What is the Thermic Effect of Food?

If you start looking at how the human body works you will be amazed! I did a course in kinesiology and I have to admit that it surprised me a lot! One of the things that I did research on my own was the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). What is it basically?

It’s the amount of energy it takes for our bodies to absorb, digest and metabolise the food we ate. TEF makes up 10% of our total caloric expenditure (amount of calories burnt) per day (on healthy adults eating a healthy and balanced diet).

I’ll take it a step further and tell you a small tip on how you can use this to your advantage. Of the 3 macros (protein, fat, carbs) the one that has the highest thermic effect is, protein!! Eating protein-rich foods like lean meats, eggs and fish can help you increase your metabolic rate and burn more calories. The reason is that when you consume fats, from the total calories you consumed only 0 to 3 percent of those calories are used on the TEF. Carbs’s percentage is 5 to 10 while protein requires 20 to 30 percent of the total calories consumed to be burnt in order to metabolise, digest and absorb it. See the difference? That is why protein-rich diets are the best and you should have variety in your diet.

Another problem though arises. Many people live in the stone-ages and believe that in order to lose weight you need to consume less meals or that fasting is the solution. Well, it’s not. Calories in Calories out, simple mathematics. The best way to lose weight is to combine 150 minutes of moderate intensity cardio per week with a 300 calorie deficit per day and make sure you eat 4 to 5 meals with protein per day. The reason for the 4 to 5 meals is because studies have shown that you have 4 to 5 windows per day for muscle protein synthesis and breaking down your protein to those four to five meals will help you a lot in your results! And to see how much protein you need per day just make your weight in KG to pounds (LBS) and then 0.7 (minimum) to 1.2 (maximum) grams per pound is optimal.

Let me know down in the comments section how you found it and make sure to check out the rest of the articles in the Blog, share them to help more people and also check out in the Menu above the Sculpt Together section so that we can work together towards a healthier and fitter version of yourself!