Within the first 20 seconds of the video, it says that calories do matter towards weight loss. It then says something like "Why would you care? Wouldn't you want to know where the weight came from?"
And to that, I say... that's why you have to track more than the scale. You have to track your measurements and your body fat percentage. Great cheap way is with a tape measure and a caliper. And then there is the mirror test. How good do you look? The visceral fat that is more dangerous actually responds better to exercise than the stubborn subcutaneous fat. And while it is true that it is harder to detect with a naked eye, simple blood work can detect cholesterol levels and liver functions to help determine how much you truly have. A lot of people that get in trouble with this type of fat are the people who are skinny their whole life but eat terrible. On the other hand, people that diet and exercise and lose most of their subcutaneous fat also end up losing most of their visceral fat.
So my tips to being in a caloric deficit to lose fat go as follows:
1. Always be lifting weights for your exercise. Strength building promotes muscle growth which increases your resting metabolic rate. It means you can eat more and still be in a caloric deficit. And if you are following a program of progressive overload, it means you are not going to lose muscle mass as you lose weight.
2. Eat enough protein. And not just any protein. You need BCAAs or branch chain amino acids. This promotes muscle growth and repair. These types of foods also have the highest thermal effect which means you burn more calories as you eat them. Proteins also are great at suppressing your appetite when you are in a caloric deficit.
Now, what the message of the video is saying is not wrong because a lot of people **** this up. They go on a starvation diet where they drop down to 1,000 calories a day and do steady state cardio thinking it will assist with the weight loss. These people do lose mostly muscle and then ruin their metabolisms. Then when they cave in and binge eat because they are so hungry, they gain a ton of weight back and end up fatter than when they started.
Think there's no doubt you missed the overall message here. Counting calories is something some people do and it can serve as somewhat of a guide for them so long as everything they eat and do remains the same. Still, your body is not regulated by the number of calories and treats different macronutrients differently. Would be far more advantageous and sensible to track those macronutrients that control the hormones that control your body weight. Once you understand this is a hormonal thing and gear what you eat more to allow these hormones to work optimally, your weight will normalize with no pain or suffering on your part.
You also continue to look at that small insignificant piece of the puzzle rather than attempt to solve the puzzle. Your main tip of "always be lifting weights" is not natural and you cannot expect the majority of people to always do it. The overwhelming majority do not do it nor have the time to do it and ask yourself is weight lifting regularly something you can sustain throughout your life. For 99%, I'd have to say hell no. Look at how long mankind has existed and grown by leaps and bounds without adhering to your #1 pro tip. Our bodies were designed to take care of us. Man never came with a set of instructions that said, "must lift to maintain". Am I saying lifting weights is bad for you? No. It's a biohack that can bring you very positive results if done correctly, which most people who even do lift semi-regularly also don't do. I don't see it as a long term solution though nor as the type solution one could reasonably expect to impact the majority of people.
So back to working with the body's fast and feast way of doing things. Back to concerning ourselves with how our hormones work. Back to reducing the level of insulin, the fat blocker, for longer periods of time. Time to forget all the bad advice that's been put out like propaganda for far too long like, "calories in/calories out", "breakfast is the most important meal of the day", "eat several small meals throughout the day", "eating too much fat is a health risk", "more grain, more fruits", "More carbs, low fat", ahhh more bullshit.
You give tips, I'll give facts.
- Insulin blocks access to stored fat and no macronutrient raises insulin more than carbs
- Studies have shown men’s testosterone levels are proportional to fat intake. A high fat diet also increases HGH secretion at night
- Going longer periods of time (as with IF) affords the body daily opportunity to burn fat on its own
- Higher fat diets are most effective in preserving muscle mass
- The production of HGH has been shown to increase by 2000% in men when doing a 24 hour fast
- Short term fasting w/IF has been shown to increase metabolic rate by 4-14%
- Fasting has been shown to increase longevity, in studies w/mice, by 83%
- Studies have shown low carb dieters lose 3 times more weight, on average, than low fat dieters
