Strive to keep losing weight, and subtracting weight.

One of the most fascinating concepts when it comes to motor sports, or racing is this: in order to increase your performance, figure out how to shave additional weight off the cart. Thus, the trend towards carbon fiber, and subtraction of superfluous elements.

Even the Tesla model S plaid, which is currently the king of the 0 to 60, is not as good on the race track. Why? It is too heavy. It is a matter of physics, the heavier you are, the more difficult it is to go around turns efficiently.

How to apply this notion to ourselves

The goal isn’t to add weight. And also the question is also not worrying too much about the number on the scale. Too much focus on trying to get rid of weight is also counterproductive.

For example, let us say that you are adding muscle mass to your frame, while losing body fat. But let’s say that your muscular growth is +5 pounds, and your fat loss is -4 pounds. Then technically the scale shows that you’ve added 1 pound to your frame, but this is very good, because it is fat we are trying to subtract, not muscle. Some basic people might think this is a bad thing, because some people think too much about the ultimate weight, rather than the distribution of fat and muscle. In short, subtracting fat is good, adding muscle is good.

Not all weight is made a like. For example, if you’re trying to optimize performance in a race car, you’re trying to shave off excess body weight, but you don’t want to take power away from the engine.

In similar ways, let us assume you’re a power lifter, and you’ve dropped your weight from 175 pounds to 165 pounds, yet your one rep max the lift remains the same. Technically you’ve become stronger, as your weight two power ratio has shifted to your favor.

How to show off your six pack

Also, the common misconception is that you do 1000 steps a day, and some when you get a six pack. In fact, having a six pack is more about having a low body fat percentage, which is equally distributed throughout your body. Therefore notions of certain exercises targeting belly fat is total nonsense.

How to pack

If there’s one thing you could optimize for when traveling is this: optimize for less weight. Even my mom who is really into backpacking, tells me how her friends will spend extra thousand dollars on a down sleeping bag which is just a few ounces lighter.

Also, when you’re buying shoes, and other equipment, don’t think whether it is “better“, or “worse“, just think about the weight. Is it lighter or heavier? Get rid of that which is heavy.

When in doubt, optimize for lightness.