The Truth about Metabolic Damage

Bella0531

I just came across this article yesterday - http://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/truth-about-metabolic-damage

The logic behind it seems sound ("eat more, exercise more OR eat less, exercies less but NOT eat less, exercise more"), but then again, I've read so many contridicting things on here and on the rest of the web I'm not sure what to think anymore.

I'd love to hear your thoughts/opinions.

BigT555

I just came across this article yesterday - http://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/truth-about-metabolic-damage

The logic behind it seems sound ("eat more, exercise more OR eat less, exercies less but NOT eat less, exercise more"), but then again, I've read so many contridicting things on here and on the rest of the web I'm not sure what to think anymore.

I'd love to hear your thoughts/opinions.

honestly i just think people worry too much about these things. if your losing weight then i dont see reason to think about it, its rare to hear or see someone who properly counts calories and exercises regularly who isnt losing.

but my opinion on the article, i believe it to be true to a very small degree. adaptive thermogenisis doesnt make all that much sense if you take into account that in order to move, energy needs to be drawn from a source. our source of energy is glycogen, which comes from the food we eat. im sure our bodies make adjustments to a degree if we cut down our intake of its energy source, becoming more efficient at metabolic processes, but i find it very hard to believe that it could make enough of a difference to cut out a 500 cal deficit like some people claim

Jestinia

But this one seems to be saying if you want to preserve muscle and lose more fat while in a large deficit, do exercise. It is a small study restricted specifically to obese women on a very low calorie diet, however:

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/46/4/622.short

Abstract

Obese women (140-180% of ideal body weight) were studied on a metabolic ward during 1 wk of maintenance feeding, followed by 5 wk of 800 kcal/d (liquid formula diet). Five subjects participated in a supervised program of daily aerobic exercise and three subjects remained sedentary. Total weight loss was not different between exercising and nonexercising subjects but significantly more of the weight loss came from fat and less from fat-free mass in the exercising subjects. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) declined similarly in both groups (approximately 20%), even though exercising subjects were in greater negative energy balance due to the added energy cost of exercise. In summary, results from this controlled inpatient study indicate that exercise is beneficial when coupled with food restriction because it favors loss of body fat and preserves fat-free mass.