It’s not as complicated as it sounds, I promise.
But it is important and it relates to a wide range of health topics from fasting to exercise and even alcohol consumption.
#EnergyPartitioning is an essential concept of metabolism I like to impart into my clients at some point along our journey.
Energy refers to source of fuel- there's multiple fuel sources our bodies can use, but in this particular case we are speaking just of the two major ones: carbohydrate and fat.
And partitioning is how they are divided: which is being used more and why.
Together, they describe the rate at which you burn fuels (carbs/fat) and how efficient your cells are at burning each.
Our cells do a great job of “remembering” our normal pattern of eating and adjusts in order to get the most energy possible the quickest, because the body, on its own, knows only how to do one thing- survive.
Believe me when I tell you, it has no idea about your weight loss goals.
It’s an adaptive trait many animals have evolved that allows quicker digestion of our most available nutrients for energy, and energy = survival.
For a real-life example, take Person A who has been eating significantly more carbs outside their normal range in the past couple months.
Their cells will actually begin “remember” that the most abundant resource is now carbs, so it will trade-in its ability to burn fat efficiency for increased carb burning efficiency, since it will get a better return on investment in the long run, knowing/assuming there will be more carbs coming in the next meal or snack.
Call it insider trading if you will.
What that also means is body fat will remain untouched for longer periods of time, as a result of the decelerated fat burning efficiency.
Your cells would rather wait for more carbs than try to re-remember how to digest fat, even if fat is knocking on the door.
As human beings, our bodies are already predisposed to preferring carbs as our main source of fuel since it is easily digested, regardless of your dietary habits.
This is important to know because it partly explains the mechanism behind cravings.
Your cells become highly accustomed to the nutrients it sees the most often, and thus become much more sensitive to it.
Similar to that last relationship you had... (joking, but not really).
When there is an absence or deficiency of the nutrient, your cells release chemical signals that your brain interprets as a dire need, aka cravings.
But we don't feel that molecular storm ravaging inside our bodies, we just think, "This donut looks pretty fire."
Naturally, you begin eating the carb-dense food items except now, the cells' increased sensitivity to sugar makes it require an excessive amount before those signals can be calmed and the cravings subside.
Fast forward 30 minutes and your cells have finished gorging themselves on the carbs.
Now you are left with a Shawshank Redemption scenario of excess jailbreak carbs running amok in the bloodstream.
The excess carbs may either cause damage to other healthy cells OR be stored as fat.
Oh, and you'll probably be hungry for the same thing again in an hour or two.
It’s the biological representation of a snake eating its own tail- a never ending cycle that is very difficult to break loose.
Sound familiar? I’m guessing it does.
Like most processes in the body, it’s important to remember that this process is dynamic and dose dependent.
Meaning both processes (fat partitioning and carb partitioning) are always going on at the same time, it's just one is usually stronger than the other as we demonstrated in Person A.
Again, this is generally based on their recent dietary habits under normal conditions (metabolic disorders i.e. diabetes, celiacs, thyroid, etc. do not play by the same rules).
It is not an all-or-nothing exchange (nothing ever really is when it comes to nutrition/biology in general).
Now depending on your fitness goals, this feedback could hinder progress, in some cases severely.
How do we correct this?
Simply by adjusting the diet and “unlearning” this process- easier said than done though.
Shifting your energy partitioning, specifically to increased fat burning, doesn’t happen overnight.
We have to make our cells forget.
The key is to slowly shift it back by consuming slightly less carbs and slightly more fats each day.
The higher quality the sources, the better the response.
Let’s bring back Person A.
If Person A were to desperately begin soaking their meals in oils while they were still in carb burning mode, very little of it would be used for energy and the majority will be stored as… you guessed it, fat- leaving them still feeling hungry and unsatisfied.
**Before we move on, I want the reader to note that this concept muddies the calorie-in, calorie-out approach to nutrition. In the long run, as in over the course of months, years, a lifetime etc., it could be argued as a justifiable approach for simplicity sake. But as we can see, there are many many factors that influence how calories are stored, used, and expelled. Taking as many factors as you can into account can improve your odds of success. More on that in a future blog post.
Now back to where we left off-
Continue slowly shifting the balance of those two macros until you hit that "sweet spot".
The spot where your body is efficient enough to use a significant portion of the carbs you consume, and also efficient enough to sustain itself on your body fat, even on an empty stomach.
And from there, you can choose to increase your carbohydrate consumption based on how much more calories you are burning, say for instance by increasing the intensity of your workouts.
You’ll know you're at a good balance when you begin getting less severe hunger spikes throughout the day.
THIS RANGE IS DIFFERENT FOR EVERYBODY.
This is what makes diets, and nutrition science in general, difficult.
There is no one size fits all. It might take someone days to adjust, and other weeks/months.
One person might be strict keto (75-90% fat, 5-10% carbs) and another person can eat 5 pounds of rice a day, yet both perform at the same level.
Gotta love a nice gray area, but a good rule of thumb is most of us lie somewhere in the middle.
Figuring out your range is a lifeskill worth learning and an excellent tool to help regain control of your body.
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