So i have a question....

plumsparkle

Which is probably a very stupid one so i apologise in advance!

I keep being told things like don't go over your protein (or carbs, or fat but particularly protein for some reason) because it will turn to fat.

So heres my question. If i am under my calories for the day, how will eating too much protein or whatever cause me to store more fat?

And please understand, i know about the what my macros are etc, and I do try to stick to them, and I get that eating a balanced diet is better for health (and I have been told for optimal fat burning, yay!) but I just can't get my head around this statement.

So for an example, if i ate nothing but chicken tomorrow, but stayed within my calories (not something i plan on doing, i know its not nutritionally sound or healthy!) would the extra protein be stored as fat, or would i still be losing weight?

trainguy917

Whoever told you that has no idea what he/she is talking about.

manderson27

I wouldn't worry about going over on your protein it wont turn to fat, as long as you are keeping within your calorie goal you will be fine.

F00LofaT00K

Whoever told you that has no idea what he/she is talking about.

Yep. If you eat under the calories you need to maintain your current weight, your body enters a state of "catabolism," which means that it's in the process of breaking itself down. This is mostly fat, but a bit of muscle. It's actually important to make sure you're getting plenty of protein and eating above your BMR to feed the muscle you currently have in order to reduce the amount of muscle your body breaks down as you lose weight. Anyway. . . your body is either in that state of catabolism, or in a state of "anabolism," which is building up (which would be storing fat or creating more muscle); you cannot, physically, possibly be in both states at once. It is LITERALLY (and I mean literally, literally) not possible within the realm of physics to do both at once. Even if you ate nothing but spoonfuls of sugar, you would not store fat if you were eating below maintenance. You would probably lose a lot of muscle along with the fat, but you would never store fat. Ever. Whoever tells you otherwise should do some scientific research about the human body before giving out any further advice.

plumsparkle

Thanks guys it is my boss who keeps telling me (when he isn't telling me to make sure you eat enough protein!) who in the past ran a business as a personal trainer! I have asked him to explain it to me, but he starts such a long winded explanation i get lost- obviously because there isn't an explanation!
I will just smile sweetly next time he says it, and if he carries on, will show him these answers!