June Archives

I hate fad diets. Matter of fact, I hate all of those fad diet books more than I hate the Yankees (that should score me some brownie points; I’m from Upstate NY). Why do I dislike them so much? They do absolutely NOTHING as far as setting you up for LONG-TERM success. They’re a crutch more than anything; a quick fix. Lets take The Atkins Diet for example. The Atkins Diet essentially has you remove all carbohydrates from your diet, which for most Americans equates to roughly 60% of total calories. It’s obvious that when “we” reduce our total caloric intake by 60% that we’re going to lose weight. However, what many people fail to realize is that most of the weight that is lost is just water and stored glycogen (stored glucose/sugar); and muscle. It’s not unheard of for people to lose upwards of 8-10 lbs in one week on The Atkins Diet (again a vast majority of that weight is water and glycogen). On a side note: in the long run, many of these fad diets sacrifce lean body mass (muscle) which is the last thing you want to do. Muscle is metabolically active tissue (the more you have, the higher your metabolism). Essentially you make yourself a smaller and weaker version of your original self on most of these diets. Not good. But I digress.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end, and before long, progress stalls. People will lose their 20-30 lbs and then revert back to old eating habits and put the weight back on, and then some. The viscious cycle continues.

Honestly, I could go on and on about why I disagree with pretty much every fad diet out there (even you Dr. Phil), but that is beyond the scope of this blog. In the end people need to realize that all of these diets tend to have commonalities (eat more smaller meals throughout the day, focus on lean protein, eat more fruits and vegetables, etc). And speaking of fruits and vegetables (which are carbohydrates), why ANY diet (specifically Atkins) would advocate that people remove them from their diets because they are in fact carbohydrates, is absurd. Trust me it’s not the apples and carrots that are making you fat people; it’s the daily trips to the local pizza joint and bagels every morning.

Anyways, we need to focus on the commonalities. We need to develop SOUND DAILY HABITS in order to succeed in the long run. It’s not about following this diet or that diet. It’s about developing habits and strategies that you are CONSISTENT with. Then and only then will you succeed and lose that stubborn body fat and keep it off forever.

My good friend (and renowned Nutritionist) Mike Roussell developed one such system that I think will blow any fad diet out of the water. Your Naked Nutrition Guide is a system that I advocate for the bulk of my own clients. What I like about it is that it’s simple and practical and it works! No other book out there will help you set up your own individualized nutritional program. You want permanent results now? Quit following the sheep. You don’t need some looney fad diet which promises 15 lbs lost in two weeks. What you need is to learn the basics. It’s as simple as that.

Not a day goes by where I don’t hear one of the following statements:

“I eat REALLY well…”

“My diet is perfect…”

“I make good nutritional choices…”

“Tony Gentilcore is so good looking…”

If you eat so well, then why are you still 20 lbs overweight? If your diet is so perfect, then why do you always feel sluggish and tired? If you make such good nutritional choices, then why do you have high blood pressure, cholesterol, and type II diabetes? And yes, I am that good looking (kidding……………………………no I’m not).

The fact of the matter is, people flat out lie and delude themselves into thinking that they are making quality nutritional choices; and yes I am talking to YOU. Research has shown time and time again that people have a tendency to OVER report how much they really exercise and UNDER report how much they are reallly eating. Funny how that works huh? It’s funny how people tend to forget that half a tray of Oreo’s they ate earlier in the week or the bowl of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream they had last night while watching “So You Think You Can Dance?” on televison. (Side Note: oh, I CAN dance. The ladies love my “robot”).

Don’t believe me. I give you exhibit A:

(EDIT: I had a nice little chart here that shows people’s PERCEIVED consumption and ACTUAL consumption of starches, fruit, vegetables, protein, fat/sweets…….but it didn’t work (I stink). E-mail me if you really want it, or you can just take my word for it.)

What does this show us?

1. People ARE eating more grains/starches than they think they are. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing per se. I do feel that carbs have a time and place (in short: breakfast and post-training). I am NOT a “carb phobe,” but generally speaking most people would be wise to limit their carb intake to certain times of the day, especially if fat loss is one of the main goals.

2. People are NOT eating nearly as much fruit as they think they are.

3. People are NOT eating nearly as much veggies as they think they are.

4. People are NOT drinking as much milk as they think they are. This is a bit speculative, especially considering the prevalence of lactose intolerance.

5. People are NOT eating as much meat as they think they are. I am a firm advocate of high(er) protein diets (especially for fat loss and body recomposition). My good friend Cassandra Forsythe (soon to be PhD in Nutrition, also writes for Men’s and Women’s Health) always states: “when in doubt, eat protein.” People need to get more protein in their diets. There are a plethora of cute, furry animals out there to eat (my apologies to any vegetarian that may be reading this). And by the way: soy is atrocious.

6. People ARE eating more fats/oils/sweets than they think they are. This DOES NOT mean I am implying that “fat makes you fat!!!!” On the contrary, I feel that dietary fat is an intragral component of a fat loss diet. It’s about QUALITY of fat, not QUANTITY. However, I am more concerned about sweets. As alluded to above, people tend to eat more sweets than they think they do.

In the end, most people need to quit lying to themselves and accept the fact that they ARE NOT making solid food choices nor are they following sound nutritional habits. Yes, I am talking to you Mr. “I go 6 hours without eating a meal.” Learn better eating habits and success will be guaranted.

If I had to make a list of the worst things that people do in the gym, it would look like this.

1. Talking on their cell phone while exercising. I will never quite understand this. Seriously, you can’t live without your phone for an hour?

2. Wearing sunglasses. Why?

3. Staring at the tv in between sets (AKA: tv jaw). Are you there to train, or watch tv? Hmmmm, maybe that’s why you still look exactly the same as you did three years ago.

4. Performing endless repetitions of crunches in an effort to get that six pack.

What if I told you that performing endless repetitions of crunches is probably one of the worst things you could be doing in the gym from a postural standpoint? What if I told you that I haven’t had a client of mine perform a crunch in over two years because I think they’re a waste of time? Blashemy you say?

The rectus abdominus (RA) originates at the pubic symphysis and inserts all the way up at the 5th-7th rib cartilage and sternum. What do you think happens when you sit all day at work, in front of the computer with a flexed spine and then go to the gym and perform a bunch of crunches? You end up pulling your chest towards your pelvis, further increasing your already kyphotic (rounded back) posture. Not only does this give the appearance of looking smaller (sternum is depressed), but it also leads to a whole host of other issues such as shoulder, neck, and mid-back problems due to the scapular winging involved (shoulder abduction).

It may surprise you to find out that the main “function” of the RA is not trunk flexion (think: crunch), but rather to PREVENT rotational forces and provide stability. Mike Boyle (boy he sure is smart) has done a great job of applying the work of physical therapists James Porterfield and Carl DeRosa and bringing to light the fact that the RA should be trained as ANTI-rotators, not flexors (crunch). Essentially, I would prefer that people learn to PREVENT unwanted motion and train their “core” with stability in mind. Various planks, Pallof Press, various chopsand would all be a great start and infinitely more conducive

BONUS SECTION (a little case of tough love)

You want a flat stomach or six pack abs? I’ll give you the best movement, results guaranteed. It’s called the push-away method.

It’s simple really. When you feel “full”, push yourself away from the dinner table. Watch out for the dog underneath your chair!! Getting “abs” is about providing enough of a caloric deficit so that your body can burn off body fat, it’s NOT about how many crunches you can do everyday. You can perform crunches till you’re blue in the face, but it won’t matter if you have fat covering them. YOU CAN NOT OUT TRAIN A POOR DIET!!!!!!!

Exercise More (People need to MOVE more in general. Lift heavy things, it will be good for you).

Eat Less (junk)

Repeat

Forever

If I hear one more registered dietician or physician mention that diets high(er) in protein are dangerous, I am going to go postal. First lets make of a list of things that ARE dangerous:

1. Putting your finger in an electrical socket

2. Swimming in a pool full of sharks.

3. Responding “yes” whenever your significant other asks you, “does this make me look fat?”

4. Watching a Ben Affleck movie

Those are dangerous. Diets high in protein are NOT dangerous, as many fitness professionals would have you believe. Many claim that high protein diets will strain or damage the kidneys. Thing is, there has NEVER been one scientific study that has shown that diets high(er) in protein (in this case, upwards of 1 gram per lb of body weight) harm the kidneys in any way in HEALTHY individuals. I’m more likely to date Angelina Jolie than you are in finding a study which says high protein diets cause damage in the kidneys. READ: not going to happen.

And while there are “some” studies which do in fact say that high protein diets cause renal (kidney) dysfunction…..they were done on people who already had some sort of renal disease in the first place. Well duh!!!!

The term “higher” refers to a diet that has people (athletes or active individuals) consuming more than the general populations’ average intake of approximately 15% of energy from protein, e.g., as much as 30%-35%, which is within an Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR). The RDA states that 0.8 grams per kg of bodyweight per day is acceptable for all healthy individuals. However, what people fail to realize is that the RDA’s recommendations are directed to those people who do nothing but sit on their butt all day. 0.8 grams per kg of body weight is what the RDA recommends to stay alive. It’s just enough to stave of deficiency. That’s great, but that amount doesn’t come close to meeting the needs and requirements of athletes and/or those people who consistently workout.

Athletes, as well as those people who lead an active lifestyle consistently eat diets that are higher in protein compared to what the RDA recommends. Bodybuilders from way back in the 1950’s and 60’s ate higher protein diets (upwards of 300-500 grams PER DAY) and to my knowledge, there has never been a epidemic of kidney disease in these populations; even to this day. NOTE: I am NOT suggesting that you need to ingest 300-500 grams of protein per day, just trying to make a point.

Of relevance to “active” individuals and those in clinical practice is the fact that higher protein diets have quite consistently been shown to result in greater weight loss, greater fat loss, and preservation of lean mass as compared with “lower” protein diets. A framework for understanding dietary protein intake within the context of weight loss and athletic performance is laid out throughout TONS of literature and is beyond the scope of this blog entry.

All in all, high protein diets DO NOT harm or cause any undue strain on the kidneys. And if I wasn’t convincing enough,

In a review titled, “Dietary protein intake and renal function,” published in Nutrition and Metabolism, September 2005, Martin et al concluded, and I quote:

“While protein restriction may be appropriate for treatment of EXISTING renal disease, we find no significant evidence for a detrimental effect of high protein intakes on kidney function in healthy persons after centuries of a high protein Western diet.”