Exercise slows your metabolism - wtf?

[QUOTE=sbhikes;934227]I believe that exercise does make your metabolism more efficient. I also think that the last thing you want is an inefficient metabolism. What evolutionary advantage would that confer?

Here's a series of photos of myself as I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. A continuous calorie deficit and extreme amounts of slow cardio exercise led at first to weight loss and then ultimately to weight gain.
[url=http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=56326&nid=477710&print=1]pictures[/url][/QUOTE]

You have nailed 80% of the cycle. Calorie deficit with walking. Increase protein and add intensity to your exercise.

Walking and high intensity burns carbs. Medium intensity (jogging for example) burns fat. Since jogging burns fat, the metabolic response is to store more fat. Jogging signals the body to store fat so it can be burned. What happens to joggers when they quit jogging? They become fat little piggies because the body is storing fat but it is no longer burning it.

The other problem with jogging is it breaks down muscle, bone and organs to reduce the numbers of cells requiring oxygen and fuel so that it can complete the "trip" with oxygen carrying capacity and fuel intact.

By adding intesity to your routine you program your body to build muscle and increase healthy heart, lung and other organ functions. This is part of the fight or flight response. The body does not like the weakness created by high intensity and will respond in a positive way to overcome that situation. That is why intensity must be progressive. Progressive intensity signals the body to build healthy organs and more lean mass.

I'd have to agree with intensity being the key from what I've read so far. Either intensity in weight lifting High Intensity weight training or High Intensity Interval training for any other activities such as running and stuff. I know you can do high intensity running/swimming....perhaps depending on where you are fitness wise even walking very fast might fit into HIIT.

I'm guessing you couldn't do a HIIT type walk for very long before you need a progression though.

Once you build muscle, if you don't continue to build it or keep it built, even a week off turns it all into fat. And if you managed to make those muscles bigger, not just more toned, when they turn into fat you get lots of fat. At least that's been my experience. So I don't think intensity is any kind of magic bullet. Even the sprinting seems not to have a lot of effect for body composition. It keeps me strong and gives me energy on the days I do it, but it seems not to have much of an effect otherwise.

[quote]Once you build muscle, if you don't continue to build it or keep it built, even a week off turns it all into fat. And if you managed to make those muscles bigger, not just more toned, when they turn into fat you get lots of fat. At least that's been my experience. So I don't think intensity is any kind of magic bullet. Even the sprinting seems not to have a lot of effect for body composition. It keeps me strong and gives me energy on the days I do it, but it seems not to have much of an effect otherwise.[/quote]

I have not had such muscle trouble. The pound of meat I eat every day has to go somewhere, and apparently it goes to my muscles. I can take a week or two away from lifting and general fitness if my body says "ouch" sometimes, and it's no struggle to jump back in, and my sleeves do not get any looser in the mean time. But the variables here are many! Maybe I'm only just at my normal body comp for the first time in my life, and all this "additional" muscle is actually my normal, static composition. I do keep enough fat on me to ebb and tide, sometimes I see abs and sometimes I don't. And I'm actually pretty sure that my muscles grow after a good workout simply thanks to digested body fat. Then again, I do eat a lot most days...

But if I tried hard running or some other stupid CW exercise every single day, I'd be shoveling head-sized servings of sweet potatoes down every day and who knows if I'd gain weight or not. Cortisol being raised, inflammation kept high, large water demands and frequent blood sugar swings sound more like a disease state than health.

[QUOTE=sbhikes;935389]Once you build muscle, if you don't continue to build it or keep it built, even a week off turns it all into fat. And if you managed to make those muscles bigger, not just more toned, when they turn into fat you get lots of fat. At least that's been my experience. So I don't think intensity is any kind of magic bullet. Even the sprinting seems not to have a lot of effect for body composition. It keeps me strong and gives me energy on the days I do it, but it seems not to have much of an effect otherwise.[/QUOTE]

I don't think that makes any sort of logical sense. I'm somewhat confused what would make you think that. I'm fairly certain muscle doesn't turn into fat ever. You can lose muscle and gain fat but they don't turn into one another. They are two different tissue types they don't morph. Also from what I've heard muscle doesn't go away that fast.

Maybe its some issue some people have but not others? I guess I'll see when I start training seriously. At the moment I have no equipment or a gym membership to try out any high intensity stuff except for a HIIT type exercise in the pool.

Hmm....

High intensity refers to two different considerations.

1. lifting weights it is failing on the last positve rep. Effort.
2. doing calstetics, sprints, etc... any exercise that gets the gets the heart beat way up, letting it come down and taking it up again.

In both cases it is relative to your own physical condition. In both cases you want to improve progressively.

Yes, it is relative to your own physical condition. If you overexert you overstress and we all know too much stress is a bad thing. If you over train you potentially regress instead because of excess recovery time required and other factors. That is one of the reasons they say that weight training using machines is better than free weights as proper weight machines with proper form and proper amount of weight make it harder to over do things.

muscle atrophys, for most people that equates to turning into fat.

asssuming the muscle continues disuse the body should absorb it over time.

atrophies muscles reduce definition and resembles fat. thus the viewpoint

Yeah, personal experience. It is not fun to take a little time off from the weights and suddenly have floppy wap-wap on my upper arms where once there were toned muscles. It's okay for me to be somewhat "large" when it's all firm with visible muscles. But take a week or two off, and it's just large and I look and feel squishy and fat. Sorry but that's just the truth and no amount of protein (I eat plenty of meat) seems to keep it from happening.

Hmm I wonder if some people have more trouble than others. From what I've read it doesn't go away that fast. Maybe there is some hormonal issue or something causing quick muscle wasting? One of these days when I get around to doing consistent exercise I'll have to experiment with this.

I wouldn't think muscle would atrophy that fast unless there were something wrong. I wonder if its possible to fix whatever that is. If you eat plenty of protein its not that I guess.

Nice new profile pic Quelsen :) don't think I noticed it last time. :)