Via David Despain comes this from Jim Hill, professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, on the concept of active regulation:
Our biology works best at high levels of physical activity. Obesity is in the ‘unregulated zone.’ When physical activity increases, you enter ‘regulated zone’. Physical activity may help the ‘regulatory system’ work better.
I’m intrigued by research pointing out the role exercise plays in appetite regulation, blood sugar management, and insulin sensitivity.
This is why I’ve been following Mark Sisson’s fitness pyramid. No Biggest Loser-style exercise for me (been there, done that), as it seems likely that any weight regulation system will function best when we are living in a manner consistent with our evolutionary past.
Weight Maven is written by Beth Mazur. Beth believes that obesity is more symptom than cause and that the real problem is our Western diet -- especially sugar, refined grains, and industrial oils. Beth writes about nutrition, ancestral health, & food policy. And cats! 
IMO, if people succeed by using the fitness pyramid, it isn’t because of the “evolutionary past.” It’s because the exercise routine listed in the pyramid is more realistic and sustainable than the all-out Biggest Loser workouts.
That’s important too!
It’s too bad the studies you referenced were not longer term. Sometimes the body makes adjustments over time. That said, my program is similar to yours and derived from endless Google Scholar searches, modified by practicality. I think I remember you saying you do your HIIT in a pool, and I applaud you for it. (I’m lucky enough to be able to sprint, but I prefer less wear and tear via an exercise bike with an Intervals setting.) I also don’t think it hurts when evolutionary logic agrees with lab studies. I just recently viewed some of the BBC Horizon stuff to add some life to the dullness of reading the journals.
Agree with you re the longer term studies. That said, I think it just makes sense that the value of exercise is far more than just calories in vs out!
I agree, and thank you for posting those links. In addition to the pyramid recommendations, I have been teaching myself to fidget (hard to explain, but it means I never sit for long), make extra trips through the house when unloading groceries, etc. to reap the benefits of NEAT (I think it’s non-exercise activity thermogenesis).
I do the fidgeting too … it’s quite easy to do glute squeezes when sitting ;).
I only just saw this! Thanks for the mention and link to my blog. David