👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #142 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):
🍗 Study: More calories, more fat loss. Wtf...
This study split female athletes who lifted weights into two groups.
Over 8 weeks, one group lost 2% more body fat than the other group.
The only difference?
This group ate more protein (2.5g/kg of bodyweight a day vs 0.9g).
This is where it gets fascinating:
Carb and fat intake stayed the same.
So the high-protein group ate about 420 more calories per day (from the added protein).
But actually lost more fat.
Wtf...
It suggests that how the body uses protein goes far beyond simple calorie maths.
A few potential reasons:
- 💪 Muscle uses more energy: The increased muscle mass (+2.1kg vs +0.6kg) would raise basal metabolic rate, burning more calories throughout the day.
- 🧭 How the body uses different macronutrients (called nutrient partitioning): Higher protein intake may have directed more energy toward muscle synthesis (building muscle), which otherwise would have been stored as fat.
- 🦠 Protein to fat pathway is inefficient: converting protein to body fat is complex and burns extra calories.
And indirectly through improved hormone support, recovery, energy, and activity levels (e.g the high protein group had better compliance with the training program) — all of which indirectly improve fat-burning potential.
Now...
Eating lots of protein doesn't give us a free pass to overeat. Too many total calories will still make us gain fat.
But if you lift weights, adding more protein could help you lose fat — even without reducing calories (particularly in women, as this study highlights).
The key is combining higher protein with consistent strength training.
Neat.
🏋️ The minimalist at-home training program
I'm on a mission to simplify health and fitness for busy lives.
So I’ve been building and testing a minimalist at-home training system.
As a plan A (if you train at home).
Or plan B (for the days you can't get to the gym).
We only need one piece of kit. Pick your poison:
1. 🏋️ A kettlebell
- Swings, cleans, squats, snatches, rows…
2. 🚪 A doorway pull-up bar
- High for pull-ups, dead hangs, knee raises...
- Low for hip thrusts, Bulgarian split squats, incline push-ups, inverted rows…
I’ve tested a few. Best I've found: ProIron
Then here’s the plan:
- Choose 4–5 full-body exercises
- Do 5–30 reps (go close to failure)
- 3–4 sets each
- Rest 60 sec between
- Train 2–3x a week
Total weekly time: ~40–60 minutes
Do it consistently for:
- 1 month: You’ll feel the difference
- 3 months: You’ll see the difference
- 12 months: You’ll be different
More to come.
🙋 And a few sleep-related upgrades on the back of last week's newsletter...
1. 💊 What ashwagandha do you get?
We are running one bought on the ground in India.
But KSM-66 is the gold standard (most clinically studied ashwagandha on the market). Make sure to search for that.
Will probably get this one next.
2. 👃 Cheaper, but just as good nose strips
Breathe Better strips, here on Amazon (3 months' worth for $20).
Tested. And just as good as the more expensive ones.
Thanks OW for the rec!
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service nor a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information shared in this email is general and written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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