On any given day when I wake up and turn on my laptop to check my email, what I see on my screen can run the gamut:
Ranging from emails by people asking me any number of fitness and health questions; editors reaching out wondering 1) if I’d be interested in contributing to their magazine/website, or what’s usually the case 2) asking whether or not I’m going to make their deadline (haven’t missed one yet); distance coaching clients writing to say how much of an a-hole I am for programming eight sets of squats on a Monday; annoying SEO representatives asking me if I’m interested in their services; and, of course, emails from the even more annoying Saudi Princes willing to hand over a small fortune purely out of the kindness of their heart……
…….if I’m willing to provide my credit card number.
And, admittedly, I also get a fair share of people who contact me asking me to pimp their new ebook or product (even though I’ve never heard of them or know them for a hole in the wall).
Needless to say I get a lot of mail that goes directly into my spam folder or I just delete altogether. And then I move on with my life.
Last week I received an email through my website that, upon initial viewing, felt a little suspect:
Hi Tony Gentilcore – I hope your 2013 is off to a great start!
We start this year fortunate enough to have received VC funding to start up a non-profit nutrition educational organization we’re calling Slim is Simple. SIS is working to provide compelling multimedia resources—free of charge—that the educational and health communities can leverage to help share the simple science you and I know can help so many people live so much better. We’re working to get this “curriculum” into schools, churches, and etc.
Wanted to give you a quick sneak peak of our first full-length animated educational piece at (see below) with the hopes that we can collaborate on giving this non-profit educational effort the legs it needs to make a difference in the mainstream. The official launch of SIS is Tuesday.
I’m not going to lie – once I read that initial paragraph the theme music from Jaws was running on repeat in my head.
Da-DUM. Da-DUM. Da-DUM…….
I had never heard of Jonathan Bailor, much less read anything he’s written. But I saw in his byline that he has a book titled The Calorie Myth coming out through Harper Collins in 2014, and too, I’d like to think that I’m not that much of a jerk where I can’t give a few minutes of my time to check out a video.
I mean, I’m all about simplifying things – especially when it comes to nutrition. Given most people equate nutrition to rocket science, or quantum physics, or, if you’re me circa 1995, trying to unclasp your first bra (how the hell does this thing work!!!!!), anything that provides information which helps people sift through the BS and make things easier is cool in my book.
So, long story short I was intrigued and took the bait.
And you know what: it was really, reallygood. It’s twelve minutes that’s definitely worth your time.
Slim is Simple
I know there will be some detractors out there who will nitpick a few things and most likely provide some long-winded diatribe on why Jonathan’s approach contains faulty logic, and that’s cool – you can go about hating your life. And no one will probably listen to you anyways.
I can nitpick as well, but all told, I feel the overall message is awesome, and feel it’s something that’s going to be very beneficial to the general public and (hopefully) sway the tide towards a more sensible weight control approach.
I don’t know about you, but I’m so tired of people reading US Magazine, thinking that starving themselves – and being afraid of eating an apple because it contains carbs (but not think twice about crushing a double latte) – and then gaining their nutritional advice from Paris Hilton is a smart approach.
Likewise, I don’t necessarily feel that people have to be “slim” in order to be healthy or be comfortable with their bodies (not that that was what Jonathan was insinuating in the first place). But I do feel we’ve done an awesome job of overcomplicating things, and many people out there have gotten to the point where they have no idea what to eat! Which is absurd.
To that end, anything I can point in YOUR direction that leads YOU to common sense advice is a-okay with me.
So watch the video above and let me know what you think!
For more information on Jonathan and his initiative, check out the Slim is Simple website HERE, as well as his personal website HERE.
I made an executive decision yesterday that with Christmas Eve and Christmas right around the corner (NINTENDO 64!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I’d treat myself to a little blog-cation.
Now, don’t get me wrong: I love writing this blog. But sometimes I just need to take a break, smell the fudge roses, take a dee breath, and chillax.
So with that said, you won’t be hearing back from me until the day after Christmas (Wednesday). Thankfully my good friend, Sirena Bernal, reached out and wrote this spectacular guest post for the site.
Sirena and I have been chummy for a little over a year now, and we actually live in the same neighborhood, sometimes bumping into one another at the local Panera on a Friday night when we’re both trying to catch up on some writing or reading.
Yeah, we’re cool like that.
Anyways enjoy! And Happy (and safe) Holidays to everyone!
Before we even knew what a calorie was, we survived by relying on instinct, on feeling, and on the wisdom that was passed down to us from our elders – from people like grandma. Meaning, before we started to read labels, we just ate food.
We didn’t rely on measuring, tracking points, or distributing macronutrients, and we certainly didn’t rely on counting calories.
In fact, the idea of the calorie that we are now familiar with, was originally a term derived to describe the combustion energy produced from a steam engine (1), not the metabolism of a homosapien.
Steam engine and human being? Not exactly in the same genus, and thus, in my opinion, one reason why it’s a flawed model to follow in regards to nutrition – for the long term health and well-being. Again, IMHO.
I am not saying that creating a calorie-deficit (expending more energy than you consume) will not lead to weight loss, as it most certainly will. However, I am saying it is not the only way to approach weight loss. And as you will see in a minute, I’m going to share with you 7 others.
Why Calories Don’t Work for Humans
As beautiful and unique individuals as we are, so are our metabolisms and our body’s ability to digest, breakdown and utilize foods.
No two people are the same, and thus no two metabolisms are the same. However, most diet and nutrition literature will lead you to believe that a standard formula can be used to accurately gauge the amount of food we need to consume.
It’s easy to find an online calculator in which you input your weight, height, and activity level and in return get an arbitrary number that doesn’t take some of the most influential factors that affect our metabolism into play.
Factors such as the weather, temperature, stress levels, amount of sleep, hormonal fluctuations, prescription medications, supplements, thought-patterns and travel patterns can all affect our body’s ability to metabolize food, and thus affect the amount of “calories” we need to function at our best.
Thus, focusing on tracking calories without considering the dynamic flux of our metabolism can further create a hypometabolic state (low metabolism), which the majority of our culture suffers with.
You Are Not a Cyborg
Before you whip out the calculator and start crunching numbers, understand that it’s never a clear cut answer.
And for some, that may be frustrating to hear because we all just want to know exactly how much, at what time, and when.
But here’s the thing: life is not exact.
And neither is your schedule, or the weather, or your biology…unless of course you’re a cyborg, which I’m assuming you are not. (But if you are, I need to meet you).
If we allow it, our body will tell us exactly how much food we need, what we need, and when we need it, if we only listen.
Developing this skill does take time and patience but once we learn to listen to our body, we will begin to find the process of losing weight, much much easier than trying to calculate how many calories 30 grams of carbs, 20 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat equal.
There are much easier ways to approach weight loss that does not require counting calories, and here are 7 of them:
1. Eat with smaller plates, bowls and spoons.
Research has shown that the bigger your plate or bowl, the more you end up eating – choose a smaller bowl and you end up eating less. Participants in a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, served themselves 31 percent more ice cream when they were given a 34-ounce bowl instead of a 17-ounce bowl.
2. When filling your plate fill about 75% of what you would normally fill.
Our eyes are generally bigger than our stomachs, so prevent over eating before you actually eat. The next time you plate your food, take a “normal” scoop, and then put 25% of it back (before you actually put it on your plate, because putting food back once it’s on your plate is just bad manners.)
After you fill your plate, follow the rest of the steps below, and then decide if you’re still hungry before going back for seconds.
3. When eating, stop when you are 2/3 full.
You know that point when you’re so full that your belly is pushing against your belt buckle? Yeah, don’t get to that point.
Before you feel the need to unbuckle your belt, stop yourself when you feel like your 2/3 of the way there, and take a few moments to ask yourself if you are really hungry or if you are just eating to eat.
4. Always eat a protein, a carb and a fat source together.
By combining a protein, fat and carb you optimize your hormonal response to your meal thus keeping your blood sugar levels balanced, which will keep you satiated longer, thus preventing you from snacking after a meal.
5. Eat in peace and not on the run and without the distraction of computers, t.v. or reading which will help slow you down and level up your digestive powers.
Eating on the run is as effective for your digestion as being in 2nd gear on the highway is for your car. Not very.
When your brain and/or body is stimulated while you are eating, like if you are watching t.v. or eating in a rush, you end up activate your sympathetic nervous system which stimulates stress hormones.
However, being relaxed and calm while you eat, activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which, is responsible for digestion and breaking down your food to be absorbed. When you break down food better, you absorb your meal better, and thus get fuller faster.
6. Chew your food thoroughly before swallowing and take your time with eating, putting your fork down between bites.
It doesn’t matter if you count your chews, count seconds, or meditate when you eat. What does matter is that you take your time and actually chew.
Here’s a little challenge: Next time you eat, try to chew long enough until your food is liquefied. $5 if you can eat a whole meal this way.
7. SLOW down (or take your meal on a date.)
This is what I mean by this: when you are on a date, let’s say, a first date, or with someone you’re really into, you’re not gonna be checking your phone, or other people in the area. You’re in the moment, you don’t want to rush.
Now, with that same fervor that you would show your date, show that same attention to your food. Remove distractions, take your time, appreciate the food, and take your time with the food.
The same attention you’d give to a date, give to your food. This will not only allow you to slow down and thus eat less, but you’ll actually enjoy what you’re eating, appreciate your food and the eating process.
Final Pearls of Wisdom
The idea of losing weight without counting calories is clearly not as tangible or concrete, and may take some time to adjust to. However, if you can begin to practice these tips, it’s one of the most liberating and stress-free ways to approach weight loss.
The idea behind this process is to get you to a point where you can begin to listen to your body and just know, like Grandma did, when enough was enough.
This process does take more time and commitment on your part, but is very rewarding when you begin to tune in and know exactly what you need, when you need it, and how much you need.
Sirena is a nutrition and lifestyle expert in Boston, MA, and she holds her B.S. in Kinesiology from UNH. She has been training clients in the fitness industry for over 8 years and runs the Lean Body Challenge, a 28-day nutrition program designed to help women lose weight without dieting and over-exercising.
Her clients consistently lose 8-15 lbs. during the challenge and maintain the weight loss without the need to count calories or rely on cardio. Her work has been featured in PTonTheNET.com, Greatist.com, and she is a regular blogger for BostonMagazine.com
Today’s post comes from current Cressey Performance intern, and competitive powerlifter, Pat Koch.
As someone who’s often giving nutrition advice myself – albeit in a very limited fashion – I think this is a very important and pertinent discussion to have considering the resounding alternatives that people have at their disposal.
Who should we listen to? Who should we believe? Who’s right? Who’s wrong? What the hell is going to happen in Fringe this season?
You see, I like to ask the important questions!
Nevertheless, I think everyone will enjoy this one. See you tomorrow.
Within the last couple months, a battle has been waging. This battle is of particular interest to those involved in the health and wellness industry, but for the most part has flown under the radar.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics formerly known as the American Dietetic Association has used aggressive tactics to deter a blogger from disseminating nutrition advice.
The blogger in question is a diabetic who used a paleo diet to help him get off meds and improve his quality of life. He openly encouraged other diabetics to follow his lead. The blog provided advice mostly free of charge, and built a decent web presence. Ultimately he seemed to help a few people out.
After an uproar from his supporters, documents leaked from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics showing a plan to disenfranchise other nutrition providers, using state legislature.
It raises the question: Is the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics doing this for “the good of the people,” or are they trying to destroy competition for their business?
Certainly it is in their interest to make sure that registered dieticians are the gold standard of nutrition care.
I can certainly see why we don’t want any Joe Blow off the street giving diabetics nutrition advice, but do we need to make a crack down on other nutrition providers?
Physical therapists, chiropractors, personal trainers, MD’s, routinely give nutrition advice. Should it be illegal? Some of these professionals have no business talking Nutrition, and some of them have useful knowledge.
Note from TG:on that tangent, it’s been said that medical students receive – at most – around two weeks of nutrition related course work during their tenure in school. To me this is woefully deficient, and speaks volumes to the gap between who should be giving nutrition advice and who shouldn’t?.
On one hand you have someone who’s spent the better part of the past decade of their life studying the human body collecting a knowledge base that I can’t even begin to fathom. There’s a lot to be said for that and it should be commended and respected.
Yet, by that same token, I think we can all agree that two weeks of course work is peanuts and is by no means enough to cover one’s nutritional bases thoroughly.
I mean, we have some doctors out there spewing out nonsense like whole eggs are tantamount to smoking a cigarette (no joke!). I’m still waiting with bated breath the day where egg yolks are compared to ebola virus.
Similarly, while there are undoubtedly thousands of reputable and well respected Registered Dietitians out there who “get it” and don’t coddle to the establishment, I’d be remiss to ignore that that number pales in comparison to those who are still spewing out nonsense like high(er) protein diets lead to renal damage or disease.
On the other, you have those who, just because they read a book on how to make gluten free cupcakes (or have 10,000 posts on some random fitness forum) feel they have the nutritional fortitude to shell out advice to anyone and everyone with a computer screen.
Needless to say, there’s a lot of gray area here.
Personally, I feel completely comfortable discussing a bevy of nutritional topics with my athletes and clients. I get questions all time relating to which supplements are worth taking, which are a waste of money, and which – if any (and there are a few) – are dangerous.
Too, I routinely answer many other inquiries ranging from what’s a good meal to eat after training and discussing with a young athlete the importance of getting enough protein in their diet to more geektastic topics like Intermittent Fasting and gluconeogenesis.
Thankfully I have a close network of diet and nutrition professionals whom I refer out to on a consistent basis. I KNOW my scope of practice (I’m certainly not writing diets or diagnosing anything), and I would hope most personal trainers and coaches are doing the same.
That said, this is an interesting topic for sure. For all the verbal fireworks that are abound, I think the answer does lie somewhere in the middle.
Okay, sorry for the slight rant. Back to Pat!
Do consumers need to protect themselves from quack nutritionists? Or should the government tell us who to listen to?
Certainly we don’t have to be reminded of the, “credible sources” that back in the day provided us with the recommendations for 6-11 servings of grains a day…
It would be a sad day when a doctor legally could not give nutrition advice but moments before entering the office, patients read magazines in the waiting room showing them how to “Lose Thirty LBS in 10 Days.”
What does everyone think? Should personal trainers be allowed to give nutrition advice? Is the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, “protecting the people,” or overstepping boundaries in order to stifle competition?
“Pat Koch is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and Sports Nutritionist (CISSN) through the International Society of Sports Nutrition. After studying at Ithaca College, Pat obtained his undergraduate degree in Health Sciences with a concentration in Nutrition. Since then he has been working as a trainer specializing in Sports Performance. Currently Pat interns at Cressey Performance, and has recently started competing in powerlifting.”
1. I’m back! Did you miss me? Even just a little bit?
All I have to say is that the past five days have been a whirlwind. Going back home to upstate New York for Thanksgiving was amazing, of course. Although we made the mistake of leaving Boston at around 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon (along with everyone else apparently) and it took us roughly 2.5 hours just to drive 50 miles to the Turnpike I-84 split. It was awful – and I was thiiiiiiiiis close to sniper rolling out of the driver seat and throwing myself in front of a Mack truck.
A ride that normally takes five and a half hours, took eight. Nevertheless we eventually made it home, and it was great to see family, friends, and to crush my mom’s apple pie.
To top everything off, Lisa shot her first gun, like ever. Both my brother and step father were gearing up to go hunting the next day and wanted to head out to the back yard to shoot their guns. Lisa was on that like white on rice!
2. It was a quick turnaround, however, because Lisa and I had to head back to Beantown for my good friend’s (and business partner) Pete Dupuis’ wedding, which was epic in its own right.
Leaving sooner than we wanted had its advantages though, since traffic wasn’t nearly as much of a clusterf*** on the way back. We made it in record time and both Friday (rehearsal dinner) and Saturday (the big event) were amazing.
Hell, I even wore a suit and tie for the occasion and might have given 007 a run for his money.
The pic below is the original four CP staff (Pete Dupuis, Eric Cressey, myself, and Brian St. Pierre).
3. I know the last thing people want to read given I haven’t posted anything in a while are details about my personal life (even though it does parallel Batman at times), but here’s the last nugget….promise.
As is customary each year during Thanksgiving, after my seventh serving of turkey and stuffing, and after my insulin induced power nap, I like to cap everything off by heading to the movie theater to catch a flick. This year’s pick was Life of Pi, director Ang Lee’s latest masterpiece based off the novel of the same name by Yann Martel.
Having read pieces of the book myself, I honestly had no idea how this was going to be made into a movie. From what I’ve read many directors have tried in the past to adapt it onto screen, but failed due to the complicated plot and storyline.
However, given Lee’s history of taking “unconventional” material (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain, to name a few) and knocking it out of the ballpark, I wasn’t too worried. What’s more, Lee has a knack for making visually stunning movies, and Life of Pi certainly didn’t disappoint in this regard.
I’d rank it right up there as one of the more beautiful movies I have ever watched – right on par with films like Amelie – and the CGI/3D was spectacular. I consider Avatar the litmus test for any film made in 3D, and there really has been no other film that has impressed me in recent years – other than Hugo – where I felt it was justified to spend the extra dough or where the 3D enhanced the experience.
Life of Pi was STUNNING!!!!!!!!
And yes, I got a little teary eyed. Take that for what it’s worth.
4. Okay, I lied – I have another Thanksgiving related point to make. But it’s something that you’ll be able to use.
Brussels Sprouts
If I’m being honest, up until this past year, I had a very poor relationship with brussels sprouts. Back in the day, when I was a kid, my mom used to serve them to us for dinner on occasion, and it was just horrendous (sorry mom).
She used to buy the frozen variety and then just pop them in the microwave and serve them in a bowl. If I had to liken it to anything, it was like eating soggy balls of fart.
Yes, it was that bad.
Anyways, my girlfriend is literally obsessed with brussels spouts – and for good reason. They’re freakin ROCKSTARS in the nutritional world.
Funnily enough, brussels sprouts aren’t really sprouts at all, but members of the cabbage family, which makes since that’s exactly what they look like.
I’m not going to attempt to delve into all the nutritional reasons why you should include them in your diet because other peeps have done an awesome job in explaining it already.
Brussels sprouts contain a chemical called sinigrin which suppresses the development of precancerous cells. The breakdown of sinigrin (allyl isothiocyanate) is the active ingredient in brussel sprouts and is responsible for the characteristic smell of sprouts. It works by persuading the precancerous cells to commit suicide – a natural process called apoptosis – and so powerful is the effect that it’s entirely possible that the occasional meal of brussels sprouts could help reduce the incidence of colon cancer.
Including more sulfur-rich vegetables is actually kind of a big deal, and something that Mark Sisson has written on several times, including THIS gem.
But how to prepare and cook them is the key. As I noted above, Lisa is obsessed with brussels sprouts, and I was never a fan until I tried them the way that she makes them.
I’ve been converted for a while, but it took a little convincing for my family to try them. Here’s how she prepared them last week to rave reviews.
First off, do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy the frozen variety. They taste like frozen balls of cyanide, and you’re not doing yourself any favors by going that route.
Instead, try to buy them fresh, or better yet, still in the stalk!
We’re lucky in that the Trader Joe’s right down the street sells them on the stalk, and it makes all the difference in the world.
Regardless, whether you pluck them of the stalk, or pick them out of a bag – DO NOT buy them frozen.
– Wash them off, and then cut each sprout into halves.
– Throw into a bowl and then add seasoning. We like to keep it simple: salt, pepper, and oregano work wonders. Add olive oil (extra virgin preferably) and if you’d like some apple cider vinegar to give it a little kick.
– OPTIONAL (but it really isn’t): on the side, cook up like 3-4 strips of bacon. Once the bacon is done, crumble them up and add into the bowl. Then, spread the bacon fat onto the sheet where you’ll place the brussel sprouts.
– Place each sprout face down onto a shallow cooking sheet. Keep your paws off the bacon bits!!!! For now, anyways.
– Cook in oven at like 325-350 degrees for 20 minutes. Once the 20 minutes are up, stir the sprouts around, and cook for another 20.
– Chow down. Thank me later.
5. Driving home the other day, we happened to tune into some random classic rock station and Pearl Jam came on. Since when in the hell is Pearl Jam considered classic rock??????????
6. I received an interesting email last week from a college student detailing to me a conversation she was eavesdropping on between one of the head strength coaches at her school and a handful of his practicum students. To quote her:
They were talking about how he teaches the squat to his athletes. The coach said that because so many athletes are stronger in their posterior chain compared to their quads, he strongly discourages his athletes from “sitting back” or having any type of hip hinge movement while squatting to minimize glute and hamstring involvement and target the quads.
He said the box squat or squat to a box was a pointless exercise due to the hip hinge requirement and the nearly vertical tibia – he wants his athletes squatting by dropping straight down, staying relatively upright and getting the knees a fair ways beyond the toes. He emphasizes developing quad strength over posterior chain strength in all of his young athletes.
Also, he said that prevention of ACL injuries would be enhanced if there was less emphasis on hip hinging and more emphasis on quad strengthening, especially in female athletes.
I don’t think I have ever heard anything so asinine in my life – and this is including EVERYTHING that Tracy Anderson has ever said.
The last point – prevention of ACL injuries would be enhanced if there was less emphasis on hip hinging and more emphasis on quad strengthening , especially in female athletes – is what really dumbfounded me, and pretty much made me want to throw my face onto an ax.
If you look at the mechanism(s) which cause the bulk of (non-contact) ACL injuries in female athletes – pronation, adduction, and hip internal rotation – one would clearly see (at least if they know anything about functional anatomy) that training the posterior chain would be kind of important.
Sure, most anatomy texts will note that the glutes do nothing but abduct and extend the hip. Clap clap clap. You just passed anatomy 101.
Digging a little deeper, and what most anatomy texts don’t account for, is the eccentric component, or what the glutes PREVENT……
……Pronation, adduction, and hip internal rotation. Otherwise known as “the big 3” when it comes to ACL injuries.
How a coach would say that placing more emphasis on the quads is the best way to go about preventing these injuries from happening in the first place is beyond my comprehension. I guess every coach who’s ever lived is wrong, and that this guy has it all figured out.
Suffice it to say, I really feel sorry for his athletes.
I sent along the email I received to my good friend, Bret Contreras, to see what his reaction would be and he responded with:
“What the holy hell!?!?!?! That’s one of the most illogical things I’ve heard a strength coach say. Just wow.”
And then I’m pretty sure this is what happened:
Needless to say, Bret wasn’t too happy.
Apparently Bret is working on a detailed response – complete with charts, graphs, and I hope a massive middle finger – that I’m going to use as a guest post in a week or so. Stay tuned……..it’s going to be awesome.
And that’s it for today. I hope everyone else reading had a nice relaxing holiday. Be sure to check back during the week as I’ll be back to my normal blogging badassness.
This past summer my girlfriend, all of you know her as She-Ra Lisa, went to Europe for a month as a present to herself for surviving 6+ years of school, defending her dissertation, and finally becoming a doctor!
In the middle of June, she headed to Germany to meet up with her good friend, Leslie, who’s husband is stationed there at the Ramstein Air Base. This worked out perfectly because Lisa didn’t have to spend an inordinate amount of money on lounging, and, if need be, I could always fly to the base to borrow a Tomahawk H-2 helicopter if any dude tried any funny business with Lisa.
It was a win-win, really.
Anyways, as it worked out, the game plan was to head to Italy for a week – Tuscany, of course – to peruse wine country, and indulge themselves in everything Italia!
Serving as a second course, they returned back to Germany, and with Leslie’s young daughter in toe, they travelled all across the country visiting places like Dresden, Prague, Strausberg, Frankfurt, and because Ramstein is really close to the border of both France and Luxembourg, they also had the opportunity to experience those countries as well.
In a nutshell, it was the trip of a lifetime and Lisa enjoyed every second of it.
Side Note: and while I missed her tremendously, I enjoyed every second of not putting the toilet seat down, and being able to toss my socks wherever the hell I wanted.
Living room floor? Hell yes!
Kitchen sink? Whatever!
Freezer? Sure, what not?
As most can surmise, spending a month in Europe means enjoying the hell out of food – and that’s exactly what happened. It was what it was, and when Lisa came back to the States she knew it was time to hunker down and get back to her regular eating habits again.
Easy peazy.
Now, it’s not like she let herself go or that she had a lot of weight to lose – far from it! Even though she was away for so long (and enjoyed herself), it’s not like Europe is some barren wasteland devoid of gym equipment and green vegetables. Lisa still went out of her way to exercise and make daily trips to the local grocery store to purchase healthy food.
What’s more, it’s not like she came home and we had the conversation that every guy dreads. You know the one where your significant other walks into the room, the theme music from Jaws starts playing, and in slow motion she says those four words that strike the fear of god into us:
Do I look fat?
Um, uh, um, uh, uhhhhhhhh.
Haha. Thankfully it never came to that!
Well, one month went by and her weight would go down, then come back up again, go up a smidge, then stay, then drop a smudge, and the same pattern wound ensue for the next few months.
It was frustrating on her part – because it’s not like much changed. She started a new job, her stress levels were infinitely lower compared to when she was trudging through school and internships, she was still going to the gym three times per week to strength train, and she was still teaching her spin classes every week.
Too, her and I would do our normal weekend ritual of hitting up Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s loading up on veggies, fruit, grass fed beef, eggs, and the usual stuff we stuff our fridge and cupboards with. And, to top things off, Lisa would do the bulk of the weekly meal prep on Sunday morning. BAM!
All the containers on the bottom are the meals I take with me to the facility each day of the week. It’s awesome.
So, as you can see, it’s not like too many things were different. Except for one thing which Lisa nipped in the bud just last week.
You see, at her work (and everywhere else in the world) people like to bring in baked goods or fill the “community” candy dish with things like M&Ms or Skittles, or whatever other yummy candies you can think of.
And, like any other human being out there, Lisa can’t help but “dip in” on occasion and grab a few pieces here and there. No big deal, right? Everyone does it, and besides, a piece of candy here and there isn’t the end of the world and certainly won’t make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.
Just out of curiosity, Lisa decided to nip things in the bud and actually stick to her normal eating schedule for a week.
Low and behold, she lost seven lbs in one week!!!!!!! And the only thing that changed was that she stayed true to her word and didn’t deviate from her plan. At all.
Giving full disclosure: Lisa also taught a double spin class on Saturday and fasted through Sunday which I’m sure played some role, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary or anything she hasn’t done in the past.
She stuck to ger guns, and actually followed through with everything she laid out. In her own words, “I told myself to NOT TOUCH anything that’s not included in my meal plan.”
In short, she was compliant!
And this can apply to anything – whether you’re trying to clean up your diet, lose a few lbs, gain a few lbs, improve your deadlift, save up for vacation, or I don’t know, do your part in helping to bring awareness to the rights of gay seals…….
…..being compliant is kind of a big deal, and will almost assuredly lead to success.
For most, it’s not a educational thing, as my astute colleague, Mark Young, has stated on numerous occasions.
Most people know that daily exercise is important and that M&Ms aren’t the best choice of snack in the middle of the day. It’s not necessarily about having will-power or anything like that. It’s merely about recognizing that certain things in your life may need to be “adjusted” – whether it’s social, emotional, or even physical – and setting up a plan to help you become successful.
Compliance doesn’t even have to be an all-or-nothing affair, either. Almost always, it’s just about starting small, like getting up five minutes earlier if your goal is make sure to eat breakfast in the morning, and going from there.
Once you’ve established that you can do that, then you can add more to your plate like taking your fish oil or making some scrambled eggs with veggies.
It’s isn’t necessarily about conquering 18 tasks at once and trying to do a complete 180. Most people who do that fail…..like, all the time.
But in the end, you HAVE to be compliant to some extent, and to hold yourself accountable. Without that, you’re just setting yourself up to fail.
I heart egg debates. For those new to this blog, I think it’s nonsensical that there are people out there (most of which are well-educated and should know better) who believe that whole eggs are worse for you than cigarettes.
Unfortunately, due to any number of reasons – big food, stupid people on the internet, Dr. Oz – people are very confused on what to eat and what’s actually “good” for you.
Eggs are right up there on the “Defcon 1, DO NOT EAT AT ANY COST OR A BABY UNICORN WILL DIE” list.
One week they’re a nutritional powerhouse, and the next, Time Magazine does an expose that says that not only will eggs clog up your arteries faster than you can say “five-egg omelet,” but they’ll kick you the balls when you’re not looking, too.
Jerks!
Suffice it to say, I fall in the camp that believes eggs (and more specifically, egg yolks) are a nutritional powerhouse, and that they’ve been demonized long enough!
Today’s guest post comes to you from current CP intern, and fellow egg-lover, Pat Koch.
Enjoy!
Eggs will kill you…One egg too many and you are heading down a slippery slope towards heart disease. At least that’s what current nutrition advice would have you believe.
Yet as more and more research comes out, the nutrition community may be starting to change its tune towards the once feared egg yolk. Eggs are actually healthy, and also the perfect fat loss food.
“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.”
Practically speaking eggs are a cost effective way to get a ton of nutrition. The fatty yoke is home to the majority of nutrients in eggs. In one study, daily nutrient intake of people who ate eggs was significantly greater than people who abstained. Egg eaters had higher levels of vitamins A,E,C, folate, saturated and polyunsaturated fats, and B12.
Also the same study counterintuitively pointed out that people who ate four or more eggs a week had LOWER serum concentrations of cholesterol than those who ate one or less egg.1
Along with the other nutrients, eggs are potent in lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that have been theorized to protect against cholesterol becoming oxidized.2 The products of cholesterol oxidation have been well established as a key component in Cardiovascular disease, neurologic disease, and certain cancers.3,4
Hmm…so once again we find a natural food that is conveniently packaged in a certain way that minimizes any harmful aspects of said food, I’m beginning to notice a trend here.
A little known gem about cholesterol is that there are two forms: Dietary cholesterol which is in our food, and serum cholesterol which is in our blood.
When we go to the doctors they are particularly worried about the cholesterol in our blood. Yet as it turns out dietary cholesterol does not play as large a role in elevating our serum cholesterol as previously believed.
As many as 75 % of people experience a small increase or no increase in blood cholesterol levels when exposed to high amounts of dietary cholesterol, this type of person is known as a normal responder or hypo-responder and is the majority of the population!
The other 25% of people would be known as hyper-responders. It is important to note that after hyper responders consume cholesterol there is a rise in BOTH LDL and HDL cholesterol.2
Even with a transient rise in Cholesterol…Total Cholesterol (HDL +LDL) is not the end all be all when it comes to predicting heart disease its actually quite a poor predictor, only right about 50% of the time.9
So if total cholesterol doesn’t mean much what is a good predictor of heart disease?
This is where it gets tricky. The cholesterol classifications of “good” and “bad” are incomplete. In fact within the “Bad” LDL cholesterol, there are several subtypes of particles that vary with regards to their degree of damage to the arteries.
Small, dense LDL-C and VLDL are two subtypes that have been established as highly arthrogenic as they are easily susceptible to oxidation.5
Funny enough the quickest way to jack up your levels of SD-LDL and VLDL is to eat a diet high in refined carbohydrates and make yourself insulin resistant. 5 Counter intuitively the once feared saturated fat in eggs will increase HDL and LDL cholesterol, but the raise in LDL is mostly a large fluffy sub-type that is mostly benign and not considered arthrogenic. 2, 5
Yes you read that correctly…saturated fat and dietary cholesterol aren’t necessarily bad for you, depending on the context of your whole diet and that there are no pre-existing medical conditions, of course.
Further research is revealing that saturated may not be associated with heart disease.6,7,8
Note from TG: Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
After going full circle, lets come back to eggs and how even the yolk isn’t only a health food, but theoretically can be a great weight loss food.
Try eating a three egg omelet with some cheese, and a side of fruit vs. a half a bagel with light cream cheese, and a fat free yogurt. Who will be resisting that lunch time binge better? Who will have more energy? The answer is clear. Eat some real food, stay fuller longer, and therefor lose more fat.
It is time to break away from nutritionism: eat a yolk or two. The way it’s naturally packaged has got you covered. Minimally processed foods are superior to processed garbage. And as always, over time, if you consistently strive to eat and drink from a majority of less processed foods, in reasonable portions, everything will take care of itself.
Author’s Bio
“Pat Koch is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and Sports Nutritionist (CISSN) through the International Society of Sports Nutrition. After studying at Ithaca College, Pat obtained his undergraduate degree in Health Sciences with a concentration in Nutrition. Since then he has been working as a trainer specializing in Sports Performance. Currently Pat interns at Cressey Performance, and has recently started competing in powerlifting.”
Note from TG: I know some reading may want to view the citations Pat gave in this post, so I’ll see if he can provide them for me sometime later today, and I’ll try my best to get those up as soon as possible.
UPDATE: If you click on each number (of the citation) the hyperlink will take you to the study. In other news – I’m an idiot.
A few days ago I responded to an email where I was asked my general thoughts on supplements: do I find them useful?, which ones do I take?, which ones do I feel are useless?, so on and so forth.
Now, I’ve written similar posts in the past – HERE and HERE – but since I ended up writing more than I thought I would, I figured I might as well use my response as its own impromptu blog post.
It’s my blog, I can do what I want!
Compared to many, I take more of a simpleton approach to supplementation. For me, and I’m completely stealing a line from Alwyn Cosgrove here – “supplements are progress enhancers, not progress starters.”
More often that not, if someone’s not making any progress – whether it’s strength related, fat loss, or performance based – you can usually chalk it up to sub-optimal training, nutrition, or both.
I’m sorry, maybe it’s the cynic in me (although I like to think it’s common sense) but taking some super-duper-crystallized-dragon’s breath-protein-synthesizer-mass-bulking formula supplement which promises things like packing on 30 lbs of muscle AND increasing your bench press by 100 lbs (while instantaneously turning your abs into a bulletproof vest) – all by next Wednesday – is utter nonsense.
I had an athlete of mine ask me the other day what supplements he should be taking to add a little weight.
I said, “calories.”
After a few awkward seconds of starring at one another, he realized I was serious and then we had an awesome ten minute conversation on how he could go about including more quality calories into his daily repertoire.
This isn’t to say that I don’t think supplementation isn’t efficacious or worthwhile for some – it absolutely is!
I just feel that far too often people resort to some mythical “magic pill” that’s going to get them results, when in fact, it’s nothing more than putting in their time under the bar (and doing so consistently) and actually giving a shit what they put into their bodies in the form of REAL, natural, minimally processed, nutrient-dense food.
Bringing this full circle, I feel supplementation is highly overemphasized by some. But I can also appreciate that certain supplements are invaluable in what they have to offer as far as general health benefits are concerned.
Moreover, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge those supplements that undoubtedly help people take their training to the next level.
Which Leads Us To This
Pigging back off my comments above, and despite the contrary, I actually do personally take (and advocate that others do as well) some supplements.
For their health benefits alone, I take: fish oil (heart health, reducing inflammation, and a encyclopedia’s worth of other benefits), Vitamin D (deficiency in this vitamin is almost universal), a powdered Green’s product (I think of it as mineral/vitamin safety net), and dandelion root and ginger (both for their role in reducing inflammation and promoting liver health).
On the performance side of things, I think anyone who lifts weights on a consistent basis (and not the pink dumbbells) should include two supplements: protein powder and creatine.
Granted protein powder may be a moot concept assuming someone ingests ample protein in their diet (grass fed beef, chicken, eggs, fish, yogurt, cottage cheese, Bambi’s mom, etc), but you can’t argue with the research which routinely demonstrates that downing a protein drink shortly after – or even better, before – training helps to promote protein synthesis and recovery.
Likewise, creatine is the most researched supplement in the history of the world, and I’m always amused at those people (sadly, even physicians at times) who claim that taking it is going to make your kidneys explode or give you a third nipple.
While there’s a small portion of the population who are “non-responders,” I think it behooves anyone who weight trains not to consider including creatine into their daily mix, as it’s been routinely shown to increase strength, performance, and recovery.
And sometimes increases your chances of seeing someone of the opposite sex naked. It’s a win-win.
Supplement Hijinks
Embarrassingly, I don’t keep up with the latest supplement superstars. Every now and then I’ll notice one of our athletes walk in with some flashy container with the typical flashy words on the label and roll my eyes.
I’m sure if I walked into my local GNC store I’d find a plethora of related supplements that will just as equally make a small piece of my soul die.
I especially love those souped up creatine formulas that promise all the bells and whistles and end up costing what mounts to a student loan payment for a month’s supply.
Fun fact: just stick with plain ol’ creatine monohydrate which costs like $15 for a three month supply. It’s just as “effective” as the more expensive brands, and you’ll save yourself a bit of money in the long run.
Having said all that, there have been several times where I used myself as a
guinea pig and tried a few supplements – some of which I KNOW have some solid research behind them – that I never really got much out of.
The one that comes to mind the most is beta alanine.
I realize there are a lot of people who swear by it – particularly endurance based athletes or even the CrossFit diehards out there (and like said, there is plenty of research out there that backs it up) – but for me it was sorta like “eh.”
At the end of the day, I try to stick with the mantra that supplements are exactly that……supplements.
Far too often I feel many people are under the assumption that the missing link as to why they’re not getting results is because of some hidden supplement they’re not taking. The truth of the matter is: 1) they don’t train nearly as “hard” as they think they do and 2) their diet doesn’t reflect their goals. Think of that last point the next time you chug an energy drink (which typically contains a boat load of sugar) just to go for a walk.
Today I’m throwing everyone a bit of a curve ball, and doing something a little differently compared to what I normally do. To be as succinct as possible, I had an interesting email exchange with one of my female clients last weekend about the difference between weight loss and fat loss, and I thought I’d share the dialogue both she and I exchanged here as I felt it would make for some decent blog fodder.
I think this is a topic that leaves a lot of trainees flummoxed, and it’s something that unfortunately, despite our best efforts, is a message that gets lost in translation – especially within the mainstream media.
If nothing else, I thought my insight would serve two purposes:
1. I think it’s a topic that a lot trainees (especially women) need to hear more often, and is something I feel pretty strongly about.
2. Hopefully help turn the tides and help people realize that it’s not necessarily an “education thing” (we all know that pounding beer isn’t the answer), but rather a BEHAVIORAL issue that we need to address.
With that said, below is the email exchange between her and I, which has been edited slightly so that it would “flow” more easily in blog format.
On that note: Bagels suck!
Female Client: Hey Tony, it’s been several weeks since I’ve seen you and I’m excited to get back to CP to train! Having said that, while I still have some things I’d like to work on in terms of some aches and pains, and I definitely want to get my strength back, I would like to work on weight loss, do you have any good suggestions for me in that area?
Me: Hey Kate Beckinsale (name has been changed to protect the identity of the actual client)! Great to hear from you. With the weight loss issue, I think it’s important to understand that there’s a huge difference between weight loss and fat loss.
Far too often – at least in my experience, and this may or may not pertain to you – women get overly caught up on what the scale tells them. Weight loss can be completely subjective, and the truth of matter is the scale really doesn’t tell you anything.
If I told you to not eat for eight hours, you would weigh less.
If I told you to not drink water for a day, you would weigh less.
If I told you to cut off you right arm, you would weigh less.
In all three scenarios you weigh less, but does that really mean you made any significant progress?
Answer: Um, no.
Sure, you weigh less……….but all you’ve really accomplished is to make yourself a smaller, weaker, armless, version of your original self. There’s no shape, form, or contour to the body. What’s more: now you have to do everything with your left arm. And that just sucks!
How most women (and I’ll throw a lot of men under the bus here, too) approach weight loss is wrong. Many would bode well by changing their mindset altogether and start thinking in terms of FAT loss.
More to the point: to MAINTAIN as much muscle as possible (even better, build some muscle) and focus on fat loss.
One lb of muscle weighs the EXACT same as one lb of fat – well, DUH!! – the difference, however, is that muscle is more dense than fat and takes up less space.
Stealing a little thunder from my good friend, Nia Shanks, here’s a great example of why it’s often a VERY good idea for women to not only toss their scale into the trash, but to not be skeered of adding a little muscle to their frame as well:
Muscle is more dense than fat, and that’s why a woman who’s been training hard and, despite losing body fat, hasn’t seen the number on the scale change much, if any, because she’s built muscle, too.
This is one reason why building muscle is a very good thing for women.
Here’s a picture to show that you can look better even if you gain weight. This is one of Jason Ferruggia’s clients.
As you can see, she gained 9 pounds but looks leaner, more “toned”, and more athletic because she lost body fat and built muscle. Good thing she didn’t let the number on the scale upset her!
I could write an entire book on what type of training one should follow in order to elicit similar results (Note to Self: write a book), but I don’t really want to get into that here with you.
This might come across as beating a dead horse, but when it DOES come to fat loss, almost always, nutrition is going to be the biggest determining factor.
So, with that said, we need to come up with some “system” that starts to change your behaviors. I’m sure we can sit here and figure out a multitude of things that you need to change from a nutrition standpoint (eating more veggies, stressing protein with every meal, increasing healthy fats, food prep, etc), but that’s not going to help you.
Instead, and this is a concept I “stole” from another buddy of mine, Mark Young, who has a lot of experience in these sort of things, we need to figure out a way to fix/change your behaviors one at a time. As an example, on a scale of 1-10 (one being “I’d rather swallow a live grenade and ten being “I could do that in my sleep”) how confident do you feel about omitting fast food or weekend brunches out of the mix?
If it’s not at least an eight or above, then we need to take a step back and figure out a better approach. It’s only when we can figure out a way for you to be successful and to carry that over into a CONSISTENT behavior that things are going to really make a difference.
If you don’t feel overly confident about eating protein with every meal (using another example), then what about two meals? Once you start making two meals a day a habit, then we can push the envelop to four meals per day, so on and so forth until it becomes standard procedure.
You go girl!
But remember: YOU CANNOT OUT TRAIN A POOR DIET
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In case you were wondering, I used capital letters so that you’d understand that this is kind of an important point
You. Can. Not. Out-Train. A. Poor. Diet.
It’s just not going to happen. I can write you the most kick-ass fat loss plan in the history of the human race – training 4-5 times per week, throwing in any combination of circuits, finishers, or anything else we can think of that will make you hate life – but it’s not going to matter if we don’t tackle the nutritional side of things.
Using an analogy I’ve used in the past, if we KNOW that fat loss is (more or less) determined by calories in vs. calories out, which seems to be a more efficient use of our time:
A) Spending upwards of 45-60 minutes (maybe) burning off 350-500 calories (depending on the mode, intensity, duration) exercising ?
Note to Everyone Reading: trust me when I say this, despite the machine telling you otherwise, you DID NOT just burn 700 kcals walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes at a 5% grade. Those machines are WOEFULLY off and not remotely accurate.
Seriously, think about it. Unless you’re walking with Volkswagon on your back, you’re not burning that many calories.
OR
B) Electing not to eat that bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios before bed?
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
If we were to take the simple equation that a lb of fat equals 350o of excess kcals (which I know can be argued, but bare with me, I’m trying to make a point), we can surmise that subtracting 500 kcals per day (whether through diet or exercise, or both!) leads to a lb of fat loss per week. Give or take.
Again, from a time efficiency standpoint, and with FAT LOSS as the goal, nutrition is going to trump exercise in terms of better use of our time no matter what.
Here’s the rub though: as I noted above, it’s not an education thing. You know that it’s not the best idea to crush Doritos (or whatever) or to forego preparing a home cooked meal in lieu of hitting up McDonald’s on your way home from work.
You know that eating a boatload of highly processed carbohydrates on a day where you’re less active probably isn’t the best idea. You know ALL of this. So what’s holding you back?
It’s all about behavior change.
We need to have some sort of default “path” to help you succeed. So, instead of McDonald’s, maybe you hit up Chipolte Grill and order a meat salad with a heaping pile of guacamole on top?
While still not the best option, it’s a heckuva lot more conducive to your goals, and a step in the right direction.
The same can be said for trying to include more veggies, healthy fats etc. We need to find a “spot” where you feel confident you can be successful. Going back to the scale suggested earlier: how confident are you that you can include five servings of vegetables per day? Is it an 8 or above?
If not, then what about three servings? Two?
Hopefully this all makes some sense, and more importantly sheds some light on why I feel weight loss is not where your head should be at at the moment.
Still think cutting off that arm is a good idea?…..;o)
