Melkor Geeks Out: add your favourite study!

Trhawley suggested that we collect our favourite studies - well, me, but I expect you people to chip in as well.

Oh, and go browse the Journal of strength and conditioning research sometime - lots and lots of fascinating stuff :)

 And keep in mind that everything you do causes your body to respond in some fashion - the only question is whether that response is one you consider useful.

 The Harvard Alumni Study - do cardio, you'll live longer. Don't do too much, but to get into the activity bracket where death risk increases you have to be expending more than 4000-6500 kcal/week in intense exercise so for - oh, 99% of the world that's not a real risk. And if you are working harder than that, start scarfing down the antioxidants - quite a few of NIHM studies suggest that it's not the energy expenditure itself that's the problem, it's the lack of sufficient antioxidants to compensate for your oxygen load. Which goes back to the first point on this list - eat right, and your body will do what you want it to ;)

 However, for fat loss cardio in general isn't very useful, there it's intensity of effort in combination with diet that's your best bet.  This is not to say that you don't benefit health-wise from any activity, but it needs to be at a high level of effort to make an appreciable difference.

Fat Loss Depends on Energy Deficit Only, Independently of the Method for Weight Loss
Strasser et.al.Ann Nutr Metab 2007;51:428-432 (DOI: 10.1159/000111162)

Whether you expend 500cal in low-level aerobics or just not eat them in the first place makes no difference to your weight loss efforts. Intensity of exercise makes a difference though

 And resistance training is the only thing that will let you retain your existing muscle mass in a calorie deficit - cardio is not enough of a stimulus to make your body retain muscle and can in fact make things worse by encouraging your body to use muscle protein for energy.

 Consider these studies:

D, DE, and DES demonstrated a similar and significant (P <= 0.05) reduction in body mass (-9.64, -8.99, and -9.90 kg, respectively) with fat mass comprising 69, 78, and 97% of the total loss in body mass, respectively. -
Kramer, Volek et al. Influence of exercise training on physiological and performance changes with weight loss in men.

and Hunter et.al. : Resistance Training Conserves Fat-free Mass and Resting Energy Expenditure Following Weight Loss. In the Kramer study, a third of the weight loss in the diet-only group was muscle(2.98 kg, or 6.5lbs) and the diet+cardio exercise group also lost significant muscle(1.98kg or 4.35lbs), while the diet+cardio+strength training group mostly retained theirs, losing 0.297kg or just shy of 0.6lbs of muscle.

In addition to Wayne Westcott. PhD's study of resistance training versus endurance training (Westcott, W., Fitness Management. Nov., 1991.) - in addition to the effect on fat loss, Westcott documents the phenomenon known as 'newbie gains' where beginners to exercise can add muscle even in a calorie deficit. Also check out Resistance Weight Training During Caloric Restriction Enhances Lean Body Weight Maintenance (Ballor, D.L., Katch, V.L., Becque, M.D., Marks, C.R., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 47(1): 19-25, 1988.) - and this weights-only study too that shows the expected result - weight training without dieting won't do jack for you when it comes to fat loss.

 I guess the rule is :

 Dietary intervention + no exercise=mediocre results
 No dietary intervention + exercise=embarrassing results
 Dietary intervention + exercise = fantastic results

You can't do just one thing - it all fits into the puzzle somewhere.

Running every day is like lifting every day - not a real good idea when you're starting out.

When running more than 3 days per week, or more than 30 minutes per session, additional improvements in cardiovascular fitness are small, yet the rate of orthopedic injuries are disproportionately greater. Although slightly higher increases of cardiovascular fitness were observed for the 45 minutes per session and 5 days per week groups, these programs are not recommended for beginning joggers due to significantly higher rates of injury.
Running VO2 / Injury Study

 You'd want to follow a running program designed to take your from your current fitness level to your goal, whether that's something like Couch25k, our own Learn to run, the smartcoach program designer or something out of a running book - following a program guards you against both over- and undertraining. 


 A healthy rate of loss is between 0.5% to 1% of your current bodyweight per week, or a calorie deficit of 31cal/lbs fat mass/day -there's a limit to how much energy you can get from fat in a day due to the limitations of the reaction speed of the lipase enzymes that work to mobilize fat stores for energy.

A limit on the maximum energy transfer rate from the human fat store in hypophagia is deduced from experimental data of underfed subjects maintaining moderate activity levels and is found to have a value of (290±25) kJ/kg d. A dietary restriction which exceeds the limited capability of the fat store to compensate for the energy deficiency results in an immediate decrease in the fat free mass (FFM).

S.S. Alpert Journal of Theoretical Biology Volume 233, Issue 1, 7 March 2005, Pages 1-13

Works out to about 31cal/lbs of fat mass/day on average - don't push this to the bleeding edge of what's possible due to the inherent uncertainties of the measurements we have outside the lab, but it's good to know that there's room for individual adjustments, neh?


  EPOC: Maybe not all that it's cracked up to be:
Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management, Eur J Appl Physiol. 2002 Mar;86(5):411-7.

Effect of acute resistance exercise on postexercise oxygen consumption and resting metabolic rate in young women, Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2000 Mar;10(1):71-81.

  Effect of Short-Term High-Intensity Interval Training versus Continuous Training on O2 Uptake Kinetics, Muscle Deoxygenation and Exercise Performance. J Appl Physiol. 2009 May 14. McKay BR, Paterson DH, Kowalchuk JM.

However, from  this point/counterpoint article and the studies referenced there, even a fairly basic strength training program increases your RMR by 6.8-7.7% after 3-4 months of consistent training.

Machines vs. free weights? No contest:

Following initial assessments, 30 sedentary male and female subjects were randomly divided among a nonexercise control group (C), a freeform group (FF) and a fixed-form (FX) group.
The FF group showed twice as much strength improvement as the FX group (115% vs. 57%, respectively). Study authors also found a 111% increase in joint pain among the FX group, whereas joint pain decreased by 30% in the FF group, with no new symptoms occurring upon study completion. Balance improved in both groups; however, the FF group had a 245% increase in balance capabilities compared with a less significant 49% increase among the FX group

Strength Gains: Fixed vs. Freeform Equipment
(Original study: Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 22(1):75-81, January 2008.

 It's a tradeoff you've got to make for yourself - while machines tend to mean more pain and less gain than the equivalent free weights exercise, if it's a question of using machines or not doing it at all, use the machine.

 Protein needs given various types of exercise: Journal of the American College of Nutrition - the 0.8g/kg is only valid for sedentary individuals, for anyone doing any form of exercise the needs vary from 1.0g/kg up to 1.8g/kg normally, with a peak of up to 2.4g/kg for recovery from particularly strenuous exercise (mostly marathons and long-distance endurance events, and limited to the first 1-3 days following the event. Not applicable to strength training, so just because you lift stuff, don't go overboard with the protein based on what endurance guys need for recovery from a marathon.)

Vitamin D, the real magic vitamin:

Vitamin D may improve athletic performance in vitamin D-deficient athletes. Peak athletic performance may occur when 25(OH)D levels approach those obtained by natural, full-body, summer sun exposure, which is at least 50 ng.mL. Such 25(OH)D levels may also protect the athlete from several acute and chronic medical conditions.
Athletic Performance and Vitamin D.

Get yer fish oil in, apparently.

 

well we all have to agree on the high intrest level that is Effects of Nutritionally Enriched Coffee on Aerobic Performance  

So many people turn to the quick answer, the corporate answer, or just the answer they want to hear instead of researching properly ~ shine a light and kudos to melkor ~

one of my gal pals is on the cutting edge of fad when it comes to weight loss and refuses to research properly. right now her obsession is papain. a year ago it was CLA. she stopped with the CLA because it was too expensive and gave her gas... not because it doesn't work the way the hype makes it sound?

Effects of Conjugated Linoleic Acid Supplementation During Resistance Training on Body Composition, Bone Density, Strength, and Selected Hematological Markers

now for some research explaining how enzymens found in papaya used to break down connective tissue in muscle effectively flushes dietary fat when taken orally? i am still looking...  :)

I was about to ask if it is ok for me to drink coffee and whey protein together after my workout because that is what I do.

Looks like it - in general I think that nutrient timing doesn't matter as much as some gurus make it out to be and the idea of "food combining" is just outright nonsense. You might get a slight boost to your workouts by having a spot of coffee before it as well, but meh - I think you're fine as it is. 

Melkor, food combining is an interesting topic. I read in Fitness Magazine that eating green veggies and healthy fats (like avocados ) together, will maximize the absorption of the healthy fats in the body.

I am not sure if that is true.

Safina, I heard something like that too but it was the other way around =P  I thought eating the fats with veggies would help with vitamin absorption since some are fat soluble..but maybe it goes both ways? haha

I have no clue, just thought I'd say =)

Original Post by safina1:

I was about to ask if it is ok for me to drink coffee and whey protein together after my workout because that is what I do.

I do it as well, but only because it's one of the very few ways I can choke that protein shake down.

i've been mulling about this hypertrophia&hyperplasia article for months.  i "get it" and think it might be true and have been wondering if it doesn't explain why i'm bulkier than your average girl-lifter.

deflepfan16, haha. Maybe it goes both ways :) I don't know. the more I read, the more this stuff drives me crazy. Ok. I will quit my job and become and PT.
Queenmedia, I was not sure if coffee could prevent protein absorption. in all cases, I have to get my morning coffee, there is no other solution.

Hey, welcome to my world - every time I think I have a handle on things I read something that confuses me. Sometimes I feel like I'm practicing to believe six impossible things before breakfast :)

 Well, the macro level is pretty much settled science, but it's the details that are enough to drive you batty :)

 I was thinking of this sort of  "Food combining diet" - some vitamins can't be absorbed at all without dietary fats, and nutrient absorbtion is faster with certain combinations, but to stretch that out into saying that you're gaining weight 'cause you eat rice with your tuna is certainly not supported in the literature that I can find.

Food combining theories are proven to be highly effective at selling counselling services for nutrition advisors.

Step 1: Persuade prospects they don't understand what to do without your complex program

Step 2: Sell complex programs

Step 3: Profit

Melkor,

a) I hear that combining/sandwiching foods can help absorb them much better... ex: I have read that when making my protein shakes (which contain 42g of protein, 4g fiber, and 4 carbs) that it's best to add goo carbs like oatmeal, quinoa, barley, rice, etc to help it absorb better... otherwise all that protien is doing is passing through, reluctantly, but passing through. In addition, what's your take on protein sources? I prefer a gigantic protein shake packed with peanut butter, oatmeal, ice, and soy milk. It's filling but at the same time I feel like I'd lose more weight eating a piece of fish, brown rice, and broccoli with less than 1/4 of the protein... what's your take on supplements?

b) My bf loves to lift. His theory is that "muscle and fat cannot live together" therefore he likes for me to strength train 4-5days/week with 30 mins cardio. To be honest I don't know that that theory is necessarily correct though. It seems to me that the only thing I notice is my muscles are swollen, thereby making me look less fat bc my skin is stretched. After 2-3 days off from the gym I notice I'm still just as flabby. Now, I've been in the gym a mere 8 mos now, so excuse me for being hasty, but I expected all of my body fat to be magically gone by now, and I've been challenging myself pretty well.

c) I read a lot of blogs online about becoming a fitness model, their diets, routines, and... their weights. I cannot understand it and I wonder if I am built strangely or maybe if I've been eating free weights in my sleep? I am the same height, same dress size, and relatively the same build as these women... yet they all weight 120 on season, and 130 on season. I weight 140. How is that 10lbs difference possible? I do have some degree of body fat, but 10lbs???? And when eating 1250-1300 cals per day how do you lose the remaining 10? Is this something that leaves slowly over years and years of training an refining?

Original Post by melkor:

Looks like it - in general I think that nutrient timing doesn't matter as much as some gurus make it out to be and the idea of "food combining" is just outright nonsense. You might get a slight boost to your workouts by having a spot of coffee before it as well, but meh - I think you're fine as it is. 

 

Well I'm not much into "geeking out" and don't have the time to read hard core articles but for newbies and persons just starting out with an exercise program I found this site to be nice

http://www.exerciseismedicine.org/

 

These are not actual studies but they come from a reliable source and are more moderate and practical about nutrition, exercise and overall health.

nuking diet and exercise myths

artificial sweeteners are not bad for you. they just taste bad. if they help you control your calories, then go ahead and use them in moderation.

physical activity may help reduce your risk for cancer, so start moving around already!

like Morrigu said on another thread, there is no magic bullet

edit: can't believe I forgot the nih study of how to beat obesity, which incidentally echoes pretty much all of the sensible advice you get on CC