Originally Posted by
Kim2884
There are so many different opinions out there, and I've found myself very frustrated at times too. What I've come to believe is that, eating right isn't as complicated as people make it out to be. There are some basic guidelines to follow, and everything else is basically just superfluous meticulousness that will only drive you crazy, and you'll never know if your progress is a result of being obsessive-compulsive about macronutrients and timing or just from eating well and exercising in general. I think it is the latter most of the time. The basic truths of fat loss I've found to be more or less indisputable through much research and thought are the following:
1. You need to be in a calorie deficit. This is the single most important aspect of any diet. This will almost guarantee weight loss. Other factors contribute to what the weight loss consists of (fat/ muscle).
2. Exercise of any sort, anything that burns extra calories will help ALOT. The more exercise contributes to your caloric deficit instead of calorie restriction, the more fat you will lose and the more muscle you will maintain. Studies have shown that people who burned 500 cals. per day through exercise lost more fat than people who cut 500 cals. a day out of their diets, and the exercisers actually gained muscle, while the dieters lost muscle.
3. Cardio is the best exercise for fat loss because it causes the most calorie expenditure. Low-intensity exercise burns mostly fat during the exercise period, but high intensity exercise burns more calories overall, increasing total caloric deficit, and increases metabolism for hours after exercise, when the body is burning mostly fat for energy anyway ( yes, the body burns primarily fat for energy at rest. I've read this about 20 times in various publications.. and this is regardless of the amount of carbohydrates in the diet). It is my opinion that timing is relatively unimportant. Any cardiovascular activity at anytime will aid in fat loss.
4. Resistance exercise is just as important as cardio because it increases metabolism for hours after a workout and builds muscle, which further increases metabolism. Also, being a trim, muscular person is simply more attractive than being a skinny fat person.
5. In general, it is best to eat small, frequent meals throughout the day to keep energy levels and metablism up and insulin levels stable.This contributes to fat loss and prevents overeating.
6. Fats should be mostly unsaturated, and should be present in enough quantity to provide satiety and prevent slowing of the metabolism (20-30%). Very low fat diets are simply not as effective as moderate fat diets. However, I think any more than this is excessive. Your body does need fat, but it does not need as much as some people think. Keep in mind fat is the least thermogenic macronutrient, and is the least costly to be stored as body fat. ( the body uses 25% of calories from carbohydrates in the process of converting them to fat, while it only needs about 3% of calories from fat to store it).
7. Protein is essential for muscle growth and repair, and is also useful in a dieting situation because it increases satiety , is the most thermogenic macronutrient, and also costly to store as body fat (though not as costly as carbohydrate). However, it is my opinion that protein is often used in excessive amounts by bodybuilders. This is counterproductive because excess protein will only be converted to glucose and used as energy or stored as fat. The body does not need as much protein as many people think. I think 1g/lb. body weight is more than sufficient for weight lifters...but to each his own.
8. carbohydrates are a controversial macronutrient group these days. I have come to love and embrace them...but my relationship with carbs has not always been this way. I threw them out and did a no-carb diet like most of us have at one point or another, I did a semi-low carb diet focusing on timing more than anything, and now I am on a more moderate carb diet (although it is still low by food-pyramid standards). The brain uses glucose for energy all the time. If you don't supply it, your body will make it from the protein you think is going to your muscles ( unless you are on a keto diet that is high fat and low to moderate protein). Carbs are necessary post-workout, and i think everyone agrees with me on that, but i don't think they are UNnecessary other times in the day. Your body is designed to use carbs for fuel no matter what time it is or what you are doing, and contrary to popular belief, fat CAN and will be oxidized even when glucose is present in the blood. The body uses all 3 macronutrients for energy all the time. It doesn't exclusively use carbs until there are no more available. I bought into this principle for a while, but after learning as much as i could about it, it now goes against all logic for me to continue to believe that. Restricting carbohydrates also lowers the overall quality and healthfulness of one's diet. Carbs are the primary constituents of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains - all full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other disease-fighting properties. I think the idea of insulin control that low-carbers cling to IS important for fat loss...but insulin can be controlled by eating low-glyemic carbs and not eating a lot all at once. Limiting them to post workout or eliminating them altogether is just taking insulin control to the extreme, without any added benefit.
Well, that's my 2 cents...i didn't mean for it to be that long. sorry!
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