You need a lifestyle change, not a diet. Diets are bu^%$#*t, and as bad as bro-science is about lifting - and that’s an absolute mess.
Making a sustainable lifestyle change is far better. Learning to live more healthfully in general will naturally affect your body composition – how much fat and muscle you have. Finding modalities of exercise that you actually enjoy and are successful at will be easier to continue, and thus more likely to become a habit. Find something that you, at least, don’t hate and believe you can commit to regularly.
Just choosing a routine and sticking to it, is far more important than the specific plan you choose. In other words, diet and exercise adherence is far more crucial than efficacy or optimal performance.
But …
EXERCISE (alone) DOESN’T WORK EITHER
Choose lifting over cardio but, generally speaking, exercise is also bu^%$#*t (in the context of weight loss). When you are attempting to alter your body composition, exercise should not be the main focus. You can’t outwork bad decisions in the kitchen with good decisions in the gym.
“Constrained Energy Expenditure” as described by Herman Pontzer in his book “Burn," suggests that there is a limit to the number of calories our bodies can burn in a day, regardless of activity levels. The body adapts to higher levels of physical activity by reducing energy spent on other physiological activities. This research makes it clear that a holistic, long-term strategy is the only effective method for weight management and overall health.
DIETS SUCK
Diets don’t work. The Biggest Loser is ultimate proof. Almost every competitor failed to keep the weight off. A study of contestants from The Biggest Loser found that, within six years, 13 of 14 contestants regained all the weight they’d lost. Four are heavier than they were before the show started. Another study of 200 Biggest Loser contestants found that each had lost at least 50 pounds during their time on the television series but the follow-up study found they’d regained about two-thirds of what they’d lost, on average.
All diets are the same. They’re all bullshit. In a large systematic review published in The BJM, researchers analyzed 121 trials of 22,000 overweight or obese adults who followed one of fourteen popular diets including Atkins, WW, Jenny Craig, and DASH for an average of six months. The average participant lost about 10 pounds in six months but most regained the weight within a year.
SET POINT THEORY
Every body has a set point - a natural weight or size range that the body strives to maintain. This set point is influenced by various factors like genetics, hormones, and metabolism. If a person tries to lose weight beyond their set point, the body will respond by slowing down metabolism, increasing hunger and food cravings, and reducing energy levels, making it difficult to maintain a lower weight. Another study of Biggest Losers examined the contestants six years later, in which they noticed major changes to their resting metabolic rates. Most were burning at least 400 fewer calories than the researchers’ model had predicted they should at that point.
NO WAGON
Diets fail. You cannot fall off the wagon if there is no wagon to fall off. A sustainable lifestyle change includes all kinds of unexpected variance and expected treats, or it will never be sustainable. So, there is no wagon, there is no diet, there is no temporary fix. The solution is a subtle transformation of long-term behavior.
Diets and challenges and extreme pursuits often lead to failure, overtraining, a lack of growth and maturation. They have potential to effect disordered eating in some people, making future health and fitness pursuits exponentially more difficult to achieve. Take your time on the journey so that you can learn the tools needed to maintain it. You must learn new habits, acquire new tools, adopt new behaviors, and so forth.
You need a sustainable lifestyle change. A healthier and more balanced life goes far beyond the restrictive and often counterproductive confines of “weight loss diets” and “fat burning workouts.” Sustainable change stems from a multifaceted approach that includes nutritional education, addressing mental and emotional well-being, understanding the scientific underpinnings of energy expenditure, tailoring strategies to your individual needs, and finding support and accountability.
Long-term weight management can only be achieved by setting the set point to a lower level through changes in lifestyle habits and behaviors. It requires patience, adaptability, and a commitment to long-term transformation rather than a quick fix.
You must learn:
· How to eat and how to maintain those eating patterns long-term.
· How to train and how to program your ongoing training.
· How to alter your body composition and how to keep your gains/losses.
· How to overcome hurdles and barriers to success.
· How to balance your lifestyle with your goals.
· How to get and stay focused.
For coaching and personal training, virtual or in-person (in Williamsburg, Brooklyn), contact izzy@theworkoutplant.com or click here to submit a message.
Comments