Why do we get fat?
Today there are many different and sometimes even ridiculous opinions about weight gain, which of them are correct - in the article.
For a long time, for example, fats were considered extremely dangerous for a person losing weight, then they were rehabilitated and everyone pounced on carbohydrates, from which, they say, all fat is built.
However, today we can answer the question with certainty: “Why and how do we get fat?!”
1. Calorie expenditure
Yes, as expected, this is the first point, and we could, in general, finish with it. The axiom is simple:
Eat fewer calories than you burn and you will lose weight!
This seemingly obvious truth is often questioned in everyday life. Some say that they get fat from salad, they don’t eat anything and still gain weight, and they also have a slow metabolism. People from the opposite camp claim that they eat everything they can, but can’t gain weight, or they are just so lucky with their genetics that they eat everything they can, while their friends are always on a diet and are still fat.
More than one study has been conducted that has proven such an obvious fact, which seemed to lie on the surface: “All these people are lying!”
At first, the fatties simply wrote down everything they ate during the day, their daily expenditure was strictly recorded. And then it really turned out that the principle of counting calories does not work. However, then EVERY meal they ate was recorded on camera. And as a result, instead of the indicated average of 2000 calories, it turned out to be 3 or even 4 thousand! That is, they actually ate twice as much!
A little bit of sweet water, a couple of cookies just for a snack, no one took it for food and didn’t even remember it when writing down their diet at the end of the day.
The same goes for those who want to gain muscle, once one guy convinced everyone that he eats as much as he can and still can't gain. When asked what he ate today before training, he answered - a piece of pizza and yogurt! And so on over and over again. In general, the problem here is that people are simply not honest with themselves, do not want to look at things soberly, force themselves, but prefer to look for excuses and miracle methods.
The other side of the coin and another important question in this topic:
How much should I undereat to lose weight/how much should I overeat to gain weight?!
Most people start jumping from one extreme to another in a headlong rush. They think: "I need to lose weight quickly, so I'll eat as little as possible and add an hour and a half of cardio every day."
Even those who already understand what calorie counting is often make mistakes.
The MAXIMUM possible calorie deficit, as many studies show, for a normal person not on steroids or clenbuterol is 1000 kcal (!), and that is exactly how many calories can be subtracted from your basal expenditure so as not to disrupt your metabolism. With a greater deficit, overtraining occurs, muscles are destroyed, metabolism slows down to the extreme, etc.
So, you might think, I'll remove 500 kcal, add more cardio, and make the workouts more intense. And you'll get a 1500 kcal deficit, and overtraining again. Strictly speaking, if you want to lose or gain weight, the optimal deficit/surplus will be 500 (!) kcal. Yes, that's right, this will allow you to lose 0.5-1.5 kg of fat per week, without losing another 1 kg of muscle after the fat, or gain 1-2 kg of muscle per month, without gaining exactly the same amount of fat.
2. Where does fat come from?!
If at first it was believed that fat is deposited from fat, and therefore, you just need to eat as little of it as possible, now you can hear from everywhere that fat is deposited from carbohydrates, fat from food has nothing to do with it! It's time to reveal a terrifying secret to you:
Fat is actually built from fat, and only in EXTREMELY rare cases do carbohydrates turn into fat (usually when there is less than 10% of fat in the daily diet). Yes, that is exactly how it is today.
However, here is a key formula that will help you understand everything:
Your fat reserves = Fat stored/deposited - Fat burned.
If you ate a lot of carbohydrates, the body will work on carbohydrates = fat will not be burned. Ate a lot of protein, the body will work on protein = fat will not be burned. Add fat to this = the body works on protein/carbohydrates, excess fat is deposited! And again, it all comes down to a calorie deficit! Ate less carbohydrates, burned fat. Ate less protein, burned a little more
Carbohydrates will turn into fat only if they are consumed in extremely high quantities, 700-900 grams of carbohydrates daily!
An extra 500 kcal (over and above the daily calories) from fats will go to fat. An extra 500 kcal from carbohydrates will make sure that every calorie from fats goes to building fat. And even overeating protein will make you fat, because the remaining fat will go straight to your fat reserves. That's the whole secret. And if you don't eat fat at all, then carbohydrates will be stored in it.
But with any calorie deficit, fat will always (!) be consumed, which means that counting calories and ensuring their deficit is the only 100% effective way to lose weight. About how to count calories and how many calories you actually need in everyday life and to lose/gain weight - next time.
