Thrive fat loss confusion

I have recently completed thrive 1 and a main lesson is the high fat and protein breakfast. Throughout the course there is talk of burning body fat due to eating no carbs "the body looks within for a source of energy and burns body fat" (something similar to that).  

my confusion is, how does this have any effect at all due to the fact that calories in versus out determines weight change or no change?

Also the main issue i had with the course was training in the mid day (as recommended). After a high fat low carb breakfast as well as a lunch containing 2-3 handfuls of carbs i found my training suffered as i would feel really burnt out half way through a workout. This is something i continually noticed even after very low carb breakfasts for two months. Training only felt great after 2 meals with a significant amount of carbs later in the day. This leads me to another question, would it not be more effective for fat loss, better for muscle mass and strength if i were to have carbs for breakfast?  as this would allow me to work harder and consequently burn more calories, stimulate more strength, mobility and flexibility adaptations. 

thanks 

 

The concept of calories-in-calories-out as a simple relationship only makes sense if your body is functioning properly.  Modern obesity occurs from the constant barrage of carbs, leading to consistent insulin production and thus low levels of glucogon synthesis. So what does that mean? Your body becomes inefficient at releasing stored fat and utilizing fats for energy, especially when you have a constant supply of sugars available. In this case the calories-in-cal-out idea breaks down. Hormones aren't allowing someone who is dependent upon sugar access to fat energy. The result is a dependence upon sugar for energy, and anything in excess goes to fat stores, and it never comes out. The key to reversing that is to starve the body of carbs for significant periods of time to force the body to start using fat again. Once that balance comes back in, then it is simple as cal-in cal-out.

Under the assumption that you are overweight, as is a much more common problem nowadays than the opposite, what it sounds like is that after you have your high fat breakfast, your body isn't yet completely adept at utilizing fat for energy and so you feel gluey and sluggish. It isn't until you eat a ton of carbs does your energy levels come back.

This gets messy because everyone's situation for needs of carbs and fats are different depending on their health and activity levels. The way I look at Jeff's plan is for someone who is pretty healthy already, the carbs are needed because they don't have ~40 days worth of calories in fat hanging off of them.

If you are overweight then a more important goal is to get that weight down, and that is where cal-in cal-out makes sense as you'll definitely need to under-eat, but only if your body can use that bodyfat as energy. But to get at all that stored fat you really need to cut down heavily on carbs ( rice / grains) and keep your glucogon pumping. Flirting with ketosis here you gain access to an relatively unlimited source of fat energy.

I'd recommend cutting down on your afternoon carbs even more so you aren't so reliant upon them for energy and you are still sourcing fat for energy utilizing your breakfast. Jeff's plan will get you there, if you go lighter on the carbs than what you are doing right now. Think of that midday sluggishness as too much of a reliance upon carbs for energy.

I cannot agree with "The concept of calories-in-calories-out as a simple relationship only makes sense if your body is functioning properly". energy balance its basic physics, no matter how the body is functioning these rules cannot be broken. The cause of obesity cannot be simply blamed on a single macro nutrient, its a muti factor issue.  

I am fairly lean around 12% body i would guess, it has been over 2 months of high fat breakfast this should be plenty of time to adapt. Perhaps im not eating enough fat. It it does seem odd that for the same amount of calories of high fat breakfast vs high carb breakfast the difference in my energy level and performance level in the gym. 

Nice work on completeing the course, Callum. Those basic habits are going to help you for the rest of your life. 

I think you'll both really enjoy this podcast: https://guruperformance.com/episode-84-impact-of-non-exercise-activity/ . I'm going to listen to it again. Maybe we can look into this a bit more and post our thoughts. I'm no expert, but I enjoy this stuff. 

To your 2nd original question, Callum, now that you've finished the course, it could be worth experimenting with dietary adjustments to boost your performance. N=1, but I prefer a lighter workout or skill session earlier in the day, with fewer or zero carbs but my hard training session is nearly always performed in the late afternoon with plenty of carbs in me. That's just what I've found works best for me for performance. It's all about context. 

Thanks for the link Everett i shall check it out. 

Interesting that you've found that works best for you, ill give it a try.