A new study that was just published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science Sports, showed a group of 15 healthy but overweight Swedish men lost 11lbs in 4 days.
The men had a calories restriction to about 360kcal a day, a reduction of 1800 calories a day. Both group ingested their calories in liquid for from either a:
- Sugary carbohydrate drink
- High-protein drink
Their exercise was GRUELING, in the morning they began with a 45minutes with the arm ergometer then as group the mend strolled for EIGHT hours across the Swedish countryside with only 1 10minute break every hour induce an energy deficit of 5000 kcal a day. To help sustain their energy they were allowed as much of a low-calorie sports drink during their walks.
Results
In both groups the men had lost around 11lbs, nearly half of it being fat. The interesting aspect of the results were that the men were able to keep the weight off when they returned a month later, some dropping a few pounds more. Even after a year they still managed to maintain the weight off. So if you want to lose weight fast, should you go through an extreme calorie deficit and exercise for 8 hours a day?
Photo by Charles Deluvio
My Thoughts
This is a VERY intriguing research study; it pretty much defies what most personal trainers would think it would have resulted in. With that said, the main issue of the study is that it’s clearly a small and select group of people. If you look in the broader spectrum the study just shows that if you take in less calories than you burn you’re going to lose weight. With that said, I believe the lasting results in these men were due to being greatly inspired, therefore were able to maintain the weight off. If fitness enthusiasts just merely had to go on a crazy calorie deficit and train for x8 hours a day to lose weight and KEEP the off the weight, then ALL the Biggest Loser Contestants would’ve kept their weight off, and this is not the case.
As a NYC personal trainer that has worked with many weight-loss, post-natal, and physique competitors the focus has always been on developing small successful habits that you can consistently maintain. Yes it’s easy to right off my statements, it’s not glamorous, glorious, or SEEMINGLY crazy difficult but it works. CONSISTENCY is the name of the game and that’s how you get results.
Think about it for a second, if you can’t stick with CONSISTENTLY working out x4 a week, how the heck do you expect to go on a highly specialized diet and workout? I often get people that are so motivated (at first) that they burn themselves out and can’t keep up with all the changes they had promised to do. I know that I’m not the only personal trainer that has had to deal with this and I know i’m not going to be the last. Trust me, keep it simple- focus on the x1-2 habits and nail those down. Once you’ve crushed those habits then move onto the next instead of trying to change EVERYTHING all at once, that’s just a recipe for failure.
You’re probably still skeptical but trust me a single habit can make a BIG impact. Take for example simply replacing your weekday donut (200kcal) with a cup of fruit (60kcal) there by reducing your calorie intake by 120kcal a day or 600kcal a week. If you keep this up for x6 weeks you’ll easily lose one pound just by this ONE single habit. Now think about it if you were to exercise x3 a week, and say you burn on average 400 calories per workout, that’s 1,200 kcal a week + the 600kcal a week for a total deficit of 1800 kcals. Keep this up and that one pound lost over the 6 weeks will now become one pound lost in 2 weeks! The power of consistency at it’s best!
While it’s great that there’s so many new interesting exercise and diet research being done, there are just so many more variables that come into play beyond then just calories in calories out. In the end, if you want to be successful focus on things that have proven to work. This means to keep things simple, eat healthy (vegetables, lean meats, good fats, and fruit), rest/recovery, and stay consistent with these habits!
Stay strong,
Team Fusion Trained