Consider this: Most people eat three full meals and have one to three snacks each day. At an average of five feedings per day, that’s 35 meals per week! Thirty-five opportunities to keep your body on track toward improved health, fitness and longevity. Thirty-five opportunities to keep your body in a fat-burning state. Each time you eat, you can choose to take another step toward your goals or take a step backwards. In the following article, we’ll take a look at how the foods you choose to eat affect your ability to burn fat.
Fat Burning and Calorie-Counting
The benefit of simply cutting back on calories is a controversial topic. At one time, scientists believed we could count how many calories we burn, count how many we eat, and make accurate assumptions about how much weight we could lose, gain or maintain. They knew a pound of fat contained 3500 calories, so they assumed an individual could lose a pound of body fat per week by eating calories less per day than he or she burned. Our bodies are complicated systems. We don’t burn the same number of calories all the time, and the type of calories we eat play a role in our ability to burn them. Our bodies also adapt to the amount of calories we typically take in, so in the long-term, simply cutting back on calories is not sufficient for long-term weight loss.
That said, there are some benefits to calorie reduction. Studies show, during the first couple of weeks on a low-calorie diet, there is an increase in fat burning, regardless of the makeup of the diet. That means at least for a couple of weeks, any type of food can be eaten, as long as the total calories are low enough, and individuals should see a reduction in body fat. People may get by in the short-term by eating 100 calorie snack packs, frozen meals and other “diet” foods. Unfortunately, it seems weight loss cannot continue long-term by simply cutting back on calories. After a couple weeks on a low-calorie diet, the body learns to adapt to the lower energy intake by reducing the energy it burns. People may become less active, their hormones may lower the production of energy, and food cravings may increase.
Fat-Burning and the Macronutrients
The E-Book Eat Well. Live Well. (found on the National Weight Loss Page) discusses the macronutrients in more depth than we’ll cover here. Carbohydrate, protein and fat make up the majority of the energy in the foods we eat each day. Alcohol can add additional calories, but we’re not going to cover alcohol in this article.
If you’re diet still contains a lot of processed carbohydrates, the good news is small steps in the right direction seem to have very positive outcomes. Shifting the diet from easily processed starches such as potatoes, white rice and bread, to carbohydrate sources containing higher amounts of fiber can enhance fat utilization. We’re bombarded with the promotion of whole grains in our diet. The research does show that if your diet is heavy in processed carbohydrates, replacing those foods with whole grains can support weight loss. However, it doesn’t mean a diet high in carbohydrates, whole grains or not, is better than one with more moderate levels. Many people must also be conscious of gluten in the diet, so the type of complex carbohydrates can also be important.
The amount of each of the macronutrients in the diet plays a role in whether we burn fat, carbohydrate or even protein (muscle) during daily activity. Studies show when two diets are compared side-by-side, the diet made up of a higher percentage of carbohydrate shifts the body’s energy expenditure toward a higher percentage of carbohydrate. Basically, eating more carbohydrates makes the body burn more carbohydrate.
Changing the diet to a greater percentage of fat and reduced carbohydrate makes the body burn more fat. That doesn’t mean “just add more fat to the diet.” If an individual is going to start incorporating more dietary fat, such as olive oil, nuts and nut butters, coconut oil or organic butter into the diet, other carbohydrate sources may need to be taken out. Studies show that when the diet makeup (carbs vs. fat) is modified to increase the percentage of one or the other, it can have long-lasting effects. As long as meals throughout the day are consistent in macronutrient intake, the changes in fuel utilization are seen around the clock, even when individuals are sleeping. This is important because that bedtime snack can provide just enough carbohydrate to keep your body burning sugar instead of fat for several hours through the night.
Studies on higher-protein diets and their effect on weight loss and fat utilization have typically shown when dietary protein is increased, it supports weight loss and increases fat utilization. There are several possible reasons for this, which are outlined in The Power of Protein.
When looking at all three macronutrients and their effect on fat-burning, it appears a reduced-calorie, moderately reduced-carbohydrate, moderate fat and higher-protein diet could be especially effective at helping the body burn more fat. A “reduced-carbohydrate” may be as much as 40% of total calories to as little as 20%, depending on the individual.
Meal Frequency and Fat-Burning
Another long-held belief about nutrition is more frequent meals increase metabolism and keep the body burning more fat. The truth is that there is little evidence to support this theory. Some initial studies showed an increase in metabolism following each meal, which is a result of the energy required to digest the foods we eat. Metabolism typically increases after each meal, so it was thought that the more often people ate, the higher they’d keep their metabolism. In truth, the metabolism is elevated by the same number of calories when the same amount of food is eaten over the course of three meals or five. Metabolism is elevated to digest the food, not just because someone eats.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t some benefit to eating more frequently. As people attempt to increase their intake of vegetables and lean proteins, it may be easier to spread the food out over four or five, or even six meals. It may also be beneficial for keeping hunger at bay. However, one of the biggest mistakes people make about meal frequency is when they feel they must eat every few hours, they justify a trail mix bar, sweets or other processed carbohydrates because they think they have to eat to keep their metabolism from slowing down. For the purpose of weight loss, meal frequency is not as important as eating the right foods when you do eat.
See also: Meal Frequency, Metabolism and Weight Management
Summary
When it comes to planning out your meals to optimize your ability to burn fat, research seems to indicate:
- Eating fewer calories than you burn is important in the short-term, at least until your body adjusts to the reduced calories
- Non-processed, gluten-free carbohydrates are better than processed carbohydrates
- A more moderate or reduced-carbohydrate intake is better than a high-carbohydrate intake
- Replacing carbohydrates with some good fats in the diet can further increase fat utilization
- Replacing some of the carbohydrate and/or fat with protein also increases fat burning
Eating the right kinds of foods to support weight or fat loss is not complicated. The challenge is making the right decisions several times per day, every day until you’re well on your way toward your fat loss goals.
In health,
Tom Nikkola
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References:
Westerterp. Food quotient, respiratory quotient, and energy balance. Am J Clin Nutr. 1993;57:759S-65S
Sparti A, Milon H, Vetta V, Schneiter P, Tappy L, Jequier E, Schutz Y. Effects of diets high or low in unavailable and slowly digestible carbohydrates on the pattern of 24-h substrate oxidation and feelings of hunger in humans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000;72(6)1461-1468
Hill J, Peters J, Reed G, Schlundt D, Sharp T, Greene H. Nutrient balance in humans: effects of diet composition. Am J Clin Nutr. 1991;54:10-7
Batterham M, Cavanagh R, Jenkins A, Tapsell L, Plasqui G, Clifton P. High protein meals may benefit fat oxidation and energy expenditure in individuals with higher body fat. Nutrition and Dietetics. 2008;65(4):246-252
This article is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations in this and other articles is at the choice and risk of the reader.












