This is a guest post from The Lean Saloon:
I spent the past several years reviewing books, reading blogs and watching videos on the subjects of diet and exercise. Throughout this exploration I’ve learned some things — but it’s not what I had hoped to have learned.
One is that everyone has vastly different information on diet and exercise. Another is that everyone seems to be correct in varying degrees — that is, they’re either correct significantly, or they’re correct just a little. Which also means that they’re just a little incorrect, or they’re significantly incorrect.
I also noticed that I can become easily confused by all of this information… even though I have a formal education and have worked for nearly 2 decades in this area! It’s absolutely confusing out there. I can’t imagine the average person wanting to lose some fat and get a little healthier trying to wade through this informational mess. It isn’t easy for me, so it must be a nightmare for this person.
The most important thing I learned was that, throughout my exploration into the available information, I have done extremely well by keeping to the bone of becoming leaner and healthier. I am now calling this strategy: rational simplicity.
And here it is:
■ Eat more vegetables and fruits, but eat less overall by eating less frequently.
■ Lift some weight
■ Periodically elevate the heart rate really high.
■ Finally, walk around. A lot.
I wish I could impress people with more technical information than this. But it’s really this simple.
Simple, but not easy. Where have you heard that before? :)
RM
2 comments:
Some of my friends tell me that snacking frequently throughout the day, so having approx. 5 mini meals, is better than eating say, 2 meals a day, if you're trying to lose weight. Their reasoning is that if your body is starved, which is the latter scenario, then when you do eat your body absorbs more (of what I'm not sure.. fat?)
What you're saying makes a lot of sense and I trust that you have done a lot of research, but so is the snacking-method a myth then?
And I guess to settle this in my mind once and for all, if my goal is fat loss, how should I be eating? (regarding frequency of meals, number of meals, portion sizes, and types of food)
Thank you!
The research really doesn't support that meal frequency has any effect on fat loss. Considering that the calorie intake is the same, studies of meal frequencies of 17 micro meals a day vs 1 large meal a day yeild the same results. The commonly prescribed 5 meal a day plan that you decribed is proported to "stoke the metabolism". Once again, science doesn't seem to support this claim. The stoking or thermic effect of food is the same with several smaller meals as it is with fewer large meals. I know it is not what is being suggested by magazines and probably your local trainer, but as it turns out, fat loss is just simply a matter of reducing your calories by any means necessary.
I hope this helps
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