We’re always experimenting on our own bodies here at VM&F, trying to find the best strategies for achieving fit, functional bodies on a whole foods plant-based diet. I’ve been lucky enough to pursue this fascination with fat loss and muscle gain in the mathematical realm, where my end goal is to be able to take information about an individual and predict what their expected change in body composition will be on a resistance training program combined with various dieting strategies. This has been a hard nut to crack experimentally because there is so much individual variation in response to resistance training (also known as strength training). By continuing to develop this mathematical model, we hope to begin quantifying the source of these differences , from hormonal response to gene expression. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have an online tool where you could type in your current statistics, your goal weight/body fat %, and type of exercise including weight training and get an idea of when you can expect to reach your goal or a recommended dieting strategy to follow? The magic of computers!

The full article, minus supplementary material that includes most of the math, can be found here!