Claims and gems of one weight loss study

by Brad Pilon
Eat Stop Eat

CLAIM 1: When you diet your level of non-exercise physical activity
(NEAT) drops spontaneously, even if you don't realize it's happening.

FACT: In the 20 week study there were actually 3 groups of women,

1) The first group cut their calories by 400 Calories per day.

2) The Second group cut their calories by only 350 Calories per
day, and increased the amount they exercised to make up the 50
calories by doing low intensity exercise

3) The Third group only cut their calories by 350 Calories per day,
and increased the amount they exercised to make up the 50 calories
by doing High intensity exercise

What the study found was that a CALORIE DEFICIT (whether by diet or
exercise) was associated with a slight decrease in non exercise physical
activity (the average was about 160 calories worth of activity per
day, about the amount of calories expended in a 20 minute brisk
walk for these woman).

More importantly, the study found that there was no difference
between the group who was dieting and the groups that were
exercising in ANY MEASURE.

This includes:

Total weight loss

Lean mass loss

Fat mass loss

V02 Max (surprisingly)

Resting metabolic rate

Physical activity induced energy expenditure

So when it comes to weight loss, it is the CALORIE DEFECIT that
matters, not the way the deficit was created, however it is true
that a being in a calorie deficit for 20 weeks seemed to cause
these woman to reduce their non-exercise activity levels.

CLAIM 2: The drop in physical activity during the diet was directly
related to the weight regain after the diet.

FACT: In this study people lost an average of 27 pounds during the
20-week weight loss period. 1 year later the average weight regain
was 11.5 pounds. Not bad, but not great either.

It is very important to remember that the purpose of this trial was
to investigate whether or not things that occurred DURING a weight
loss protocol could be ASSOCIATED with results 1 year later.

So they weren't looking for the absolute, definitive,
you-bet-your-house-on-it cause for weight regain, they were just
searching to see if they could find any associations.

In other words, they did not measure diet during that one-year time
frame.

So while there was a slight relationship between the reduction in
non exercise physical activity during the study period and weight
regain one year later (for my fellow stats geeks we are only
talking about a p of -0.4 for the pooled groups) It was simply an
association, showing that the people who tended to move around the
least while they were dieting also were the ones who tended to put
the most weight back on a year later.

CLAIM 3: There is a difference between losing weight from dieting,
versus losing fat with dieting and exercise.

FACT: Not according to this study. The three groups saw almost
IDENTICAL weight loss results. And, they saw almost identical
weight REGAIN results.

CLAIM 4: if you want to maximize your fat loss and keep fat off
permanently it is best to follow a reduced calorie diet and make a
conscious effort to make sure your activity level does not drop as
you lose weight.

FACT: I could not agree more. Exercise and staying active is still
an important part of ANY weight loss program. However when it
comes to weight loss, I think the benefits of resistance training
FAR OUTWEIGH the benefits of cardio or endurance style training (as
I'm sure the author of the newsletter in question would agree).
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So, there really wasn't that much of a contradiction. Our
interpretations of the research are drastically different but our
conclusions are the same.

The bottom line is (and always will be) that the best way to lose
weight is to find a the easiest and simplest way to reduce the
amount of calories you consume, and to follow a weight training
routine.

While most people think of Eat Stop Eat as only flexible
intermittent fasting, the truth is that the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle
is the COMBINATION of flexible intermittent fasting and weight
training. And, the weight training is very important!

You don't have to be a gym addict to get great results, but
resistance training does have to be a part of your lifestyle for
best results.

Now, lets take a closer look at this trial, as there were some
'gems' hidden in all of its data:

GEM #1- the people in this study were women in their late 50's and
who were obese (almost 200 pounds) at the start of the study. By
the end of the study they lost 27 pounds in 20 weeks, proving that
no matter your age...weight loss IS possible!

GEM #2- Even one year later, with no diet counseling, they were
able to keep more than half of their weight loss. Like a said
earlier - not great, but not bad either.

GEM #3, There was no difference in weight loss between the woman who
only dieted and those who dieted and exercised. Another example of
classic "cardio" style exercise not being any better than simply
dieting.

GEM #4, all groups lost Lean Body Mass, pointing to the importance
of resistance training in a proper weight loss program (which they
didn't do in this study).

GEM #5, RESTING METABOLIC RATE RELATIVE TO LEAN MASS

REMAINED UNCHANGED! Again, so much for starvation mode!

So in my opinion this was a great study showing that creating a
calorie deficit can help you lose weight, and that it really does
not matter whether or not you get that deficit from a combination
of diet and exercise, or from diet alone.

Brad

Eat Stop Eat


PS- As this research shows, when it comes to losing weight, it is
all about creating a calorie deficit, and in my opinion the
simplest, easiest way to accomplish this is with the Eat Stop Eat
lifestyle, which includes the added benefit of preventing you from
losing lean body mass!