Thermogenic Effect?
I had been eating a lo-carb, lo-protein, hi-fat diet (ie approx 7%,
7%, 85%). When I lower the carbs even further, I get a thermogenic effect. How/why does it occur? Is it related to glucagon? What are the requisites to create the themogenic effect? Where in the body is it occurring primarily (ie liver, muscles, adipose)? Is this due to uncoupling in the mitos? If I lower the protein and up the fat, will this affect go away? TIA |
Thermogenic Effect?
jay wrote:
I had been eating a lo-carb, lo-protein, hi-fat diet (ie approx 7%, 7%, 85%). Generally grams matter a lot more than percent. Guessing 2000 calories for the day that would be 28 grams of carb, low but not extremely low, and 28 grams of protein, extremely low. Guessing at 1000 calories you're very close to what Atkins called the fat fast. When I lower the carbs even further, I get a thermogenic effect. How/why does it occur? Is it related to glucagon? I take it you mean you feel more heat coming out of your body and/or when you take your body temperature it is at least a degree warmer than normal? I get that as an intolerance reaction to wheat, clearly not the same effect as what you're seeing. ;^) I also got that effect for something like days 2, 3, 4 of my first Induction. I took it as a sign that my metabolism had increased. Increased metabolism equals more fuel burned and that's generally a good thing when dieting. Insulin pushes fat into storage. In that simple sense higher insulin tends to mean lower metabolic rate. Actually it's one small effect among many and the net effect on metabolic rate isn't large. But below some point less carb no longer means less insulin no longer means less pressure on fat to move into storage. Once fat is flowing out of storage further lowering carbs stops helping loss. Glucagon pulls fat out of storage. In that simple sense higher glucagon tends to mean higher metabolic rate. That would be the thermogenic effect you see. Glucagon is released as an indirect effect from dietary fat so it does not track as simply as the linkage between dietary carbs and insulin. The simple view is more dietary fat triggers more glucagon triggers more fat pulled out of storage - This is why the obvious approach of lowering fat while low carbing does not work. But it's fairly easy to overwhelm this pattern of eating more dietary fat to lose more stored fat. What are the requisites to create the themogenic effect? High fat relative to both carb and protein intake. It's why the fat fast is so effective. But that effect is temporary. It's why the fat fast is limited to two weeks and why the basic core Atkins plan Induction is two weeks long. As far as I can tell the thermogenic effect is a metabolic reaction to "switching" to a fat burning metabolism but not to "being" in a fat buring metabolism. That's my hypothesis. Experiment all you like to confirm or falsify the hypothesis. So here's what I think is happening - Change matters. Fat to carb plus protein matters. The thermogenic effect happens when you change to a higher fat to lower carb plus protein diet. The thermogenic effect goes away when the body adjusts to its current intake. I think that's why I got the effect for a few days early in Induction. I think that's why you got the effect when you changed your ratios. Where in the body is it occurring primarily (ie liver, muscles, adipose)? It being a matter of hormone levels I don't think it can be isolated to specific organs. Is this due to uncoupling in the mitos? I don't know what that means. If I lower the protein and up the fat, will this affect go away? Do you want to deliberately pursue the effect because it means you are burning more stored fat faster? Or do you want to avoid the effect because it's wierd and a bit uncomfortable? I think you can avoid the effect by staying at a specific ratio for at least a week because of the body adjusts. I think you can turn off the effect by going to higher carb and/or protein levels then reducing fat for the same total calories. If you want to pursue the effect I think it takes a cycle. Consider that body builders sometimes do very low carb during the week, very low fat during the weekend. That's one type of cycle. I suggest a half week or a week at your extreme plan that's near a fat fat. Alternate that with a half week or a week that's higher in protein and/or carbs. The cycle will move out of the thermogenic range then back into it. Each time the body adjusts to turn off the thermogenic effect it will be pulled out of the themogenic range, then given time to adjust to a new intake level. Then back into the thermogenic range. It would be a lot of work. You're already doing an extreme plan that's a lot of work. |
Thermogenic Effect?
I had been eating a lo-carb, lo-protein, hi-fat diet
(ie approx 7%, 7%, 85%). Generally grams matter a lot more than percent,,, The percentages translate to approximately 35-40g carbs, 35-40g protein and 175-200g fat. When I lower the carbs even further, I get a thermogenic effect. How/why does it occur? Is it related to glucagon? I take it you mean you feel more heat coming out of your body and/or when you take your body temperature it is at least a degree warmer than normal? *I get that as an intolerance reaction to wheat, clearly not the same effect as what you're seeing. *;^) *I also got that effect for something like days 2, 3, 4 of my first Induction. *I took it as a sign that my metabolism had increased. *Increased metabolism equals more fuel burned and that's generally a good thing when dieting. I notice the following three effects: 1) Feel noticeable warmer, to be point of slight perspiration and difficulty falling asleep without lower A/C setting. 2) A noticeable loss of appetite. 3) A slight loss in weight and visceral fat. Last night, I added 1/3rd cup of blueberries and the thermogenic effect disappeared. Tonight, I dropped the berries and the thermogenic effect returned. Insulin pushes fat into storage. *In that simple sense higher insulin tends to mean lower metabolic rate. *Actually it's one small effect among many and the net effect on metabolic rate isn't large. *But below some point less carb no longer means less insulin no longer means less pressure on fat to move into storage. *Once fat is flowing out of storage further lowering carbs stops helping loss. Glucagon pulls fat out of storage. *In that simple sense higher glucagon tends to mean higher metabolic rate. *That would be the thermogenic effect you see. *Glucagon is released as an indirect effect from dietary fat so it does not track as simply as the linkage between dietary carbs and insulin. *The simple view is more dietary fat triggers more glucagon triggers more fat pulled out of storage - This is why the obvious approach of lowering fat while low carbing does not work. *But it's fairly easy to overwhelm this pattern of eating more dietary fat to lose more stored fat. I am wondering if glucagon is released to stabilize blood glucose since insulin would cause it to drop. Maybe glucagon releases fatty acids from adipose so that the liver can convert the glycerol part of fat to glucose. Maybe brown fat is enabled to burn off the excess fatty acids. What are the requisites to create the themogenic effect? High fat relative to both carb and protein intake. *It's why the fat fast is so effective. *But that effect is temporary. *It's why the fat fast is limited to two weeks and why the basic core Atkins plan Induction is two weeks long. *As far as I can tell the thermogenic effect is a metabolic reaction to "switching" to a fat burning metabolism but not to "being" in a fat buring metabolism. *That's my hypothesis. *Experiment all you like to confirm or falsify the hypothesis. So here's what I think is happening - Change matters. *Fat to carb plus protein matters. *The thermogenic effect happens when you change to a higher fat to lower carb plus protein diet. *The thermogenic effect goes away when the body adjusts to its current intake. *I think that's why I got the effect for a few days early in Induction. *I think that's why you got the effect when you changed your ratios. Where in the body is it occurring primarily (ie liver, muscles, adipose)? It being a matter of hormone levels I don't think it can be isolated to specific organs. Is this due to uncoupling in the mitos? I don't know what that means. Some studies (see below) show that glucagon causes brown (due to extra iron) adipose to use fatty acids to generate heat by allowing electrons to leak across mitochondria's membrane. If I lower the protein and up the fat, will this affect go away? Do you want to deliberately pursue the effect because it means you are burning more stored fat faster? *Or do you want to avoid the effect because it's wierd and a bit uncomfortable? I think I will keep the carbs at the lower level for a while to see if the effects persists or subsides :) ------- Glucagon in physiological concentrations stimulates brown fat thermogenesis in vivo. ..... An important role for glucagon in thermogenic regulation is suggested. PMID: 1877708 The metabolic actions of glucagon revisited. .... The ability of glucagon to stimulate energy expenditure, along with its hypolipidemic and satiating effects, in particular, make this hormone an attractive pharmaceutical agent for the treatment of dyslipidemia and obesity... PMID: 20957001 Loose-coupled mitochondria in chronic glucagon-treated hyperthermic ducklings. In chronic glucagon-treated ducklings, the powerful thermogenesis observed in vivo after a glucagon test injection may be due to the uncoupling effect of released free fatty acids (FFA) in loose-coupled mitochondria because their respiration increased as a function of FFA concentration... PMID: 2544112 http://www.solvingdiabetes.org/2009/08/31/brown-fat/ shows location of brown fat in adults. Article say "brown fat is positioned to warm up the central nervous system!" |
Thermogenic Effect?
jay wrote:
Glucagon pulls fat out of storage ... *Glucagon is released as an indirect effect from dietary fat ... I am wondering if glucagon is released to stabilize blood glucose since insulin would cause it to drop. There's a feedback loop among dietary fat while eating low carb, blood glucose levels and glucagon release. It's close to as you describe but more complex. Partly because insulin is a very effective suppressor of glucagon release. Maybe glucagon releases fatty acids from adipose so that the liver can convert the glycerol part of fat to glucose. Maybe brown fat is enabled to burn off the excess fatty acids. For weight loss purposes we don't have to go deeper than glucagon pulling fat out of storage therefore more glucagon is better. But yes that's part of it. Also one path for burning fatty acids is the slow conversion to acetyl-CoA. Acetyl-CoA goes to the mitochondria in the cells and gets used in the Krebs cycle for aerobic respiration. It's a glucose substitute in a way. Ketones are the other faster fatty acid path. Is this due to uncoupling in the mitos? I don't know what that means. Some studies (see below) show that glucagon causes brown (due to extra iron) adipose to use fatty acids to generate heat by allowing electrons to leak across mitochondria's membrane. Brown fat is fat that is the most resistant to weight loss. If this is a system that reduces brown fat then it's a good idea for folks well over their ideal weight. I think I will keep the carbs at the lower level for a while to see if the effects persists or subsides :) Less than six months please! Or do cycles of much higher carb. There's a long term metabolic adjustment mechanism having to do with leptin levels that you don't want to trigger. You don't want your body to make a long term adjustment to low carb and switch to burning fat slower and more effeciently. Ineffecient is the goal for fat loss. Bouncing in and out of high body heat should probably keep you out but you don't want to have to deal with adjusting metabolism. |
Thermogenic Effect?
Brown fat is fat that is the most resistant to weight loss. *If this is
a system that reduces brown fat then it's a good idea for folks well over their ideal weight. I wouldn't think there would be much loss of brown fat as it's purpose seems to be to generate heat vs storing excess energy. There doesn't seem to be much brown fat in the gut area of an adult. I think I will keep the carbs at the lower level for a while to see if the effects persists or subsides :) Less than six months please! *Or do cycles of much higher carb. Ah, to keep the metabolic advantage, Thx :) |
Thermogenic Effect?
jay wrote:
Less than six months please! *Or do cycles of much higher carb. Ah, to keep the metabolic advantage, Thx :) Yes. Also as you get closer to your ideal weight the hormone cycles get more conservative. The body works more at adjusting to avoid losing weight. Beyond that, changing works better than a stable plan so cycle at different carb levels. |
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