Appreciate you sharing, great blog.Much thanks again. Really Cool….

Some people do have the dedication and time to make exercise such a huge part of their lives. But there are now many studies supporting intensity, such as 3 minutes of sprinting in a week versus a week's worth of cardio, for being more fit and lean. Exercise IS actually a fairly new craze, and I know many large people who exercise, and many thin people who don't.

I'm not suggesting exercise won't burn calories, but I am starting to truly believe (after also being a compulsive exerciser, I might add) that it's not the key to weight at all. Also, you should never restrict too many calories if you DO exercise. This will lead to quite the unfortunate circumstance when you find you don't have time to exercise, AND you're eating less than you want to. Never do this, trust me, because the mental hell that comes with it is … well… hell.

BUT if you keep doing that, your metabolism WILL slow down. Excersize makes you metabolism go a lot faster.

And if you eat the same thing day by day you have very big chances of plateauing.

I'm sorry but I think it's unhealthy to proclaim that cutting calories is the only way to go.

I agree with most of what you're saying but I personally prefer putting a little less emphasis on the whole calorie deficit thing. I think people eating too much only constitutes for a small part of the obese population. In most cases, it's the processed sugar and carbs that is the problem. Or rather, the insulin spikes eating that kind of food results in.

Maybe you could do a post on that sometime soon?

I have had clients that exercised with the idea that they could then eat more, then wonder why they aren't meeting their goals. Exercise didnt make them fat, eating too much did! It wasn't the exercise that made them hungry, but it was their way of rationalizing overeating.

Studies have shown that the combination of exercise and diet work the best in maintaining weight loss. If you look at the findings from the National Weight Loss registry, I believe you will find this to be true. The registry has identified over 5000 people that have lost weight and have maintained their weight loss over long periods of time (http://www.nwcr.ws/Research/default.htm). 90% average about an hour of exercise daily. The most frequent activity is walking.

My own take on all this regardless of whether certain activities make you more hungry or not is that it comes down to choice.

We are always in control of everything that enters our mouth, we either give in to cravings or not – simple as that.

The way out body looks today is the sum of all actions unto this point, if the body looks bad, its due to bad/incorrect choices.

Be well

Thanks, great post!
Susan

I agree. I think fat loss/weight loss is totally possible through diet alone. I follow ESE with 3 fasts every day (eating normal on non fast days). I do HIIT for 2 days a week, sometimes just 1 day. And I am still losing fat (weight) without any trouble. Yes I do go up by a pound after a beer filled weekend but that basically is water weight. ESE I guess the best thing I have ever learnt about. I enjoy my beer, popcorn, pizzas and everything else and still lose fat by following ESE. I clocked at 9% bfl today and yes my weight when I was 12% is still the same, no change in my weight which means I am not losing muscle. That said, I think ESE with Low Rep High Volume is all that is needed to get a lean cut look!

Aditya

I agree with you that HIIT is most likely manageable for Baz. I was just pointing out that it will affect recovery to some level. Whats ironic is I do HIIT every other day right now, but my weight lifting routine is not as frequent as Baz's. My feeling is that many people over train in a calorie deficit state whether or not they are strength training or using a bodybuilder routine. Realizing that even a good HIIT routine will probably only burn less than 300 calories is also important. Sure it has other health benefits, but as far as weight loss is concerned its unimportant. Baz will lose just as much weight by cutting out two glasses of milk from his diet a week. Sure if he added twenty minutes of HIIT five days a week he might lose an extra two pounds a month.

Honestly most people usually have happier easier weight loss by eating less than adding extra cardio. I think there are some gems of knowledge in your comment, but would add that a strength training routine that creates a lot of tension can break down your muscle tissue enough that choosing appropriate spacing before workouts is still important. Many of Rusty's readers do four sets per body part so they are not exactly doing low volume lifting. I am sure that many of them come very close to failure whether or not they like it or not. This is a good time, at risk of losing my credibility, to disclose that I work out to failure when performing strength training. I believe that while on a calorie deficit it sends a stronger message to the brain to keep your current muscle by using your muscles to their full potential.

Ogg,

I think his article really shows the importance of diet. This is the part of the equation that so many get wrong…so it is great in that sense! He just doesn't seem to have a sense of how to get the most out of exercise.

baz,

I have reduced the amount of random girl photo's just because I don't want people to miss out on the great info in the posts. I guess I don't want people to think this is a site without substance…but I will still put them in from time to time. Eating 5-6 meals is not superior to eating 2-3 times per day. The biggest myth of the past 30 years.

Jason G,

Great points as always. Unfortunately, the majority of people follow the path of least resistance in all parts of their life. The path of least resistance leads to a dull and empty life.

Aditya,

I eat Eat Stop Eat all the time and Paleo part of the time. I try to eat about 1/3 to 1/2 of my meals paleo-style. I don't like to get too obsessed with the type of food I eat…I just try to eat less than what I naturally burn. That being said…I do feel better and have more energy when I eat Paleo.

Scott,

You have a nice looking blog. I don't like many blog-themes, but yours is outstanding. I may need to hire your designer at some point. Good point on hunger. I don't mind being hungry every once in a while…I figure my body could use the break from food. I can't imagine having a never ending flow of food in my digestive tract, which is why I love fasting until dinner twice per week.

baz,

Daily calories don't matter. You are trying to average less calories than what you burn. I like to think weekly rather than daily. You could pig out on a holiday, but then make it up by eating 1,000-1,200 calories a few days in a row. This way of thinking makes staying lean extremely easy.

Victor,

It gets 1/2 of the equation right. The best results come from strategic diet and exercise. The right type of exercise can greatly enhance the fat loss effects of a good diet.

Josh,

Great points. Eat less and move more…simple but works.

becs,

Yes…a solid diet is the foundation…but combined with strategic exercise you can get MUCH faster results. The point to take away is that the diet has to be on for the exercise to do its job.

Sue,

I don't like being hungry all the time, so that is why I do Intermittent Fasting. I am hungry just one to two days per week. I don't pig out the other 5 days, but I can eat quite a bit more without hunger…and still stay lean. I like to limit the true low calorie days to just 1-2 days per week…just make sure you are really busy on those days and drink a bit of coffee or green tea. Works very well…and you will find that you get a bunch accomplished on those days!

Rafi,

I was late to comment on this article, but just felt the need. I didn't see your original post. Will take a look!

Helder,

Yeah…if anything 99% of people need more exercise, not less. I didn't like the way the author presented his case.

Kat,

If you are trying to gain muscle, eat a tiny bit more than maintenance level, but increase the workout volume.

CR,

Good luck in becoming a Bar-Barian! At some point I plan on implementing a chinup based workout into my routine…but probably not for another year or so. I would love to go to New York in person to qualify…plus I want to meet all the people in the group.

Baz,

The amount of calories consumed per day is a raw estimate at best. If anything, just eat less than your projected amount. As long as you do some solid resistance training you will hold onto the muscle…even while eating pretty low-cal.

Rahul,

The general public loves these types of articles. It helps them to justify their lack of activity. Like you said…dieting + HIIT gives turbo-fat-loss results. It works much better than diet alone.

Jake,

How old are you? I do notice this more in guys who are just beginning to workout. As guys fill out a bit, the rest of their body adds enough muscle to where the lower part of the stomach doesn't stick out past the rest of their torso. If you are older it could be deeper belly-fat that isn't stored below the surface of the skin. This is typical with men…and the way to get rid of it is with intense HGH boosting exercise.

Monica,

If you want to increase size this is a good strategy. The key will be not to pause at the top of the movement at all. You will also want to rest a little less between sets. The key in gaining size is fatiguing the muscle with a decent amount of sets and not resting too much in between sets and reps. When trying to gain mass, each set should build upon the previous set…the muscle shouldn't be fully recovered before hitting the next set. This builds cumulative fatigue in the muscle…which leads to a bit of breakdown…and an increase in mass over time. Strength training is different, since each set is kind of its own separate entity. In a pure strength training workout, you avoid muscle fatigue. Often times you are stronger in the 3rd or 4th sets than you were in the first set. I hope this makes sense.

Jason G,

I love it when you guys have conversations in the comment area. Honestly…it is one of my favorite part of the running this blog. I just like getting the conversation started. Plus…I am running out of time when it comes to answering each comment in detail. I appreciate the help!

Connie,

Put your treadmill on level 2. It supposedly works the legs in a way that is close to running on flat pavement.

Thomas,

I was worried too when Michael Phelps announced how many calories he consumed each day. I hope people don't think they can get away with that amount. Often times athletes like Michael Phelps wind up retiring and putting on a ton of weight due to their eating habits. Hopefully that doesn't happen to him. The amount of food he eats is insane, but so are his workouts.

Rusty

However, if this guy (or anyone for that matter) does NEED to eat after working out, have a protein shake, not a donut. I have a protein shake post workout (to repair muscles, not because I am hungry). In case anyone is interested in finding some good protein powder, I get mine at BulkFoodsDirect.com.

but the problem is that maybe some people are swayed by athletes such as michael phelps who workout all the time, then eat whatever, and are still in great shape. so of course some people may think "oh cool, i can do that too!". for the rest of us mere mortals we have to watch what we eat

That's a good point on the recovery topic with regards to diet. You brought up that such information is based on bodybuilding, but actually my point is based on the exact opposite assumption. A BB routine would cause a lot of muscular breakdown. I was assuming Baz was using a strength training protocol, where you don't train to failure, and can still make regular gains as a beginner. [I know you said you've been training for a while baz, but I'm just pointing out the reasoning behind my prior advice] This kind of training creates fatigue neurologically more so than physiologically, so I was talking about recovery in terms of neural fatigue/recovery, whereas I think you're referring to acute muscular fatigue/recovery. Obviously, HIIT still falls into muscular fatigue, so we're on the same page there, but assuming an intensive, but not too muscularly damaging strength training routine designed only to maintain muscle during a fat loss phase, which is pretty much what the goal of resistance training during weight loss should be, the fatigue occurs in different systems. I realize you're not lifting with your brain, your muscles still get tired and damaged, especially since perceived exertion goes way up on the same weights/exercises when you're in a caloric deficit, but even with a dietary deficit, the HIIT fatigue can be manageable with a sensible weight training routine, and a diet high in protein and good fats [especially fish oil] while dieting. The latter will go toward recovery; 100 calories of carbs might refuel you during a diet, but 100 calories of protein and omega 3's will rebuild you.

Going back to the comment I left for Sue, it all boils down to short term concessions. Going hard for a month may be hard, but it's possible, and during the week off after that month one can sometimes still see improvements as the body continues to recover and adapt to the intense situations it just encountered. Ultimately, if you want to do it, your body is probably capable of it for a shirt period of time. Now I'll be the first to say that cranking it to 11 is not an option all the time, but if you have the energy for it, a few extra sessions to shed those last few pounds won't overtrain you.

***Also, a very interesting note for Baz, in regards to your strength training, from Lyle McDonald. Strength and muscle mass can be maintained with 1/3 of your training volume, in terms of days and sets. So, if you do 6 sets of a lift 2 days a week, you can maintain strength with 2 sets, once a week, IF the weight stays the same. You may be weaker due to water volume loss from the muscle, but since you're dropping sets, you should still be able to use the same weight [eg, if you did 5x5 with 225 lbs, which is about your 7RM, you should be able to get 2x5 with 225 once a week because 2x5 is about your 6RM, which should be higher than 7RM normally and maybe the same since you're on a diet.] In terms of muscle mass, maintaining the same strength while losing weight is a good indicator of maintaining muscle. Since HIIT may be more efficient for fat burning, cutting back on strength training to strictly maintain muscle while you drop fat, and adding some more effective directly fat burning exercise sessions could be an option if your weight training is tiring you out.

Yash