Long before a sticky note could list all of
my nutrition knowledge with room left to spare, I knew one thing for
sure: the leaner I got the harder it was to lose body fat. I knew I
could just “clean up” my diet a little and drop from 12% to 8% body
fat. Then, all I had to do was get on the bike a few times a week and
I’d be at 6%. I would have to really be consistent to go to 5% and it
was brutal to go any lower. Low-carbs, high-cardio, hypoglycemia,
muscle loss…what was I doing wrong? Isn’t a pound a pound? I have even
joked that I could be the best 6% bodybuilder in the world if everyone
else would just stop there too! But regardless of the cost, winners
don’t stop there. And the cost is different for everyone.
"the leaner I got the harder it
was to lose body fat"
You know genetics are both the gift and
curse that either propels you forward or holds you back in this sport.
You may never have my legs and I may never have your back even though we
both try and train our hardest – muscle shape is muscle shape. Two of
my kids have my wife’s build and two have mine. No amount of training
would morph one into the other, they will just be bigger versions of
what they are – strengths will be even stronger and weaknesses will
still be evident. Body fat storage and metabolism are very much the
same. Here’s a little preview. We’re in the middle of an obesity
epidemic, agreed? Two-thirds of us are overweight and childhood obesity
is up five-fold. But, dig a little deeper and what you’ll find is
pretty surprising. Among the developed countries, though childhood
obesity has increased that much in 30 years, the bottom 50% of the BMI
(body mass index) hasn’t increased at all. That means the leanest 50%
of kids across the world haven’t gotten fatter at all, but the heavier
you are on the BMI, the higher the increase in obesity. Translation: if
a child has the genetics to become obese, then due to today’s societal
changes (mom’s not home cooking, greater than 60% of our meals being out
now, less activity, etc.) they get even heavier. But, children who
don’t have the genetics to become obese, though they live in the same
culture with the same foods and temptations don’t gain weight.
 What
are some of those genetic differences? First, we go through two
“filling” and two “stretching” phases in our growth as children. The
amount of body fat cells our body creates is mainly genetic but also is
influenced by how much we eat during that first year of life and the
period right before puberty. One person may have 15 billion body fat
cells and another may have 150 billion. All of the hormones that cause
body fat storage now have 10x the loading docks for the triglyceride
payloads. Let me give you an example. You’re cruising along, the diet
is going great, and then you read an article that says once a week you
need a trillion grams of carbs so you don’t lose muscle. So you visit
the YMCA Annual Pancake Breakfast and break the world record.
(Actually, I’m sorry to say it doesn’t even take that extreme of an
example. Did you know you can refill all the glucose in your blood
stream with an apple? And you can refill your liver with two pop
tarts? How about the fact that 300-450 grams of carbs can pack all of
your muscle tissue with all the glycogen it can hold?) So, as you’re
wiping the maple syrup from your chin, your body is quickly on carb
overload. You IMMEDIATELY stop burning body fat. Normal circulating
amounts of insulin are three times that of glucagon – your best friend
in fat loss. That means we’re three times better at storing fat than
losing it. Think about the biology; your body is designed to be
conservational and to survive – its primary concern is not how you look
in a coat of dream tan, naked in front of 1,000 people. When you’re
depleted – in a calorie deficit – your body is looking for ways to store
fat. Glucagon production stops and insulin comes tearing out of the
gate. It not only shuttles glucose to the muscle – like we hear about
in muscle-building articles – but it also slaps the liver into a
glucose-to-fat conversion mode and body fat cells start hording it.
That happens right now, one high-carb meal, don’t pass go – fat storage
is the goal of the entire body. “But is was just one meal! But my body
needed it! But I just had one dessert! But I even though it was three
cups of rice, it was clean food!” Your body doesn’t care – it just
wants to store. Now, if I have 150 billion fat cells and you have 15
billion, who is better at storing fat? Who can afford more slips on a
diet? Certainly not the person who struggles to get lean. (Keep in
mind, I’m not talking about very moderate increases in carbs – I’m
referring to planned or unplanned increases that are too much at one
time.)
There are so many related
hormonal/biochemical reasons that some people are naturally thin and
some are heavy. Of course we can do our part to gain or lose weight
despite our genetics, but working against your genetics is a hard day.
It’s a battle. I’m oversimplifying and skipping important issues to
make the point, but one more factor in weight loss that has been given
much play is the hormone, leptin. Leptin is secreted by fat cells and
is the primary signal carrier for hunger/satiety. When enough filling
occurs in the fat cells, leptin is released and tells the brain to back
off the hunger. When not enough leptin is present, hunger rules. There
is a marked difference in the obese versus the ectomorphs in terms of
leptin. Experimental studies show obese children deficient in leptin
eat dramatically less and lose weight when leptin is brought to normal
amounts.
There are
two lessons here. First, having hit adolescence with a way-big filling
phase – yes I was a fat little kid – and coming from a family of massive
obesity, I think I should receive a handicap as a WNBF pro. I think
even if you can’t see cross-striations in my spleen, I should place
ahead of Dave Goodin at least once in my career. Okay, okay, I’ll be
serious. Those who bear the label “carb-sensitive” or know that they
are anything but an ectomorph, have to be prepared to work harder. You
may have to go lower on carbs, but be careful to cycle nutrition to keep
your metabolism higher. You may have to diet longer and stay leaner in
the off season. You may have to do more cardio. I have to be honest;
these clients are tough. They work harder, they suffer more, they have
to endure endless shifts in nutrient cycling that I concoct, but many
tireless, hard-case dieters have won shows and have won pro cards.
There are advantages in muscle retention, but that’s little consolation
when you feel like you’re not getting anywhere. Hang in there – David
killed Goliath and the tortoise beat the hare. If you’re willing to
work, you can level the playing field and you can win! Knowing you
worked harder than most, the victory will be that much sweeter.
Thanks, Dr. Joe Klemczewski
Hard Case Weight Loss - Part 2
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