How to sustainably lose fat while maintaining muscle | Peter Attia and Derek MPMD

Derek's point at the end is absolutely real. I was about 50 years old. I had lost a good amount of weight starting back lifting and training at 47 years old. Then started doing HIIT cardio in a fasted state every other day. In between I would lift, again, in a fasted state. I was also greatly restricting my carbs at this time. Well, I lost a bunch of weight, no question about it, but I also lost my ability to actually sleep. Did not understand it at the time. Thought there was something wrong with me. Of course, there was something wrong with me. I was digging a massive nutrient hole and my hormones were tanked, especially at 50 years old. To this day, I struggle with insomnia, but I have learned to bulk and cut in a much more controlled common sense way.

Finding your maintenance is the key to fat loss. You can pick an accurate deficit you can monitor and adjust as needed.

What worked for me losing about 60 pounds was lifting hard, sporadic cardio, intermittent fasting with a calorie defictic of 1000 calories at least 5 days a week but then eat at maintainence or slightly going over saturday and/or sunday. Logging my calories no matter how good or bad every single day is what kept me going after several years. I went through long periods of plateus to slightly going up in weight but logging daily and weekly weigh ins would get me back in check and I restart the weight loss cycle. My weight loss was a stair step down of 10lbs every 2 or 3 months and then I went about 8 months maintaining before deciding to push for dropping even more and took about 6 months to drop the next 20lbs. I didn't really track macros too much. I tried to hit at least the 100 grams of protein or so. Drank alcohol all the time (but still logged the calories), ate junk many times, etc. I just never stopped logging my calories and never really missed weight lifting 4 times a week. Now that i'm down to about 18% BF I've done more advanced stuff with macros, timing meals, refeeds, etc. You really start to feel the depletion at these levels so you have to be much more precise in order to keep leaning out.

In January I was 201 at 5'8 mostly fat. I did a 3 day water fast and lost 6 lbs. I then made small simple changes. The fast was more to reset my metabolism and fix some insulin resistance I had. I had been working out. The small adjustments I made after the 3 day fast were 1) Zone 2 cardio. Using jogging, walking, rowing machine and stationary bike. 150 minutes (minimum, sometimes I am hitting 200) a week with some strength training. 2) Clean up diet, I still have a sweet tooth but the main things are eating meals around the same time every day breakfast between 9:45 and 10, lunch between 12 and 1:30 and dinner between 5:00-6:00 no eating after 7, no calories. From 7 PM - 9:45 AM. 3) Cut alcohol. No alcohol for 5 months out of a calendar year. When I do drink alcohol after the 5 month period, no eating at least an hour after my last sip of alcohol and no eating after 7 PM if I drink, so if I drink and finish a drink at 5 PM I cant eat until 6. If i have another drink at 5:15 PM I cant drink until 6:15 PM Using those three I have lost about 20 lbs with very small loss in musculature.

It took me decades to realize this, but if you want to lose weight, what you need to train is your metabolism. If you starve yourself and eat empty calories when you do eat, your body is going to hang onto every calorie, your energy levels are going to plummet, and your body goes into a mode where it conserves energy constantly, which further reduces your resting calorie needs, making you then have to starve yourself that much more to keep the losses. Eventually you cave and start eating again, and now your body desperately wants to put weight back on, and it does. The yo yo diet in action. Instead of just cutting calories, you gotta add exercise, you gotta eat a balanced diet and find a macro blend that works for you, and you gotta eat real food. Real food vs factory food, is bulkier, has more nutrients, takes longer to digest, and it satisfies hunger instead of driving it. You're encouraging your body to use the calories you give it, you're giving it all the nutrients and fiber that it needs with those calories, and you're upping your base metabolism. When you're doing it right you are burning more calories in every activity and not starving yourself. The biggest moment for me, the lightbulb moment, was after eating right for a month and doing very light exercise, I was eating more food than I ever wanted to eat, sometimes forcing myself in those first few weeks, and yet, I was consistently losing weight. It wasn't that I was over eating, it was that I was used to TV dinners and bread, and convenience meals, and breakfast cereal, and calorie dense processed foods that didn't fill me up even though they gave me more calories than I needed.

13:00 - Light physical activity after eating helps regulate blood glucose via translocation of the Glut4 transporter in skeletal muscle tissue. This allows for insulin independent uptake of glucose into the cell for metabolism. Helps prevent glucose spikes, as well as conversion of excess glucose to triglycerides (which is then likely to be stored in adipose)

I thought MPMD meant something medical 😂

The key to fat loss is sustainability/adherence !! To preserve muscle it’s already known you need high protein which is anywhere from 0.8g to 1.2g per lb of target body weight from there you induce a caloric deficit from your maintenance calories through diet and once you plateau supplement with cardio and or increase NEAT.

Derek is spot-on about bodybuilding diet.

I appreciate this discussion and the specifics - I hope to hear/would be nice to hear as I continue to listen some extrapolation of these numbers to women (300 kcal deficit to lose the 1-2 lbs applies to a man eating the caloric intake appropriate to them etc.) Thanks - great topic!

I started at 1900 calories 40%protein carbs and fats fall where they fall. It was probably too much to start off, because I remember sleepless nights and feeling like I was starving for a week. That eventually mellowed out and I came to a point where I was no longer losing weight and wasn’t extremely hungry and my cycling performance was increasing so then I dropped it to 1700 cal the weight loss started up again. I do lots of cycling that’s what I’m into so I use a power meter so calorie tracking is pretty accurate. But anything I burn on the bike I replace and preemptively have larger meals aimed at performing for those bike rides. 130 days later I dropped from 92kg to my target of 75kg. Now It’s time to increase my calorie intake so the weight loss will plateau or my cycling performance increases without much weight gain.

Brilliant and easy to listen to. Thank you

Eating 2 meals a day( a cup of Oatmeal with pecans,walnuts,flax,chia,strawberries, and a dinner of salmon, sweet potato, asparagus) has helped me lose 1 pound of body fat per week.For me this works and I am not hungry. Time and patience works. Don't give up!

I am 6'6 367lb & obese, this was priceless info thank you

Yay - some bodybuilding talk! Yes we are very calculating year round to gain and maintain muscle - love it!

I've got really into weighted walks recently, and I think you (Peter) have talked about rucking before. I take my dog out 2x a day for walks with a 20lb weight vest, plus a long hike on weekends with the vest. I have felt that it can burn a bunch of extra calories without any additional noticable fatique.

The big rocks are a consistent energy deficit, sufficient protein, and strength training. Everything else is pebbles and sand. Find a way of eating that you can enjoy and prefer, fits your lifestyle and can be consistent with to ensure an energy deficit. Within that context consume sufficient protein and strength training. When plateau occurs adjust energy intake and/or energy expenditure accordingly.

Love the pure way derek tells it

Peter is gaining all the brazilian hearts with his Senna's outfits ❤

Amazing that being just well-read can have you sitting across from a M.D. Derek is the man.