This is awesome. For years I have had the COMPLETE wrong mentality and have been doing things so wrong. I have changed in the past three months, but I still have so much to learn. I realized my after workout shakes are not the right ratio….and that I am not eating enough I don’t think. My question is..how do i figure out what that right calorie amount is for me? I am 5’5 age 27 and weight 138. I have about 15lbs of FAT to lose. How do find what my basal metobolic rate is so i can minus the 500 calories from it? I do 3x a week weight training with High Intensity Intervals inbetween and 3x a week high intensity interval training. My goal is to lose fat, but i’m not sure how much I should be eating or if i’m eating too little. I also LOVED your post about eating fat and carbs together. I NEVER knew this or had heard of it. Are simple carbs like fruits and veggies ok to pair with fats? Or should fat’s only be eaten alone or with protein? I try to not eat too may complex carbs but use my fruits and veggies as my carbs…just wanted a little more clarity on that. I have loved reading your blog. Just found it today. I have spent three hours reading and if i had more time i’d keep going. So many things you are saying are totally resinating with me and I am so excited to follow you! thank you!
Natalie
In yesterday’s post, we discussed several different ways to create a 300 calorie deficit:
- Skip the morning bagel (-300 calories)
- Walk on the treadmill for an hour and half (-300 calories)
- Perform a very high intensity interval session (-300 calories)
In all 3 instances, the net calorie burn is -300 cals; however, as mentioned in the previous post, scenario 1 sucks, scenario 2 really sucks, and scenario 3 trumps them all–by far.
And today I want to share 3 other “scenarios” with you, with yet another lesson to be learned.
Out of the below 3 individuals, who will burn more fat and achieve better, faster results?
Scenario #1 – Subject A
- Basal Metabolic Rate of 2,000 calories
- No additional calories burned per day through exercise
- Total calories burned: 2,000
- Dietary intake: 1,300
- Deficit: -700 calories
Scenario #1 – Subject B
- Basal Metabolic Rate of 2,000 calories
- Additional 200 calories burned per day through exercise
- Total calories burned: 2,200
- Dietary intake: 1,500
- Deficit: -700 calories
Scenario #1 – Subject C
- Basal Metabolic Rate of 2,000 calories
- Additional 600 calories burned per day through exercise
- Total calories burned: 2,600
- Dietary intake: 1,900
- Deficit: -700 calories
Paying careful attention to the 3 scenarios above, you see that Subject A, Subject B, and Subject C all have a Basal Metabolic Rate of 2,000 calories, and all subjects are creating a -700 caloric deficit daily.
Who will be more successful?
If fat loss were simply a mathematical phenomenon, then all three subjects would have equal success and would experience the same exact fat loss.
But, just in case you didn’t already know, there’s MUCH more to fat loss than just the numbers.
Fat loss, by and large, is largely hormonal (yes, I’m aware, that was redundant). Indeed, a caloric deficit must be in place for fat loss to occur, but not all deficits are “equal”.
Subject A, while still being negative 700 calories, is creating a hormonal environment in the body resistance to fat loss. Subject B is slightly better, but still far from optimal.
Subject C is the clear winner here. Although Subject C is creating the same exact numerical -700 calorie deficit, this individual will without a doubt experience greater fat loss and overall results.
Why?
When you decrease calorie intake, the body’s anti-starvation mechanisms are alerted and it creates a hormonal environment conducive to fat storage.
So, 1) if you need to create a calorie deficit to burn fat, but 2) you DON’T want to drastically reduce calorie intake for the reasons mentioned, what are your options?
It’s called G-flux, or energy flux.
Eat more. Exercise more. Lose more.
It really is THAT simple.
Simply put, the more calories you burn through exercise (versus a dietary caloric deficit), the greater your fat loss results will be. Every. Single. Time.
Fat burning enzymes will be elevated, the body will remain happy from a nutritional stanpoint, and let’s fact it, eating an additional 600 calories per day is a lot more livable from a psychological standpoint than attempting to create a large caloric deficit through diet alone.
My challenge to you: Starting this week, on top of what you are already currently doing, add an additional 300 calories to your daily diet, and strive to burn an additional 300 calories via exercise.
Watch what happens. You’ll be surprised.
Or maybe now that you’re “in the know”, you won’t be.
Questions? Comments? Respond below.
I’ll be checking in throughout the day and responding below, so bring on the discussion!
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
P.S. In the meantime, want another EASY way to burn 8 lbs of fat without doing ANYTHING? My buddy Jon Benson just posted a really cool tip here:
==> How to burn 8 lbs of fat without doing ANYTHING (30 second tip)
Keep rockin!
Joel
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@ Dianne:
Hi Guys, I too am eager to hear what Joel sez, am in a very similar situation, intense regular exericse, interval training, great diet, abdominal fat that won’t budge. Am 5,10 and weight 62kgs. Want to see my abs again : )
Hi Joel,
I am confused… In your XFLD you use fasting days – I know you use supplements to prevent muscle loss on these days but Brad Pillon also uses science to back up his theory of using 24 hour weekly fasts to create a deficit and says that the 24 hour long period isn’t enough for the body to enter the starvation mode..as long as normal eating is resumed after the said period. What is your take on this, please? Would appreciate your input on this.. Thank you :-)
Hi!
I wonder wouldn’t it be the absolute ultimate if the scenerio “C” also had a deficit from excersie and from dietary? So if “C” also had a intake of 1500 kcal would be best or would that start the starve mode?
Thank you for your answer! =)
I certainly appreciate this information. It is however unfortunate that I missed the importance of exercise relative to the other requirements before I purchased your fat loss programs. I must of somehow missed the point of the essential ingredients to have success with your program
Hi again!
I ment that if “C” would intake the amount of the basal metabolic rate so that it would be -700 and an addtion to -600?
I wonder if that is that effective, to only eat for the amount of you metabolic rate and get a dificit from excersice??? =)
Regards,
G
Hey joel! So if i intake a high ammount of calories one day, should i still create that calorie deficit combined with high intensity interval workouts? How many ( cheat days) could be done each week? Thanks a mil!
I love reading your posts. When I comes to the training & working out I know exactly what to do but nutrional stuff not so much. I am 6 ft 162lbs male with 8% body fat. My workout are done at high intenity My question for you is how do you figure out you metabolic rate & how would you figure out how many calories you burn in a workout?
Hi
My scenario is almost exactly like Dianne’s so I would also like to know what Joel has to say. My specs looks a bit different. I am a 23 year old female, weigh 114 ponds, height is 5 feet 3 inches and my BMR without excercise is 1350 calories and 2200 with excercise. I workout for one hou a day for 4 – 5 times a week. I eat small portions of food throughout the day and gained a few pounds, I do not understand. and also I have done interval training for about a month know and still no fat loss. I just want to be more toned.
If we are doing XFLD we shouldn’t try this yet correct? We need to stay in the calorie range prescribed by the calculator?
I can attest to this, I am 69″ tall and 49 years old, lean and muscular…when I added more calories (clean food) and increased my intensity by adding super sets and bodyweight intervals my body fat dropped and now I am much more defined. Only advice I would give is not to get too overly obsessed with this, this is a lifetime adventure, make a few tweaks here and there and monitor your progress or lack thereof and adjust.
hey joel i was just wondering something. if each of the 3 people did this 700 cal. deficit for just 1 day, would the fat loss be 700 calories. what i mean is, can hormonal effects cause much difference in the time period of just 1 day?
thanks
hey joel a quick Q. if these 3 people burned the 700 calories but did it for only 1 day, would the way the calorie deficit happened really matter?
hey joel what if a person did tabata style training many times a day? would the epoc increase more everytime or would doing extra sets be a waste of time? also what is your take on pre cheat day fasts?
Firstly – thanks Joel – thankyou, always great info. I have a question, and my apologies if this has been answered. How do you get a rough idea on how many calories you are burning during say interval training? I honestly don’t have a clue. Obviously gender, weight, LBM, types of exercises, effort, rest period etc will effect the amount of calories burned. So does anyone have any tips on how one could try and work this out? Thanks!
there is no way, no matter how hard I work that I could burn 300 calories in 10 minutes!! this is completely unrealistic.
@ jkendek:
thought it was a post cheat day fast… that you create the fuel that will burned off with fasting and activity…. not that I’ve done it yet – too addicted to my protein shakes post workout to go without on a fast day! Yikes!
What about those of us with underactive thyroids? An under-functioning thyroid messes up everything- including caloric limitations, core body temp and hormones.
Thanks.
Great post Joel – again!
I am currently in the second cycle of XFLD and like some other posts would love to know how many calories we are burning when doing the weight program on your XFLD?
Hi all
Guess I have been doing it wrong all along, just finished the first 5 day cycle of the XFLD and lost 8lb, but struggling with the exercise being so unfit and working 13 hour shifts. striving to do better
Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive learn anything like this before. So good to seek out any person with some authentic thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for starting this up. this website is one thing that is needed on the web, somebody with somewhat originality. useful job for bringing one thing new to the internet!
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...