#132 | Measuring Metabolism | Hari Mix PhD of Calorify
Apr 21, 2024
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Hari Mix, Founder and CEO of Calorify and a Stanford PhD, sheds light on the evolving landscape of metabolism and nutrition. He reveals why many athletes are moving from restriction to strategic fueling for optimal performance. Mix discusses the pitfalls of traditional calorie tracking and introduces cutting-edge methods like doubly labeled water for accurate energy measurement. He also uncovers the complexities of calorie impact on health and the critical danger of underfueling, particularly in sports, while addressing age-related metabolism myths.
Accurate measurement of metabolism using advanced technologies like doubly labeled water helps athletes determine optimal food intake for performance and health.
The shift in professional athletes' mindset emphasizes maximizing nutritional intake for better performance instead of merely minimizing caloric consumption.
Recognizing that exercise does not directly correlate with weight loss is crucial, as metabolic adjustments can hinder caloric expenditure when activity levels increase.
Deep dives
Understanding Energy Measurement
Accurate measurement of metabolic activity is crucial for athletes and individuals alike to determine if they are consuming the right amount of food to support their activities and overall health. The concept of using doubly labeled water for measuring energy expenditure offers a reliable alternative to traditional calorie counting methods. This technology provides insights into how many calories one burns without the need for tedious tracking of every bite consumed. As professionals shift their focus from minimum calorie intake to maximizing performance through nutrition, this method aligns with modern understanding of fueling the body for physical activities.
Challenges with Calorie Tracking
Most people struggle with accurately tracking their calorie intake, often underestimating their consumption by 30 to 40 percent due to various factors such as portion distortions and inaccuracies in food labeling. Even those who are meticulous about measuring their food tend to be off by significant margins when compared to advanced measurement technologies. This discrepancy leads to frustration for individuals trying to maintain a healthy balance of calories in versus calories out. The inability to accurately monitor one's dietary habits can hinder weight management efforts and overall health.
The Impact of Exercise on Metabolism
Exercise is beneficial for overall wellbeing but does not necessarily correlate directly to weight loss due to the body's compensatory mechanisms. The constrained model of metabolism suggests that as one increases physical activity, other factors, such as immune function and basal metabolic rate, may adapt accordingly and reduce caloric expenditure elsewhere. For example, the body might reduce energy allocated to non-essential processes when exercising more rigorously. Understanding these dynamics shifts the conversation from solely focusing on calories burned during exercise to considering the holistic impact on the body's energy balance.
Addressing Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) highlights the critical importance of maintaining adequate energy availability for athletes, as inadequate fueling can result in various health issues, including hormonal imbalances and bone density problems. Accurate measurement of how many calories athletes eat compared to what they burn is essential for preventing this condition. Strategies for recovery and performance enhancement now prioritize not just calorie restriction, but ensuring adequate energy intake to support bodily functions. Technologies that measure energy availability offer valuable insights that can help athletes optimize their nutrition and overall health.
Innovation in Body Composition Assessment
The introduction of advanced technologies like doubly labeled water not only helps in measuring energy expenditures but also serves to assess body composition more accurately than traditional methods. This new approach provides an alternative to DEXA scans and other invasive body fat measurement techniques, offering results that can be obtained conveniently at home. Understanding an individual's body composition can give insights into their metabolic health and help tailor nutrition and training programs effectively. As the science behind these technologies evolves, they hold potential for widespread application among athletes and health-conscious individuals alike.
Everybody knows exercise is good for us but why? And why doesn't my food tracker balance my calories even when I weigh my food and use a power meter and heart rate monitor to track energy usage? Do I really have to step on a scale everyday to know if I am eating too much? And how can I tell if I'm eating too little to build muscle and to avoid bone and immune function issues down the road?
Today on episode 132 I am joined by Hari Mix, a Stanford University PhD and the Founder and CEO of Calorify, an emerging technology company providing athletes and sports teams with the world's most accurate measurement of energy expenditure, powered by doubly labeled water. Only by accurately measuring metabolic activity can athletes and everyday people know if we are consuming too much or too little food to power our athletic pursuits and the bodily functions that repair our bodies and keep us healthy for a long time.
Hari Mix explains that professional athletes are shifting from "how little can I eat and still perform" to "how much can I eat to perform better", and he walks us though what is known about these complicated and vexing questions about balancing calories in vs. out, and why exercise is not a great tool for losing weight.
The image below is a weak illustration of the idea that your metabolism changes in response to changes in energy availability / left over after exercise. It works both ways: too little available energy will turn down metabolic rate while too much energy availability will turn up the metabolic rate. The metabolic rate of energy usage is indicative of bodily function activity level: energy surplus: growing muscles and bones and other organs, energy shortage: scavenging of old and damaged proteins in muscles, bones, immune cells, etc. (autophagy, mitophogy):
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