The vast majority of people who begin their gym-going journey usually have one main goal… losing weight. And I get it… according to the CDC, 73 percent of Americans are either overweight or obese (scary number, isn’t it?). So, it makes sense that when our phone rings with someone interested in our services, weight loss is often the main priority.
Now imagine the feeling of disappointment when I tell them the following…
“If the only ‘fitness goal’ you have is to make the scale show a smaller number, you have chosen the single hardest, and least effective, method to do that… but I really appreciate your call!”
In today’s post, I’d like to flesh this out in greater detail… and hopefully provide some evidence-based answers as to what you should do instead.
Why traditional exercise doesn’t trigger weight loss like you’d hoped…
Here’s the quick and dirty: Your body doesn’t care what you look like in a swimsuit. Your body was strategically designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to avoid death long enough to propagate the species.
This means two things: One, throughout the course of human history, if food wasn’t available (pretty common), the body would adapt… storing fat to use as fuel until more fuel (food) became available. And two, if constant/perpetual physical activity was required all day (again, very common), the body would, again, adapt… becoming incredibly efficient at producing said activity with a minimal amount of caloric expenditure.
In layman’s terms… the reason we’re still here and the dinosaurs aren’t, is not because we’re bigger and stronger. Rather, we’re still here because of our incredible ability to adapt. And this is also precisely the reason why exercise (and conventional dieting for that matter) doesn’t work well for weight loss.
Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the Hadza tribe
The Hadza Tribe are one of the only hunter-gatherer tribes still on the planet today. They essentially live like our ancient ancestors did. Impressively, for the most part, they live free from conditions that ail first-world humans… things like diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and, for the purpose of this conversation, obesity.
Scientists have spent some time studying these people and discovered some interesting facts. One of the most fascinating to me was that they studied how many calories a Hadza tribesperson burned in a typical day moving around for hours and hours hunting, finding food, and caring for their little ones…
They burn about the same number of daily calories as a typical American couch potato.
Whaaaaat???
Yep, it’s true. Why? Because if our hunter gatherer ancestors burned thousands of calories per day moving all day long vs the 1500 calories a modern-day office dweller burns, they wouldn’t have survived. McDonald’s wasn’t invented yet… finding thousands of daily calories on a consistent basis back then was impossible. So, the body just figured out how to function on less. Hopefully later on, some berries, tubers, or a cute little bunny could be located and consumed.
Are you starting to see the problem with using exercise for fat loss?
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What Our Gym Does Instead…
Our gym is a place where people come to learn how to move better and get stronger. This is the ‘product’ our people want to buy. And we produce that product, dare I say, at a very high level.
A number of years ago, I had a former client ask me, “What are you going to do for a living when kettlebells aren’t popular anymore?” I replied, “I don’t sell kettlebells, so their popularity is of no consequence to me. When everyone in my community is strong, capable, and has figured out how to move like they did when they were young, then I guess I’ll have to find another job.”
But based on what I see when I’m out in public, it doesn’t appear as though there will be a shortage in the demand for our services any time soon.
Our gym’s track record shows hundreds of people who have changed their lives through strength and movement: 100+ Google reviews, state, national, and world powerlifting records, various awards, etc. etc. At this point, our resume speaks for itself. We do what we do very well… no need to pretend like we’re something that we’re not.
But I Want To Lose Weight! What Should I Do?
Find a place that, when you walk in, has the same track record for weight loss like we have for strength and movement. A place that has an entire wall of ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures of clients who have lost weight and, better yet, kept it off for a long period of time. A place/program with hundreds of Google reviews of people who have lost a bunch of weight. This can be brick-and-mortar or online… both seem to work equally well. Like most good programs, the quality of the coach is more important than the tactic being used to deliver the service.
Virtually ALL of these places (and coaches) who I’ve met that are doing this type of work, and are producing these results, have one thing in common: They are all nutrition programs… not exercise programs. Go ahead and Google, “most successful weight loss programs.” Although exercise is generally encouraged, precisely zero of the most effective weight loss plans are exercise-based.
So, if you’re considering a gym program that makes weight-loss their main priority, they better bring receipts!
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But Wait… Your Gym Has Reviews From People Who Lost Weight…
True. Many people in our system have lost a bunch of weight. My wife and I were also both overweight at points and times in our life. But as much as I believe in our system, I must humbly admit to all of you that it wasn’t “The Protocol” strength and conditioning program that allowed us to shed unwanted pounds. It was our “Nutritional Protocol” in the kitchen that has allowed us to maintain healthy weight for many years.
It sounds like I’m contradicting myself, but my wife does do some nutritional coaching for the people who train in our facility. Most of her guidance is for sports performance, but for sports that have weight classes, shedding unwanted pounds is important. Although it’s not our main focus, we do feel it’s our duty to, at the very least, provide a beginner’s guide to our new people who have weight loss as one of their goals.
What do you think? What is your experience with using exercise vs nutrition for weight loss? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time,
Jerry Trubman is a coach, clinician, author, blogger, and powerlifting state champion. With over two decades of lifting experience, he has devoted himself to seeking out better answers, and distilling them into practical programs that produce great results. Jerry has coached “Team Protocol” to 4 National Powerlifting Championships in the 100% Raw federation. He writes the internationally-read blog, “The Healthy Addiction” and lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife, Marie, and dog, Asher.
