The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [16]
Will the body composition outcomes be the same?
Of course not. Rule #1: It’s not what you put in your mouth that matters, it’s what makes it to your bloodstream. If it passes through, it doesn’t count.
The creator of the “calorie” as we know it, 19th-century chemist Wilbur Olin Atwater, did not have the technology that we have today. He incinerated foods. Incineration does not equal human digestion; eating a fireplace log will not store the same number of calories as burning one will produce. Tummies have trouble with bark, as they do with many things.
Scenario #2: Three females of the same race, age, and body composition each consume 2,000 calories daily for 30 days. Subject 1 consumes nothing but table sugar, subject 2 consumes nothing but lean chicken breast, and subject 3 consumes nothing but mayonnaise (2,000 calories is just 19.4 tablespoons, if you’d care to indulge).
Will the body composition outcomes be the same?
Of course not. Rule #2: The hormonal responses to carbohydrates (CHO), protein, and fat are different.
There is no shortage of clinical studies to prove that beef calories7 do not equal bourbon calories.
One such study, conducted by Kekwick and Pawan, compared three groups put on calorically equal (isocaloric) semistarvation diets of 90% fat, 90% protein, or 90% carbohydrate. Though ensuring compliance was a challenge, the outcomes were clearly not at all the same:
1,000 cals. at 90% fat = weight loss of 0.9 lbs. per day
1,000 cals. at 90% protein = weight loss of 0.6 lbs. per day
1,000 cals. at 90% carbohydrate = weight gain of 0.24 lbs. per day
Different sources of calories = different results.
Things that affect calorie allocation—and that can be modified for fat-loss and muscle gain—include digestion, the ratio of protein-to-carbohydrates-to-fat, and timing.
We’ll address all three.
Marilyn Monroe building her world-famous sex appeal.
More than 50% of the examples in this book are of women.
Marketers have conditioned women to believe that they need specific programs and diets “for women.” This is an example of capitalism at its worst: creating false need and confusion.
Does this mean I’m going to recommend that a woman do exactly the same thing as a 250-pound meathead who wants 20-inch arms? Of course not. The two have different goals. But 99% of the time both genders want exactly the same thing: less fat and a bit more muscle in the right places. Guess what? In these 99 cases out of 100, men and women should therefore do exactly the same thing.
On average, women have less than one-tenth (often less than one-fortieth) the testosterone of men. This biochemical recipe just doesn’t support rapid muscular growth unless you’re an outlier, so, for the duration of this book, please suspend any fear of “getting bulky.”
Even if you are a fast-responder, as you observe changes, you can omit pieces or reduce frequency. Don’t worry about waking up looking like the Hulk the morning after a single workout. It won’t happen, as much as men wish it did. There will be plenty of time to tweak and fine-tune, to cut back or shift gears, as you go.
One potential objection from the scientists in the group: But don’t women have more slow-twitch muscle fibers? Doesn’t that mean women should train differently? I propose not, and I’m not the first. Based on the data in this book and in the literature, you’ll see that (1) muscle fiber composition can be changed, and (2) you should eat and train for your desired outcome, not to accommodate your current condition.
Don’t fall victim to sexism in exercise. It’s almost always a fraud or a sales pitch.
TOOLS AND TRICKS
Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger (www.fourhourbody.com/wisdom) This is one of the best books on mental models, how to use them, and how not to make a fool of yourself. I was introduced to this manual for critical thinking by Derek Sivers,