On a low cal, low carb plan like TSF (about 500 calories a day of mostly all whey protein shakes with vitamin supplements, fish oil, and CLA/GLA for a 170 pound woman who wants to lose 40 pounds) should it be possibly to work out daily (cardio and strength training)?

After the first few days of getting adjusted to being ketosis, should there be an energy burst where a person could work out enough so that they burn more than just the average 2-3 pounds a week? I looked at the exercise calories burned link you mentioned above which was very helpful but what if a woman is doing many hours a day of cardio exercise, is it possible to burn 1000 additional calories through working out (and therefore possibly lose another 2 pounds a week)? Does the body let that large of calorie deficit occur or does it start adapting somehow? I know this wouldn’t be an ideal situation but I’d like to jump start fat loss especially since I have been somewhat stuck on the scale for a few weeks despite working out and eating about 800 calories a day (my doctor said based on a blood test that I may have mild hypothyroidism but I’m hesitant to start taking any medication and I don’t know how much of a difference it would make). I’m hoping if I exercised seriously for a few weeks I could drop 10-20 pounds and stay motivated.

I have seen some people mention how people on that Biggest Loser television show lose many pounds in a week (not sure if that’s all fat though?) by doing four hours of exercise a day and was wondering if the same concept to applied to someone on a low-cal diet who is in ketosis. It may be tiring, it may be exhausting, but technically should it be possible?

Hi Erica–

I’ve long maintained that exercise is not a particularly efficient way to increase weight loss.  The medical literature is starting to catch up.  Several papers have been published recently that confirm my view.  Exercise is good for many things and I heartily recommend it, but it doesn’t speed up weight loss all that much.  People would be better off focusing on their diet and being diligent there than fudging on the diet and trying to make it up with exercise.

Technically, if you worked out like a fiend and – and this is important – DID NOT increase your food intake as a consequence (most studies show that people in general; women in specific do tend to increase their food intake when they crank up the exercise), you would increase your rate of loss somewhat.  You’ve got to remember that if you go out and workout hard, it doesn’t take much more than an extra forkful here or there to replace all the calories you burned.

Cheers–

MRE 

I’m eating one gram of protein per pound of LBM. I’ll have to check out that Slow Burn workout. I lifted weights in the past (12 reps, 1-3 sets) but I felt like even when I was a much healthier weight (5′6″, 150 pounds, Size my lower body still needed to be thinner. I’m hoping a mix of strength training and cardio will help. I’ve been doing about an hour of moderate cardio a day and also taking walks.

Two questions if you have time –

1. Any thoughts on if interval training cardio would help on a low-cal, low-carb diet in terms of keeping metabolism boosted?

2. I’m trying to determine how much fat I should be losing each week. Would you recommend a calorie multiplier of 12 times body weight for a woman that doesn’t have a physical job to calculate current maintenance calories? I want to lose about 50 pounds and my body fat is maybe about 39% (according to scale and Thin So Fast chart). If I use a mulitplier of 12, how much then do I add in for calores burned with exercise, is any of that exercise included in the 12 multiplier? For example, today I burned 800 calories from exercise (four miles elliptical, four miles walking). I know this sounds like I’m focusing too much on the details but I’d like to know technically, if it really is calories in and calories out, how much fat I should be losing.

Hi Jen–

First, metabolic rate is set primarily by your weight.  If you train extremely strenuously you can burn a few more calories, but not nearly as many as you think.  Why?  Because a significant portion of the calories you think you’re burning in whatever activity it is your doing are represented by your resting metabolic rate, which goes on whether you exercise or not.  An example.  Walking moderately burns about 220 calories per hour.  So you say, okay, I’ll walk a couple of hours and burn off about 500 calories.  It doesn’t work this way because sitting around working at the computer burns off about 120 calories per hour, so you only end up burning an extra 200 calories by walking that you wouldn’t burn just sitting around.  And that 200 calories can be replaced by a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter or any number of other items you might snack on.  Here is a good calculator for determining the caloric expenditure for various activities–make sure and subtract the number of calories you would burn doing office work or housework or just sitting around to determine how many extra calories the activity in question gets rid of. 

Second, I don’t have a clue about all the multipliers you’re talking about.  In many years of practice with patients – many of whom followed a Thin So Fast type diet – we found that most women lost about 2-3 lbs per week while men lost 3-5 lbs per week.

Cheers–

MRE 

Any thoughts on how to keep metabolism boosted while on a low cal diet? I’m getting in shape as quickly as possible (have about 50 or 60 fat pounds to lose), will more exercise (cardio and strength training) help? I’ve read that some say that too much exercise (like two hours a day) while on a low calorie diet might not help.

Hi Jen–

The best way to keep metabolism boosted is to increase lean body mass.  You can do this in three ways: first, by making sure that you get plenty of protein so that you can build and maintain lean body mass; second, by following a rigourous low-carb, low-cal diet since the carb restriction seems to have a metabolic advantage of about 300 calories; and, third, by doing a Slow Burn workout about once every five or six days.

Hope this helps.

Cheers–

MRE 

Thanks for the update on TSF. I acquired the book in January and have had wonderful results (down by 47 pounds)! I had similar questions to Ryan’s and greatly appreciate the info. I removed the fructose early on, and have added cinnamon (for blood sugar benefits and taste). Other than adding a hard-boiled egg in the morning and/or afternoon, I have been attempting to follow the plan to the letter.

I look forward to re-calculating the protein content and reducing the milk a bit (some days it gives me an unpleasant buzz).

This is the easiest plan that I have been on, and am looking forward to getting back to PP afterwards–which I should have never allowed myself to get off of in the first place!

In an earlier post (NutriSystem stock hitting the skids) you said “The thing I found remarkable about this is that almost no one ever went back to the same place twice.” But the thing about PP is that it WORKS, and it makes sense–so people like me pick ourselves up and come back!

Keep up the good work and enjoy your Mac!

Hi Lena–

I am enjoying the Mac a lot.

Thanks for the kind words about TSF.  A lot has changed in the 20 years since it’s was published, but you’re right, it really does work.

Cheers–

MRE 

This is why authoritarian regulation of any industry does more harm than good, even in the way the regulation intended to help. It stagnates things as they are, which is never, ever the best way they can be.

Bravo to MD for standing up to the bureaucratcy-minded.

I have been trying out the PSMF from “Thin So Fast” and having good results. It is good to know that I don’t need the skim milk as I really don’t care for the taste. It also added a lot of carbs. Were the carbs necessary or just a necessary evil to mask the taste of the protein powder?

Just a necessary evil.

Good luck.

MRE 

I recently found your “Thin So Fast” book and have been really enjoying reading it. I have been thinking about going the PSMF route to get rid of the last few stubborn pounds and your method looks interesting. I did have a couple of questions, though.

Why the skim milk? Why not just protein powder? Is it for the calcium?

Using your method only provides 65 g of protein. According to PPLP, someone my size need around 120. Is it a problem for someone to up the protein powder amount to cover that?

I know the book is out of print and is probably superseded by PPLP, but it is still something that is relevant today, as the PSMF diets are popular with bodybuilders. Your way looks more doable than eating just chicken breasts and salad. Any thoughts to updating the book with new research (it is a little saturated fat phobic and almost *gasp* praises trans-fats)? It has one of the best treatments of maintenance of any “diet” book I have ever read.

Thanks.

Hi Ryan–

Thin So Fast was superceded first by Protein Power then the PPLP. 

I used skim milk because, hard as this might be to believe now, at that time there were no protein powders available other than a few used solely by body builders.  The powders available were made to be mixed with other food to hide the wretched taste.  I used skim milk powder simply to have something tasty to use as a base to which were added the disgusting tasting protein powders available at the time.  Were I doing a PSMF now I would simply use one of the good protein powders available almost everywhere.

The increased protein intake as recommended by PPLP is fine.  In fact, it’s better.  A number of studies have come out since Thin So Fast showing an increased weight loss with increased protein intake.

I was probably a little saturated fat phobic and took a less hard line on trans fats as compared to my views now.  But, I’ve had a couple of brain transplants since the Thin So Fast days.

I haven’t contemplated updating the book.  Each book is more or less an update of all the ones before.  I’m glad you enjoyed the section on maintenance; I really enjoyed writing it.  It was my favorite section of the book…that and the part about the Eado-Eado tribe.

Cheers–

MRE 

As a writer, you might be interested in my favorite piece of software, Scrivener:

http://literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html

Only on the Mac. In fact, I am so pleased with this writing software that I recently replaced my 7 year old Mac laptop with a newer model that can run OS X.

It’s that good.

Hi WereBear–

Thanks for the recommendation.  I’ll check it out.  I can’t believe it’s as inexpensive as it is.

Cheers–

MRE 

Hi Freddy–

I’ve contemplated podcasting, but not video blogging as of yet.  But who knows?

Cheers–

MRE 

Glad to know you’re back in the saddle. However, that was two days ago. Mac got your tongue? Looking forward to your next post.

Best,

Tim

Hi Tim–

I’ll return soon.  Right now I’m in the throes of dealing with the tech guys who run my website.  It’s difficult to get them to move quickly.

Cheers–

MRE