Understanding Fat Loss

Read what Doug McGuff says about fat loss through caloric restriction and "cardio" vs fat loss through caloric restriction and resistance training. It is an analogy, but an incredibly helpful one for people who do not care to read research journals.

In the first senario, there is a budget deficit, and no department has any unusual demands. Layoffs can occur in all departments. So, the board lays off some fat, some muscle, some bone, and connective tissue, as well as some nervous tissue. The corporation becomes a smaller version of its former self.

In the second scenario, there is also a budget deficit, but a large demand has been placed on the muscle department; indeed, more muscle has to be hired on. This necessitates a large layoff in the fat department. Furthermore, no cutbacks can be made in the bone and connective tissue departments, because their support is needed for the muscle department, which is not useful unless is is attached to strong bones by strong connective tissue. The recourse is that more fat has to be cashiered. No nervous tissue can be spared either, because the new muscle is useless unless it is innervated by new nervous tissue. This imposes even more cutbacks in the fat department. With these adjustments, the corporation takes on a notable shape change. Under this scenario, all of the body's weight loss has been shunted exclusively toward fat loss. You have added a modest amount of shape-improving muscle and jettisoned a large amount of shape ruining fat.

Doug McGuff and John Little. Body by Science. (McGraw Hill, 2009), 186