Hi Jordan,
I listened to #222 and read your article, but now I’m confused about how to go about achieving a lean physique for the long-term.
I always used either fad diets like keto/IF, or calorie tracking to achieve a six pack in about 3 months, but I always end up binge eating and gaining back the weight. However, in your article, you wrote that diets should be done for short periods of time, which is what I’ve been doing with fad diets and tracking calories. But the weight always comes back because of psychological stress, of course.
In the podcast, you say a caloric deficit should be maintained for up to 2 years for successful weight loss. So, it seems to contradict what you wrote in the article.
According to the podcast, you lose lean body mass when you cut calories. I’ve experienced this first-hand with cramps, and weakness while cutting calories, which is probably due to the loss of water and minerals.
So, is it not harmful to keep up an energy deficit for that long? Not just to the body (because of loss of lean body mass) but also the brain because being on a diet tends to make me think about food all the time, which interferes with quality of life.
I was thinking about introducing a long-term caloric deficit but I’m tired of messing up my body and psychological health like that.
I’m starting to think that the SS guys were right about losing weight being pointless because keeping weight off is impossible.
But I’m sure I’m missing something here because both you and Austin have great physiques that you’ve maintained for years.
Please help me clear up the confusion.
Thanks!
I do not think that energy restricted diets should be done for short periods of time with or without fad diets, rather the article suggests a few months of energy restriction should produce clinically significant weight loss. If it’s taking longer than that, I think there are issues with the diet itself. I also don’t think psychological stress is the sole reason adherence suffers.
The energy deficit producing weight loss won’t be fully realized for months to a year. I do not say in there that an energy deficit should be maintained for up to 2 years, though someone could do that if they needed to lose more weight. Most of the time, weight loss plateaus from energy restriction in about a year.
Yes, non fat mass is lost during weight loss. I say in the podcast (and others) not all of this (or any of this in some cases) is muscle mass. Cramps are not related to this. Weakness likely isn’t either, but more related to programming and maybe the type of diet.
I think some clarifying points may be helpful:
- An energy deficit means actively losing weight. I do not think people should be in energy deficits long term unless they need to lose a lot of weight, which would typically take a long time to do.
- Plateaus from lifestyle change alone with respect to weight loss tend to occur at a year or so, not days or weeks.
- You can get stronger losing weight
I’m starting to think that the SS guys were right about losing weight being pointless because keeping weight off is impossible.
They don’t say this, as the claim is “it’s easy to lose weight” after bulking, which is necessary to get strong (according to them). It’d be more genuine if they said this, as some people may have trouble with sustained weight loss from lifestyle changes alone, but there are other options available. I also don’t think this is a good excuse to be weak and carry too much body fat.
I can appreciate that some of this stuff is confusing, but there are a lot of issues in what your takeaways have been from the materials listed. Maybe some of that is on us. We’ll have to do better.
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Wanted to edit my comment with the following:
EDIT: I see what you mean now, Jordan. Basically, if weight loss takes more than 1 year, then by definition, the person hasn’t been in a caloric deficit 100% of the time.
Would love to hear more on how you and Austin manage to keep your physiques without driving yourselves crazy. Thanks for all the insights!