THE SCIENCE OF FLEXIBLE DIETING - Alan Aragon on healthy fat loss, seed oil myths, metabolism & optimizing body composition
Oct 2, 2023
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Alan Aragon, nutrition researcher and educator with over 30 years of experience, discusses flexible dieting, fat loss, metabolism, and optimizing body composition. Topics include debunking nutrition myths, finding maintenance calories, high protein not hurting kidneys, intermittent fasting, and the importance of breakfast for women with PCOS. They also talk about protein requirements, when to eat more carbs, and the truth about seed oils.
To achieve healthy fat loss, create a caloric deficit of 10-20% below maintenance by consuming fewer calories than your body needs.
Resistance training and consuming sufficient protein are crucial for building and maintaining muscle mass and overall health.
Exercise, especially endurance and resistance training, can stimulate autophagy and support muscle health, promoting overall health.
Deep dives
Caloric deficit and protein intake for healthy fat loss
To achieve healthy fat loss, it is recommended to create a caloric deficit of 10-20% below maintenance. This can be achieved by consuming fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight. Additionally, protein intake plays a crucial role in preserving muscle mass during fat loss. For optimal results, aim for 1.2-1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight for general population goals. For those looking to optimize body composition and athletic performance, aim for 0.7-1.0 grams of protein per pound of target or ideal body weight. These protein targets can help support muscle preservation and overall health during a caloric deficit.
The importance of muscle quality and resistance training
Muscle is essential for overall health, body composition, and performance. It helps support skeletal and cardiovascular health, cognitive function, and bone density. It is also metabolically active and aids in weight management. Resistance training is the key to building and maintaining muscle mass. Adequate protein intake is crucial to support muscle health and recovery. By engaging in regular resistance training and consuming sufficient protein, individuals can optimize muscle quality and reap the numerous benefits it offers.
Understanding autophagy and exercise
Autophagy is a process in which the body breaks down and removes damaged cellular components. While some individuals may attribute autophagy solely to fasting or caloric restriction, exercise, especially endurance and resistance training, can also stimulate autophagy. Regular exercise, along with adequate protein intake, supports muscle health and enhances the body's natural cleansing processes. Rather than solely focusing on manipulating fasting or caloric restriction for autophagy, individuals should prioritize exercise and muscle preservation to promote overall health.
Protein intake and its clinical benefits
Protein intake is crucial for overall health, body composition, and clinical markers. Consuming protein above the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) can lead to numerous benefits, including improved blood lipids, blood glucose control, thermic effect of food, and satiety. General population goals can be met with protein intakes of 0.5-0.7 grams per pound of body weight. For those aiming for optimal body composition and performance, protein intakes of 0.7-1.0 grams per pound of target body weight are recommended. Adequate protein consumption is essential during a caloric deficit to preserve muscle mass and support overall health.
Importance of matching calorie intake for carbs and fat
It is important to ensure that calorie intake matches for both carbs and fat, regardless of personal preference. Diet quality also matters, so it is recommended to avoid getting all carbs from low-quality sources like sugary drinks, and all fat from processed foods.
Carbohydrate intake for type 2 diabetics and muscle hypertrophy
For type 2 diabetics, it is generally beneficial to consume 130 grams of carbohydrates per day or less for managing glycemic control. However, ketogenic levels of carbohydrate intake (50 grams or below) are difficult to sustain long-term. For muscle hypertrophy, a carbohydrate intake of around 3 grams per kilogram of body weight has been observed in the literature as a lower end that maximizes muscle growth.
Ep 90. This episode is for all of you fitness and science nerds out there. Alan Aragon is a nutrition researcher and educator well known for his evidence-based approach to health. He has over 30 years of experience in the field, designing fitness programs for recreational and professional athletes and people who just want to look and feel their best. Alan also writes a monthly research review (AARR) providing cutting-edge theoretical and practical information to the general public. His work has been published in popular magazines like Men’s Health as well as peer-reviewed scientific literature.
Here’s the juice:
What flexible dieting is and why there’s no such thing as one ideal diet for all of humankind
How to combine flexible dieting with the parameters that we know work scientifically, like eating a certain amount of protein or fiber
The science of fat loss – how to lose weight the slow, healthy way
How to find what your maintenance calories are
Why high protein hurting your kidneys is a myth, and we get into other nutrition myths that bug Alan
If metabolic adaptation is a real thing
How it makes sense for some people to add more calories when trying to lose weight
Why intermittent fasting isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
Why women MUST eat breakfast, especially those with PCOS
How much protein you actually need per day
When you should actually be eating more carbohydrates
