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The minimum effective dose (MED) is defined simply: the smallest dose that will produce a desired outcome.
To remove stored fat → do the least necessary to trigger a fat-loss cascade of specific hormones. To add muscle in small or large quantities → do the least necessary to trigger local (specific muscles) and systemic (hormonal2) growth mechanisms.
That hour on the Stairmaster was worth seven calories.
20 pounds of recomposition
losing 15 pounds of fat and gaining 5 pounds of muscle, or some blend in between.
diet, drugs, and exercise.
(60% diet, 10% drugs, 30% exercise)
The decent method you follow is better than the perfect method you quit.
Scheduling overeating at specific times, on the other hand, fixes problems instead of creating them.
Rule #1: It’s not what you put in your mouth that matters, it’s what makes it to your bloodstream. If it passes through, it doesn’t count.
Three females of the same race, age, and body composition each consume 2,000 calories daily for 30 days. Subject 1 consumes nothing but table sugar, subject 2 consumes nothing but lean chicken breast, and subject 3 consumes nothing but mayonnaise (2,000 calories is just 19.4 tablespoons, if you’d care to indulge).
please suspend any fear of “getting bulky.”
Consistent tracking, even if you have no knowledge of fat-loss or exercise, will often beat advice from world-class trainers.
bodyfat measurements.
1. DEXA 2. BodPod 3. Ultrasound (BodyMetrix)
1. Take your “before” circumference measurements. Get a simple tape measure and measure four locations: both upper arms (mid-bicep), waist (horizontal at navel), hips (at widest point below waist), and both legs (mid-thigh). Total these numbers to arrive at your Total Inches (TI). Changes in this total will be meaningful enough to track. 2. Estimate your bodyfat (BF%) based on the “Eyeballing It” sidebar on this page. 3. Choose the best tool and schedule a session.
Google your city, plus “DEXA body fat.”
aim for 18%.
1. Make it conscious. 2. Make it a game. 3. Make it competitive. 4. Make it small and temporary.
The fastest way to correct a behavior is to be aware of it in real time, not after-the-fact.
“flash diet” is a prime example of the difference. Dr. Lydia Zepeda and David Deal of the University of Wisconsin–Madison enlisted 43 subjects to photograph all of their meals or snacks prior to eating. Unlike food diaries, which require time- consuming entries often written long after eating, the photographs acted as an instantaneous intervention and forced people to consider their choices before the damage was done.
The researchers concluded that photographs are more effective than written food diaries. This is saying something, as prior studies had confirmed that subjects who use food diaries lose three times as much weight as those who don’t.
The upshot: use your camera phone to take a snapshot before opening your mouth. Even without a prescribed diet, this awareness alone will result in fat-loss.
“before” photographs. The training methods and diet varied, but those who experienced the most dramatic changes credited the “before” photographs with adherence to the program. The pictures were placed in an unavoidable spot, often on the refrigerator, and served as inoculation against self-sabotage.
Get an accurate picture of your baseline. It will look worse than you expect. This
grease boards around the plant. Daily goals and public accountability were combined with daily rewards and public recognition.
measurement = motivation.
Seeing progress in changing numbers makes the repetitive fascinating and creates a positive feedback loop. Once again, the act of measuring is often more important than what you measure.
number: “We are what we do repeatedly.”
A mere five times (five workouts, five meals, five of whatever we want) will be our goal.
3. MAKE IT COMPETITIVE: FEAR OF LOSS AND THE BENEFITS OF COMPARISON Would you work harder to earn $100 or to avoid losing $100? If research from the Center for Experimental Social Science at New York University is any indication, fear of loss is the winner.
those who compete against their peers in “challenges” lose an average of 5.9 pounds more than those who do not compete.
Seeing inferior performers makes you proud of even minor progress, and superior performers in your peer group make greater results seem achievable.
those who have three or more “motivators” in their peer group lose an average of 5.8 pounds more than those with fewer.
Put the least flattering “before” photo somewhere you will see it often:
digital camera or camera phone to take photographs of everything you eat for 3–5 days, preferably including at least one weekend day. For sizing, put your hand next to each item or plate in the photographs. For maximum effect, put these photos online for others to see.
option. Use competitive drive, guilt, and fear of humiliation to your advantage.
Embrace the stick. The carrot is overrated.
4. How do I measure up? Get a simple...
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and measure five locations: both upper arms (mid-bicep), waist (horizontal at navel), hips (widest point between navel and legs), and both legs (mid-thigh). Total...
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stickK (www.stickk.com) stickK was founded on the principle that creating incentives and assigning accountability are the two most important keys to achieving a goal. Cofounder Dean Karlan, an economics professor at Yale, came up with the idea of opening an online “Commitment Store,” which eventually became stickK. If you don’t fulfill your commitment with stickK, it automatically tells your friends and opens you up to endless mockery and derision.
Take the pressure off and do something small.
Remember our target to log five sessions of new behaviors? It’s the five sessions that are important, not the duration of those sessions. Rig the game so you can win. Do what’s needed to make those first five sessions as painless as possible. Five snowflakes are all you need to start the snowball effect of consonant decisions.
Take the pressure off and put in your five easy sessions, whether meals or workouts. The res...
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It was pure 100% awareness training, nothing but tracking.
Track or you will fail.
It is possible to lose 20 pounds of bodyfat in 30 days by optimizing any of three factors: exercise, diet, or a drug/supplement regimen.
RULE #1: AVOID “WHITE” CARBOHYDRATES.
Don’t eat white stuff unless you want to get fatter.
RULE #2: EAT THE SAME FEW MEALS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
