June 2019

SUNDAY SHUTDOWN #18 FASTED OR FED⠀

In light of yesterday’s insta story I wanted to elaborate a little on this one.⠀

Many people (still) believe that exercising first thing in the morning, or in a fasted state means they will burn more calories and therefore lose fat faster.⠀

Sorry to break it to ya folks but this simply isn’t true and the evidence certainly doesn’t support it.⠀

Firstly, imagine you currently enjoy exercising after work and manage 4 sessions a week. But then John from customer services tells you if you exercise as soon as you wake up in the morning you’ll lose fat faster. So you try to get up earlier but because you hate mornings and it’s not your thing you only manage 2 sessions a week. That means less sessions and less progress at the detriment of your goal. Still with me?⠀

Science wise, a meta analysis conducted in 2017 by Hackett and Hagstrom found that exercising in a fasted state didn’t improve fat loss. The main contributing factor, unsurprisingly, was creating a consistent calorie deficit.⠀

Prior to this a study from 2014 by Schoenfeld et al, which was included in the above meta analysis, also found no advantage of fasted cardio vs fed for fat loss. In both groups (fasted and fed) calorie intake was quite low and both groups lost weight irrespective of when they did their exercise.⠀

So, point in question, exercise when it works for you because that will lead to a consistent calorie deficit over time resulting in fat loss. It also means you are more likely to actually do it and reap the other benefits for your overall health! Question anyone who tells you anything different.

SUNDAY SHUTDOWN #17 FOOD OR EXERCISE FOR FAT LOSS: I hear it quite a lot “yeah but I’ve started exercising and I’m still not losing weight.”⠀

Truth is, for fat loss what you put in your mouth is going to have the biggest impact. For most people, it’s easier to be in control of what you eat and drink and make positive changes there. Don’t get me wrong generally being more active, walking more, not sitting down for endless hours, hitting a minimum of 10,000 steps a day before you do any exercise is also going to contribute. The food is where you need to start. ⠀

So, what does the literature tell us? ⠀

In the long term exercise is more likely to help us maintain our weight. So it’s a good habit to build. And at a time when you are motivated to make changes, that could also be the right time to start finding something you love doing, movement wise.⠀
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In the short term exercise will help to improve your body composition. As a result of lifting weights consistently you will become stronger.⠀

The research also tells us that when we do complete strenuous physical exercise we are likely to consume more food because we are actually hungrier. Your body knows this. And it will want you to in essence, refuel. ⠀

Some perspective courtesy of @one.angry.chef recent book the truth about fat:⠀

Running on a treadmill for half an hour will burn circa 300-400 calories (depending on your weight and intensity) yet half an avocado on two slices of medium toast has about 450 calories. So you can see it doesn’t take much to negate that run in the first place.⠀

For health. Now that’s a different story. Exercise for health. Yes. Exercise because it reduces your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Exercise because it allows your mind to relax. Exercise for social reasons. Exercise because it makes you feel great!

But please don’t think you can burn off all your food or because you’ve #workedout everyday this week you’ve got a licence to eat more than you physically need.
? from yesterday’s BBQ!