My gym has an advanced scale and I was walking back to it to try again. The stupid machine had to be wrong, possibly defect. But once more the display showed  105 kgs (232 lbs). I gulped and sighed deeply. This was two years ago.

I dusted off my 18 year old racing bike, forced myself to cycle for an hour each day and within a month I had lost 10 kgs (22 lbs). “Something never change!” I thought with pride.

I was wrong: within a year I was close to 100 kgs (220 lbs) again.

Today I smile when looking at that same scale. Not just because it reads 86 kgs (190 lbs), but the machine also tells me in figures what I had already noticed because I doubled my lifting capacity in all exercises I do: muscle mass has grown with 5 kgs in the last two months.

What did I do? Well, what I always do: I studied and read… on weightloss and on muscle gain. My knowledge on both dated from 20 years back. What I thought I knew back then, by now is not just obsolete, it’s just dead wrong.I will blog another time on muscle gain and how I only work out for half an hour (after which I indulge myself with a sauna visit).

For now I want to shake your belief system a bit: fatty foods are not the enemy (per se), workouts are not helpful for weightloss and calories put in are not necessarily calories that stay in the body. Don’t take it from me, read the book Why we get fat and what to do about it, it will save you hours of study on articles on the latest dietary research.

Bottom line:

Sports are great… for vitality… not for weightloss. If you do like I did two years ago, chances are you are burning muscle tissue and not just fat… if you ever get to that, since it takes a lot of intense workout to burn a few calories. And ever noticed how you grow quite hungry and had to adjust your eating to your rigorous work out schedule? Keep working out, for vitality. Use food for weightloss.

Sugar, not fat, is the enemy. Refined foods come second. Carbs however are not your enemy. As long as you eat them (stop drinking calories!) in such a way that you don’t crank up your insuline level to the point that it dictates your body to store fat.

Oh, personal advice: don’t diet. Get the insights, change your eating habits and stick with it. I know I will.