Thread by @ajibola1938, A few random thoughts about losing weight, getting fit, eating it all [...]

A few random thoughts about losing weight, getting fit, eating it all back and getting fit again...

This does NOT pass for medical advice and all those other caveats. And of course, all indemnities apply.

Finally, it bears saying that I am not an expert, so apply the right you deem fit, to my words. However, it is worth noting that what differs you from an expert are: A boat load of research, credentials that attest to that boat load and a sense of nuance localised to the field.

All of that, out of the way.

A few ground truths: Most of us desire to look good -- for all the reasons that exist. It goes without saying that being exactly who we are -- without needing to change anything -- is perfectly fine for looking good.

A lot of people look at the mirror or step on the scale and feel a need to tweak this or that. Some of those people actually take action and work towards that.

This thought/paradigm-stream/framework is for you.

A greater number of people struggle with dropping pounds and getting fit, than are trying to gain weight so the focus will be on that (sorry).

At the heart of the matter is a very simple framework into which all of the fads and approaches -- Keto, Cardio, Carnivore, Body Weight Training, Paleo, HIIT, Vegan, Weightlifting, OMAD, *GOCRAZY (TO NAME A FEW) -- fit in. I like simple frameworks because they're efficient.

*I made up GOCRAZY

Simple frameworks are especially useful and efficient in situations where it becomes difficult to tell the difference between fact, fad and religion.

Optimal Health (all things considered) = (What goes in + How efficiently your body burns through what goes in) x time

In terms of importance, the 3 elements are ranked thus:
1. Time
2. What goes in
3. How efficiently your body burns through what goes in (Burning, for short)

We'll come back to this in a bit and why it's important for your framework. Let's bring it closer to home with examples.

You usually hear, when someone wants to drop a few pounds, they talk about going on this or that diet -- What goes in. Sometimes, you hear this or that person talking about how they are going to have to walk to Egypt to burn the calories from the Eba they ate -- Burning

<sidebar>

Btw, to burn the calories from chowing a full bowl of Eba, you're better off setting yourself on fire.

</sidebar>

With that said, the easy way to visualise the framework is to imagine a bag of any kind. This bag is suspended from above and inside it is Jello. At the other end of draining the jello out of this bag, is you being at Optimal Health.

In the context of our framework, simply...

In the context of our framework, simply poking a hole large enough in the bag is enough to drain the bag. While that is true, simply poking a whole large enough in your belly is also sufficient to end your worries about getting trim but it won't be necessarily healthy, would it?

So we have the bag of jello. There are two more things about the Jello. 1. Every day a helping of jello is added to the bag. 2. There's a lightly burning candle under the jello that heats it up just enough that some of it gets to melt away but never more than 1 or 2 at once.

In the context of our framework, to efficiently drain this bag out, the factors in the framework come into play TOGETHER. When we reduce the daily additional helpings of Jello, we reduce the volume of what we need to drain. So if we start making little incisions on the bag...

but the incisions are such that only a few extra drops are let out of the bag than usual. With enough time, this follows that we can drain this bag to whatever level we desire.

But there's more. What about the candle?

The candle is time.

The more time we spend consistently maintaining low deposits in the bag, and still making incisions on the said bag, the more volume we dispose of.

But there's more. The longer that candle burns under the bag while the drops are getting out, the brighter that candle burns.

And the brighter that candle burns, and the more holes there are, on the bag, the more likely it is that you are burning off almost exactly what gets poured into the bag daily. It sounds almost mythical, but it's true. Think of that one person you know that...

Think of that one person you know that can eat for Africa and still never gain weight. They are genetically advantaged to have faster metabolisms. But not to worry, the deeper realization here, is that this situation is also achievable for you, you would just need to work harder.

In essence, exercise does all those wonderful things it is said to do. But exercise x Time? That changes the way your body burns energy -- causing it to burn more.

To bring it all together, how do you use this framework? You can go Vegan and Start running (away from your problems), or you can go OMAD and start lifting all the weight of the world. Multiply either of these factors by time (and consistency)? and you will get results

You will note that I've purposely refrained recommending this or that approach or said this or that approach within any factor is better. It was deliberate. Why? It doesn't matter. What truly matters is the framework and Time. Speaking of time...

I will end with this: DON'T START AT ALL IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO STICK WITH IT.

Especially with the "What goes in" part.

Why?

When you limit what goes in, your body assumes that there is a famine going on. Such that when you go back to your old ways, first your body rushes to regain all that weight back and then prepares against any future famine and tries to "future-proof" any weight you regain.

End.

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