What is the advise your doctor will likely give if he/she thinks you are too heavy and should drop a few pounds? Eat more healthy fat and cut down on the processed carbs and sugar? Sadly probably not. The advise we’ve been given for years is that to lose weight, we needed to eat less and move more. Basically, we get fat because we eat too much and are lazy. Gluttony and sloth! Over the years I’ve applied this principle over and over again but always gain back any initially dropped pounds and sometimes more. As a triathlete, I definitely have the exercise part covered. I’ve been able to gain weight while training 5 or 6 days a week. I normally swim, bike, and run 10 to 15 hours a week. What gives? I know you are thinking I’m simply overeating? Cutting/counting calories can work in the short term but was never sustainable for me. Reducing calories simply leaves me hungry and being hungry all the time is difficult to sustain. Who wants to live like that? “Weight Watchers” has been around since the 60’s and is advertised as the number one weight management tool. How then is obesity such a huge problem with rates ever increasing? I’m not saying that caloric restriction is a bad thing, it’s just hard for most to maintain. This is yo-yo dieting at it’s best, lose some, gain it back, sound familiar? The number one thing that a weight management strategy needs is maintainability. I think I’ve found what is working for me, more on that elsewhere.
Ever heard that a pound of body fat holds about 3500 calories of energy? Where did that come from? Many concider this a fact but go find the science or the proof. It’s not there and it’s just not that simple, it’s not an energy balance math problem. We all know you can’t out run a bad diet. Any race I’ve been to there have been plenity of fit, overweight participants (including me!). Exercise is probably the worst way to lose weight. Experiment, cut 500 calories daily and expect to lose 1 pound a week. Over a year you should lose 52 pounds. 2 years 104 pounds. At some point do you reach zero? Here is an excellent reference on the whole energy balance question. http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2015/04/where-does-the-3500-calorie-theory-come-from/
The scientific evidence shows that cutting calories may help initial weight loss but over time the body adjusts to the reduced intake by lowering it’s metabolism. If shedding more weight is the goal then further caloric restriction may be required leading to more hunger issues. Makes little sense and is probably not sustainable for most.
Recommended reading:
Gary Taubes ” Good Calories, Bad Calories” and “Why We Get Fat”
Jason Fung “Obesity Code” and “Diabetes Code” Zoe Harcombe “The Obesity Epidemic”
Rick Keto Ironman 