Strategy for fat loss - questions

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by Allen Yeh

8% for a female would be a very unhealthy state to be in for any prolonged amount of time.

Typically female bodybuilders for competitions are between 6-10% I think and the fitness competitors are 8-12% and the figure competitors shoot for 9%-15%.

For the record....she is 20%+....that was my bad....as I thought it said 8% bf somewhere and it really said she wanted to lose 8 lbs of bodyfat....Oopps....I corrected mistake but looks like it still lives on.....My bad.

[Darryl Shaw]

Originally Posted by Allen Yeh

8% for a female would be a very unhealthy state to be in for any prolonged amount of time.

Typically female bodybuilders for competitions are between 6-10% I think and the fitness competitors are 8-12% and the figure competitors shoot for 9%-15%.

It's a bad idea for women to aim for less than ~15% BF as they put themselves at risk of the female athlete triad of low energy, amenorrhea and osteoporosis. Most healthy female athletes compete at around 15 - 20% BF.

http://www.femaleathletetriad.org/faq.html

[Tirzah Harper]

Originally Posted by Mike ODonnell

- Keep a slower aerobic based active lifestyle (walking, hiking, etc...what does not promote excessive cortisol and muscle breakdown and can be done on a lower cal diet...jogging is not it)
- Lower carb/Mod protein and fat eating works best....for a reason
- Keep workouts short and intense 2-3x a week

You might have already explained this, but I missed it if you did.
Why does the "more is better" NOT apply here? If walking frequently is good, why wouldn't running be? If metcon workouts 2-3x/week are good, why not 4-5x provided that I'm feeling fine?

[Tom Rawls]

Tizrah--

Have a look at the recent articles on Lyle McDonald's blog.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/blog/

His argument runs counter to what you usually see advocated here and on related sites.

[Jane Michel]

Originally Posted by Tirzah Harper

How about you? Now I'm curious too.

Diet...
- meat is usually chicken, lean beef, lean pork, eggs or fish
- veg is usually kale, bok choy, cai sim, onions, carrots, celery, salad leaves, spring onions, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage - and a giganto bowl of it
- fat usually comes from olive oil, canola oil, sesame oil, fish oil

I try to be as Paleo-ish as possible... the non-Paleo bits are the Chinese cooking ingredients: oyster sauce, soya sauce. I've been trying to cut down on fruit lately and have it perhaps 4x a month. One or two days in a row a month I eat whatever junk I want.

Couple that with IF.

My lifts aren't impressive either hehe. Lost a lot of strength recently and am working on building it back up while staying slim to be able to do bodyweight stuff. I don't follow the main page WOD either and do ring strength work 5 days a week, maybe a metcon like Helen once a week, and HIIT running or rowing 1-2x a week. Estimated 5RM squat is 35kg, DL 50kg, press 25kg. Can do a max of 3 ring pullups and 3 ring dips. Not yet any HSPUs but working on it!

[Steven Low]

Originally Posted by Tom Rawls

Tizrah--

Have a look at the recent articles on Lyle McDonald's blog.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/blog/

His argument runs counter to what you usually see advocated here and on related sites.

Well, not really. He obviously uses them and has stated as such. The main point(s) he was trying to make is that they are not the be all end all type of exercise.

However, I do think that is wrong. So take it for what it's worth. You get more bang for your buck with metcon/HIIT/tabata/etc. than 'aerobic' cardio/LSD per time put in *WITH* a regulated diet and sleep schedule.

[Allen Yeh]

Getting bang for your buck is great. At the same time from personal experience while in a caloric deficit and hitting the weights hard I have 0 energy left for any metcon/HIIT/tabata type protocols after the session.

Looking at my past the leanest I had ever gotten being a naturally more endomorphic bodytype was doing fasted cardio first thing in the morning. Am I saying this is what everyone should do? Heck no. Would I have been leaner if I had been doing metcon/HIIT/tabata type protocols in place of my cardio? I don't know.

/hijack

[Mike ODonnell]

Originally Posted by Tirzah Harper

You might have already explained this, but I missed it if you did.
Why does the "more is better" NOT apply here? If walking frequently is good, why wouldn't running be? If metcon workouts 2-3x/week are good, why not 4-5x provided that I'm feeling fine?

Loads of varaibles....like what is running? (jogging? sprints?) How is your recovery? What do you eat (high carb/low carb), How intense are your workouts, what are the workout volumes, etc..etc...etc. Cortisol is the one thing you don't want to elevate too high as it is catabolic and wastes muscle. Walking will not get cortisol high...where as aerobic HR zones will after 45min.

Most people just do too much, where I say quality is better than quantity. In the case of more "slow go" cardio...aka walking, hiking, etc....most people can handle a high work load of that....or as I like to call it an active lifestyle...and not rebound into overeating to recover or feeling wiped and not being consistent with it.

HIIT vs Slow and steady cardio....it all works and depends largely on the diet and how many calories you are eating to recover from the workouts. Fasted AM slow cardio is a good way to burn fat while not losing muscle....it all works to some degree. The nutritional variables and daily calorie intake are are more important with each program. You can low carb and do slow cardio....or you can do intervals and eat zone. Lyle's clients see results....CF people see results....many different ways to skin the fat cat.

[Dave Van Skike]

Originally Posted by Tirzah Harper

Why does the "more is better" NOT apply here?

Recovery is the wildcard. MOD is correct, at a certain point, long slow cardio is indistinguishable from NEPA (non excercise physical activity) because it requires little or no recovery.

[Tirzah Harper]

OK MOD...I'm going to resurrect this for one more clarification:

In your experience, if I have a half-hour to spend in exercise and I've already done metcon or weights workout that day, is it better for fat loss to walk for that half-hour, or run? (By running...I can make about an 8.5-minute mile now, which is a great improvement over past years.)
Or sprints. I don't care. If I'm going to get out on the road for half an hour, what's the most effective pace, in your experience?
Thanks....