Yeah, so Dr. Atkins was right ...

I figure obesity has more to do with economics than anything - it's cheaper to eat poorly than to eat well. It's not a coincidence that obesity and hunger are often linked.

 

That entire piece is about how exercising intensely beats exercising for a long time moderately or lightly.

That piece doesn't defeat my point. It reinforces it.

 

That's part of what I mean about exercising smart.

The girl at the gym who is reading a magazine for an hour while slowly pedaling on an exercise bike is wasting her time. She's not going to raise her heart rate. She's not engaging her core. She's putting in the time, but she won't get results.

You need to sweat. You need to raise your heart rate.

Google or YouTube High Intensity Interval Training HIIT.

(And yes, if you cannot run, then you should walk. Yes, it does help to incorporate more walking into your daily schedule. Take the stairs, park in the back of the parking lot. Walk home from work if it's doable. That's all good. But if you're looking to lose weight, you need to break a sweat.)

 

What is the fat burning zone?

The fat burning zone is the training intensity at which your body uses mainly fat to fuel exercise. This zone is around 60 to 70 percent of maximum heart rate.

So if I want to lose weight and shed unwanted body fat I should train in the fat burning zone?
No, not necessarily. Your body loses weight when you burn more calories than you take in – regardless of what type of fuel you are using. When you exercise, your body uses primarily carbohydrates and fat to fuel movement. The fat burning zone involves relatively low-level physical activity. While you are burning a greater PERCENTAGE of fat than carbs, your TOTAL NUMBER of calories burned is LESS than if you were to exercise at an intensity above your fat burning zone. Therefore, exercising at higher levels of intensity will burn a greater percentage of calories from carbohydrates instead of fat, however the total number of calories burned will be greater and that’s all that matters when it comes to weight loss.

How does the fat burning zone relate to metabolism and the “afterburn effect”?

Training at intensities above your fat burning zone is not only beneficial for burning maximal calories within the exercise session itself, but can also produce greater caloric burn post-exercise. This is known in the scientific community as EPOC (Excess Post Oxygen Consumption) and in the fitness world is more commonly referred to as the “afterburn effect”. What this means is, when you burn a majority of calories from carbohydrates during exercise at high level intensities, your body remains in a heightened state of metabolic activity. Thus, your muscles continue to burn a greater number of calories throughout the day after a high intensity level workout than you would if you were to train in the fat burning zone which does not produce the same metabolic effect.

What is a more effective way to lose weight than training in the fat burning zone?

Instead of jogging for 20 minutes at a set pace in your fat burning zone, try mixing in intervals of high intensity and low intensity speeds. This is more efficient for weight loss and can save you time in the gym.

 

Q & A related to the low carb article:

Q. Isn’t the simple answer to eat less processed food, junk food, fast food, candy, sugar, soda, cookies and cakes; eat more fruits and vegetables; and exercise more?

A. I have interviewed a wide array of top researchers and nutrition experts over the years. I think they all would agree with you.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/new-answers-about-carbs-and-fat/

 

The thing that probably stops me from losing the last inch is alcohol. I rarely get intoxicated. Handful of times a year, usually at an annual event - auto race, golf outing, plus perhaps a few low-key nights watching a game or kicking back with the family at a gathering or something.

But I love a good beer. And I love to sample different scotches and bourbons. And I love to mix cocktails and experiment with different cocktails.

I'm not sure I'd give all that up for physical perfection. Maybe for a a few months for a marathon or tri or something.

 

Ehhhhhh. Yes and no. It really depends on where you live and what you mean by "well."

 

Still between 280 and 295 even though I feel much better and move around with much more ease. I'm cardio'ing and lifting 6 days a week and eat plenty of veggies and fruits and protein and drink enough water and coffee but I'm always hungry. So I'll eat a 3 Musketeers and cheese and mashed potatoes.

Maybe I should just go back smoke and coke.

 

Yeah, I'm right there. I gave it up for about six months a few years ago, and it is the single greatest factor. Once I did get down to the weight I wanted to hit, by not drinking I went even lower than that.

But then I noticed the people around me enjoying their wine, or sampling their beers and having a good time, and I had to ask myself if I was in Olympic training or (as Married Guy) trying to hit the dating scene or involved in anything else that would require me not to drink. Couldn't think of a reason.

 

So what was true then is still true now: eat less and exercise more. And HIIT is just a gussied up version of sprint the curves, jog the straights that our high school coaches had us doing round 1986 with the more hardcore bleachers for extra conditioning.

And those coaches were just repeating what they had done in the 60s and 70s.

Does anyone remember Bigger, Faster, Stronger? It was a semi-popular off-season thing in high school. I was amazed to see the principles in it, are mostly identical to the super high tech training tips of today.

There's really nothing new in the world of fitness. It is just a matter of putting in the work and being smart about what you eat.

 

People have lost weight with all different kinds of approaches. People have gotten results with vegan, low carb and all sorts of other diets. There was a college professor who ate mainly Twinkies and meal replacement shakes and lost weight.
It's all about creating a calorie deficit. Exercise helps, but it's a lot easier to not eat the cookies in the first place than it is to work out for the hour or so it takes to burn them off.
I've lost 40 pounds since New Year's Eve. I ate more carbs on the days that I train hard (weights) and less on my off days or easy training days (mostly cardio, a mix of HIIT and steady-state work).
.

 

Gary Taubes, in "Why We Get Fat," argues that the thermodynamic model most of you are discussing here - "eat less, exercise more" - leaves out a lot of hormonal factors and such that contribute to obesity.

I lost 50 pounds on a low-carb diet and have been in maintenance mode for about a year. I'm getting ready make another run at it, see if I can get from 205 to around 190.