Searching for the Holy Grail in Fitness

David Rachford
Aug 25, 2017 · 4 min read

How to lose body fat and gain muscle at the same time. Is it possible?

A calorie is a calorie… or is it?

Long, slow cardio is best for fat loss.

High intensity interval training is the best cardio for fat loss.

What’s the real story?

Data is impartial.

Data is beautiful.

The trend is your friend.

While some may debate if weighing in daily is a good idea, I come from the school “to measure is to know” (quote Lord Kelvin). But you gotta measure the right things.

A little more than four weeks ago, I set a 12 week goal, with a target end date of 10/16/17. I committed to a 12 week training plan, and started measuring weight & body-fat (BF) % via my Tanita scale.

Tracking the scale measurements daily, I see fluctuations in data of BF %, which causes swings in Lean Body Mass (LBM) and Fat Weight. The scale measures total body weight and BF%. Using only these two measurements, I plug them into a Google Sheet that calculates my LBM and Fat Weight in pounds. If you’d like a copy of the Google Sheet template, you can get it here.

WTF is going on? How can LBM go up 9 lbs over night, then down 3, and down 4 again over the next couple days?

Too many factors to know for sure… but mainly, hydration, inflammation response, sodium, and did you take a good shit before you stepped on the scale?

So what’s the real story?

7 day moving average.

After a week of data, sum the 7 days, divide by 7. A trend starts to show.

Daily BF % and weight numbers go up and down. This makes the picture confusing. But the 7-day trend shows increases in LBM and decreases in BF % and Fat weight.

31-day results on the 7-day moving average?

LBM up 2.4 lbs.
Fat weight down 5.5 lbs.
Scale weight: down 3.1 lbs

Just watching the scale for 31 days, I’d be thinking: “This is not working…”

I’d do the math of effort vs. reward in my head and have a dialogue like this: “28 one hour workouts in the gym… 20 lunch hours spent walking 3.5 miles, two 6 mile hikes on the weekend, several yoga sessions, healthy eating every day, six beers total… for 3.1 lbs down. Not worth it.”

But when I dig into the data, it’s working quite fucking well.

Most experts say it’s tough to build muscle while reducing body-fat.

And if you ask for dietary advice, you’ll get different advice from everyone you ask. Many will say you should change your diet to a ketogenic diet, paleo diet, or avoid wheat and go vegan.

And that’s why people fail at getting in shape. They go from one program to another, changing diets, workouts, etc. after 3–4 weeks, not seeing enough change, or not paying attention to the right DATA.

I believe that “all diets work.” That said, macros, or the nutrient breakdown is important. Getting the right proportion of protein, fat, and carbohydrate helps balance energy. The right nutrients provide fuel to do hard work, and to rebuild your body.

It’s important is to track your nutrition. As the saying goes: “it’s hard to out-exercise a bad diet.” To burn body-fat, one has to burn more calories than one takes in. To build muscle, one has to have enough nutrition (protein) to build and repair the body.

Based on my current body composition, I’m aiming for about 2,300 calories per day, 35% protein, 30 % fat, 35% carbohydrate. I’m tracking my food via MyFitnessPal. My food journal can be viewed here.

A simple plan

5-day split. Heavy weights in AM, about 60 minutes followed by 15–20 min intervals on treadmill, 2min easy 1 hard. Only missed one workout (biceps/calves). I walk during lunch, ~1hr 3.5–4 miles. On weekends, going for 5–6 mile hikes. Also power yoga 2–4 x per week, but taking it easier on the yoga.

The catalyst

In my last story, I shared about my experience with Mike Cernovich’s Gorilla Mindset Seminar. That was a big motivator for me. You can read about my 30 days of living Gorilla Minset here.

Who says you can’t release body-fat while gaining muscle?

)
David Rachford

Written by

aka “Navy Dave” — Yoga Teacher & Athlete — YouTuber — “YogawithNavyDave” www.DavidRachford.com

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade