Food is supposed to be used for energy. Every action performed by our bodies requires some energy to perform, and we even burn calories while we are sleeping. Our hearts beat, our lungs expand and our body continues to do countless activities. Much of the body’s most serious work is done at night when our brain is asleep. For all of these actions to take place, we need the right kinds of foods and nutrients, including protein, fats and calories.
Protein is used by every cell in the body, from hair, skin and nails to the muscles. It is a common myth that protein is not stored in the body as fat, however, like any other calorie, if you take in too much protein, you will have it stored as fat, period.
Every type of food that we need is treated in much the same way in the body: it is broken down in the process of digestion and then is either used immediately or it is stored. There are a number of hormones that influence what gets stored, how much is stored and where it gets stored.
Digestion
When food is put into your mouth, you start breaking it down immediately. Each of the nutrients in the foods are handled differently. Some foods are handled by the body more efficiently, while others need more work to be broken down and used. It is important to note, though: a calorie is a calorie, energy is energy and anything, even protein, has the potential of being stored in the body as fat.
Every type of nutrient is handled by the body differently, of course, and is absorbed in a different area of the digestive system. The faster it is absorbed or the earlier in the digestive system it is taken in, the more likely the nutrient is to become stored as fat.
Simple sugars (which include sodas, some fruit juices, candy and overly processed sugary foods) are quickly broken down into glucose and then sent to the liver. The liver typically tells the body that the sugar should be turned into a fat unless it is immediately needed.
Complex carbohydrates (such as whole grains and vegetables) take longer to digest, so the body is not sent into sugar panic mode when they are broken down. Because the sugar level is not stressed, it does not flood the body with insulin, which normally leads to immediate fat storage. Instead, the body digests the complex carb at a slower pace. This should not be thought to mean that complex carbs are never stored as fat, because they are, but it just takes longer to do so.
Protein (like animal proteins and plant proteins) is one of the nutrients that takes the longest for the body to digest because it goes through a very complex procedure first. First, protein gets broken down into small amino acids, which are then sent to the liver. Amino acids are simple compounds, with the typical protein made up of 500 or more of them. Each amino acid that the protein is broken down into is then used by the body to make new ones. There are eight amino acids that the body cannot make on its own: leucine, isoleucine, valine, threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan and lysine. (Source: The Vegetarian Society)
If you are not exercising or using the protein’s amino acids for muscle growth, the protein calories will get converted to glucose and then further converted to stored fat.
Fats (both good fats, which include olive oils and nuts, and bad fats, namely trans fats) get broken into smaller particles of fats and then tend to get stored as fat in the body. However, the bad fat sources will increase the body’s inflammatory response. The inflammatory response occurs when your body responds to certain substances in a negative way. Inflammation releases free radicals, which attack the body on a number of levels. If you are exercising on a regular basis, your body will use up its carbohydrates stores, leading to the muscles needing to burn fat for energy.
(Source: Roizen and Oz, You on a Diet)
The Makeup of Amino Acids
Amino acids are simple compounds which can be broken down into their basic elements, which include carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. These amino acids will link into chains, which are called peptides and serve a number of different purposes in the body.
Hormones and Protein
In our bodies and brains, there are a number of hormones that influence our eating habits. Ghrelin is the hunger hormone which is located in the stomach which makes you feel like you are starving to death. When you are eating a regular type of diet, the hormone ghrelin is released about every thirty minutes or so. When you are depriving yourself, especially with low-calorie diets, the ghrelin hormone may be released more often and more powerfully, causing you to start wolfing down everything that you can get your hands on. A better suggestion is to keep your stomach full with good foods, including proteins which are slower to digest.
On the flip side of the hormone coin is leptin. Leptin tells the brain that you have received enough food and will cause you to stop eating (in most cases). Again, foods that are slower to digest and break down are typically the best at releasing leptin, and again, proteins are good choices here. Drinking a liquid protein shot between meals or just before a meal can help to reduce the number of overall calories that you consume.
How Much Do You Need to Eat?
There is no such thing as the “perfect” calorie count. Every person needs a different amount of food, because everyone has a different body type and different activity level. There are two levels of calorie intake: maintenance and weight loss. Maintenance calories are what you eat to remain at your current weight. To lose weight, you have to take in fewer calories than you need. If you are exercising, you are burning more calories than you usually do, so you do not have to make a huge change in your food intake. However, if you are not exercising nearly as much as you think you are or are not working hard enough to burn a lot of calories, you will have to reduce what you take in.
There is a basic formula to get an idea of what you need to eat for maintenance and for weight loss. The formula starts with your resting metabolic rate. To get that estimated number:
– Multiply your desired weight in pounds by 8 and then add 200. (This is not a perfect number, only a rough estimate.)
Now, find out how much energy you use for physical activities. That formula:
– Multiply the number of minutes doing light exercise (such as walking, light yoga and gentle stretching) by 4, and your cardiovascular (such as jogging, light running and strenuous yoga) and strength training by 8.
Add the two numbers together and you get an idea of your calorie needs. The choice for losing weight is simple: you can increase your activity level to burn calories without having to reduce the amount you eat, or you can reduce the amount that you eat.
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