Shock the body?

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LabRat529
LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I keep hearing the phrase "shock the body". Sometimes it pertains to zig-zagging calorie intake. Sometimes it pertains to changing up your exercise routine. What i want to know is: Is their any real (non-anecdotal) evidence that this works?

I'm curious because the concept doesn't fit with my preconceived notion of how our bodies work. I might be completely wrong, but it seems to me that our bodies rock at adapting to a changing environment, so 'shocking' it isn't going to shock it at all. It will just make some minor tweaks in hormone levels and you're instantly good to go.

To me, the advantage of changing things up would be a mental advantage and not a physiological one. I'd get bored eating the same way every day, so the occasional splurg counts as 'fun' and helps me maintain my diet mentality. Likewise with exercise: I'd get bored doing the same thing every day, so changing things up helps with the motivation.

Anyone wanna show me with science that I'm wrong? And I mean that in a total 'let's have a fun discussion' kind of way. Not in an 'I'm trying to start a fight and prove to everyone that I am right' kinda way :D I seriously just want to know, but I don't really know where I'd go for this type of info.
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Replies

  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    This doesn't fit your criteria of non-anecdotal, but you should read Lyle McDonald's series on leptin.

    www.bodyrecomposition.com


    Search for "leptin" in the search field.

    I beleive there is definitely a physiological advantage as well as mental.
  • Nicola0000
    Nicola0000 Posts: 531 Member
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    zig zagging calories is good as the body doesnt get used to what you're giving it everyday. Its good for people with not much weight to lose. If you keep cals low every day, the body sees it as being in a "famine" mode, so metabolism can slow and can end up in a plateau. As long as you're not going over your weekly cal intake, then it will be fine.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    You can start here:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-hormones-of-bodyweight-regulation-leptin-part-1.html

    This is a 6 part series and I recommend it. Increasingly more important in lean individuals but nonetheless, a great read.
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
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    @ Sidesteal, Thanks! I will take a look.

    @ Nicola000, Thanks for your response too... but what I'm wondering is if there's evidence that things work the way people say they work. I know the hypothesis- that your body won't get used to a certain life style and adjust your metabolism and so forth... but has anyone shown that it works that way? Does anyone have data to support that hypothesis. I'm a total nerd and I wanna know :D
  • merrick7871
    merrick7871 Posts: 164
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    This is a great topic and I would be interested to know this myself.
  • Quiing
    Quiing Posts: 261 Member
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    It absolutely works. If you keep doing the same thing all the time, your body gets accustomed to it. Just like watching the same movie over and over, it loses its wow factor.

    If you switch it up, your body gets confused and has to put in more work to catch up, which burns more calories and breaks plateaus. Variety is the spice of life.
  • adjones5
    adjones5 Posts: 938 Member
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    Don't underscore how much your psychological health has to do with weight loss, I don't know the science when it comes to the physiological aspects of this but giving yourself a boost mentally is equally as important as giving yourself a boost physically!
  • carpinon
    carpinon Posts: 1
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    i wonder this too, i tend to skip a lot of meals sometimes and then eat a lot other days and i have heard different things. good question
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
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    It absolutely works. If you keep doing the same thing all the time, your body gets accustomed to it. Just like watching the same movie over and over, it loses its wow factor.

    If you switch it up, your body gets confused and has to put in more work to catch up, which burns more calories and breaks plateaus. Variety is the spice of life.

    But can you PROVE that it works? Or do you just have faith that it works?

    I'm not asking that to be antagonistic. I really want to know. Does it work or do people just think it works?
  • LabRat529
    LabRat529 Posts: 1,323 Member
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    Don't underscore how much your psychological health has to do with weight loss, I don't know the science when it comes to the physiological aspects of this but giving yourself a boost mentally is equally as important as giving yourself a boost physically!

    Oh I know :D The placebo effect is a measurable effect! You can quantitate it! The only explanation for how placebos work is that mental boost you get because you believe in something. And I'm totally cool with that :D I just want to know: Are the benefits purely psychological? Or is it physiological too?
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
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    Good question. I was just wondering this myself the other day. I'd also like to see if anyone has any good evidence for it.
  • tross0924
    tross0924 Posts: 909 Member
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    In my personal opinion as far as the exercise goes I think its BS. I don't think my body is that stupid personally.

    "Last week you did alternating bicep curls followed by tricep kick back, this week you did chair dips followed by 21's accckkkkk what do I do!!!"

    To work a muscle you contract it and elongate it under tension. Now granted you can hit slightly different angles and work it in a slightly different ways, which honestly is great for fully developing the strength needed to progress and growing as much of the muscle as possible, but the bulk of the muscle doesn't "know" that you've changed anything so it can't get "confused". Last week it contracted and elongated X number times with Y amount of weight. This week it did the exactly same thing. Not very confusing.

    Want growth? Increase something every week. Either X or Y. Weight or reps. Do one more rep, or add 5 lbs and do less reps and then the week after do one more rep.

    As far as the diet goes. I have no real opinion either way.
  • RonSwanson66
    RonSwanson66 Posts: 1,150 Member
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    It absolutely works. If you keep doing the same thing all the time, your body gets accustomed to it. Just like watching the same movie over and over, it loses its wow factor.


    If you switch it up, your body gets confused and has to put in more work to catch up, which burns more calories and breaks plateaus. Variety is the spice of life.

    Your body isn't that stupid.

    As far as training is concerned, "muscle confusion" is a complete myth. Many of the worlds strongest athletes are trained according to the SAID principle. In fact, one of the most successful Olympic Weightlifting programs used the same 3 lifts every time. (Google Ivan Abadjiev).
  • mem50
    mem50 Posts: 1,384 Member
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    It absolutely works. If you keep doing the same thing all the time, your body gets accustomed to it. Just like watching the same movie over and over, it loses its wow factor.

    If you switch it up, your body gets confused and has to put in more work to catch up, which burns more calories and breaks plateaus. Variety is the spice of life.

    But can you PROVE that it works? Or do you just have faith that it works?

    I'm not asking that to be antagonistic. I really want to know. Does it work or do people just think it works?

    I have to say it all comes down to a simple thought for me. "I think, so therefore I am" I know I'm a bit of an odd duck. What works for one does not work for all. For me it either Did work or I Thought it did work hard enough so that it did work.
  • keeponkickin
    keeponkickin Posts: 1,520 Member
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    It absolutely works. If you keep doing the same thing all the time, your body gets accustomed to it. Just like watching the same movie over and over, it loses its wow factor.

    If you switch it up, your body gets confused and has to put in more work to catch up, which burns more calories and breaks plateaus. Variety is the spice of life.

    But can you PROVE that it works? Or do you just have faith that it works?

    I KNOW it works as I've done it. I routinely "shock" my body with an increased calorie spike day or giving my body a few days off exercise and then coming back hard and with a new routine. Works like a gem each and every time. Plus losing 106 pounds in 11 months is more proof it works. Plus it breaks a plateau each and every time.

    I'm not asking that to be antagonistic. I really want to know. Does it work or do people just think it works?
  • rsparks38
    rsparks38 Posts: 51
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    I think people like to think that things have to be complicated or mysterious to actually work. If they are not, people can't justify not getting the results they want, when they want them. Just my own opinion and a little self reflection.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    I believe the theory behind refeeds/cheat days etc. is to boost leptin levels which are lowered while you are dieting. Usually they are used by people who are lean and trying to get leaner. They probably do not benefit those who are not lean other then helping them adhere to their diet ie stay good all week with "clean" foods and low cals to have 1 big day.

    When i used them, i followed this outline

    http://jcdfitness.com/2010/06/the-preemptive-refeed/

    with that being said there is a lot of research on leptin that is sort of conflicting


    "Increasing evidence from human studies suggests that leptin predominantly influences the human energy balance through appetite but appears not to be involved in regulating energy expenditure. None of the expected factors such as resting metabolic rate, total diurnal energy expenditure or dietary induced thermogenesis was related to blood leptin concentrations."

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15534430

    "After adjusting for body composition (fat-free mass and fat mass), gender, and ethnicity, serum leptin concentrations were not related to any measure of energy expenditure."

    http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/82/12/4149

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11994393?dopt=Abstract

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16322796?dopt=Abstract

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11126336?dopt=Abstract

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10479193?dopt=Abstract

    and in addition to sidesteal's links here's another from leangains

    http://www.leangains.com/2010/03/intermittent-fasting-set-point-and.html
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    I agree. I think it's a load of ****.
  • SanMcK70
    SanMcK70 Posts: 19 Member
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    It seems to me that what you're asking for as far as proof/evidence, is what you're getting from everyone here but you're not really seeing it. Scientific proof isn't necessarily in tangible evidence, especially when dealing with the human body, but moreover repeated and consistent results when conducting an experiment.

    If everyone who does this type of dieting/exercising switch-up indicates that it works, then that is the proof that it works. It's silly to say that you need ACTUAL PROOF because there isn't a way to provide any type of tangible evidence for this type of hypothesis. The fact of the matter is that the experts recommend changing your dietary and exercise routines for increased weight loss based on studies of how the human body and metabolism work - and I, and obviously many others, can tell you for a fact that it works. So there you have it. :-)
  • ElementalEscapee
    ElementalEscapee Posts: 552 Member
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    Hmm bump.

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