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I hiked about 500 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail and lost 5 pounds. I went low carb for a month and lost 30 pounds. Diet is just a far more effective weight l

I hiked about 500 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail and lost 5 pounds. I went low carb for a month and lost 30 pounds. Diet is just a far more effective weight loss lever than exercise. IMHO that's because it's far more about hormones than calorie balance. It's very hard to out-walk insulin pushing fatty acids into your adipocytes.

nickff 3y ago
Most of that 30 pounds you lost on low carb was probably water weight which you'd gain right back if you start eating carbs again. ADDENDUM: this is because a drop in carb consumption causes a decline in glycogen, and a corresponding decline in water
- goalonetwo 3y ago
  Not sure why you are being downvoted but this is absolutely true. A diet can only be looked back after a couple month of rests
- mtalantikite 3y ago
  This certainly could have a lot to do with it, not sure why you're being down-voted. I've seen fighters at my muay thai gym in heavier weight classes drop 20 pounds to make weight for a fight in a month. You'll usually cut salt and carbs and manipulate your water weight to make weigh-in. It's certainly not at all healthy, but not uncommon. I've even had days after training where I'm 4-5 pound lighter after class from all the sweating and I'm only in the low 150s range.
recursive 3y ago
For years, I was a moderately competitive bike racer. I was pretty trim. Without changing my diet, I had kids, and had to give it up due to time constraints. (I'll pick it back up one day, I swear...) Now I have a pretty standard dad-bod. Probably +25lbs.
- soco 3y ago
  Same here, I quickly picked 10kg after having kids and giving up intensive martial arts trainings. But, those would be way more if I didn't pay close attention at the calories intake (as exercise is very moderate nowadays, so to say) - I noticed what happens when I let it slip for like a week, bang 1 kg (2 pounds). So it's both.
- c0nsumer 3y ago
  I'd wager that if you started riding the same amount, at the same HR, you wouldn't lose that 25. (I say this as someone who rides a lot, somewhat competitively, and has directly observed that weight loss comes in the kitchen, not from riding. And if you try to cut back on nutrition during the ride, you'll feel so awful you won't be able to ride.)
  - recursive 3y ago
    Prior to getting into biking, I was generally pretty sedentary and was maybe +15 over my eventual racing weight. But I must admit that you could be right. Maybe it was just age or something. I guess I'll find out when I make my glorious return.
    - c0nsumer 3y ago
      There was a point, 2017 or so, where I was riding a ton and being mindful of what I ate. I think I dropped ~10 pounds and gained a bunch of muscle. Since then I've backed off riding a bit, and am definitely not as aware of what I eat (snacking because of stress, mostly) and am up maybe 5-10 pounds from that time.
- Fricken 3y ago
  I was in a cycling collision a decade ago, and suffered a broken leg. This led to a 2 year period, really the first period in my life longer than a few months where I was largely sedentary. +25 pounds of fat slowly but steadily accumulated around my midsection in that time. Then I got serious about rehab and corrected the issues in my leg, started cycling again, and I was back to my desired weight in about 6 weeks, and without putting any particular effort into controlling my calories. Everyone else in my immediate family is obese and sedentary excepting my uncle who is also a cyclist. Someone in r/cycling the other week tried to suggest that "abs are made in the kitchen" and they were laughed out of the thread. In most forums, however, exercise is a 4 letter word, and Dr. pontzer is very popular. After following the subject for years, I've come to believe rising sedentarism is the primary culprit in the obesity epidemic.

nickff 3y ago

Most of that 30 pounds you lost on low carb was probably water weight which you'd gain right back if you start eating carbs again. ADDENDUM: this is because a drop in carb consumption causes a decline in glycogen, and a corresponding decline in water

goalonetwo 3y ago
Not sure why you are being downvoted but this is absolutely true. A diet can only be looked back after a couple month of rests
mtalantikite 3y ago
This certainly could have a lot to do with it, not sure why you're being down-voted. I've seen fighters at my muay thai gym in heavier weight classes drop 20 pounds to make weight for a fight in a month. You'll usually cut salt and carbs and manipulate your water weight to make weigh-in. It's certainly not at all healthy, but not uncommon. I've even had days after training where I'm 4-5 pound lighter after class from all the sweating and I'm only in the low 150s range.

recursive 3y ago

For years, I was a moderately competitive bike racer. I was pretty trim. Without changing my diet, I had kids, and had to give it up due to time constraints. (I'll pick it back up one day, I swear...) Now I have a pretty standard dad-bod. Probably +25lbs.

soco 3y ago
Same here, I quickly picked 10kg after having kids and giving up intensive martial arts trainings. But, those would be way more if I didn't pay close attention at the calories intake (as exercise is very moderate nowadays, so to say) - I noticed what happens when I let it slip for like a week, bang 1 kg (2 pounds). So it's both.
c0nsumer 3y ago
I'd wager that if you started riding the same amount, at the same HR, you wouldn't lose that 25. (I say this as someone who rides a lot, somewhat competitively, and has directly observed that weight loss comes in the kitchen, not from riding. And if you try to cut back on nutrition during the ride, you'll feel so awful you won't be able to ride.)
- recursive 3y ago
  Prior to getting into biking, I was generally pretty sedentary and was maybe +15 over my eventual racing weight. But I must admit that you could be right. Maybe it was just age or something. I guess I'll find out when I make my glorious return.
  - c0nsumer 3y ago
    There was a point, 2017 or so, where I was riding a ton and being mindful of what I ate. I think I dropped ~10 pounds and gained a bunch of muscle. Since then I've backed off riding a bit, and am definitely not as aware of what I eat (snacking because of stress, mostly) and am up maybe 5-10 pounds from that time.
Fricken 3y ago
I was in a cycling collision a decade ago, and suffered a broken leg. This led to a 2 year period, really the first period in my life longer than a few months where I was largely sedentary. +25 pounds of fat slowly but steadily accumulated around my midsection in that time. Then I got serious about rehab and corrected the issues in my leg, started cycling again, and I was back to my desired weight in about 6 weeks, and without putting any particular effort into controlling my calories. Everyone else in my immediate family is obese and sedentary excepting my uncle who is also a cyclist. Someone in r/cycling the other week tried to suggest that "abs are made in the kitchen" and they were laughed out of the thread. In most forums, however, exercise is a 4 letter word, and Dr. pontzer is very popular. After following the subject for years, I've come to believe rising sedentarism is the primary culprit in the obesity epidemic.