What’s new in the scientific studies world of Fasting, Fat, and Muscle?
Here are a few freshly released studies that give us some really interesting ideas for improving your overall body composition…
(That means less fat and a thinner waist, along with more muscle and strength!)
Calorie Restriction (CR) vs Intermittent Fasting (IF)
Which is best for weight loss and overall health?
This recent study showed that IF participants lost more weight than CR participants; but those results were not statistically significant (meaning that there’s not a strong correlation that IF is better than CR for weight loss).
However… in this same study:
The one measure where IF beat out CR was waist circumference. That is, people on IF had a bigger reduction in waist circumference than those on CR.
My belief is that there are metabolic advantages to fasting over calorie restriction because fasting gives our bodies more time to rest, digest and boost autophagy (meaning that we’re cleaning up old cells in our bodies).
Morning vs Evening Exercise
Which is best for fat loss, muscle, strength and overall health?
In this 12-week randomized trial, you can see that:
Women exercising in the morning had greater improvements in
- total fat mass (−5% vs. −2% in PM)
- abdominal fat mass (−10% vs. −3% in PM)
- blood pressure (−10% vs. −3% in PM)
- lower-body muscle power
Women exercising in the afternoon had greater improvements in
- upper-body muscle strength (+16% vs. +9% in AM)
- upper-body muscle power (+37% vs. +8% in AM)
- upper-body muscle endurance (+40% vs. +25% in AM)
Men exercising in the afternoon had greater improvements in
- systolic blood pressure (−12% vs. −3% in AM)
- fatigue (−55% vs. 0% in AM)
- fat oxidation (+6% vs. +1% in AM)
When should YOU exercise – morning or evening?
You should exercise whenever it fits your schedule!
Based on this study, there are big benefits to exercising in the morning and in the evening – especially for women.
Ideally you would do both…some days you exercise in the morning and other days in the evening.
And, more important than exercise, you would stay active and move your body throughout the day.
Crickets vs Beef
Which is a better source of protein?
This randomized controlled trial shows:
Beef is better for
- satiety
- all (essential and non-essential) amino acids
Crickets are better for
- leucine, branched-chain amino acids, and essential amino acids
- insulin levels
Which should you eat – crickets or beef?
I have a hard time thinking that we’ll get the same health benefits from crickets that we get from beef…but this study seems to favor crickets for overall nutrition and health benefits.
Rather than worry about crickets and beef, I think your focus should be to #eatclean!
How to melt fat while you sleep?
This is an easy answer: sleep well (more efficiently) and you’ll burn more fat, as you can see in this study.
What I found interesting was that people who spent more time in bed tended to exercise less.
So my takeaway is:
Be like goldilocks:
- not too much sleep
- not too little sleep
- find the right amount and sleep well!
If you want an objective measure, you can use an Oura ring to find out how efficiently you sleep.
That’s it. To summarize:
- IF may be better than CR for your waist size.
- Morning and evening exercise has differing benefits.
- Crickets may be more healthy and nutritious than beef.
- Sleep well to burn fat.
What do you think?
Leave a comment and let me know…