How do Exercise, Carbs, Fat, Milk, Amino Acids, and Food Timing affect Weight Loss?

New Year. New You?

It’s that time of year again. That’s right. When people look in the mirror and think, “This is the time.” The time to finally lose weight.

With that in mind, I’ve assembled some of the latest research studies on weight loss and have summarized them here for you.

You’ll learn more about various ways to lose weight soon enough. But first…

Here’s what’s in this update:

[+] Exercise, Carbs, Fat, Milk, Amino Acids, and Food Timing for Weight Loss

[+] I’m getting Back to Fasting

[+] 2021 Success w/ Weight Loss, Health & Life

[+] The SIMPLEST way to lose weight

[+] Reduce stress, increase immunity and feel amazing

[+] How to achieve your goals – faster

Back to Exercise, Carbs, Fat, Milk, Amino Acids, and Food Timing for Weight Loss…

Exercise and Weight Loss

If you’ve followed me and the information I share, you likely already know that I’ve busted the myth around exercise for weight loss.

That is, exercise is not an effective way to lose weight.

BUT…

A new study does report on another (of many!) benefits you can get from exercise. And this one is related to weight loss.

Basically, the study showed that people who exercise are more motivated to eat healthy and are therefore more likely to lose weight.

Oh, and there was a bonus benefit to the exercise: Building muscle.

So, yes, it still comes back to the foods you eat (and don’t eat!) as the main driver for weight loss. Although it may have been obvious to some, we now have a study telling us that exercise can be a strong motivator to eat healthy and lose weight.

Does counting steps really work for weight loss?

Yes, it helps. But, there’s a caveat…

A recent study showed us that the potential fat burning benefits you get from walking decrease over time.

That is, your body adjusts to the exercise and you’ll burn less fat over time.

Unless…

The study also showed that the group walking more than 8500 steps still got the fat burning effects over time.

The take-home message from the study is that you’ll want to push yourself a bit (beyond 8500 steps) and also mix things up.

This is common for people exercising to lose weight. They start some fitness program and over the first few weeks, they feel better, they’re stronger and they are losing weight. However, after perhaps 6 weeks, they see diminishing returns and may even see the weight come back on.

This is because your body is really good at adjusting to the stress of exercise. This is also why, beyond varying your exercise, you need to make sure you’re eating a healthy diet (and fasting!).

Low Carb vs Low Fat. Which is better for weight loss?

I think I already shared that men tend to lose more weight than women on a low carb diet.

A meta-analysis (looking at 38 studies) showed that 1kg more weight was lost by the low carb dieters.

That’s right, just over 2 pounds of weight more were lost on the low carb diet.

The take-home message from this is to simply find a diet that works well for  you.

I would personally avoid a low fat diet – because healthy fats are where we get most of the nutrients our bodies need to grow and balance our hormones. And, when our hormones are balanced, maintaining a healthy weight is MUCH easier.

Probiotics for Weight Loss

A recent study showed that probiotics reduced liver fat, weight, BMI, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and tumor necrosis factor.

This is a really interesting study for me because I haven’t seen much evidence to support the health benefits of probiotics.

I personally don’t want to be spending money on supplements unless I have some certainty that they “work”.

And this study gives us some certainty.

Rather than taking probiotic supplements, I have been making my own kefir (which is really easy to do!) for a few months now and have noticed some improvements in my digestion.

Milk for Weight Loss

Can you drink milk to lose weight?

No.

That’s my simple, straight-forward answer and it should be obvious.

Milk is meant to make babies grow… so… How would it help you lose weight?

For some reason, a meta-analysis was done to find out how dairy affects body weight. I was curious, so I took a look and, for the most part, the results were not surprising.

They looked at 2 groups:

1. 1 group was on a restricted calorie diet and
2. 1 group was not restricted.

Both groups drank milk. What do YOU think happened?

The group on the restricted calorie diet lost weight. Not a surprise But…

They also gained muscle mass.

The un-restricted group, on the other hand, gained weight. Also not a surprise.

The take-home here is that perhaps milk can help you gain muscle while, at the same time, lose weight (when restricting calories).

To find out, we would want to dive into the many different studies to see what else was going. (For example, were they exercising?)

Regardless, I think this is enough information to try my own experiments with fasting, exercise and drinking milk – as a possible way to burn fat and build muscle.

Amino Acids for Weight Loss

Studies have already shown that protein is satiating.

A more recent study looked at the specific amino acids within protein that are correlated to satiety.

The study found glutamate, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, tyrosine, and valine are correlated to satiety and help stave off hunger.

How is this helpful?

On the surface, knowing which amino acids stave off hunger may not seem very useful. However, I have 2 main takeaways:

1. I can use these amino acids as supplements to stave off hunger in order to restrict calories.
2. I can get these amino acids in a natural, bioavailable (absorbable) form by simply eating quality meat. (Plants lack many amino acids our bodies need to function well – and the amino acids are much less bioavailable in plants.)

Food Timing and Weight Loss

Benefits of Eating Earlier

If you’ve been following me and similar fasting topics, you may already be well aware that the timing of your meals makes a difference in your health and ability to burn fat.

This study indicates that there may be some weight loss benefits to eating earlier.

But fair warning, this is more of a correlation than direct cause. In fact, the early eaters reported more physical activity and likely had other more healthy habits than the later eaters.

My takeaway is that it’s a 2-way street when it comes to health outcomes and food timing. That is, unhealthy people tend to eat later than healthy people. Conversely, people who tend to eat earlier tend to be healthier.

So… If you want to be healthier, try to eat your last meal an hour or two earlier and see what happens. You’re likely to lose a few extra pounds.

Benefits of Eating Slower

I don’t think we need a study for this one… but here it is…

A recent study found that people who eat faster (ie, foods that are easy to eat quickly) are often overweight and obese.

What can you do?

Slow down when you eat and intentionally choose foods that take a longer time to chew and eat.

After all, the foods that are easiest to eat the fastest (think Coca-Cola and Twinkies) are usually the most damaging to our bodies. 

I’m getting Back to Fasting

I sometimes indulge on the weekends by eating foods I don’t usually eat and completely ignoring my fasting schedule. So, when the weekend is over, I often think that I’ll do some longer fasting to get back on track.

It’s a good thought. But I’ve completely failed on the execution because, when Monday comes around, I have plenty of reasons to eat. For example, one justification I often have is the abundance of food in the fridge that I don’t want to waste.

After going off the rails a bit since Thanksgiving, I’ve finally come back to a fasting schedule that I like. This means generally stopping eating at about 6pm – as I’ve done in the past. And now I’m getting back into weekly 24-hour fasting – from about noon on Friday until noon on Saturday.

Friday might be a tough one for many because they like to let loose a bit after the work week. However, for me, I find that I don’t really do much of anything on Friday nights. And now, with more lockdowns in place, I think there’s less chance I’ll be going out.

Oh, and I’m still often doing my semi-fasted workouts during the week. I’ll drink Bulletproof Coffee in the morning, take ketones, creatine and essential amino acids mid-day just before a short workout, and then eat my first meal.

2021 Success w/ Weight Loss, Health & Life

Are you missing something?

Yes! You are missing something; that is if you haven’t read the last newsletter, click to learn more about 2021 Success w/ Weight Loss, Health & Life – and much more!

How do you reduce stress, increase immunity and feel amazing?

Do you experience anger, anxiety, pain, depression, grief, or stress?

How can you increase immunity, improve relationships, process emotions, and better understand yourself, all while boosting creativity, confidence and happiness?

Breathwork. That’s right. You can use the simple power of your breath to improve your health and wellbeing when you join one of our live events…

Click to learn more about Breathwork + Ice Bath in Chiang Mai

[Online schedule coming SOON!]

What is the SIMPLEST way to lose weight?

Although keto is the latest diet trend, after years of personal experience, research, and working with many clients, I truly believe that fasting is the BEST approach to LOSE WEIGHT and achieve your health goals.

If you’re interested in learning the amazing benefits of fasting – and experiencing those benefits for yourself – I’m giving you a special promotional offer for my upcoming Fasting for Weight Loss Challenge.

To qualify for this discount, simply send me a message and let me know that you’re interested. We’ll set up a call to make sure you’re a good fit for the challenge and, if so, you’ll soon be on your way to weight loss – and lifelong health!

How can you achieve your goals – FASTER?

What if I told you there’s a way to not only clarify your challenges and life goals; but that you can achieve those goals MUCH faster?

As a former Biohacker Tech at Bulletproof Upgrade Labs and a certified Bulletproof Human Potential Coach, I help people like you clarify and achieve their goals – and fast.

If you’re interested in finding out more about how I can help you clarify and achieve your goals faster, send me a message so that we can set up a call to find out if you might be a good fit.

What about you?

What are your thoughts and experiences with Exercise, Carbs, Fat, Milk, Amino Acids, Food Timing, Weight Loss, Fasting, 2021 Success, Breathwork and Coaching?

Leave a comment and let me know.