How to eat more calories than you burn and still shed fat

No way…

It can’t possibly be?

How can we eat MORE calories than we burn and STILL lose weight?

Well, the science isn’t as outrageous as you think, and by the end of this article, you’ll have another cheeky fat loss tip to help you crush your goals.

Let’s go!

Protein, Protein, Protein

Ah, the governor of all macronutrients. Remember this:

- Protein keeps you fuller than carbohydrates and fat

- It has fewer calories than fat (and the same as carbohydrates)

- You burn more calories eating protein (via thermogenesis) than fat or carbohydrates (this is what we’ll be focusing on here)  

- Research shows higher protein leads to better diet satisfaction

- It helps you recover and preserve the muscle you've built.

 

Yep. Protein is the bee's knees for weight loss. 

And that’s why our meals are packed with it.

Protein should comprise the bulk of your weight loss diet, with fat and carbohydrates coming in afterwards.

And whilst it sounds magical, the fancy term above, thermogenesis, means we can eat a lot of protein, sometimes more calories than we burn…

…and still lose weight!

Fat loss: Thermogenesis and protein to crush your weight loss goals

How?

When we eat food, our body must expend energy to digest, absorb, and store it.

Specifically, this is diet-induced thermogenesis. 

Now, protein is the KING of diet-induced thermogenesis – because our body burns 30% of it just to digest it.

For example: If you eat 100 calories from chicken breast...

…30 of those 100 calories are lost just by digesting it!

For reference, fat has a thermogenic rate of just 0–5% of the energy provided, whilst carbs has

5–15%.

This is powerful knowledge for your waistline when used correctly.

Here’s how to do so:

Taking advantage of Protein for fat loss:

Let’s say you burn 2500 calories a day, and want to eat in a 20% calorie deficit for slow and steady fat loss.

That means you’ll need to eat 2000 calories per day.

Now, there is a world where you can eat a few hundred calories OVER this 2000 calorie amount…and STILL lose weight.

How?

Let’s start with this study, where subjects were overfed 800 calories via whey protein. 

Remember, that’s 800 calories MORE than they burn!

And how much fat did they gain?

None.

This is because protein powder is a very lean source of protein…AND, as we’ve learned, the 30% thermogenesis from the protein helped them burn more.

(This is one of the many reasons our meals feature lean sources of protein).

But let’s rewind a sec…

.. an extra 800 calories for the above subjects, and a 30% loss from thermogenesis means there were still 560 calories that could be stored as fat, right?

You’re not wrong.

But WHY wasn’t it stored as fat?

Good question….

NEAT - Non exercise Activity Thermogenesis 

NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis.

It’s the calories we burn during that day that aren’t exercise.

It’s you maintaining posture reading this article. 

It’s me tapping away at the keyboard right now. 

It’s:

• Walking to the bathroom
• Grocery shopping
• Cleaning your living space
• Gardening
• Walking to your next meeting
• Taking the stairs when you can
• Tapping
• Blah, blah, blah…

It might not seem like hardcore calorie burning stuff…

.. but consider this: research reveals we can burn an extra 350 calories a day from NEAT activities.

So back to our subjects: they lost 250 calories from thermogenesis, and 350 from NEAT, which totals 600 calories.

That leaves 200, but some people have a very high rate of NEAT, and it’s VERY LIKELY these subjects burnt 550 calories from NEAT, meaning they finished the day at maintenance calories.

What this means is that YOU…trying to LOSE fat…

…can eat MORE calories than you burn from LEAN protein sources (like whey and the lean proteins within our meals)...

…and should concentrate on getting your levels of NEAT as high as possible.

For example, the chicken in our Thai Green curry is very lean.

Even if you’ve consumed your 2000 calorie limit for the day, this would cause minimal damage for your waistline.

Fatty steaks aren’t as good as such lean protein options, or something high in carbohydrates or fat, as the rate of thermogenesis isn’t as strong.

Protein-induced Fat loss: Your plan

Sticking with our example of 2000 calories, if it’s 8pm at night and you’ve already eaten your 2000 calories for the day, think about this:

• Consume LEAN protein (like those found on our menu)
• Concentrate on getting your level of NEAT higher
• Consume whey protein
• Don’t consume foods high in carbs and fat after having reached your calorie goal for the day
• If you have a bad day, forget it, start again the following and don’t beat yourself up!

And that…is how to eat more calories than you burn and STILL lose weight!

Consider one of our high and lean protein meals here…

…and get hold of some whey protein from BSC here, so you can get into your best shape possible.

Happy shredding!

Tomi 

References

Soenen S, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. Proteins and satiety: implications for weight management. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2008 Nov;11(6):747-51. doi: 10.1097/MCO.0b013e328311a8c4. PMID: 18827579.

National Research Council (US) Committee on Diet and Health. Diet and Health: Implications for Reducing Chronic Disease Risk. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1989. 6, Calories: Total Macronutrient Intake, Energy Expenditure, and Net Energy Stores. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218769/

van Baak MA. Meal-induced activation of the sympathetic nervous system and its cardiovascular and thermogenic effects in man. Physiol Behav. 2008 May 23;94(2):178-86. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.12.020. Epub 2008 Jan 2. PMID: 18281067.

Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Lemmens SG, Westerterp KR. Dietary protein - its role in satiety, energetics, weight loss and health. Br J Nutr. 2012 Aug;108 Suppl 2:S105-12. doi: 10.1017/S0007114512002589. PMID: 23107521.

Carbone JW, Pasiakos SM. Dietary Protein and Muscle Mass: Translating Science to Application and Health Benefit. Nutrients. 2019 May 22;11(5):1136. doi: 10.3390/nu11051136. PMID: 31121843; PMCID: PMC6566799.

Westerterp KR. Diet induced thermogenesis. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2004 Aug 18;1(1):5. doi: 10.1186/1743-7075-1-5. PMID: 15507147; PMCID: PMC524030.

Schwartz RS, Ravussin E, Massari M, O'Connell M, Robbins DC. The thermic effect of carbohydrate versus fat feeding in man. Metabolism. 1985 Mar;34(3):285-93. doi: 10.1016/0026-0495(85)90014-9. PMID: 3883098.

Leaf A, Antonio J. The Effects of Overfeeding on Body Composition: The Role of Macronutrient Composition - A Narrative Review. Int J Exerc Sci. 2017 Dec 1;10(8):1275-1296. PMID: 29399253; PMCID: PMC5786199.

Chung N, Park MY, Kim J, Park HY, Hwang H, Lee CH, Han JS, So J, Park J, Lim K. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT): a component of total daily energy expenditure. J Exerc Nutrition Biochem. 2018 Jun 30;22(2):23-30. doi: 10.20463/jenb.2018.0013. PMID: 30149423; PMCID: PMC6058072.