I walked away from running and high intensity workouts and I haven’t looked back. Well, maybe I turned my head to look back a little, because I did miss the sweat and the endorphins high, but not enough to go back to it. I quit because it wasn’t working and I was absolutely exhausted. I was running 6 days a week + doing strength training several days, and eating a moderate/healthy diet, and I just could NOT add another day of running to keep the weight off. Desperate for answers, I researched scientific studies, read books, did quizzes, and realized that my problem was cortisol. The running and high intensity cardio were zapping my adrenals, causing cortisol to get out sync, and increasing my belly fat (that’s commonly where fat resides when cortisol is a problem). My life was very busy, I had a very stressful job, worked long hours early morning and at night before bed, and apparently, my body just couldn’t deal with that added stressor so it was working against me to do the intense training.
Why weight loss doesn’t last
In my quest to find the magic bullet of weight loss/maintenance, I was ignoring the signs in front of me that our bodies are working against us to lose weight. Ecologically this makes sense, right? Our bodies were designed to protect us in times of food scarcity and they still do this. Have you ever wondered why the same exercise routine or diet doesn’t work over a period of time? This is because the body’s rate of burning energy slows down as you lose body weight and it gets more efficient at your exercise routine to protect you! This is not just anecdotal (there is science to support this), although I can tell you from personal experience it has happened to me with both high intensity exercise, intermittent fasting, low carb diets, and reduced calorie diets. Dr. Herman Pontzer and his colleagues, conducted a study in Africa with hunter-gatherer tribes and expected to find that because they walk, move and climb all day (for hours of the day) that they would burn more calories than the average western person. That was not what they found – what they found was that these tribes people burned about the same calories as the average American couch potato!!! Energy expenditure and activity among Hadza hunter-gatherers - PubMed (nih.gov). Their Basal metabolic rate (the rate at which energy is burned at a resting state) has been adapted by the body to preserve it from losing too much weight and harming its metabolic process – it is a way of conserving energy. A growing number of studies is finding that individuals tend to adapt metabolically to increased physical activity (either by reducing other types of functional activity like fidgeting, and/or by simply eating more) over time. Constrained Total Energy Expenditure and Metabolic Adaptation to Physical Activity in Adult Humans. - Abstract - Europe PMC. Resistance to Exercise-Induced Weight Loss: Compensatory Beh... : Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (lww.com).
The Diet you choose doesn’t actually matter that much
Unfortunately, the same thing happens with reduced calorie diets. Believe it or not, according to the research, while reducing calories does seem to be a more effective (quicker) way to lose weight initially than adding exercise, the same barriers exist with that strategy as well – the body adapts and you end up having to cut more calories to keep the weight off or lose more weight. And, as you probably know from your own experience with dieting, it’s not sustainable. Once you stop the diet, the weight comes back on. The type of diet also does not seem to have a significant impact on initial weight loss either, so it doesn’t seem to matter which strategy you choose (WTH I KNOW!!!! I’m just the messenger, people!!!). For example, in a study that compared Paleo, Keto, and other diets, all diets contributed to weight loss, with no significant difference between them. Developing and Piloting a Novel Ranking System to Assess Popular Dietary Patterns and Healthy Eating Principles - PubMed (nih.gov). I’m not saying people don’t lose weight on these diets – I certainly did when I went low carb, and there is value in eating more fat or protein and decreasing carbs since the Standard American Diet has WAAAYYY too many carbs and sugars. It's just that research indicates that these diets are not that different from each other in terms of outcomes (so yay you can pick the one you like the most!), and often, the most effective part of the diet is the reduction in calories. Case in point - to account for the calorie restriction being the primary cause, scientists conducted a very low calorie Keto diet (VLCKD) and compared it with a very low calorie diet (VLCD) with same calorie thresholds. They found that although both groups lost weight, the very low calorie group lost more “Both groups lost weight, but the reduction was greater in the VLCD” (p. 5). Very-low-calorie ketogenic diet with aminoacid supplement versus very low restricted-calorie diet for preserving muscle mass during weight loss: a pilot double-blind study (europeanreview.org).
It seems that simply creating a caloric deficit is the most powerful factor that impacts your weight loss (barring any medical problems such as diabetes, liver problems, eating disorders). Even the concern of having a messed up metabolism does not seem to impact as many people as you would think. In this podcast, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/weight-loss-for-women-eat-more-train-less-get-results/id1488713797?i=1000575693098, body building/weight loss expert Craig Mcdonald shared that 100% of all participants placed in inpatient settings where caloric intake was controlled, lost the amount of weight expected based on their existing BMR and daily activity level on a calorie restricted diet. All of them lost weight and these were likely people who had believed their metabolisms were wrecked. The takeaway is that most people are under-estimating their caloric intake and not accounting for hidden calories, and end up creating a story that their metabolism is eternally slow. It seems, though, that as long as you create a caloric deficit (Craig sticks to a 200 calorie deficit per day to get results with his clients), you will lose weight. Weight Loss For Women: eat more, train less, get results: #139 - How long will it take me to reach my goal weight with Craig McDonald on Apple Podcasts. The way in which you create your caloric deficit depends on your personal preferences – do you want to eat higher fat for satiety, or higher protein for satiety? Are you weight training and trying to build muscle (protein would be the emphasis in that case)? Are you thinking you could add exercise to lose weight? (In this case, please note that I have seen studies where participants who only added aerobic exercise 5 days per week without diet changes lost 8-12 pounds in 10 months. Yes, it took 10 months!) You can even lose weight on a high carb diet as long as you are operating from a caloric deficit. I’m not advocating for that type of diet, however, as it will wreak havoc on your insulin, your hormones and other metabolic processes, so it will make it harder. Pick the diet according to your existing health profile and goals, as well as your dietary preferences and previous pitfalls, but you will have to create a calorie deficit regardless.
The very real (and supported by science) benefits of Resistance Training
The problem with calorie restricting and aerobic exercise is the sustainability piece. How do we sustain weight loss or maintain our weight if the body adapts to caloric deficit/aerobic exercise over time? As I’m sure you can appreciate, the answer is complex and individual to each person’s unique needs. However, one strategy gaining popularity is to add resistance training. First of all, resistance training (training with weights or body weight), has been shown to improve multiple metabolic processes – glycemic control, insulin sensitivity (thereby reducing the negative impact of insulin resistance on weight management and helping with sugar cravings, hunger and appetite control), triglyceride levels, and even symptoms of fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis! Effects of resistance training and endurance training on insulin sensitivity in nonobese, young women: a controlled randomized trial - PubMed (nih.gov) Secondly, resistance training does not have the same impact on basal metabolic rate as high intensity cardio does. In fact, resistance training has the reverse effect – it actually increases basal metabolic rate!! "Functional Resistance Training and Basal Metabolic Rate" by Jon Stavres, McAuley P. Zeigler et al. (wku.edu) Effect of resistance training on resting metabolic rate and its estimation by a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry metabolic map - PubMed (nih.gov). Lastly, resistance training builds muscle, which is about ¼ the size of fat, so you will take up less space over time (be smaller) if you add resistance training and keep your caloric intake the same.
Tips for adding Resistance Training
If you want to add resistance training to your plan to lose weight, be sure that you are not compensating by adding calories, and that you are not accidentally decreasing your functional daily activity (fidgeting, cleaning, walking around – i.e. your steps). In general, most researchers and training experts conclude that training between 2-3 days per week is ideal. Any more than that may result in injury due to lack of recovery time (they recommend resting muscles for 48 hours). You will not see change in your muscle definition if you don’t allow recovery because recovery is when the muscle is growing. I know this seems counterintuitive that less training is better, but as we have seen in this blog, none of what we thought made sense makes sense anymore, anyway! The second most important consideration with resistance training (beyond the frequency) is to use a weight that is heavy enough that it causes you “failure”. Many experts recommend sets that are between 8 and 12 reps, and about 3 sets of 8-12 per muscle part per session. Some experts agree that light weights can also be beneficial, but you still have to use the same concept. If you are using light weights, do as many reps as you can until failure. It is the reaching of failure that creates the change. 1872: Eight Benefits of Lifting With Light Weight - Mind Pump Media (mindpumppodcast.com). Unfortunately, your cardio with light weights class at the gym may not be helping you with your goal of body re-composition since the weight simply is not heavy enough on each muscle for failure and there are not enough repeat sets of failure. The feeling of “killing” yourself is likely from the heavy cardio effect… Keep doing it if you love the class, but don’t believe the lie you are telling yourself that it will change your body composition.
A barrier you may run into with heavy lifting is muscle soreness. Because I’m resting adequately between training sessions, I’m not feeling this as much as I have in the past; however, if you are, consider essential oils and natural solutions to ease the discomfort (see Additional Resources for my oils page). Also, if you are looking for workout options, there are SO many! I’ve included some of my favorites in the resources section.
The main takeaway is that if you are struggling to lose weight it's highly likely that you are simply consuming more crap food than you need to be, not enough nutrient dense foods, not moving enough throughout the day, or that the exercise regimen you have chosen is working against you. So, you need to be in it for the long haul. There are no quick fixes. Create a plan that will cause an energy deficit (either by reducing caloric intake via diet or adding movement) and then a plan to maintain. Resistance training can absolutely help you in either phase. It might just be my magic bullet - I'm liking my chances so far!
And remember, I’ll be walking along side you - researching, experimenting, and sharing! 😉
With love and STRONG hugs,
Aimée
Additional Resources: workouts, podcasts, research studies – immerse yourself!
(68) Chalean Extreme - 90 days extreme results with Chalene Johnson - YouTube – this series requires a membership to Beach Body – this is the one I am using 3 X per week
Pontzer, Herman (2021). Burn: New research blows the lid off how we really burn calories, stay healthy, and lose weight. Avery Publishing.
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