EngineeredTheology

I get frustrated when I read whatever the latest fad is on how to get in shape because it is usually based on some pretty shoddy science with conclusions that seem pretty unsupported. One of my bigger pet peeves is going into the gym and watching personal trainers. To me, the workouts they often have their clients somewhat shows that they have not seriously sat down and thought about the biomechanics of what they are doing (just compiling a list of workouts they learned when they were in high school football). The two biggest misconceptions I think many people have are below.

Fat loss can’t be targeted. This is one of my favourites because it is something that everyone knows, but somehow seem to forget when they start working out. The body does not consume the fat immediately next to the muscle being used. The prime example is to see the person who is 50 pounds overweight doing sit ups. Really? When was the last time you saw someone with big flabby arms and legs with a rock hard washboard stomach? The most likely thing that will happen is that the waistline will grow as the muscles under those 50 lbs of fat grow – usually the exact opposite of what they are trying to accomplish.

There is more to fat loss than counting calories. The body is complex when it comes to weight loss. It is the typical black box with inputs we can vary, and we observe the outputs to see the effect. From that we try to predict what are the driving factors in that black box.

For a lot of people, the black box is a basic equation.

(Calories in – Calories Burned)/3,500 = Fat loss/Gain

The outcome is then: if we can just eat less (few calories in), and work out a little more (calories burned) to accumulate 3,500 then we will loose a pound of fat. While the equation my have some scientific validity, the behaviour it drives is off the mark. The main thing missed is the realisation that while we may understand how many calories we put in, and we can somewhat estimate our body fat %, we have no way of knowing throughout the course of the day how many calories our body decided to burn.

The reason the calories burned can fluctuate is because our body is also thinking about the inputs it is given, and trying to come up with the best possible survival scenario. It seems (from testing and observation) that starvation is a main concern of the body. If given extra food, it will most likely store that energy in case a time comes up that we have no food and starve. If there were a global food shortage and no one could eat, the fat people would probably live the longest. When we go on a diet and cut our calorie intake, our body reacts in a starvation survival mode. It cuts our energy level to reduce the calories burned to prolong the time we can survive until we can find enough food (or re-balance the equation so the calories used equals the incoming calories). It doesn’t know there is a McDonalds right around the corner.