 calories to maintain. This could be because you fidget and dance around all day, which increases your NEAT factor. You push harder during our training programme, increasing your energy used during exercise .

It is notoriously difficult to accurately calculate your energy in for numerous reasons (inaccurate labeling, differences in food quality, thermic effect of food etc.). Food labeling can be off by as much as 20% . You absorb more energy from processed food, fats and sugars than unprocessed, fibrous and protein rich foods of equal calories… and then there is basic human error.

MUSCLE GAIN/BULKING

For muscle gain a calorie increase alone is not enough. You need a proper training regime for effective muscle gain. Resistance training promotes muscle growth and will reduce fat gain while you’re in a calorie surplus.

If you eat more than you burn you will gain weight. A slight calorie surplus can support muscle gain without excess fat gain (what we want). A significant calorie surplus can lead to significant fat gain (not what we want).

Building muscle naturally is a slow process. Your results will be gradual. As you become a more experienced lifter your results will begin to slow. It requires patience and consistency. If someone tells you they have a secret trick or product to naturally add 10 pounds of muscle in 10 days, don’t believe the hype and save your cash.

There are a number of things that can increase body weight including:

• Increased water retention
• Increased food in ones digestive system
• Increased fat tissue
• Increased carbohydrate (glycogen) stores
• Increased muscle tissue

When someone starts to bulk an initial significant increase in weight isn’t uncommon due to the factors above.

From here onwards we are talking pure muscle gain, nothing else.

Setting Realistic Goals

Your muscle building potential is based on your training experience. This is classified by years of proper training or beginner, intermediate, advanced status. Appropriately periodised and progressive resistance training with compound barbell and/or dumbbell movements counts for proper training.

To calculate your muscle gain potential we look to models from Alan Aragon and Lyle McDonald

Let me remind you that this model is based on consistent proper training. A month off here and there is not consistent training. You may regress from intermediate to beginner after a long spell out of the gym.

You are a beginner if:

• You are a complete newbie or somewhat new to weight training.
• You have less than six consistent months of proper periodised training.
• You have been on a proper consistent weight training programme before but have since stopped for a significant period of time.

You are intermediate if:

• You have been weight training properly and in a periodised manor, for a minimum of six months consistently.
• You have successfully completed a beginners resistance training programme.
• You have a base level of muscle, strength and tolerance to resistance training.
• You know the correct form for (most of) the major lifts.

Most people fall in here and stay here for long periods. People with physically demanding jobs will get to the intermediate stage quicker than people with sedentary jobs.

You are advanced if:

• You have been training properly constantly for many years.
• You have gotten the majority of your desired results and are close to your natural genetic potential.

It can take three years, or ten years, to get to the advanced stage.

Different body parts can have different training statuses

This is most commonly seen in people that skip leg day for years or people with physically demanding jobs that target certain body parts and not others.

This model is useful for quantifying status based on strength and can help you identify if different body parts have different training statuses. These are strength standard figures, not “bodybuilding” standard figures. They are based on your (predicted) one rep max. You must complete the lifts to the following standards:

• Squat: must be performed with thighs traveling below parallel to floor.
• Bench Press: the bar must make contact with the chest above the bottom of the sternum with a momentary pause and be pressed to full elbow extension.
• Deadlift: knees, hips, and upper back must completely extend.
• Press: knees must be kept straight, torso cannot lay back with the shoulders behind hips, and elbows must completely extend.

Doing the Math

If you are building muscle at a decent rate you are going to also put on fat.

• A 1:>1 ratio in favor of fat gain will maximize muscle gain.
• A 1:1 ratio of fat gain and muscle gain will bring about near maximal muscle gains and limit fat gain.
• A 1:<1 ratio in favour of muscle gain will reduced your muscle gain potential.

“Dirty” Bulk

• High calorie surplus: 500-1000.
• Maximum muscle gain with high fat gain.
• Muscle gain to fat gain 1:>1.
• Useful for someone without fat gain concerns looking to maximise muscle gain (someone below 10% body fat).

If you are a “hardgainers” (someone who finds it impossible to put on weight) you might think that you slot in here. However your NEAT factor will most likely increase in response to your increased calorie intake and thus your surplus will be below this estimate. This would put you in the steady bulk category.

Steady Bulk

• Moderate calorie surplus: 500.
• Near maximum muscle gain with moderate fat gain.
• Muscle gain to fat gain 1:1.
• Recommended approach.

Lean Bulk

• Small calorie surplus: 100-200.
• Less than maximum muscle gain with small fat gain.
• Muscle gain to fat gain 1:<1.
• For those that want to stay lean while making small gains.

In order to build muscle optimally you are also going to put on some fat. Thus your bodyweight targets will be different to your muscle gain targets. I recommend using the model below to set your weight gain targets.

The NEAT Factor

If you would call yourself a “hardgainer” often your NEAT factor is to blame. People with a low NEAT factor usually move slower and are more relaxed than people with a higher NEAT factor. Some people can actually go from slow and relaxed to fidgety and jumpy simply by increasing their calories. All the fidgeting is their bodies’ way of using up all that extra energy. You need that energy to build muscle so stop fidgeting like a lunatic!

To summarise you need to do the following:

• Calculate your daily maintenance calories
• Add your exercise multiplier
• Add an additional 500 calories to support muscle gain
• Monitor changes in weight and compare them to your target weight gain model
• Add an extra 150 calories if you weight isn’t increasing
• Subtract 150 calories if you weight is increasing too quickly
• Make adjustments to your NEAT factor: relax and slow down outside the gym

FAT LOSS/CUTTING

If you eat less than you burn you will lose weight. However a calorie deficit alone is not optimal for fat loss. We must also promote muscle retention with a proper training regime.

While the calorie deficit for fat loss can be, and should be greater than the calorie surplus for muscle gain it should still be done in a sustainable and healthy capacity.

A gigantic drop in calorie intake over time can lead to unhealthy side effects. A gigantic drop in calorie intake over time without exercises can lead to even worse side effects, including loss of cardiac (heart) muscle tissue.

Setting Realistic Goals

There is a generally consensus that there is a limit to how much fat we can lose in a given time. This limit is set by your current body fat percentage. The higher your body fat is the more potential you have to lose fat and thus the quicker you will see results.

By aiming for these numbers you are limiting muscle loss and maximising fat loss. If you begin to lose any more than outlined above it is likely that your are also losing muscle tissue (bad). I am assuming that you are on an adequate training programme that supports muscle mass and thus any loss of weight is assumed as fat.

Having maximum and maximum targets allows for steady, sustainable progress with the potential for more, without overdoing it. Your goal should be long-term sustainable progress, rather than short-term results. The maximum limit can be less sustainable. That said there is no one stopping you aiming for the maximum limit if you are motivated enough.

Doing the Math

A general rule of thumb is if you subtract 500 calories from your total daily energy expenditure it will equate to 1 pound of fat loss a week. This is based on the consensus that it takes 3500 calories (500×7) to burn a pound of fat.

A more technical approach

Alternatively you can calculate the calorie deficit needed to reach your fat loss target and take that form your TDEE. If takes approximately 7700 calories to burn a kg of fat or 1100 per day.

TDEE – (weekly weight loss target kg x 1100)

Throwing Caution to the Wind

The leaner you are the smaller your calorie deficit should be when cutting fat. Let’s say you are 30% + body fat, your maintenance calories is 3500, your BMR is 1800 and thus if you consume 2500 calories per day (-1000 calories) you theoretically would lose 2 pounds a week. Now if you were 10% body fat, your maintenance calories is 2500, your BMR is 1800. You decide to reduce your calorie intake by 1000 calories per day. You are now at 1500 calories a day, which is below your 1800 BMR. If you do this for a prolonged period of time you are at risk of negative health effects. Exercise is important to increase your calories out and to prevent your calorie intake from going below your BMR.

In general cutting 500 calories is a good starting point. When women get below 20% and men get below 15% this I would recommend starting your cut at 250. The important thing to remember is to avoid long durations of drastic reductions in calories.

The NEAT Factor

By increasing the energy we use during daily activity and exercise we give ourselves more leeway with our energy in. This is where taking the stairs instead of the lift can buy you an extra treat. It is important to know that NEAT, the energy used day to day, far outweighs the energy you use during the hour you spend in the gym.

To summarise you need to do the following:

• Calculate your daily maintenance calories
• Add your exercise multiplier
• Take 250-500 to induce fat loss
• Monitor changes in weight and compare them to your safe weight loss targets model
• Subtract an additional 250 calories if you weight isn’t dropping
• Add 250 calories if it is dropping too quickly
• Make adjustments to your NEAT factor: move more

CALORIES PER WEEK, NOT PER DAY

Think about your calories on a weekly basis rather than a daily basis.

Lets say your target daily calories is 3000. That would equate 21000 calories per week.

You can add extra calories to training days, to satisfy increased appetite, and reduce reduce calories on non training days. Just use the following formula to calculate training day and non training day calories.

• Training days x (daily calorie goal + desired calorie increase) = total training days calories
• (total weekly calories – total training days calories)/reaming days = non training day calories

If you train 4 times a week with a weekly target of 21000 calories and you want to add an additional 500 calories on a training day it would look like so:

• 4 x (3000 + 500) = 14000
• (21000 – 14000)/3= 2333

SO WHAT

We always have to remember:

• Energy in > Energy out = weight gain.
• Energy in < Energy out = weight loss.

Step one is calculate your total daily energy expenditure.

If you want to build muscle add 500 to bring about a calorie surplus, set realistic muscle gain goals based on your training experience. Track your weight. Use the weight gain targets model and make adjustments as you go to get it right.

If you want to burn fat take 500 to create a calories deficit. Set realistic fat loss goals based on your body fat. Track your weight. Use the safe weight loss targets model and  make adjustments as you go to get it right.