Optimizing Your Caloric Intake

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Read the earlier parts of this thread about bulking - slow and normal. Normal bulking is about 500 calories above maintenance level</div>

Which works perfectly... TDEE = 2200, the calculator said I'd need 2700 to bulk. 500 above.

Thanks Colby!
 
Future additions to the thread:
-Benefits of EPA, DHA, and ALA Omega 3 Fatty Acids
-Gyclemic Index/Load
-Protein and Carbohydrate rationing
-Ideal macro nutrient ratios
-Volumetrics approach

Topics should be no surprise considering all my other activity in the Diet &amp; Nutrition forum.
 
Going beyond the pure estimations of physiological thermodynamics, there are many other ways to optimize your caloric intake. One such method that appealed to me over the past year is taking advantage of Omega Fatty Acids. Such omegas (3 and 6) are essential to your body as they are not created and must be consumed through food. These were originally called Vitamin F, but that notation has since been banished since they are actual grams of fat. Today, I will discuss mostly about the ratio of Omega 6's to Omega 3's in your diet.

What Omega Fatty Acids are beneficial, and which ones, if any are harmful?
A lot of research has been shown that the ratio of Omega6 to Omega3 fatty acids has a profound effect on health. Regions in the world with high ratios in their diets such as India, Western Europe, and North America have higher levels of chronic disease and obesity is much more common. A great range for such a ratio to be in is between 1:1 and 4:1. Staying under 6:1 has been shown to promote a much healthier body.

What foods have a lower ratio?
Fish is one of the best sources of Omega3's and has an incredibly low ratio (.03:1). Fruits and vegetables have great ratios albeit low amounts of fatty acids. Grains from flaxseed will have high quantities of ALA, an Omega3 fatty acid. On the other side, most processed &quot;junk&quot; foods have a high amount of Omega6's and low amount of Omega3's. Eggs (get back to them later), beef, and some poultry often have a higher ratio. One drawback of the miracle fat Olive Oil is its high ratio of Omega 6's to 3's.

Should I not eat foods that have a high ratio?
Like anything in life, balance is the key. You can balance your ratio from meal to meal or day to day by consuming some fish with your pasta and olive oil OR taking some fish oil before or after any meal.

What can I expect to achieve from a lower ratio?
If your diet has a low ratio for a long period of time, you will lower your chances of getting a chronic disease by reducing inflammation. Improved thinking, better retention of lean body mass, and decreased body fat percentage are all effects of a lower ratio.

*I come across as simple and to the point. If you want to know why and how, then check out some of the research on the net or in your local library. Originally, HST forum member Old and Grey taught me the benefits of increased EFA's. A booklet was then posted on this forum by another member regarding the ratio. I'll post the booklet that originally taught me about the benefits of the ratio. Most recently, I bought the book, &quot;Omega Zone&quot; and learned much much more than I ever knew before about Omega Fatty Acids. Next time, I will go into brief detail about which Omega 3 Fatty Acids have the greatest effect on health and being LEAN!
 
<div>
(colby2152 @ Aug. 24 2007,11:45)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">A great range for such a ratio to be in is between 1:1 and 4:1. Staying under 6:1 has been shown to promote a much healthier body.</div>
Sorry, you're using numbers (your strong suit). I appreciate the concept, but am somewhat at a loss as to how to apply it.

How can I figure my Omega 6/Omega 3 ratio?

What must I do to improve it? (other than eating leftover fish pizza...
tounge.gif
).

I am stumbling in the dark on this. I use maybe a tablespoon or so of olive oil daily. I take a few fish oil capsules and a few flax seed oil capsules after each meal, but that's about it.

I am open to learn, but I probably need some simple sentences and words of very few syllables. Thanks.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">How can I figure my Omega 6/Omega 3 ratio?</div>

I should have said your dietary intake, so there was not any assumptions about it being for the blood. Most foods will not list their Omega Fatty Acids on the nutrition facts, so you will have to use a reference source such as: http://www.nutritiondata.com

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">What must I do to improve it?</div>

As I said, fish is the best and most prevalent source. There are foods in your grocery store that are enhanced with Omega 3. These foods fall under brand names including Kashi and Smart Balance.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I am stumbling in the dark on this. I use maybe a tablespoon or so of olive oil daily. I take a few fish oil capsules and a few flax seed oil capsules after each meal, but that's about it.</div>

It's all about the balance between the two fatty acids. If you consume a food with a high ratio, then balance that out with a lower one. The best way to do this during any time of the day are capsules which you already take. Look into high grade pharmaceutical grade fish oil which is high in EPA and DHA. The health food (or grocery bought) oils/capsules are mostly ALA. Until you have advanced your diet where you get that anal about what goes in your body, I wouldn't worry about ALA, EPA, or DHA -- just focus on the balance of Omega 3's and 6's.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I am open to learn, but I probably need some simple sentences and words of very few syllables. Thanks. </div>

I hope this has helped TunnelRat!
 
Thank you, sir! That is much more clear.

Much of the discussion on nutrition is virgin territory for me. My mother taught me breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After that, all is chaos!

Dogcrapp tells me to get 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Kelly Baggett bases his advice about carbs in grams. However, most recommendations about consuming fats are made in terms of percentage of total calories...?
rock.gif


I think I'll just go have some tuna...
 
<div>
(colby2152 @ Mar. 26 2007,21:46)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Applying UCW to the Slow Bulk
The slow bulk works for a lot of people. The idea is that you eat slightly above maintenance (+200-300 calories) and either you will simultaneously lose some fat or gain very little. The underlying point is that you gain weight and your bodyfat percentage goes down. Like a bulk, you want your estimated BMR to be high., but not too high as you will eat too much and the slow bulk will turn into a bulk.

MaxBMR in a cycle should be based off the highest weight and lowest bodyfat%. One problem is that we do not know what the lowest or target bf% will be. Therefore, let:

a = starting weight
b = target weight
k = starting bf%
w = b - a = weight gain
x = target bf%
z = %muscle gained during cycle

bx - ak = wz
x = (ak + wz)/b

Let's assume z=1/2 as the average between perfect efficiency and none at all, so:

x = a(k + .5)/b - .5

Example:
a = 230, b=234, k = .15

x = 230(.65)/234 - .5 = .139

That figure is actually pretty damn good for a slow bulk, but once again we want to overestimate the BMR in any type of bulk.</div>
I have redeveloped this equation into a much simpler form. Your target bf% should ultimately be no higher than the starting bf% giving you an efficiency equal to your bf%. It can be no better than perfect (z=0: fat gained). Therefore, I stretch my uniform assumption to the efficiency coefficient. This lets z equal your starting bf% divided by two.

You then base your BMR off the target bf% and weight. In order to determine your target weight, you just divide the amount of weeks in your cycle (slow bulk time) by two and add that number to your starting weight.
 
Two Significant Notes...

1) My ULW assumption seems to be working well on myself. My bf% has been dropping, and more importantly, I am looking better in the mirror everyday!

2) Info on EFA's: BB.com EFA Article I have been lackadaisical in regards to this thread, but I have been too busy to write up everything that I wanted to. Instead, I am going to take an experimental approach to my optimization techniques, and then blab on here about them.
 
After coming off a cut, I've reached this conclusions: cuts suck. I'm also not wild about all the maintenance and energy that goes into a full bulk, so I'm very interested in this slow bulk.

As a rule of thumb for bulking, I've read &quot;a pound a week&quot; - which is easy, since it's the same as a cut, only in reverse. But last time I did this, I wound up with a lot more fat than I wanted. So with a slow bulk, what's a good rate to try and achieve on the scale? .5 lbs/week?
 
My cut had gotten stalled, so I asked colby to help me (all these equations make my head spin...
tounge.gif
). He was very gracious in his response.

Applying the advice I got from him, I've managed to lose five pounds of total body weight and have reduced my body fat percentage significantly. Even so I have been able to maintain a fairly rigorous strength program which has, so far, resulted in a series of personal bests.

I wish that all cut cycles could work as well. Heck, I'm even acquiring a taste for fat free cottage cheese...!
 
Deolmstead,

The ideal amount of weight gain/week is .5lbs/week, so you will want to eat approximately 250 calories over maintenance each day. Most people aren't patient enough for the body transformation that occurs during a slow bulk, but if that's not a problem, then you it will be rewarding. You won't have to worry about removing food from your diet! Try applying my Uniform Change of Weight assumptions for a slow bulk.

Tunnelrat,

Thanks for the compliments. I wish I could be more disciplined with my eating habits, but things are coming around lately. Over the past 10 weeks, I have averaged about 400 calories below maintenance each day. The results are showing up in the mirror and on the calipers. It's still a long road to 10%, but I will get there! I will also try various methods on my path including but not limited to the following:

1) 912 HST
2) Glycemic Index Optimization
3) Omega Zone Diet
4) Volumetrics
5) Increased frequency of meals

I'm happy to read about your success! Oh, and I love fat free cottage cheese.

-Colby
 
As I venture into my first 912 cycle, I want to explain some of my caloric optimization techniques that proved true for at least myself in the past few months.

Despite minimal weight loss (couple pounds) over the course of three months, my body fat percentage radically dipped by about 1.5% giving me much leaner look and even causing muscular growth in certain areas. This was correlated to greatly increased amounts of Omega 3 Fatty Acids such as EPA and DHA. With caloric intake being relatively the same in the three months, my EPA/DHA intake was different. During the first six weeks, I took a maintenance dose of about 600-900mg (daily dose) of EPA and DHA each without noticeable change in my body composition. The following six weeks showed a significant lowering of body fat thanks to an increase in EFA consumption (about 1750 mg each of EPA and DHA per day).

The proof is in the pudding!
biggrin.gif
 
<div>
(colby2152 @ Jan. 07 2008,13:13)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">During the first six weeks, I took a maintenance dose of about 600-900mg (daily dose) of EPA and DHA each without noticeable change in my body composition. The following six weeks showed a significant lowering of body fat thanks to an increase in EFA consumption (about 1750 mg each of EPA and DHA per day).

The proof is in the pudding!
biggrin.gif
</div>
Okay, but you need to use the same terms throughout your equations. The difficulty I've had in reading diet and nutrition articles is the constant bait and switching that goes on. Protein recommendations vary between 1 and 2 grams per pound of body weight. Carb recommendations are generally given in terms of grams. Then fat is discussed in terms of calories and percentages! Is there no article that can recommend fat consumption in terms of body weight?

I try to follow these articles about Omega-3 and Omega-6, fish oil and flaxseed oil, but the conclusions then go on to discuss (as do you) EPA and DHA. That doesn't seem to be quite the same thing. EPA and DHA are subsumed in fish oil and flaxseed oil, but are only a part and not the whole.

I have bottles of fish oil capsules and bottles of flaxseed oil capsules. Is it possible to buy pure EPA or DHA supplements? If not, is it possible to get a recommendation of how much fish oil is needed daily and how much flaxseed oil? After a point, this all begins to sound like so much snake oil...

The proof may well be in the pudding, but unless the pudding can be standardized how can I be sure I am getting the same thing you are?

&quot;Ow cahn you 'ave any pooding if you doen't eat chyer meaht ?&quot;
 
TR,

I am not sure what pure EPA and DHA supplements would be, but I speak about fish oil in a 3-layer process

1) Increase Omega-3 Fatty Acid and decrease Omega-6 Fatty Acid intake. Lowering the ratio of Omega 6:3 will promote many health benefits that are covered in detail in this excellent summary: http://content.karger.com/Produkt....789.pdf

2) Now that you have made your self health conscience about this ratio, you need to focus on certain Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically the long-chain ones such as EPA and DHA which have the greatest health benefits. Start off with a maintenance dose of pharmaceutical grade fish oil (molecularly distilled) at about 4 capsules or 1 teaspoon per day.

3) Increase EPA and DHA consumption to a level of your satisfaction. I suggest increasing slowly each week. Large consumption of any oil, not just fish oil, can cause minor gastrointestinal issues. Also, the stuff isn't cheap, so popping 40 pills or taking 10 teaspoons per day is not recommended unless there are severe issues such as cancer present in the body.
 
More on fiber... from fiber35diet.com

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">We already know that eating 35 grams of fiber every day can help manage our hunger. But did you know that fiber actually helps to eliminate calories from the food we eat?

Research has shown that those who consume a diet high in fiber tend to excrete more calories in their stool. Technically, this is called fecal energy excretion and refers to the process by which fiber helps to block the absorption of calories consumed and lead calories out of the body.

In a recent study, the United States Department of Agriculture found that those who consumed between 36 and 50 grams of fiber daily excreted 130 unused calories in their stool, and similar studies have found that even moderate dietary fiber supplementation can increase fecal energy (calorie) excretion while simultaneously decreasing hunger.

At the University of Kiel in Germany, the Department of Human Nutrition and Food Science found that for every gram of fiber we eat, we eliminate 7 calories. This means that if you consume 35 grams of fiber each day as recommended by The Fiber35 Diet, you will eliminate 245 calories daily. At that rate, if you consume at least 35 grams of fiber every day, you will eliminate 7,595 calories a month (245 x 31 days). That equals 2.17 lbs. each month, or 26.04 pounds each year. </div>
 
Everything I read about calculating calories, all the formulas, etc. -- for cutting -- all seem to boil down to 10 - 12 calories per pound of bodyweight.
 
<div>
(etothepii @ Jan. 16 2008,08:30)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Everything I read about calculating calories, all the formulas, etc. -- for cutting -- all seem to boil down to 10 - 12 calories per pound of bodyweight.</div>
It is funny how an easy estimate like that provides the range we need. However, those numbers overshoot for my cutting purposes. I get a ULW of 2300 for cutting, but the 10-12 range gives me 2400-2880 calories per day for cutting. Less is better for a cut, hence my assumptions.
 
From my training log:

&quot;I have been running the numbers this morning, and I am on a good pace to hit 10% body fat by May 31st. However, I have been going at this pace so far, and the expected weight loss has not happened. The body fat percentage is not dipping as much as I thought it would, so there must be something wrong in my calculations. I am hungry a lot, and I work out as much as possible, so I know I am cutting correctly, but it may not be enough. I record calories burned per exercise as part of my TDEE. These calories burned per minute statistics are based on my weight at the time. The lower a person's weight, the less amount of calories they burn for an exercise. Therefore, I am going to apply my ULW assumptions to exercise by setting my measured weight at 220 (a whole 19 pounds lighter than what I currently weigh). This should create a drastic change in my TDEE. In fact, it seems that it reduces my calories burned via exercise by 6.5%.

At the end of the day, whatever the numbers are, I need to change something. I need to consume less calories and burn more. Two problems that have occurred with my caloric intake are my fiber intake and Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. Fiber has been correlated with weight loss, and studies have shown that the calories from fiber end up being undigested for thermodynamic purposes. However, what is not seen is the additional amount of calories that are not fiber within these fiber supplements. The most cost effective ways to increase fiber are through beans and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals. These foods contain fiber, but they also have additional sugars, other carbs, protein, and some fat. Protein is no problem, but the extra fat and carbs are the areas of caloric intake that I am trying to reduce. My numbers have shown that fiber seems to have a slightly negative correlation (r=-.15) with weight loss. This can be drawn from the fact that fiber brings in those extra unwanted calories.

I am not giving up on fiber for my lifelong diet. Its benefits outweigh the extra calories. However, it does not seem to have its place in my current cutting diet. The increased fiber intake gives me about 450 extra calories. Out of those extra calories, there is about 25 grams worth of fiber. Subtract that 100 calories out and there is an extra 350 calories. That is what I call excessive baggage, and it is unnecessary for my plane trip to 10%. Now, all those extra calories are not to be blamed exclusively on fiber. The fish oil has a lot to do with that. In the same comparison tests, the fish oil has resulted in an increase of 10 grams of fat per day. That is another 90 calories. 350 - 90 = 260. It is safe to say that I can blame 260 extra calories on fiber. The fish oil is a pure supplement while the fiber isn't. I cannot afford to have both purely supplemented, and I believe the benefits of the fish oil outweigh any other nutritional supplement.

For the next 19 weeks, I will return to non-supplemented normal fiber intake. Fish oil consumption will stay the same. ULW assumptions are applied to exercise reducing my TDEE an average of 50 calories per day. It is safe to say that these extra steps in and out of the numbers will have dramatic effects on my weight loss.&quot;
 
Walnuts have an almost optimal ratio of Omega 6:3, two to one.
 
<div>
(drpierredebs @ Jan. 18 2008,03:10)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Walnuts have an almost optimal ratio of Omega 6:3, two to one.</div>
Yes, walnuts are great for the balance, and are one of the few nuts that have good stats. Even healthy nuts like cashews have ratios off the charts.
 
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