Fat Loss and Cardio – Revisited

It’s been too long since I put up a blog post.  I’ve been working on a couple of things, mainly my “Unified Theory of Health & Fitness”  ~ which is basically a way for you to interpret any article, book or piece of advice that you may receive in the context of the person giving it.  With all of the information out there, how do you decide if it’s actually applicable to you, if it’s useful to you and if it is, how do you incorporate it into your fitness routine. 

I think too often people get mired in all of the health and fitness information out there, not realizing that there are very few concepts that apply to everyone evenly. 

During this layoff from actually putting up posts, I’ve also started a post about the Twinkie Diet, how we learn information, Neurotransmitters and Brain function, Thyroid conditions, being “free” and how sometimes You just have to work harder than the average person to get the things you want.  Some of those posts, I just need some quiet time to sit down and get ’em done.  Other posts, I actually need to learn more before I write them and for others, they’re complete but I don’t like how they turned out. 

With that said, I’m never content with an answer, until it actually makes sense.  What I mean is this, I wrote, Fat Loss and Cardio ~ I Call Bull$h*t.  In that post, there were two things that I said. 

One was that Cardio for Fat Loss sucks.  Two was that there were 5 main components of Fat Loss.  This post, I will be talking about what I mean when I say Cardio for Fat Loss sucks. 

So, I mainly said Cardio for Fat Loss sucks, because well, it does.  BUT, it never really sat well with me.  Meaning there have obviously been times where people have lost fat with cardio.  A couple of days after I wrote that post though, an article on T-nation came out that made me feel justified in writing it.  But something still didn’t feel right to me. 

Also, another article, which is required reading for anyone that comes to work for me is from Alwyn Cosgrove on The Hierarchy of Fat Loss.  I personally think this should be required reading for ANYONE walking into a gym.  I’m just saying, it’s pretty damn important.  But again, although the article makes sense, something didn’t sit well with me. 

With all of that said, though, both components were missing something – Which is what the rest of this post is about. 

First, I stick by my stance in that Cardio for Fat Loss sucks big balls. 

Cardio for Fat Loss Still Sucks Big Balls

Second though, what I hate about cardio isn’t all forms of cardio, just jogging and elliptical work.  Walking, Incline Treadmill walking, a Step mill, Versa-Climber or Rowing machine are all fine forms of Steady State Cardio. 

So why do I hate jogging and elliptical work?  Because once people reach a certain level of fitness, those pieces of equipment become as bad as TV for seeing results.  I see people come in day after day on those pieces of equipment and jog or stroll on the elliptical becoming complete zombies in the process.  I think if you don’t have to think about it, and you’re trying to lose fat, then you like SLOOOooooooooooooow progress.  Bottom line is that after reaching that level of fitness, the treadmill and elliptical become completely and totally ineffective for seeing further results. 

So why are those pieces of equipment so popular?  Because the user level to those pieces of equipment is low.  Very low.  You press a button and go.  Typically figuring out how to work the TV’s on them is harder. 

So what is the Treadmill and Elliptical good for?  I’ll answer this in order of importance.
1 – Athletes who can’t train outside.  This includes marathon runners and triathletes, mainly.   
2 – Generally healthy people looking to stay generally healthy and not wanting to achieve any long-term fitness goals, except maybe run a marathon. 
3 – Obese individuals who are not comfortable lifting weights by themselves.  And then, the treadmill/elliptical would be good for intervals.  Walking and Incline walking would be better than jogging on the treadmill.
4 – To relieve stress or to get rid of pent up energy.  No thought process is required and you can get in the “zone” of letting off steam. 
5 – Those looking to lose weight.  As the 5th best option, behind the best exercise – pushing yourself away from the table, Metabolic Resistance Training, Anaerobic Intervals and Aerobic Intervals. 
6 – People that don’t do it every day.  You see, I do believe that cardio is good for fat loss – for about 6 weeks.  If you do the treadmill or ellipitical every day and have been for the last 2 years while not seeing any results, it’s because you’re not A – going hard enough and B – Switching things up enough to cause your body to adapt (aka, lose fat).  The “new-ness” of the cardio will cause your body to burn off extra calories without causing your body to catch up by lowering your fat burning hormones.  This makes it ideal for bodybuilders who add it in the last 2 months before a show, someone who is overweight or someone that just starts to work out to get integrated into the gym that they belong to. 

Beyond that and for those trying lose fat, despite being long-term cardio fanatics (aka, 2+ years jogging on the treadmill, 3+ days per week), Cardio for Fat Loss sucks.  Can it be effective, yes.  I just told you when it would be.  Should you live by it and embrace it as the best thing in the world?  Hell No. 

With that said, the next post will be about the other 7 components that determine whether or not someone will work out consistently in order to see the results they want.

Things I Once Believed, But Found To Be False

Today’s post is just a quick recap of some of the things I once believed, that over time, has been shown to complete and utter non-sense.

1 – People will follow meal plans.  No one, I know has ever followed a meal plan – but people will adhere to food choices.  Atkins and the Paleo diets are examples of this.  Although I don’t completely agree with either of them, I think it’s largest appeal is the fact that it was simple to follow.  Both diets have 3 – 8 food categories and that’s it.  People feel comfortable with that “game plan” and therefore, see improvements.

Meal Plans - Recipe for Non-Compliance

2 – Supplements are not necessary if you want to achieve your personal best.  I’ve done a full 180 with this line of thinking.  If we had healthy soils, lived near the equator, didn’t have lots of stress and sit all day, then we might not need supplements.  Since those things are the reality of life, for us to reach our personal best, supplements are necessary.  *Please do not get this confused with me saying that supplements are necessary for generally healthy individuals looking to remain generally healthy.  Generally healthy is not the same as achieving one’s personal best. 

3 – Cardio is a good fat loss tool.  If you haven’t read my previous post, Fat Loss and Cardio – I Call BullSh*t!, then know that I definitely don’t agree with that tenet at all.  Are there other benefits of cardio?  Sure.  It can be good for stress relief, health reasons, competitive aspirations amongst other reasons, but fat loss is not one of them.  

With that said, I do think that cardio is good for those people first starting out, who are obese and haven’t exercised in a long time, with fat loss (and I consider their cardio, walking, which I think is better than jogging).  It’s also good for the ease at which people have access to cardio and therefore, can adhere to it.   

The biggest argument against cardio for fat loss is “bodybuilders who have been doing it forever to lose fat.”  That’s like saying a race car goes fast because it has regular fuel in it.  Bodybuilders will typically kick their ass with strength training, watch what they eat a little too meticulously, take supplements and during “cutting” they also do “cardio.”  Someone pointing that they do cardio is neglecting that they are doing all of that other work in and outside of the gym.  

4 – Nutrition is simply Calories in vs. Calories out.  Although I will contend that calories do matter, they are not omnipotent beings that control how much weight we will put on or not.  Instead, it’s the foods that control the amount of calories we consume. 

Therefore, we can have “will power” with eating less of certain junk foods that don’t provide nutrients to the body or we can just consume foods that do. 

Overall, it’s the foods/amount of foods themselves and how our bodies react to them that determine the overall amount of calories consumed. 

For example, I typically eat a pretty healthy diet of enough protein, healthy carbs along with certain supplements that I’m deficient in.  Even if I like the foods I eat, when I am full, I feel satieted and can go a long time without the “craving desire” I get when I eat “bad foods.” 

This past weekend, my mom made me a large tray of gluten-free lasagna.  Within four hours, I ate the whole tray by myself.  Despite the huge influx of calories and my stomach feeling, quite literally that it might explode, I still wanted more food.  Despite being full to the point of bursting, I still wanted more. 

This is the problem with calories.  The total amount of calories I consumed was due, not to a prescribed regimen or what my body needed in terms of calories, but what it needed in terms of calories AND nutrients.  This led to a lack of “feeling satieted” despite being “full.” 

Now are there some people and certain instances where the foods, don’t matter?  Sure.  If you’re trying to lose fat, be healthy and don’t have the best genetics though, control the actual foods you eat and stop watching only the calories you consume.  Which takes me back to my first point.  Give people food choices and not meal plans. 

There are plenty more of these beliefs I once held and will be writing about them more in the future.  

What are some things you once believed, but over time have found to be false?  Let me know in the comment section.

Change Revisited ~ Process vs. Identity

A couple of my earlier posts described my thoughts on change. 

Today though, while holding one of my Fitness Coaching sessions, I realized that the posts I wrote on change were only 1/2 correct, with a whole other half missing. 

You see, in my earlier posts, I recommended changing one habit at a time.  I was basically saying that by making the change a methodical process, you can achieve a greater rate of success than if you were to go for it all in one fell swoop.  The recommendation was to simultaneously raise your standards while also chunking down the process into manageable steps. 

Although, I still agree with those points, I must say it leaves a lot to be desired. 

The question earlier today, was after one of the women started “working out” again this past weekend.  She started with walking and was complaining that she felt that she needed to do more and that it was a waste of her time.  During the previous fitness coaching session, we had discussed Chunk Theory and how, in order to grow, progressive change was needed in order to handle progressively difficult tasks.  At the end of every meeting, everyone has to pick one, manageable habit they will stick to for the week.  She had choose to workout two times. 

As with many people that have trouble sticking to a workout routine, she has an All-or-Nothing mentality.  She thinks that if she doesn’t go 5 days a week, for 1 hour each time, then she’s wasting her time.  The problem of course is that if you’re not currently working out, finding an additional 5+ hours to workout can be an arduous task. 

My answer though, reflects my true beliefs about change.  Here’s a paraphrase:   
“There are some instances, very few instances, where a person will decide to make a large change, such as working out 5 days a week, quit smoking, etc. and be able to do it instantaneously with little after thought.  The reason they are able to do this, is that they have changed a part of how they see themselves.  They have changed their “identity.” 

“Typically this happens when a large environmental change occurs, such as someone you care about dies from lung cancer, you have a child, you get a divorce, and it shakes to your core, the very center of ‘Who you think you are.’  

“You recognize, in an instant, that you have been someone “you’re not” and will no longer be that person.   It shakes the core of who you are emotionally and when you finally put together a plan that works logically, the change happens instantly. 

“On the other hand, there are other things we would like to see happen, but we only think that it would be nice to change.  Emotionally, were vested in other options, such as eating delicious but crappy food or playing with our children.  We want to save more money, lose some weight, exercise more often, etc. and are only partly committed to seeing those things come to fruition.   

“For these “on the fence” changes, you want the change to occur slowly.  This is where planning and patience become the fundamentals to which you build that habit up.   When you allow yourself to change one habit at a time, and build it up slowly, you allow yourself to actually incorporate that change into your daily repertoire. 

“The key to choosing either method is being realistic with yourself.  If you only want to change ONE habit, without it disrupting the rest of your life, then you are not having a ‘change of identity.’ 

“If on the other hand, you are ready for this change to change every single aspect of your life, then you might just be ready for a large change. 

So the question for you, dear reader, is are you ready to make exercise an integral part of your life, where tomorrow, every other habit you have will be shifted? 

The answer, is probably not.  And that’s fine. 

The real question, is if you’re not, then what are you going to do about it?  Will you allow yourself to start the process slowly of adding exercise to your life?   Will you allow yourself to start slowly, with small, manageable tasks and build up gradually?   To this, you should answer, “Yes.”

So, I will leave this post with one last question:  
“What is the ONE new behavior that you will start before next week?” 

Remember, to start small and be specific…with the key word being START.