5. Thinking that any form of exercise is going to make you fat.
Are you serious trainers? Are you really going around saying cardio is going to make you fat? Are you really going around saying that movement of any kind is going to make you fat. Last time I looked, it was the sitting we are doing for 8+ hours a day in offices, cars, couches, and coffee shops that is making us fat. But no, thanks to you I get emails like this one.
“Hi, I was following so-and-so and she/he said cardio is going to make me fat and I should do weight training only. Ever since I cut out my cardio I gained 5 pounds and I don’t think it is muscle. Can I add cardio in with the weight training? Will that hinder my fat loss? Thanks”
Be careful what you are writing out there trainers, sadly people are listening.
4. Assuming 25 minutes of high intensity interval training erases the 12 hours you don’t move.
Here is a quick sobering fact.
140 pound 5’5 female burns 60 calories an hour while seated.
170 pound 5’10 male burns 70 calories an hour while seated.
A little muscle and EPOC will barely makes a dent in those stats. So if you want to increase the burn and fat loss you are going to have to do a lot better than that.
3. Thinking healthy food is somehow devoid of calories.
I don’t know if you realized this or not, but a handful of almonds contains roughly 200 calories. Good fat or not, just 8 handfuls of almonds can be some female office workers calories for the whole day. Sweet potatoes, walnuts, quinoa, sprouted breads, olive oil, etc. You want to eat it, great. It being healthy doesn’t mean its okay to overeat. You aren’t going to magically not get fat off of quinoa because it’s the better choice.
2. Not sleeping.
Expect a more detailed look in the future at this because the research in sleeping and problems with weight gain and reduction are very solid. Here is a snippet from one of these types of studies.
When spending 4 hours in bed, the participants had mean leptin levels that were 18% lower (2.1 ng/mL vs. 2.6 ng/mL; P 0.04) (Figure 1, part A) and mean ghrelin levels that were 28% higher (3.3 ng/mL vs. 2.6 ng/mL; P 0.04) (Figure 1, part B) than when the participants spent 10 hours in bed. The ratio of the concentrations of orexigenic ghrelin to anorexigenic leptin increased by 71% (CI, 7% to 135%) with 4 hours in bed compared with 10 hours in bed. Sleep restriction relative to sleep extension was associated with a 24% increase in hunger ratings on the 10-cm visual analogue scale (P 0.01) and a 23% increase in appetite ratings for all food categories combined (P 0.01) (Figure 1, parts C and D, and Table 1). The increase in appetite tended to be greatest for calorie-dense foods with high carbohydrate content (sweets, salty foods, and starchy foods: increase, 33% to 45%; P 0.06) (Table 1). The increase in appetite for fruits and vegetables was less consistent and of lesser magnitude (increase, 17% to 21%) (Table 1). Appetite for protein-rich nutrients (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy foods) was not significantly affected by sleep duration (Table 1). When we considered the changes in ghrelin and leptin in an integrated fashion by calculating the ghrelin-to leptin ratio, the increase in hunger was proportional to the increase in ghrelin-to-leptin ratio (r 0.87) (Figure 2). Almost 70% of the variance in increased hunger could be accounted for by the increase in the ghrelin-to-leptin ratio.
1. The Pecan Bacon Beer Pie
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I think I might hang the Pecan Bacon Beer Pie picture up to keep me feeling sick on days I want to eat bad, that’s just sick!!!
Great posts lately, Leigh. I’ve really been enjoying them, and thanks for always being the one we can always count on to tell us the truth, regardless of if we want to hear it.
Thanks a lot Carrie. I have been writing so much in the background I was getting worried my brain was frying. I hope everyone is going to enjoy some of the stuff to come both for free and for members.
Hilarious post and so needed.
Ewww that thing is disgusting! I am sorry Leigh I can’t focus on the rest of your post because I am thinking about someone digesting that.
You know you want it.
But the Pecan TURKEY Bacon Beer Pie is o.k. right?????
Of course if you time it around your workout.
Laughing.
Post workout bacon for the win.
I would get fat for that.
http://www.crossfitsantarosa.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/marathon_sprinter.jpg
Yeah cardio is great for fat loss :rolls eyes
Hey Patrick you realize sprinting is cardio too right? Also there is a difference between muscle loss and fat loss. I would love to see who you follow.
I’m not sure I get your point. Both examples are lean-just with differing muscle mass. The marathon runner is not fat, just not carrying bulky muscles. This is an advantage to him-needs to be lighter for an endurance sport carrying his weight over a long distance. Gaining muscle wouldn’t provide him with an advantage. A sprinter wants the muscle for rapid explosive movement and an anaerobic activity.
They’re also probably genetically predisposed to look different with different ratios of muscle fibres-slow vs fast twitch etc….
I don’t know about you but that guy on the left…huge.
Good Lord, what twisted soul dreamt up the pecan bacon beer pie? (Though dreaming would imply sleep, and I’ll bet that person is in the sleep-deprivation category.) I’m with Carrie; I should print it out to look at when I’m about to make a bad food choice.
I love #3 in particular. Reminds me of when in college, one of my friends who worked at Whole Foods commented that a smiling customer came to his line with an organic cheesecake, organic ice cream, organic natural cookies, etc. When he asked her how she was doing, she said something like, “I’m great now!”
Though to be fair, maybe she had food allergies and was happy to find some sort of alternative to a favorite treat. Still, it’s good to remember that healthy food still has calories, and just because sugar is organic doesn’t mean eating loads of it won’t do any harm.
Do people really think organic food is going to help with allergies now? Wow talk about a scary misunderstanding of a process.
This post rocks.
That EPOC thing really bugs me because I keep hearing it talked about like it’s so wonderful -even by the latest guest on the Fitcast! I was shocked Kevin didn’t comment that Epoc wasn’t gonna ramp the calorie burn that much. It just peeves me to hear that and the HIIT thrown around like 20 minutes is all you need to “set metabolism on fire”. Blech!!
I know, I know, I know, and I know right? *le sigh*
Wow that bacon think is really gross looking! Some of the stuff on the website looks appetizing to me, but that’s not one of them.
@Patrick – Are you saying that the marathoner in that comparison is carrying a lot of extra body fat? I would say he is quite lean, but with very little muscle, which is why we lift weights – right?
1. Hey!
2. Yeah it was a bit hard to find something I wouldn’t destroy in 5 mins. I can honestly say I don’t think I would eat that.
You better watch out Leigh, Rachel Cosgrove says cardio makes you fat. She gets the award for the worst article ever. http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/training/the_final_nail_in_the_cardio_coffin
That pie is glorious in it’s decadence. It’s a beer mug! Made of BACON!
I want to thank you so much for this article – it spoke volumes to me.
Everyone always throws out that damned picture. Like if you do steady state or any form of cardio that isn’t intervals or HIIT it’s going to turn you into this skeletal essence or something.
Here’s a couple of thoughts, since I’ve had time to consider this –
I don’t know if EPOC is some sort of huge thing that everyone makes it out to be. Also, wouldn’t cardio in any form create a condition like that? It may be shorter period of time, but it would still be there…right?
If a fatty gets out and moves more, whether it be from a combo of steady state, weights, and a good diet, it’d be a good thing. They’re away from the TV! Or, they’re combining a TV setup with movement! The best of both worlds! Or, they’re probably outside getting fresh air! They shed off calories! I don’t see how this is a bad thing, at all. Never mind that if you’re hugely overweight, something like sprints would screw up your knees something fierce, no?
Even if muscle loss did happen, I’d think it’d be fairly marginal. The caloric burn from anything I think is going to outweigh the potential loss of muscle. Also, lifting weights during this time is probably going to preserve that muscle, along with a decent amount of protein.
And even if it did start happening, it’s not like it’s gonna be some huge overnight thing. If it DID happen, wouldn’t you just, you know, stop? You know what’s happening to you, certainly.
EPOC can have some interesting affect on body composition and conditioning, but calorie burn isn’t one of them. In research its barely measurable of a difference. Basically walking for 2 mins after your workout would likely produce more burn. Overtraining and undereating is what causes that to happen. Not all marathon runners look like they are void of muscle, its just a popular sport in which training nutrition is extremely neglected because most people perform it to maintain or lose their weight out of miseducation. Its also a extremely long endurance sport which most people have no business touching on the level that do without being educated. But I wont start a rant about marathons.
Point is, steady state cardio isn’t going to eat muscle, just ask the bodybuilders who have been doing it for years and seeing great results. Cardio is cardio and different for each person base on time, desire, and need. The rest of this is marketing bulls**t.
Well said x 5, Leigh. Sometimes a picture is all you need. ;D
A picture says a thousand hours in the gym. Now THAT should be featured in a Men’s Health article.
I ate the Pecan Bacon Beer Pie, but I had a side of quinoa and sweet potatoes with it, plus I did 15 minutes of HITT. So I should drop a few pounds from all that EPOC, yes?
You’re my kind of lady Lyn.
This post is like Leigh Peele in 5 easy bullet points! To the point and on the nail.
Fascinated by the sleep one as always. Feel so bitter that my job leads to disrupted sleep. It is so so hard not to eat badly around it. It’s like having a hangover-crave the same crap!
I know I am pretty bad at practicing what I preach because of my job but I can say with 100% confidence, lack of sleep for me causes an extreme increase in appetite and carbohydrate cravings.
I think the big time strength coaches and trainers are so behind EPOC because they deal with a somewhat self-selecting population of athletes that tend to be super fit. Really fit people can burn a ton of calories exercising…and can do so all day. I bet their EPOC is awesome. Me…I bet I get some but…shrug…you know….not like a TON.
Actually, just for conversation purposes, the better conditioned an athlete the less calories t hey are going to burn during training and at rest due to efficiency. It the fatties and out of shape that burn so much
Really? Lyle McDonald has an interesting series up this week contradicting that statement…Not so say one must always agree.
I think you are misunderstanding what is being discussed. I am not talking about the health of an obese individual or those with diabetes or whatever he is discussing right now. If you wish to provide a link to where what I said was wrong, feel free. What I am saying is that the more conditioning you have, also the more efficient you are in movement. The smaller you are, the less you burn in movement. The more you do the same activity, you will decrease burn in that activity due to adaptation. So, in that sense, when you are starting out in training and need to lose a little weight, you are going to be expending more energy.
Those are all true statements, there isn’t a place to disagree on that.
@Amanda
Leigh is correct. Look at the research of resting heart rates and tempatures in athletes. Also, Lyle just put this on his blog.
“But this idea, that the obese have a massively low (for their weight) RMR, long-held, is simply wrong. Outside of weird pathologies (e.g. the handful of leptin deficient folks), the simple fact is that studies find what you’d logically expect: larger bodies burn more calories at rest (as well as during activity). That is, the obese have higher resting metabolic rates than their skinnier counterparts. In fact, a recent paper mentioned that the never-ending search for proof of a lowered metabolic rate in the obese led obesity researchers down the wrong path for years; they were looking for a non-existent phenomenon.”
So what are you talking about?
I agree that you burn less energy the fitter you are. I used to run for almost an hour, through the bush, up a bloody great mountain on a daily basis. I was about 83kg, ripped and had a resting heart rate of 45-50 bpm on several cups of strong coffee.
I cut back on the cardio as I ended up having to run it twice a day.
I have since gained about 5kgs of fat (off season winter coat/bulk up) and now I can only manage about 30mins of the same mountain with a much higher level of exhaustion. Come spring and cutting time for summer sexiness I will kick up the intensity again but if I continued it all year round I would have no way of increasing the cardio for efficient fat loss purposes.
……… did any of that make sense or did I just soil your page with dribble?
It did not land on deaf ears
Great post Leigh… I can especially relate to the part on lack of sleep.
When I am tired I have found myself to crave “bad choice” foods…. usually high in carbs and sugar.
But what is interesting is that when I am dehydrated I get the same cravings as when I am lacking in sleep.
Thanks for the great post!
Andre.
I don’t really think carbs are a bad food choice, neither is sugar. Obviously it isn’t the only thing you want to eat all day, but you would want to just eat protein all day either.
When I am tired I just crave food in general.
Another great post Leigh!
Andre it will be posted up soon, but those craving aren’t only common but research as a natural instinct and reaction. Sleep + Diet instincts = very interesting subject.
Hey Leigh – I would be interested in your thoughts on fasting cardio first thing in the morning. I used to eat beforehand, but didn’t feel like I needed to. And I was just as hungry afterwards if I did or didn’t eat, so I don’t eat. Well, maybe a cup of coffee with a splash of half n half. What do you suggest?
Thanks Leigh, for a wonderful post again
. I always wondered about the SS vs. HIIT and all this EPOC etc. talk in the past months or so I’ve been reading and it gets me thinking and makes me wonder at times if I’ve been doing it all wrong??
I’ve been running (mostly SS) since over a year. I recently started lifting (6 mo) and do enjoy it very much. I do mostly SS cardio on my treadmill or run outside. I lost over 50 lbs of weight by only doing SS aka just moving…sure diet had a MAJOR part to play in it. I have a 100% sedentary job and it doesn’t help me with my WL goals. My WL over the past couple years has been slow, but, it has gone to a crawl state since I started lifting. I tried HIIT couple days/week in between on non-lifting days. But, it didn’t help…so I resorted to SS during my non-lifting days. I never noticed the so called EPOC effect. Not sure if one can or not.
Anyhoo, the point I was trying to make is that it bothers me when trainers say don’t do SS…do HIIT or only lift etc. I completely understand that lifting is important and helps a lot and I honestly prefer it over cardio but I don’t like the black/white statement that SS will make you fat. I am all for – get off your a$$ and move instead of sitting 8+ hours a day. If you want to walk for 2 hours – go do it! If you want to run for 30 mins – go do it! At least, one is moving & burning calories. Once the habit of doing something is created then add new stuff to keep it interesting and motivating.
I know there are tons of people out there who might not like to workout for whatever reasons…be it time, money, interest, laziness, lack of knowledge etc…and whatever gets them moving is a good thing. But, saying don’t do SS but do only HIIT or lift or that SS will make you fat is a sure way to shun people out who even want to try to move a bit.
Maybe, I’m wrong here who knows…I’m no expert
Funny because your response is better than most “experts”
BLECH, Stomach rollover, definitely no bacon pecan pie for me! great post.
Thank you Leigh
. That means a lot coming from you. And, I do own a GWF (& HRM too) and I never noticed any so called afterburn changes you’re supposed to get from HIIT or similar. Instead, for me, there was definitely a huge difference in calorie burn when I ran longer SS vs. when I just did HIIT. Maybe, my sedentary job plays a part in this, who knows? I still do HIIT couple times but I definitely don’t shun SS either. I do both besides lifting.
Reading articles like how SS is bad for you and it will make you fat, do HIIT only etc…I was close to tears and on the verge of losing my sanity. I had started to doubt myself and what I was doing and was working for me apparently. I lost a good chunk of my weight just doing SS. I still have a while to go in WL but I know I’ll get there eventually. Every bit of calorie burn helps!
I’m no expert, I have so much to learn. I’m just a person who wants to lose the weight the right way, stay healthy/fit and keep things simple for the rest of her life.
thanks for yet another great post leigh.
as someone who often gets 4 hours of sleep, i’m am living proof of the connection between lack of sleep and a rise in what i like to call gremlin levels.
it’s no joke. during times where i can get a solid amount of sleep, i have total control over my appetite… but the past few months i’ve been ‘functioning’ on about 4hrs/night, and have found it near impossible to control myself.
right again:)