Thib,
I have a special request for your expert opinion with regard to helping out a family member of mine. So if you could give me your input, I’d be very grateful, but I understand if you feel that this is not the proper place for such a post and choose not to respond. The question itself is relatively brief, so these first three paragraphs just have some pertinent background information.
BACKGROUND
Over the past 3 months, I’ve been working long-distance with a very sedentary and formerly overweight cousin of mine to help him transform his previously spotty eating habits(while also trying to convince him of the virtues of a consistent training regimen and inspiring him to undertake one).
He’s adjusted well in terms of making the “proper” choices and now cooks with coconut oil; supplements with 4 Flameout a day; and selects lean grass-fed meats, a variety of organic nuts, and different types of organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible. On the down side, he is still sedentary all day and is resistant to consuming sufficient amounts of nutrients despite being willing to make those solid food choices when he does decide to eat.
While it was only an estimate, I used a formula from Scott Abel’s “Cycle Diet” dvd, to calculate what his RMR might approximately be. My cousin stands 5’ 6" and now is down to a weight of 140 lbs. Based upon the formula, his RMR would be around 1680 calories/day, however based upon the diet logs that he e-mails to me, he is taking in 1000-1200 calories daily(30-50g carbs, 100-120g protein, and 45-60g fat per day), and his weight has stabilized at the aforementioned 140 lbs.
Oddly enough, he is not “skinny fat”, does not look emaciated, and actually has a fairly athletic-looking physique in spite of his ridiculously low daily nutrient levels. I urge him to steadily work on increasing his nutrient intake, but he says he feels just fine where his intake stands, is happy with his newfound current level of leanness, and wants to continue with his low-carb(low everything, really) eating.
QUESTION
Given the fact that his weight and bodyfat levels have been stable for some time now despite his excessively low nutrient intake, do you think he’d end up gaining bodyfat if he continued being relatively sedentary but added an additional 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (via cooking his food) and 2 tablespoons of a Poliquin liquid fish oil to his current daily intake or would he likely be able to remain at his current level of leanness?
Under normal circumstances, I would think such a bump in nutrient intake coupled with no exercise would lead to some fat gain, but his apparently sub-RMR intake coupled with the choices of more fish oil and coconut oil as the exclusive sources of this bump up made me wonder if this would not result in any fat gain in this instance.
I really want to focus on convincing him to steadily work up his daily intake, as in 2 months time he will be moving to Quebec to live with me and my family, and he has agreed to commence training with me at that time. Ultimately I realize his future progress is dependent upon getting nutrient intake up to sufficient levels and training consistently over the long haul.
Thank you to Thib and everyone else hear for bearing with me during this post.