Fat Loss Nutrition article

[svd201]

I posted this in the Training forum, but thought it'd work here too:

Check out this article adapted from a new book by Gary Taubes called "Good Calories, Bad Calories" He basically says theres no scientific evidence linking exercise with fat loss, and in fact, there is evidence to the contrary. Exercising leads to increased hunger, and therefore increased consumption of food, often of starchy carbs, which leads to an increase in insulin, which makes us fat regardless of our caloric output.

What's most disturbing to me is he says that no matter how hard we exercise, an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL) works to restore as much fat as we used in exercise. Here's the passage:

"In the eighties, biochemists and physiologists worked out how LPL responds to exercise. They found that during a workout, LPL activity increases in muscle tissue, and so our muscle cells suck up fatty acids to use for fuel. Then, when we’re done exercising, LPL activity in the muscle tissue tapers off and LPL activity in our fat tissue spikes, pulling calories into fat cells. This works to return to the fat cells any fat they might have had to surrender—homeostasis, in other words. The more rigorous the exercise, and the more fat lost from our fat tissue, the greater the subsequent increase in LPL activity in the fat cells. Thus, post-workout, we get hungry: Our fat tissue is devoting itself to restoring calories as fat, depriving other tissues and organs of the fuel they need and triggering a compensatory impulse to eat. The feeling of hunger is the brain’s way of trying to satisfy the demands of the body. Just as sweating makes us thirsty, burning off calories makes us hungry."

What does everyone think?

[Chops]

I think homeostasis only goes so far. There is a negative feedback mechanism in that process that will trigger when enough fat has been restored. I think a good diet combined with exercise (which has always been the standard) will enable the body to replenish necessary fat and rebuild muscle as necessary.

I'd like to see the research and the findings that illustarte the body works to restore the same amount it had before. Also, we see the opposite effects with active people. The harder athletes work and the more complete the regimen, the better results they get.

Maybe there is and maybe there isn't any "scientific proof" that exercise leads to fat loss, but surely we can see some strong and repeatable correlations with exercise and fat percentage.

[klawler]

I'm reading this book as we speak. It's eye opening. I haven't read this part yet but Taubes has done an excellent job so far convincing me that much of the science we have come to rely on regarding nutrition is not good science.

[OldGuy]

Read this thread.