Julie, I'm enjoying them but am almost pissed at how little difference it makes re maintenance on how much I can eat. I was 100% convinced it made a lot of difference. Probably only when you let yourself eat ad libitum. Seems to be a huge range of homeostasis.
I'm repeating my random thoughts in LostDog's log
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by OldGuy
Sometimes I wonder if our bodies don't adapt to our diets the way they do to exercise and things slow down. Do we need to change our diets every few weeks just to throw a little change to keep things moving?
|
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Espi
OldGuy, that's what I'm experiencing all the time. It just doesn't make sense: right now I am not working out and taking a break of 2 weeks, averaging 2200 kcal (for 14 days). Maintenance is: 2200 kcal.
Flashback to May 2006 when I worked out every other day (lifting weights + a HIIT-like session): ate 2000 kcal and ... maintained on 1900-2000 kcal.
Further flashback to 2003: I cycled 300K/week, lifted weights 3x/wk and participated in 2 spinning classes/week: ate approx. 1800 kcal (didn't track calories back then) and... maintained on.. yep 1800 kcal.
Two more?
- started lifting again in June 2004 after a very long break: ate 1800 and yep, maintained on 1800.
- 6 months later I had really really piled on the calories: ate 2500 kcal and ...yes, you got it: maintained on 2500 kcal.
Maintenance seems to be my middle name, but unfortunately bulking is my family name.
Only zigzagging (diet only every other day) finally gave the desired fat loss, and to my utter astonishment, maintenance went up while intake went down. Probably the result from near ketogenic intake (50-75g C) on low-cal days versus refeed like intakes (150-400g C)on the high kcal days. The effect was nearly freaky: floating out of bed from excess heat production and feeling icy on the lower kcal days.
|
And finally repeating what I read this morning on another forum:
Quote:
Diet determines your WEIGHT.
Excercise determines your COMPOSITION.
I realize there's a LOT of crossover here and this is a gross oversimplification of reality, but if you keep these components separate in your mind, you'll never think you can eat more of something simply because you're working out a lot.
|
I'm wondering about the last sentence though, considering this enormous fluctuation I'm experiencing.
Almost as if no matter what exercise routine I pick the body just adapts to the diet it's been given. I'm really really curious how many calories I ate back when I thought eating was a waste of time when I was busy. It must have been 1200ish kcals. And maintained on that amount as well.
Weird huh?