How to lose more fat
A new study holds three important lessons.
Post summary
We’re covering the surprising findings of a new study that looked at how to lose more fat.
The results have long-term implications for your health and how you should think about exercise, nutrition, and other topics.
The study’s implications are particularly important for people dieting or wanting to lose fat while maintaining or building muscle. They’re also critical for those wanting to explore the edges of performance.
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Audio/podcast edition
The post
Some researchers argue that exercise has zero influence on your weight.
This seems to qualify as a claim that is “99 percent right, 100 percent wrong,” as my dear friend Dr. Kashey likes to say.
The claim is 99 percent right in the sense that exercise is a really bad way to lose weight.
It’s 100 percent wrong for two reasons.
First, exercise alone can lead you to lose weight. But it takes a lot of exercise. Here’s how much it takes.
Second, if we focus only on an arbitrary number of weight—the number of pounds lost—we might miss a far more important picture.
Enter a new study from a team of scientists in Denmark. They wanted to know if adding exercise to your diet influences the type of weight you lose.
When we lose weight, our body naturally loses a mix of fat and lean mass. Losing fat is good and seems to improve health. Losing lean mass like muscle, however, is not so good.
For example, research from the scientist Carla Prado, Ph.D., shows that people with a “healthy” BMI but low levels of lean muscle have the highest risk of death by any cause, even compared to those with excess body fat.
These Danish researchers wanted to know if exercise while dieting can help you lose more fat and retain more muscle.
Previous studies suggested it doesn’t. The scientists said those studies implied “that exercise combined with (diet) does not decrease fat mass more than (diet) alone … and therefore question the utility of exercise in reducing excessive (fat).”
But those studies had flaws around the exercise programs.
So they wanted to know: What would happen if we compared people who only dieted to those who dieted and did an exercise program that was actually … good?
The findings have important implications for long-term health and exploring the edges of performance—even if you’re not trying to lose weight.
The study
The scientists recruited 82 adults who were either overweight or obese and also had type II diabetes.
They then split these people into four groups:
Group one: No change.
These people recieved their normal medical care, which included common diabetes medications1. I.e., they were the control group.Group two: Diet change.
They dieted, eating 25 to 30 percent fewer calories than they burned each day, putting them in a calorie deficit2.Group three: Diet change + moderate exercise
They ate the same diet as group two but also exercised about 2.5 hours a week, spread across three exercise sessions.Group four: Diet change + lots of exercise
They followed the same diet as group two but also exercised about 5 hours a week, spread across six exercise sessions.
The groups followed the plan for 16 weeks.