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How We Get Fat Bodyrecomposition Store

March 26, 2010 by lylemcd

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Ok, this is going to be a bit ranty but, trust me, I write better when I’m upset. If the
Internet has proven anything to me over the years it’s this: basic literacy is sorely
lacking. Because the comments in response to the article I wrote on Tuesday, Excess
Protein and Fat Storage – Q&A indicate that not only can people not understand rather
basic concepts, they insist on reading things into what I am saying that I have never
said. I could rant about making uncritical inferences but I’ll spare everyone that.

In that piece I answered a very specific question with a very specific answer. I made
no implications of anything beyond the exact answer I gave to that specific question.
And somehow people managed to read all kinds of asinine stuff into it, things that I
never said or even began to imply. It’d amaze me if I hadn’t seen people do this
consistently over the past 15 years.
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The basic confusion in that article was that folks interpreted my saying that carbs and
protein can’t be converted to fat as ‘Lyle says you can’t get fat overeating carbs and Evidence for an Upper Threshold
protein’. Which I absolutely didn’t say. But people inferred, incorrectly. Basically, for Resistance Training Volume in
what I said and what they heard were not the same thing. Trained Women – Research Review
Another Look at Sarcoplasmic
I’d note before continuing that if folks had taken 30 seconds to click on and read the
Hypertrophy
article I linked Nutrient Intake, Oxidation and Storage, they would have realized the
Women’s Book Volume 1 Section 5
mistake they were making as I specifically said that overeating carbs can still make
Now Available
you fat, just not through direct conversion (rather through indirect mechanisms). But
The Ultimate Training Secret
in addition to a lack of basic literacy, laziness seems to be endemic on the net as well.
Women’s Book Volume 1 Section 4
And for not taking a couple of minutes to read the piece that I specifically linked to, a
Now Available
bunch of people got confused and then aggro.
Women’s Book Volume 1 Section 3
I’d also note that if folks reading the protein piece had taken time to read the, I dunno, Now Available
200+ other articles on the site, they’d realize that I am making no such claim that you Women’s Book Volume 1 Section 2
can eat all the carbs you want (or that lowcarb diets are superior, or whatever Now Available
nonsensical conclusions they reached). Or that one specific dietary approach (e.g. Happy Hour with Phil Hueston
lowcarbs) is automatically superior to another. Debriefing the Mike Israetel
Debate
But rather than do that, they took a single article, addressing a single specific Women’s Book Volume 1 Section 1
question, and ran with it. That’s not a good thing to do, you can’t take a single answer Now Available
to a single specific question out of context and take that to represent what I believe.
Well you can but it’s stupid to do so. That’s what a lot of people did.

But since they couldn’t do any of that, couldn’t take the time to even read the single
linked article much less the rest of what’s on the site, rather than writing about
Categories
something more interesting today, I’m going to clear it up once and for all. And I still
expect someone to read this completely wrong and go around the Internet mis-
representing what I’m saying. I’m used to it at this point. Select Category

How We Get Fat Part 1: Energy Intake Exceeds Energy Output

At a fundamental level, fat storage occurs when caloric intake exceeds caloric output,
a topic I discussed in some detail in The Energy Balance Equation. Now, I know that a
lot of people claim that basic thermodynamics don’t hold for humans. Simply, they
are wrong. Invariably, the studies used to support this position are based on a faulty
data set: to whit, they are drawing poor conclusions about what people SAY that they
are eating.

For example, one popular book bases one of its many incorrect theses on a 1980
report suggesting that the obese ate the same number of calories as the lean. Ergo,
obesity was caused by something else. The problem is this, the data set is wrong. A
fact we’ve known for nearly 30 years but that the author was somehow unable to
become aware of in his ‘5 years of dedicated research’.

Study after study after study over the past 30 years shows that the obese
systematically under-report their food intake (by up to 30-50%) and over-report their
activity (by about the same). So when they say they are only eating 1800 calories per
day, they may be eating 2400-3600 calories per day. And their activity isn’t nearly
what they think.

And when you put those same folks in controlled metabolic ward conditions and
control their food intake and/or activity output…voila, the energy balance equation
holds. It’s only when you believe the (incorrect) self-reported data that it doesn’t.

And make no mistake I am NOT saying that the obese are lying about their intake, not
consciously anyhow. Most people simply suck at knowing how much they are actually
eating. Leave them to self-report it and they almost always screw it up. If you’re
mistaken enough to believe the self-reported values, you reach even more screwed up
conclusions about things.

In that vein, I have found that the chronically underweight “I can’t gain weight no
matter what I do” are invariably vastly over-estimating what they are eating. That is,
they are eating far less than they think. Other studies show that ‘health conscious
people’ tend to under-report their true ‘junk food’ and dietary fat intake; to appear
more healthy they conveniently forget or leave out that trip to the burger joint.

Put differently, this isn’t something that only occurs in the obese (so spare me
accusations of ‘hating the obese’ or some nonsense). Am I clear or are people going
to misinterpret me some more in the comments and claim I said that fat people lie
about their food intake? Because I’m not saying anything of the sort. Make no
mistake, I’m sure some do lie about it; most are just clueless about how much they are
actually eating.

Now let me make it clear that there is obviously a lot more going on here, hormones
and all manners of other stuff impact on the energy balance equation. For example,
chronically elevated cortisol does a lot of nasty things in terms of reducing metabolic
rate (reducing the energy out side of the equation) as well as negatively impacting on
calorie partitioning (where calories go when you eat them as discussed in Calorie
Partitioning Part 1 and Part 2). But for the most part, a lot of that is outside of our
control. It’s relevant but you can’t do much with most of it. So I’ll focus on calories.

How We Get Fat Part 2: Nutrient Intake, Oxidation and Storage Part Deux

The primary storage of fat in the body is in fat cells, duh. Most of that is found in what
is called subcutaneous fat, which is found under the skin. There is also fat stored
around the gut area called visceral fat (this surrounds the organs). Fat can also be
stored in ‘bad’ places like the liver and pancreas under certain conditions; this is
called ectopic fat storage.

I’m going to focus here on subcutaneous fat. There, whether or not fat is stored or
removed comes down to a concept called fat balance, which I discuss in some detail in
The Ultimate Diet 2.0. You can think of fat balance as the fat specific equivalent of
energy balance. That is

Net Change in Fat Stores = Fat Stored – Fat Burned

I’d note that the same nutrient balance holds for protein, carbohydrates and alcohol
(which I’m not going to talk about today). That is, the net effect on bodily stores,
whether protein or carbohydrate stores in the body increases, decreases or stays the
same comes down to the balance of protein/carb stored vs. protein or carbs/burned.

So at a fundamental level, fat gain occurs when fat storage exceeds fat burning
(technically oxidation). And fat loss occurs when fat oxidation exceeds fat storage. I’d
note that both processes take place in some amounts throughout the day, controlled
by a host of processes I’m not going to talk about. Just recognize that what happens
over time in terms of your fat stores comes down to the relationship between those
two processes: fat storage – fat oxidation.

So what determines fat oxidation and fat storage rates?

How We Get Fat Part 3: Back to Nutrient Intake, Oxidation and Storage

Now, here’s where people got confused by Excess Protein Intake and Fat Storage –
Q&A, and where they would have been unconfused by clicking the linked article on
Nutrient Intake, Oxidation and Storage. In fact, I’d suggest you go read it right now, it’s
not that long and since I’m not going to retype all of it here (that’s why I wrote it the
first time), it’d be a good idea. I’ll wait.

However, since I know most of you will have just ignored my suggestion to actually
read that piece, I’m going to summarize a few points from it (as well as from the Q&A):

1. Carbs are rarely converted to fat and stored as such

2. When you eat more carbs you burn more carbs and less fat; eat less carbs and you
burn less carbs and more fat
3. Protein is basically never going to be converted to fat and stored as such
4. When you eat more protein, you burn more protein (and by extension, less carbs
and less fat); eat less protein and you burn less protein (and by extension, more
carbs and more fat)
5. Ingested dietary fat is primarily stored, eating more of it doesn’t impact on fat
oxidation to a significant degree

Let’s work through this backwards. When you eat dietary fat, it’s primary fate is
storage as its intake has very little impact on fat oxidation (and don’t ask me a bunch
of questions about “But people say you have to eat fat to burn fat?” in the comments.
That idea is fundamentally wrong but would take an entire article to address). It also
doesn’t impact greatly on the oxidation of the protein or carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are rarely converted to fat (a process called de novo lipogenesis) under
normal dietary conditions. There are exceptions when this occurs. One is with
massive chronic overfeeding of carbs. I’m talking 700-900 grams of carbs per day for
multiple days. Under those conditions, carbs max out glycogen stores, are in excess of
total daily energy requirements and you see the conversion of carbohydrate to fat for
storage. But this is not a normal dietary situation for most people.

A few very stupid studies have shown that glucose INFUSION at levels of 1.5 total daily
energy expenditure can cause DNL to occur but this is equally non-physiological.
There is also some evidence that DNL may be increased in individuals with
hyperinsulinemia (often secondary to obesity). There’s one final exception that I’ll use
to finish this piece.

But when you eat more carbs, you burn more carbs and burn less fat. And that’s why
even if carbs aren’t directly converted to fat and stored as such, excess carbs can STILL
MAKE YOU FAT. Basically, by inhibiting fat oxidation, excess carbs cause you to store
all the fat you’re eating without burning any of it off. Did you get that? Let me repeat
it again.

Carbs don’t make you fat via direct conversion and storage to fat; but excess carbs can
still make you fat by blunting out the normal daily fat oxidation so that all of the fat
you’re eating is stored. Which is why a 500 cal surplus of fat and a 500 cal surplus of
carbs can both make you fat; they just do it for different reasons through different
mechanisms. The 500 calories of excess fat is simply stored; the excess 500 calories of
carbs ensure that all the fat you’re eating is stored because carb oxidation goes up
and fat oxidation goes down. Got it? If not, re-read this paragraph until it sinks in.

Oh yeah, the same holds for protein. Protein isn’t going to be converted to and stored
as fat. But eat excess protein and the body will burn more protein for energy (and less
carbs and fat). Which means that the other nutrients have to get stored. Which means
that excess protein can still make you fat, just not by direct conversion. Rather, it does
it by ensuring that the fat you’re eating gets stored.

Of course protein also has the highest thermic effect, more of the incoming calories
are burned off. So excess protein tends to have the least odds of making you fat under
any conditions; but excess protein can make you fat. Just not by direct conversion to
fat; rather it’s indirectly by decreasing the oxidation of other nutrients.

Ok, is the above clear enough? Because I can’t really explain it any simpler but will try
one last time using bullet points and an example. Let’s assume someone is eating at
exactly maintenance calories. Neither gaining nor losing fat. Here’s what happens
with excess calories. Assume that all three conditions represent identical increases in
caloric intake, just from each of the different macros. Here’s what happens
mechanistically and why all three still make you fat:

1. Excess dietary fat is directly stored as fat

2. Excess dietary carbs increases carb oxidation, impairing fat oxidation; more of your
daily fat intake is stored as fat
3. Excess dietary protein increases protein oxidation, impairing fat oxidation; more of
your daily fat intake is stored as fat

Got it? All three situations make you fat, just through different mechanisms. Fat is
directly stored and carbs and protein cause you to store the fat you’re eating by
decreasing fat oxidation.

And I’d note again, since someone will invariably misread this that that doesn’t mean
that a low-carb and/or low-protein diet is therefore superior for fat loss. I’m not
saying that and don’t think that I am. Because in such a situation, while you may be
burning more fat, you’re also eating more dietary fat. So net fat balance can be
unchanged despite the dicking around with macronutrient content. It still comes
down to the deficit.

The Obvious Question: Why Not Just Eat Zero Dietary Fat?

And now I’ll answer the question that I know every person who has read (and
hopefully understood) the above is asking: so if carbs and protein are rarely converted
to and stored as fat, and make you fat by decreasing fat oxidation and causing all
ingested dietary fat to get stored as fat, can’t I eat as much as I want of protein and
carbs so long as my dietary fat intake is zero?

And the asnswer is still no. Remember how I teased you above with one other
exception, when carbs are converted to fat for storage? That exception is when
dietary fat is below about 10% of total daily calories. Under that condition, the body
ramps up de novo lipogenesis. So you still get fat.

Because the body is usually smarter than we are. Under conditions where dietary fat
intake is ‘adequate’ (meaning 10% of total calories or more), the primary fate of that
fat is storage and protein and carbs are used for other things. And when dietary fat is
too low, the body will start converting ingested carbs (and probably protein, though it
would still be rare) to fat for storage.

Oh yeah, the other question you’re going to ask in the comments “What about
alcohol?” That’s going to require a full article so be patient. I know that’s another
thing lacking on the Internet but so be it.

And I really hope that clears things up. If it doesn’t, read this piece and the linked
articles until it is.

Similar Posts:
Excess Protein and Fat Storage – Q&A
Do I Need to Eat More Fat to Burn Fat – Q&A
Nutrient Intake, Nutrient Storage and Nutrient Oxidation
Diet Percentages: Part 1
What are Calories Part 2

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Eliza Watson
Hi! Thanks so much! I wondered if there's any difference in likelihood of dietary fat
being stored as body fat, based on what type of fat consumed?
Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 19w

Eliza Watson
Eg. Saturated fat versus monounsaturated?
Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 19w

Preston Mark Noble

Lyle I LOVE YOU!! Seriously I get it! It makes soooo much sense! I am grateful I was
blessed with a similar.... at least a small portion of your "reasoning/way of thinking".
Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 1 · 38w

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