North Coast Miller
Level 9 Valued Member
@offwidth Like I said, I think energy balance is a factually accurate way to describe what happens based on the laws of thermodynamics (e.g. you lost weight because you converted body mass to energy at a greater rate than you converted food mass to body mass), but it doesn't really explain why that happened.
I agree, the hormonal response to r
Okay, I read it all and gratefully accepted the blessing that came with it!
Now. How to apply? Please say more about this.
I am menopausal. I'm 50yrs strong. I did wonder how much that played a part in the results I experienced the first two(failed) runs at building muscle. Along with the problems in my program (300 light double swings daily for a month, low protein, low sleep).
I wondered if my hormones were jacked from the stress of over training/sleep deprivation and low calories).
I didn't mention that in addition to the getting unlimited sleep and only training M/W/F I am now supplementing with 100mg of dhea and nervous system tonic herbs(holy basil, skullcap, st. Johns wort/ashwaganda/astragalus/lemon balm) daily.
Can we surmise that my (MUCH) improved results had thier roots here as well? I realise that you're not an herbalist as I am so may have limited knowledge of these plants but they work WONDERS to smooth the road for menopausal symptoms aka; wild hormonal fluctuations) I stopped having hot flashes and slept well this entire training round of 7 weeks. I don't eat junk. Me "going off the rails" is organic cheese and crackers or occasionally ginger snaps and dark chocolate...And Funyuns!
I know you said there are different schools of thought about how to achieve a more hormonally balanced body while cutting but what are some of your thoughts on how to do it? I would love to plug-in any that I haven't heard of and see what happens. I do at some point in the future (next summer?) want to reduce the fat. I'm at 32lbs of fat 117.3 lean mass/21%BF now, which is fluffy for me. I'd love for 10-12lbs of that fat to go but if I can't do a sensible "cut" without jacking up my metabolism I won't do it.
Thanks again for your time and input.
You can juice your metabolism without too much tinkering just by periodizing a little. If you increase intensity one week out of three even will have an effect. Two on two off will have an effect. Now that you're getting the muscle mass where you want it, a little more intensity will have you burning more fat in off hours, buring more carbs during the workout, which will also have you relying more on fat for the off hours and rest.
I'm not talking about huge changes here, the apple cart is pretty well balanced now. Personally I'd stay the course and see if body comp doesn't slowly go the way you want. If it stalls, my vote is for working some higher intensity into the routine. As I've gotten older I find this holds true more and more.