GoldenTriangle
FNG
I want to start by saying that I read an incredibly interesting study a few months back regarding the relationship of calorie expenditure and weight loss (I apologize if if this has been discussed here recently). Also I am not a scientist or doctor, so don't take my advice without consulting the same.
I was always a firm believer that the simple laws of physics (caloric intake and expenditure) dictated weight loss in a straight forward manner. The study obviously did not disprove the laws of thermodynamics, but muddied the water as it applies to human fat loss.
The study involved placing a breathing device on African tribesman, that hunt wild game on foot, to determine calorie expenditure. The researchers chose this tribe because the people of the tribe were trim/low body fat/"healthy." The study revealed, surprisingly, that the tribesman were not actually burning significantly more calories, when compared to others members of western civilization. A sister study demonstrated that there was much less correlation between exercise and weight loss. All kinds of theories were derived from the studies. The research team believes that human body will react to exercise in a manner than balances out the calories lost through exercise. In other words, your body will increase your rest and "slow" other bodily processes to avoid fat loss, which honestly makes sense from a evolutionary survival perspective.
Equally interesting was the fact that the majority of calories humans burn are always related to basic bodily functions and the typical exercise session doesn't burn enough calories comparatively to matter. (Which is somewhat obvious.) The researchers theorized that the body will adjust these bodily functions to make up for the calories lost in exercise and subconsciously force us to rest more. The studies did demonstrate that people who lost weight did much better at keeping such weight off if they exercised.
Building off this information and prior experience with exercise and dieting, I realized for me and likely others, fat loss is dictated by diet exclusively. How I have implemented such concept into my lifestyle:
I do not consume calories from 8:00pm until 12:00pm the following day, often it is 6:00pm to 12:00pm. Once I got use to this I was less hungry in late morning and had more energy throughout the day. My usual lunch is deli turkey and black beans. For dinner I eat pretty much anything, but try to avoid processed foods, sugars, etc.
I usually work out at 7pm, but you could do that anytime (morning might be tough with no calories available). I have hurt myself so often through intense weight training that I have changed my perspective over the years. I won't hesitate to work a muscle group on back to back days or 4 days a week. At age 37, I'm not sure I have ever been stronger or had better shoulder joint stability. Obviously, I have drastically decreased volume to be able to hit the same body part so frequently. IMO (which is admittedly uninformed) we give ourselves too much recovery time. I actually use a bowflex, dumbbells, and pull up rings for my workouts. I don't do squats or deadlifts but I'm assuming most people do. Give the audience on this site, you could derive all your leg work from backpacking/intense hikes, but western mountain "training" is not something I am specifically undertaking.
In summary, strict dieting mixed with intermittent fasting and less intense more frequent resistance training has worked wonders for me. This has allowed me to slowly shed weight from 215 down to the mid 180's at 6"1 with a slightly muscular build. If anyone is curious as to any studies or podcasts that inspired my reasoning I could probably locate them.
I was always a firm believer that the simple laws of physics (caloric intake and expenditure) dictated weight loss in a straight forward manner. The study obviously did not disprove the laws of thermodynamics, but muddied the water as it applies to human fat loss.
The study involved placing a breathing device on African tribesman, that hunt wild game on foot, to determine calorie expenditure. The researchers chose this tribe because the people of the tribe were trim/low body fat/"healthy." The study revealed, surprisingly, that the tribesman were not actually burning significantly more calories, when compared to others members of western civilization. A sister study demonstrated that there was much less correlation between exercise and weight loss. All kinds of theories were derived from the studies. The research team believes that human body will react to exercise in a manner than balances out the calories lost through exercise. In other words, your body will increase your rest and "slow" other bodily processes to avoid fat loss, which honestly makes sense from a evolutionary survival perspective.
Equally interesting was the fact that the majority of calories humans burn are always related to basic bodily functions and the typical exercise session doesn't burn enough calories comparatively to matter. (Which is somewhat obvious.) The researchers theorized that the body will adjust these bodily functions to make up for the calories lost in exercise and subconsciously force us to rest more. The studies did demonstrate that people who lost weight did much better at keeping such weight off if they exercised.
Building off this information and prior experience with exercise and dieting, I realized for me and likely others, fat loss is dictated by diet exclusively. How I have implemented such concept into my lifestyle:
I do not consume calories from 8:00pm until 12:00pm the following day, often it is 6:00pm to 12:00pm. Once I got use to this I was less hungry in late morning and had more energy throughout the day. My usual lunch is deli turkey and black beans. For dinner I eat pretty much anything, but try to avoid processed foods, sugars, etc.
I usually work out at 7pm, but you could do that anytime (morning might be tough with no calories available). I have hurt myself so often through intense weight training that I have changed my perspective over the years. I won't hesitate to work a muscle group on back to back days or 4 days a week. At age 37, I'm not sure I have ever been stronger or had better shoulder joint stability. Obviously, I have drastically decreased volume to be able to hit the same body part so frequently. IMO (which is admittedly uninformed) we give ourselves too much recovery time. I actually use a bowflex, dumbbells, and pull up rings for my workouts. I don't do squats or deadlifts but I'm assuming most people do. Give the audience on this site, you could derive all your leg work from backpacking/intense hikes, but western mountain "training" is not something I am specifically undertaking.
In summary, strict dieting mixed with intermittent fasting and less intense more frequent resistance training has worked wonders for me. This has allowed me to slowly shed weight from 215 down to the mid 180's at 6"1 with a slightly muscular build. If anyone is curious as to any studies or podcasts that inspired my reasoning I could probably locate them.
