Author: Sean Hedderich

Crash Course in Crash Dieting

Posted on by Sean Hedderich

First, do some math. How many weeks until “the event?” If that number is greater than or equal to the number of pounds you’d like to lose, a crash diet may be overkill. An easier, slower approach averaging a pound per week is probably more sustainable.

Still here? You really wanna do this? Ok. Read The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook: A Scientific Approach to Crash Dietingby Lyle McDonald. In the meantime, here’s my opinion of how to do it.

Crash Without Crashing

The worst way to diet is to eat very little food without a plan. If your body suspects there’s a famine, it will defend fat tissue and cannibalize muscle. Muscle is where you burn much of your energy, and simply having more of it increases energy expenditure, partly because there’s just more of you to move around. During starvation, the body seeks to lower energy expenditure to save your life. It considers muscle expensive and expendable. You’ll see initial weight loss because losing muscle rapidly moves the scale. But this lowers metabolic rate, which slows fat loss.
Dropping quickly from your normal weight triggers homeostatic defense mechanisms. Appetite surges and chronic fatigue sets in. At night you may dream of food. Sex drive may plummet. Menstruation may stop. (If you’re currently dieting hard and have noticed symptoms like these, see a doctor, and have a burger.) The worst part is that once you start eating again, which you will, you’ll regain fat with blinding speed because your metabolic rate is still depressed.

 

Eat Muscle to Maintain Muscle

Prioritizing protein can mitigate these effects. Muscle is protein, so eating it will help prevent a metabolic slowdown. This also curbs appetite because protein is the most satiating macronutrient. Digesting it is costly, netting only about 70% of ingested calories. In the absence of fat and carbohydrate, protein provides energy. But it’s less efficient, requiring an expensive conversion to glucose that further contributes to the caloric deficit. If the only fuel we required was fat, we would just do an actual fast, which would probably be easier than dieting. But we need a bit of glucose every day, mainly for the brain. In a fasted state, the body would generate it by breaking down muscle, which we can’t permit due to deleterious effects on metabolic rate. But you’ll be throwing yourself a bone with high amounts of protein, so your body will leave you alone.

Prepare for Blandness


In other words, you’ll eat protein. What you won’t eat is fat or carbohydrate, at least not in quantities resembling anything like your normal intake. This diet throws everything overboard that isn’t pulling it’s weight. The remaining nutritional bases to cover are vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and fiber. We’ll get the micro-nutrients from veggies and maybe one egg yolk and supplements. Fish oil is needed for the omega-3’s if you can’t find salmon.


Now the good news. Even with the protein, subsisting on such little energy won’t work forever. The body would get wise and drop your metabolic rate. This is why feasts and diet breaks are required. For the carb lovers out there, these are joyous occasions. Bring on the pancakes.

Welcome to the Protein Sparing Modified Fast (PSMF), the dirty secret of models, bodybuilders, actors, and athletes. Oh, and explorers. They called it rabbit starvation and almost died from it, but didn’t they just look fabulous!

The PSMF*
 

    1. Protein.
      Set your daily intake between .75 and 1.5 grams per pound of body weight.       A person who weighs 150 lbs. would eat between 112 and 225 grams of protein per day.
      Eat on the low end if you are obese. If you’re already lean but “cutting up” eat on the high end. If you’re somewhere in the middle, start with around 1.15 grams per pound. If you’re very active, especially if you’re weight training, add protein, possibly up to 1.75 grams.
      So a 150 pound individual who is moderately overweight and doing some weight training will multiply 150 x 1.25 which equals 187 grams. That’s 750 calories/day.       If over time you find it’s just too filling or you’re ravenously hungry, adjust the numbers.

      If you’re totally confused, just start with 1 gram of protein per pound.

      This will provide nearly all of your calories, (it’s a modified fast remember?). Get ready for lean meats, protein powder, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, and egg whites (with maybe one yolk per day).

    2. Veggies.
      Consume copious non-starchy vegetables. They provide very few calories but offer fullness and micro-nutrients. The fiber keeps you regular in the absence of grains, and feeds gut bacteria. Raw, roasted, or steamed is best. Vary your veggies, but a      void starches like carrots and peas. No fruit, sorry.
    3. Bulk.
      Every day or two, have a huge meal. Include the usual lean protein but add mountains of raw, fibrous vegetables. Like all of your meals, this will provide protein. More importantly, it will stretch the stomach, a major appetite suppressor. One reason we get hungry is that the brain hasn’t heard from the gut hormones in a while. You can trick it with a high volume, low calorie meal. Think broccoli, artichokes, leafy greens, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, cauliflower, cucumbers, celery, peppers, etc. Get to chopping or find a well-stocked salad bar.
    4. Fat.
      If you’re not eating fatty fish almost daily, like salmon or sardines, take a fish oil supplement for the omega-3’s. Consider having one egg yolk daily or every other day. The only other dietary fat will be the small amount consumed with your lean protein sources. Sorry, no olive oil.

 

    1. Carbs.
      This is a very low carb diet. Add none beyond the few you get from the veggies. If you lift weights, have a smidge before the workout (about 5 grams) and more after (up to 25 grams). If you don’t train hard, don’t add them.       If you’re accustomed to high carbs, these first few days will not be pleasant. If you suffer side effects like light-headedness, dizziness, flu symptoms, or depression, this diet may be too extreme for you at this time. You may have a metabolic disorder, like insulin resistance, glucagon impairment, or difficulty oxidizing body fat. On the other hand, this diet might be just the kick in the pants your fat cells need, but you should still see a doc if you’re experiencing the preceding symptoms.
    2. Say No to the Dress.
      Only zero or extra low calorie dressings and sauces are allowed. Use spices, salt, hot sauce, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, herbs, etc. Don’t think you’re fooling anyone with honey mustard. Read labels. If this diet does nothing else, it will illustrate the caloric density of dressing.
    3. Vitamins & Minerals.
      The veggies will cover a lot, and that one egg yolk per day will help. Don’t shy away from organ meats as your protein source. They can be a bit fattier, but they’re loaded with good stuff.
      I’m not big on supplements, but on this diet you might need them. Consider magnesium, potassium, calcium, vitamin D, and perhaps a multi-v. The time to take your vitamins is with fat, so pop them with the yolk or fatty fish.
      A       good resource for supplement info is examine.com.
    4. Feasts.
      Your metabolism will slow down too much if you stay on super low calories and carbs for too long. Re-feeding signals to the brain that you aren’t starving.
      You have two options. Either have two feast meals per week, or take one full day off. Carb up, but watch the fat. Now’s the time to have dessert, grains, fruits, and any carbs you’ve been avoiding and craving. Just don’t eat the house.
      If you train hard, a good time for a feast is post workout.
      Warning: the scale may briefly bounce the next morning. If you’re already quite lean, you may even look slightly puffy. Fear not. None of it is fat.
    5. Breaks.
      Take a full week off every 3 to 6 weeks, depending on how you’re holding up. If you think you’ll go hog wild, count calories. Multiply your weight by 15 and use that as a rough estimate of daily caloric intake. If you don’t feel satisfied after a couple of days, add food. If it feels like too much, subtract, but don’t let yourself get hungry. The point is to eat above your needs. Keep carbs over 100 grams per day. Fat intake should be low.
    6. Moderation.
      If you have a cookie every now and then, even when it’s not a planned “cheat,” it’s absolutely okay! Diets are often destroyed when people restrict so fiercely that a small treat leads to a binge or sense of failure.
      “Well I blew it,” they figure. “I may as well quit.”
      Wrong! One hundred calories is seriously no big deal. If it does become a binge, count it as your feast and move on.
    7. Temptation.
      However, for the duration of this diet, I do suggest cookies not be kept on premises. People have varying degrees of willpower and responses to food cues. Unless you boast the fortitude of a Buddhist monk, filling the freezer with ice cream during severe caloric restriction is unnecessarily tantalizing.
    8. Planning.
      The day you break this diet will probably be the moment you get home from work hungry and exhausted and discover there’s no lean protein. Don’t make this diet harder than it already is by choosing meals while stressed.
      Take a day to chop or buy pre-cut veggies, like bell pepper slices, for meals and snacks. Celery is great for the crunch factor. Keep hard boiled eggs and cooked meat handy, like roasts and chicken breast. Cook a dozen ground beef patties for quick reheating, or have lean ground beef thawed in the fridge, ready to saute with veggies. With no dressings to embellish these foods, you’re not likely to overeat them. Canned sardines, Greek yogurt, and cheese sticks are great “off-the-shelf” choices. Learn to love whey shakes. Unsweetened beef jerky isn’t the healthiest long term choice, but it’s a boon for this diet. Pack these things if you’re snacking outside.
      I don’t love protein bars because they’re usually soy and shitty, but they’ll work in a pinch. Look for zero carb, preferably whey based. I wish cricket bars were widely available. Yes, crickets. If you’re at a deli, your best bet is probably a plain nonfat Greek yogurt or two. Have water handy. Processed deli meats are bad news, but are still better than breaking the diet.
      If you’re rarely home, get used to tupperware. It’s annoying, but it’s what serious bodybuilders have done for decades, and they’re experts on fat loss.
    9. Social situations.
      If you’re out to dinner, don’t freak out. If you want to make this your feast, have fun. If you’d rather not, just stick to the plan. Look for lean protein, possibly fish, with vegetables. If there’s no viable main course, you can usually find a salad with protein. If you’re a big eater, order two of them as opposed to a fatty, carby main course. Get creative. Order burgers without buns. Jettison the croutons from Chicken Caesars. Ask to toss the sides from main courses and just keep the protein, pairing it with a salad. Request that sauces and dressings be removed. If chefs are rolling their eyes, you’re doing it right.
      You can throw concerned friends off the anorexia scent by eating high volume. Add lean salads and protein appetizers, like raw oysters. No bread, obviously. And don’t drink too much. Which brings us to…
    10. Booze.
      You should really try not to drink on this diet. Don’t fear the occasional lowball or glass of wine, but really try to keep it to a minimum. Maybe try pot.
    11. Liquids.
      Coffee and tea should be black. If that’s unfathomable, find your minimum effective dose of flavoring. Skim milk has no fat, but it has sugar. Cream is all fat, but you might be able to get by with a few drops. If you need a sweetener, try stevia. Drink water.
      Delusional dieters surreptitiously disguise meals as coffee. If you use multiple Italian words at Starbucks, this might be you.
    12. Meal timing.
      It’s important for some, irrelevant for others. A good place to start is three meals a day, plus snacks of yogurt and/or a whey shake. Some people do well with multiple small meals, others prefer fewer, bigger ones. Frequent eating may prevent hunger. But some people find tiny meals unfulfilling. At the other end of the spectrum, if you enjoy larger meals and can cram over 50 grams of protein into them, maybe you’re a candidate for intermittent fasting, eating only two meals per day. Skipping a meal let’s you eat more at the next one, providing more fullness. It also extends the hours in which your body is running on stored fat.
    13. Organic and all that crap.
      If you know me, you knew this was coming. Try to find local organic produce, pasture raised meats, and wild caught fish. It’s not essential, but the nutritional numbers are better. Grass fed beef, free roaming chickens, and wild caught fish produce leaner protein than their less fortunate, confined brethren. On this ultra low fat diet, that’s the goal. Organic foods usually score higher for antioxidants. The body needs vitamins and minerals, and deficiencies may drive appetite. Until supplements prove they can fill the gap, the less food required to reach those quotas, the better.
    14. Sleeeeeep!
      Get 8 hours every night. Lack of sleep lowers resolve.
    15. De-stress.
      This is obviously easier said than done, but stress leads to emotional eating and elevates cortisol, the “belly fat” hormone. The best way to gain weight is to live a high stress lifestyle.
      Get some sunlight. Book massages. Try yoga. Meditate or pray, if that’s your thing. Identify and remove stressors. Don’t procrastinate.
      And walk. Walkity walk walk walk. It’s a de-stressing, low level activity that burns fat. If your big event is a wedding or something, I’m sure you’ve got plenty of phone conversations ahead of you. Don the headset and make it a mobile meeting.
    16. Trust the diet.
      Don’t panic and think you can cut the protein and re-feeds too. The whole point of this is to prevent a crash. You’ll lose plenty of fat on this diet. If the scale pauses for a day, or it goes up after a diet break, relax. That’s just water, glycogen, and poopy. The overall net loss will be greatest if you stay the course.
      If you are in fact dieting for a wedding, reunion, movie role, nude photo, day at the beach, or wrestling match, you’ll need all your wits about you. The irritability and brain fog that an unstructured diet can cause won’t make you very appealing.

 

Exercise

In caloric deficit, the body maintains the tissue it thinks it needs. If you are sedentary it will cling to fat. If you weight train, it is more likely to preserve muscle. So lift things. Don’t go crazy, especially if you aren’t used to exercise. Remember that low carb diets can make exercise a real slog. Consider a simple full body workout every 2 to 3 days, lasting at most 45 minutes. Perhaps 2 to 4 sets per “body part.”
For example: 3 sets of pushups or bench press, 2 sets of squats, 2 sets of walking lunges, 3 sets of lat pulldowns. Take sets to failure, but don’t force reps. Sprint intervals might be a good idea.

You may be tempted to add to your caloric deficit with cardio. Here’s why I don’t love that idea. “Cardio,” or steady state endurance training, burns a mixture of fat and glycogen, with glycogen use increasing with intensity. But on this uber low carb diet you aint got much glycogen. Unless you do this workout the day after a feast, your liver and muscle stores are running very low. This creates problems. The exercise will be much more difficult than normal. It may put you in an overtrained state, leading to muscle catabolism, unless you increase protein intake to match the effort. And in that case, what was the point? If you overstress your body, it may turn down the thermostat, lowering your total energy expenditure. So say you burn a few hundred calories in spinning class. If your body decides to compensate by lowering temperature, fidgeting less, and sleeping more, what have you accomplished?
If you want to burn extra fat, select an intensity that uses fat as the fuel substrate. This means keeping heart rate low. Light jogging or cycling may be fine, but probably no longer than 30 minutes. Again, walking is your best bet.
 

Long Term?


See the intro. A slower, more sustainable approach is probably wiser. However, let’s say you try a PSMF and for some masochistic reason, you love it. Technically you could continue until you reach goal weight. Just keep taking planned breaks from the diet. Once you hit maintenance weight, gradually increase calories. At this point you could experiment with decreased protein, but by now you will have learned its value.
The rest of your calories will come from fat and carbohydrate, the percentage of each is beyond the scope of this post. But I do suggest you return to whole eggs and dairy, and find room for unrefined carbohydrates. Normally, whole foods are the way to go. But in an extreme fat loss diet like this, you need to toss yolks and ideology in the compost bin.

NOTES

*This is my version of a PSMF, and it contains changes.

  1. In his book, Lyle McDonald has more specific guidelines for setting protein. He bases intake on body fat calculations and activity. I do too, but I wanted to present a simpler approach that you could begin today. I highly recommend you read his book.
    But I might add that I think protein is often self-limiting when consumed in isolation, and you might be able to trust appetite. By that I mean it’s difficult to overeat protein when it’s all you’re eating. Just adding protein doesn’t seem to shrink appetite. Many Americans overeat even though our typical diet is proportionally high in protein. But I suspect that’s partly because we tenderize and dress it up. Picture plain chicken breast. Bleaugh. Now add salt, a glaze, a dipping sauce, and wash it down with beer or soda. Yum. Protein itself doesn’t make us cut calories. Protein by itself does.
    A caveat: People with disrupted appetites (perhaps due to leptin or insulin resistance, brain injury, constant emotional eating) might not be able to rely as much on appetite as a guide. For those individuals, calculating needs and measuring intake are recommended.
  2. McDonald also has very specific guidelines for re-feeds and diet breaks. Again, I chose a simpler approach, but anyone interested in the long haul should look at his book.
  3. Regarding fat: McDonald advocates lean fish and omega-3 supplementation instead of fatty fish. I also added the one egg yolk, for which a purist could argue this is no longer a PSMF. My reasoning is that it will help with vitamin absorption and possibly compliance. If you find you don’t need or want it, toss it.
  4. “Can I do this diet but add just a bit more calories from carbs and fat?”
    You can certainly do a high protein, low calorie diet. Just don’t call it a PSMF. In fact, you might do very well on just such a diet. When Weight Watchers, IIFYM, Atkins, or the paleo diet work it may be because they’re simply using different or sneaky ways to put people on this path. If you go low carb, I recommend occasional carb loads, for physiological and psychological reasons.
  5. “I’m in no rush to lose weight. Can I still try this diet?”
    As mentioned above, there are easier methods, but some individuals thrive with extremes. A PSMF can also jumpstart fat loss before you embark on an easier diet. You could even just do it randomly, one or two days a week. If you consider normal weekly food intake, that day or two could cut a thousand or more calories.
    I personally have a hypothesis that this diet could reset your set point. Your set point is your average weight, more or less. When you deviate too far above or below it, homeostatic mechanisms activate to bring you back up or down. The problem is that our set point might be accidently set too high.
    Picture a cell phone battery that only charges to 80%. The device has an inaccurate picture of proper storage levels. The internet tells me to fully drain the battery then recharge it and it will now achieve 100% (though I don’t think it worked). I wonder if a diet like this could recalibrate your set point. It turns the frozen computer off and on again.
    Another added benefit might be improved insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning, which refers to when and where the body stores or burns nutrients.
  6. “What’s protein?”
    It’s found in animal and plant foods. On this diet it is much easier to consume animal sources. If eating plant foods, try protein powder derived from peas.

    Some examples, in grams:
    1 oz of lean meat = 8
    1 egg white = 3.5
    1 can of tuna  = 32
    1 serving of plain, nonfat Greek yogurt = 15
  7. I googled “psmf recipes” and was appalled. Fat and sugar everywhere.
  8. “How much weight can I lose?”
    McDonald goes into detail on this. First he explains the difference between weight loss and fat loss, and how much of the initial loss will be water. To estimate projected total loss, you can do some math. This diet feeds you somewhere around 600-800 calories, possibly half or even a third of your normal intake. You’ve likely heard that 3,500 calories = 1 pound. Without venturing into that controversial topic, just use this as a rough guide. If you’ve been eating 1700 and drop it to 700, thats a 1,000 calorie deficit. That’s roughly 2 pounds per week.
  9. If you suffer any of the aforementioned “low carb flu” side effects, make sure you’re actually getting the recommended protein. Upping it some more may even curb symptoms like “brain fog.”
  10. On a side note, another reason not to lose muscle: It’s attractive. The male and female physique benefits from it. If perchance you fear “bulking up,” understand that a curvy bottom is not simply fat resting atop a thin slab of muscle stretched over bone. Muscle forms the underlying shape.

 

Paleopiphany

Posted on by Sean Hedderich
When calling in sick, I tend to recite a litany of symptoms that sound like the side effects disclaimer from a drug commercial. But not if I’m actually sick sick.  When that happens, I’m too feeble to go through the list, and I simply groan “I’m sick,” and hang up. I did this for about a week last summer. I ate almost nothing and took naps on the bathroom floor between pukings. My appetite didn’t fully return for another two weeks, so I lost fifteen pounds. After that, it was the challenge of putting weight back on that really showed me the pros and cons of a paleo-style diet.
 
For the uninitiated, the paleo diet excludes any food unavailable to paleolithic man, such as sugar, grains, dairy, and most oils. The diet comprises meat, seafood, vegetables, fruit, eggs, nuts, and seeds. Benefits may include stable insulin levels, improved health, and easy fat loss. Drawbacks include inconvenience, public ridicule, and it turns out, difficulty gaining weight.
 

I’m far from a pure paleo disciple. I think it’s great that ancestral nutrition is being studied, and as an easy to understand, off-the-shelf weight-loss “diet,” it’s darn good. But I fret that it may throw the baby out with the bathwater by removing foods for which individuals haven’t yet identified sensitivities. Those who are lactose tolerant, for example, should think twice before they jettison milk and Greek yogurt. And it’s safe to assume that 90 year olds eating pizza can handle gluten. But overall I think the diet has value, and contributes to the overall nutrition conversation.

Before taking ill, I had already been sorta following this template, partly to self-experiment. I was far from strict. I still hadn’t abandoned dairy, caffeine, alcohol, or the occasional dessert, nor do I plan to. (You’d be right to call my diet “primal” or “paleo-ish” as opposed to “paleo.”) I had observed better appetite control, energy levels, and gut health, but had difficulty gaining muscle. I’m no bodybuilder, but I try to avoid the Gandhi look.

 
Some of the success of this diet may derive from stable insulin levels, but this can limit mass gain. Insulin is an anabolic hormone. It triggers cell receptors to open the door for glucose and amino acids. High glycemic carbs (pasta, instant oatmeal, processed food) elevate insulin but are verboten on paleo.
 
As my appetite returned I tried to simply increase total calories but was reminded of how limited the diet can be. Meals are basically variations on veggies with animal protein, such as tomato and broccoli omelettes, roasted meat and asparagus, liver and onions, salads with chicken strips, whole yogurt with fruit, and hard boiled eggs with carrots.

 

My weight stayed stubbornly low. Poor me, I know. Textbook humble-bragging. “Darn, it’s so hard to gain weight eating all this steak!” Obviously, guilt-free weight gain would be fun. But it’s not like Renee Zellweger bulking up with ice cream to play Bridget Jones. I was trying to stay paleo-ish, which is wildly impractical. Preparing meals is time consuming. Eating out is difficult due to added oils and sugar. And selecting restaurants takes research because I have impossibly high standards for animal welfare. I basically believe animals I eat should be pampered to death. “This chicken died on the massage table? Okay, you may roast him.”

 

Once my energy returned, I slowly got back to training normally, which demanded even more calories. I kept trying to increase portions but there was only so much meat I could eat. It’s very filling, especially in a shrunken tummy. Starchy vegetables provided easy carbohydrate, but my busy schedule often meant little time for baking sweet potato fries. In fact, ultra-strict paleoistas even exclude tubers partly due to the preparation methods which would have been unavailable to cavemen. When these extremists start talking, I nervously smile and slowly back out of the room.

Instructions: 2 pounds of farmer’s market sweet potatoes. Slice, chop, or cut lengthwise. Mix in bowl with coconut oil or butter, salt, and spices. Bake at 400º for 30 min.
Only when I compromised and added back oatmeal and rice and drinking milk did I start to gain weight. And that’s when it really sunk in. That’s the whole bloody point! Oats, rice, and dairy aren’t paleo foods! It’s really hard to gain weight on paleo! Intellectually I had expected this, but I hadn’t really had my eureka moment.

Does this mean the diet works? Not necessarily. To succeed, a diet must be followed. Extreme restriction can lead to poor compliance. An individual might avoid grains for weeks then have a “fuck it” moment and eat a slice of pizza, followed by the rest of the pizza because he feels he already blew his diet, and then a weekend of “I’ll get back on track on Monday.” This individual would be better off indulging more frequently, in moderation, to help prevent binges.

Is it physically impossible to gain weight on the paleo diet? Of course not. This was an experiment with one data point (me) and was far from well designed. I didn’t snack like I should have. Had I maintained a full stock of berries and nuts I could have packed on more pounds. And again, I wasn’t regularly eating tubers. Frequent shakes with raw eggs, fruit, pumpkin puree, and coconut oil could have helped. And I neglected to follow my own advice and rarely had “feast days,” or “cheat meals.”

But now I can really see why girth was once a sign of wealth. A man with a monstrous midsection had suckers doing his hunting and gathering for him. It’s also evident why cows are fattened on grain, and why 100% grass fed beef is more expensive.
 
Steady insulin levels help prevent fat gain, but what if your occupation depends on increased body weight? A paleo offensive tackle will probably block about as well as a turnstile. Bodybuilders avoiding grains may have a hard time packing away enough glycogen to fill out their posing trunks. Are these folks forced to abandon the diet of their ancestors to add bulk? At the very least, they probably need to supplement it with modern additions. The same likely goes for feeding a growing family.

Just like our amylase gene, the mainstream versions of the diet have evolved. Variations like The Perfect Health Diet and Your Personal Paleo Code view it more as a starting point from which to then begin adding. By introducing “safe starches” like rice and oatmeal to pick up the caloric slack, compliance may be easier. Organic oats aren’t pure paleo, but they’re not Big Macs either.

 

Real Food vs. Fake Hunger

Posted on by Sean Hedderich

 

We know how to lose weight. Despite the constant quibbling over macronutrients and mealtimes, it all boils down to an energy deficit. Without one, weight cannot be lost. What is up for debate is the method by which we generate that deficit. Some camps approach it like a math problem. They calculate energy needs and then count things, like calories or points. When followed, it works every time. But it can be tedious, frustrating, and sometimes grueling. For many, it may put the cart before the horse.
Allow me to invent some distinctions. I’ll call real hunger the rumbling of an empty stomach and the normal response to appetite hormones. I’ll call fake hunger anything else: cravings triggered by habits, TV commercials, disrupted body fat metabolism, or wild blood sugar swings.
Two Ways to Lose Body Fat

 

The Hard Way does not take food quality into account. The Easy Way does.
The Easy Way, whether calories are counted, starts with satisfying, nutrient rich meals that stabilize blood sugar and optimize hormones. It changes perceptions of inferior food, conditioning you to limit consumption. It encourages eating strategically or in response to internal hunger signals instead of emotional triggers or sugar cravings.

Examples of The Hard Way:

  • Eat less.
    This advice, while technically correct, tells us little. Foods have varied effects on metabolism. Vegetables and forage-fed meat provide fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water, which help control immediate and long term appetite. Processed snacks may offer energy and temporary fullness, but the inferior ingredients, like low quality protein and synthetic vitamins, may contribute to nutrient deficits that either stoke appetite or slow metabolic rate.
    Intake cuts can cause spending cuts, like frugal governments facing budget deficits. Some individuals experience severe hunger during calorie restriction. The body clings to fat and burns muscle.
    During calorie restriction, the body should effortlessly turn to fat stores for fuel. Some individuals experience extreme hunger when they skip a snack, perhaps due to leptin resistance, chronic hyperinsulinemia, or trouble oxidizing body fat. They are dependent on frequent feeding because body fat fails to fill the void. These individuals still need a calorie deficit to lose fat, and will eventually get there if calories stay low, but progress will be miserable.
  • Move more.
    Yes, do. Exercise is great. But it can’t overcome a large caloric surplus, and may even lead to overeating. It is very easy to overestimate energy expenditure. We are not simple machines, reliably burning fuel at a constant rate. The body becomes more efficient at activities it performs regularly, like jogging, thereby conserving fuel. 
  • Cut fat or carbs
    Excess fat gets stored, but the nutrient is more than just a savings account. It dissolves vitamins for absorption and composes cell membranes, hormones, and the brain. Deficiencies can lead to inflammation, cognitive impairment, hunger, and hormone disruption.
    Excess carbohydrate can increase fat storage, but it’s the optimal fuel for high level activity. Low carb diets can be effective in many scenarios, but may lead to fatigue, hypothyroidism, and poor performance, especially in athletes.
  • Banning foods – Everything in moderation.
    Making something permanently off limits may increase its desirability. To say you can never have pizza again probably makes you immediately crave it. For some, the inevitable single slice could quickly turn into a whole pie. The 80/20 guideline can work wonders here (~80% “good” food ~20% treats). But there’s a problem. Modern industrial food is engineered to target our brain’s reward system and circumvent our evolved “full signal.” As some substance abusers and smokers know, sometimes abstinence is the only treatment. This is not to say that the addictive power of cookies rivals cocaine, but studies show that hyper-processed food can lead to overeating via the brain.
    If you can keep ice cream in stock for the occasional spoonful without nightly struggles, then moderation works. But if one donut always leads to five, perhaps you are highly sensitive to hyperpalatable industrial treats. (Try baking at home to minimize the food’s addictive properties.)

The Easy Way:

  • Eat real food.
    Regardless of what drives overeating (appetite hormones, insulin, food reward hypothesis, defective fat metabolism, boredom), or what diet you follow, real food should provide the bulk of your calories.
    When broccoli, fresh fish, or potatoes reach the gut, appetite hormones signal the absorption of nutrients, contributing to satiation. Diet soda and “health shakes” may confuse this flow. The size, texture, and consistency of a meal can influence fullness. Liquid foods and dense, dehydrated energy bars may not satisfy hunger like a wholesome meal of equal caloric value.
    For some, frequent snacks can disrupt appetite and block fat breakdown, which may be reversed by less frequent meals emphasizing whole foods.
    Real food helps stabilize blood sugar, eliminating crashes and cravings. Modern foods like candy and industrial whole wheat can overpower our ancient metabolism.
    It is physically more difficult to overeat real food. Roast chicken takes effort to pick apart and chew, giving the brain some buffer time to receive full signals. But a tenderized, mechanically separated, deboned, salted, ultra-flavored, and sweetened chicken “product” is quickly chewed and digested.
Chili’s Crispy Honey-Chipotle Chicken Crispers w/Ranch and Fries
1660 cals, 76g of fat, 196g of carb, 4110mg of sodium

Why do we overeat? Perhaps because it’s always there. What’s there? Carrots and grass-fed beef, or something from a factory? The best fat loss diet is the healthy one that you can sustain. If you can maintain a negative energy balance with highly processed food, then be my guest. But for most individuals, I believe that a diet comprising “real” food is the easiest. But what constitutes real?

 

 

PART 1: FAKE FOOD FATTENS

We really started packing on the pounds in the 1980’s. 

 

There’s ample 

evidence

 of ample humans, but nothing like this 

recent

 swelling. Some health experts blamed our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. Automation was replacing many of our physical tasks. This 

decrease

 was likely a contributing factor, but our weight gain was outpacing it. And it may be specious to assume we are moving so much less today than our ancient ancestors did. As sedentary as we believe we are, modern hunter-gatherer groups apparently 

don’t expend

 any more calories than we do.
As we grew fatter, fitness gurus like Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons appeared. The exercise boom had begun. It may have worked for some, but overall, the growing interest in fitness did not arrest the growing waistlines. This may be due to different responses to exercise.

Some

individuals’ appetites increase with activity. Others wildly overestimate their caloric expenditure, and underestimate their intake. In general, our appetites for exercise was dwarfed by our appetite for food.
The net decrease in activity was not great enough to explain our weight gain. 

We mechanize more and move less, but it doesn’t match the obesity spike.


It’s clear we were also eating more. From 1980 to 1990, calorie consumption increased 9.6%. Food availability was also implicated. Snacking had become ubiquitous, with every occasion from business meetings to ballgames featuring food. But where did the surplus come from? Were Americans collectively getting hungrier, or had supply increased?

Farm policy, originally designed to prevent oversupply, was altered in 1973, leading to artificially low crop prices. Four years later a U.S. Senate committee published “Dietary Goals for the United States” which recommended eating more carbohydrate and less saturated fat and cholesterol. With broad access to cheap corn, food companies replaced cane and beet sugar with high fructose corn syrup and promptly over-sweetened foods to compensate for the removal of fat.

HFCS is molecularly similar to sucrose, but it’s cheaper and more widely available.

The increased supply of corn, canola, and soybean flooded the market with poly-unsaturated oils, which health officials advocated over butter. Hydrogenated for stability, these fats provided a vital component for food manufacturers to meet the demand for “healthy” products. Artificial ingredients like MSG, food dyes, sweeteners, thickeners, and emulsifiers were added to mimic the real foods they usurped. More foods were being irradiated and pasteurized. Packaging and preservatives were introducing toxins like BPA into our system. None if this is automatically “bad” but it illustrates the trend toward increased availability of foods with a long shelf life.

Cheap grain made pasture cost prohibitive. Animals can be fattened faster and cheaper on grain, but this results in more total fat, and an altered lipid profile that is higher in saturated and omega-6 fats. The ancestral diet is believed to have comprised omega-6 to omega-3 fats in a 2:1 ratio. Grain fed beef and fish, combined with our increased consumption of vegetable oils, skewed the ratio up to 20:1 in a typical western diet. Our new eating habits, also high in processed saturated and trans fat, were highly inflammatory.

 

Why did Uncle Sam insist that we reduce animal fat in the first place? Beginning in the 1920’s, deaths from heart disease began to surge. The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs attributed the spike to saturated fat and cholesterol. Today, however, we know there are many risk factors associated with heart disease, including smoking, stress, and trans fats.

How prevalent were these other factors between the 1920’s and 1950’s? Let’s explore in a drinking game called “We used to smoke a helluva lot.” Turn on any episode of Mad Men and do a shot every time someone lights a cigarette. Wait, don’t. You’ll die of alcohol poisoning before Don can seduce another secretary. How about stress? Did anything that may have caused anxiety coincide with the spike in heart disease? Well, yes, I suppose a few Americans may have experienced some minor agitation during The Great Depression and World War II. And then there was trans fat. Had we increased our consumption of that hydrogenated heart hitman?

 

Yes.

 

This is all just correlation, which doesn’t prove causation. The point is, it was unfair to blame saturated fat for the surge in deaths because there were too many confounding factors. Granted, saturated fat can increase LDL concentration in the blood (the misnamed “bad cholesterol”), but it is unknown whether this increase “causes” heart disease. In fact, the type of LDL driven by moderate saturated fat consumption is now considered possibly protective, rather than harmful. Many health researchers argue that the cholesterol hypothesis has collapsed. As Dr. Malcolm Kendrick points out, the French consume more saturated fat than any other nation in Europe, and they have the lowest rate of heart disease. This major meta-analysis by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that dietary saturated fat was not associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD.

This is not an excuse to start mainlining butter. My thesis is that diets high in processed food are more likely to contribute to fat gain. Butter, even from grass-fed cows, may be more “natural” than margarine, but it’s still a concentrated block of food energy and a potent ingredient in high calorie, hyper-palatable dishes. It can obviously contribute to increased fat mass if total calorie intake exceeds output.

This holds for meats. Processing can increase palatability and health risks. Notably, inflammation increases on a diet consisting of processed saturated fats from cured meats or packaged baked goods. Furthermore, research suggests that not all saturated fatty acids are created equal. Some, like palmitic acid, are shown to raise LDL levels, whereas stearic acid has been shown to have a neutral or beneficial effect. Alas, corn-fed beef is higher in these “bad” saturated fats, while higher levels of stearic acid can be found in beef from grass-fed cattle.

Omitting animal fats omits something else: animal protein. It’s possible to eat only lean meat, but how often do you do that? It’s likely you sauce it up, because without the fat, lean protein is dry and bland. Good luck finding a food writer composing odes to the mouth feel of nonfat yogurt.

In other words: natural animal fat, a real food, wasn’t killing us, and replacing it with processed grains and oils may have contributed to our weight gain.

 

PART 2: FAKE FOOD, FURTHER DEFINED

A a percentage of total calories, we were eating slightly less fat and protein, but more carbohydrate.

I this where I decry carbs? Nay. This is where I continue to argue for real food. Many people do very well eating high carb diets. It is in the processing that carbs can become problematic, just like fat.

Long term appetite is largely satisfied by protein, micro-nutrients, and adequate calories. Fat loss requires cuts in energy intake. Therefore, when attempting an energy deficit, food that supplies energy but little else should be the first to go.

Many “real” foods are energy-poor and nutrient-rich. Think liver and onions. Modern processed foods tend to be the opposite: energy-rich and nutrient-poor. Think Doritos. Wild animals are lean. Ancestral wild plants are not excessively starchy or sugary. Energy dense plant foods like nuts and grains are costly to acquire in the wild. It is through human engineering that animals easily fatten and plants, especially staple crops, increase starch content.
Most raw grains are toxic and indigestible. Until 11,500 years ago they were largely absent from the human diet. To be edible, these grass seeds require soaking and sprouting or a long refining process of harvesting, grinding, and cooking. Even after these laborious preparations, grains can still cause gastrointestinal distress for some individuals. The fiber and protein of whole grains blunt the glycemic response but they can cause digestive distress for some, and not just humans. Ruminants don’t eat concentrated grain in the wild either, and their industrial corn diet causes them severe bloating and acidosis, another reason they are kept on antibiotics.
“Are you telling me Grandma’s homemade bread is fake food??”
“Have some gluten.”
Hang on. Is it “less fake” than factory bread? Absolutely. Can you eat it and still lose fat? Sure. If you don’t suffer digestive maladies and have no trouble maintaining your goal weight, keep on eating it. But if you continue to struggle with body fat, perhaps you’re going about this The Hard Way. Grains are energy dense and, compared to vegetables and meat, nutrient poor. You might be hungrier at subsequent meals because of the nutrient deficit. They spike blood sugar, possibly contributing to fat gain, especially if you’re sedentary.
And grains are not what they used to be. Domesticated plants have been bred for growth. Wheat has undergone drastic alterations in the last few decades alone. I’m not so fanatical as to call fruits and vegetables fake foods, but for centuries they have been selected for sweetness. I’m arguing that human manipulation has led to foods higher in energy but lower in nutritional value. Again, this doesn’t mean it can’t be consumed. It just means that if our nutritional needs are the same as they were 10,000 years ago, we need to eat more food to satisfy them.
What about organic food? Industrial farming employs chemical fertilizers and powerful pesticides. The studies have been mixed, but compared to wild plants, industrial produce often scores lower for nutrients, which may be due to depleted soil, shallow roots, weak defenses, and early picking.
The solution here is not simple. The organic movement began with good intentions, but corruption, lax enforcement, and industrial lobbying diluted it. The best option is probably to research local, sustainable farms because they are more likely to adhere to certification standards (perhaps because, unlike mega farms, they cannot afford to influence policy). One may still choose organic as a way to “vote with your wallet,” and it probably increases chances of a healthier food. The overall goal is to remove processing and get as natural as possible, and the organic peach gives you a better shot.
More natural = more nutrients = more satiety = eat less

If there is a lesson to be drawn from the 80’s, it is that cutting saturated fat increased total fat. Replacing sugar with HFCS led to more total sweetener. There is a trend toward fat gain the more man intervenes. Maybe the cause is something measurable, like the altered fat profile, increased caloric density, insulin spikes, hedonic value, or decreased satiety. Or maybe it’s more complex, and we can just assume that nature invariably does it better. One day, man may design the perfect food, but thus far he’s had difficulty improving on the real thing.

I’d be a luddite to declare processed food completely without value. Apollo 11 and Seal Team 6 didn’t accomplish their missions with organic turkeys and salad greens in the trunk. Meal replacement studies have shown some weight loss benefits, as long as protein content is high. Whey protein is pretty far along the processing spectrum, and I’d be hard pressed to find a reason to exclude it. And while it’s easy for me to turn my nose up at a loaf of wheat bread, Sudanese orphans don’t have that option. But many westerners have the luxury of choice, and processed food should be limited when fat loss is the goal.

 

Defenders of industrial products point to nutrition labels boasting impressive numbers. But a nutrient’s origin matters. Packaged food often contains inexpensive soy protein, which has a lower biological value than animal protein, something the food label won’t reflect. The wrapper may say 10 grams of fiber, but there’s a chance it is cellulose derived from wood pulp. Many micronutrients are factory-made synthetics. Studies have shown that with processing, vitamin and mineral content drops, or doesn’t absorb as well. This may be due to the body’s altered reaction to nutrients that have been isolated from their source. Vitamin supplements, once hoped to be a health boon, have yielded disappointing results. Targeted therapy, like vitamin C for scurvy, has worked, but general supplementation is in its infancy. Perhaps foods are like The Beatles: greater than the sum of their parts. The human body, which comprises enzymes, hormones, the gastrointestinal tract, and friendly bacteria, evidently knows what to do with real food, but sometimes gets flummoxed by out-of-context individual chemicals.

 

So What is Real Food?

In my opinion:
Top tier: Animals, eggs, vegetables, and fruit, produced as naturally as possible. If you must ingest factory meat, choose lean cuts.
Second tier: Nuts, seeds, legumes, dairy, and properly prepared ancient grains are absolutely better choices than industrial food, but only if you can eat them without complication or over consumption. Experiment with exclusion diets, temporarily removing foods to observe reactions. If chronic symptoms like IBS, arthritis, or headaches go away, then congratulations: socially you will now be as obnoxious as I am.

PART 3: REAL FOOD FATTENS

“WTF Sean! You just convinced me that the problem is fake food!!”
Hang on. Focusing on real food should get most people most of the way toward their goal, and health should drastically improve. But processed food contributes to fat gain partly due to the concentration of calories and hyper-palatability. Home preparation can omit chemicals, but the food can still taste damn good, if not better. There’s nothing wrong with that until body composition goals prove elusive, in which case meals should be “made to order” instead of prepared in bulk. A massive bowl of scrumptious pulled pork to last the week may be economical, but what if it only lasts the night? If you can’t resist overeating it, you may need to put that recipe on hold until “treat night,” or for when you achieve maintenance weight.
Food shopping takes minutes. Foraging would take days.
Real foods make great snacks, which might pose a problem. Example: You’re hangin’ ’round the house, not really hungry, but habit, boredom, or emotion leads you to the fridge. You snack on a chicken wing, a chunk of cheese, and a handful of berries, and then raid the pantry for almonds and dark chocolate. Those are all minimally processed healthy foods, but if fat loss is stalled then you’re still eating too many total calories. At this point, measuring and counting may be required. If you consider that The Hard Way, another option is to temporarily not keep too much of this stuff in the house.

Different scenario: Lunch was filling and nutrient rich, but an hour later you open the fridge because you’re habituated to do so. The only things inside are raw meat, eggs, and vegetables. If there are prepared snacks, they are just sliced vegetables. If you aren’t actually hungry, the hassle barrier stops you from cooking or preparing a salad, so you wait for dinner. There is no deprivation because you were never actually hungry to begin with. It was fake hunger, rearing it’s devious head.

The good news is: there is no double whammy when you overeat real food. It is just extra calories. Overeating locally grown organic blueberries may add fat, in the context of a total caloric surplus. But overeating the same caloric quantity of candy may add fat in the short and long term if they lead to hypoglycemia or displace healthier foods. Four-hundred calories of blueberries are just 400 calories of blueberries, whereas 400 calories of candy are 400 calories of candy plus all of the fattening downstream effects.

But now is probably a good time to remind you of the 80/20 rule. Don’t completely eliminate “bad” foods. It may lead to an eventual binge and complete abandonment of diet. Instead, schedule occasional feasts, or diet breaks. A few unplanned cookies are not the end of the world. But finishing the package because you’d already “broken your diet” creates a real calorie whallop.

PART 4: WHY IT WORKS

All diets are designed to create an energy deficit, whether explicitly or surreptitiously. What successful fat loss diets have in common is sustainability. If this “real food” diet works it is because it surreptitiously creates an energy deficit and is sustainable.

 

Protein and Fiber
Weight Watchers says your lunch was 8 points and breakfast was 7. You’re still peckish, but can’t eat because just like the NY Jets you don’t have enough points at halftime. Why are you hungry? Because you’re undernourished. Protein is more sating than sugar and fat. When you drink a Frappuccino your body sifts through the rubble, searching for quality protein. When it finds the pickings slim, it sends the hunger signal.
The Old 96’er was filling.
You: “But I just fed you, stupid body!”

Body: “I don’t care. You didn’t give me enough amino acids!”

Protein boosts your metabolic rate and is very expensive to digest or break down for fuel (which may explain why very high protein diets can eventually lead to inflammation). Your body would rather use it for structure than for making glucose. It’s filling. It takes a while to chew.

Fiber serves the same function. Some types also feed our beneficial gut bacteria. Others help keep us regular. Cooked or uncooked are fine, but raw veggies retain more volume and this lead to increased satiation. In fact, a strong appetite suppressor is a stretched stomach. Eating a mountain of raw vegetables with some lean protein and moderate fat sends the signal to the brain that you are satisfied, now and for hours afterward.

So eat that fish and veggie bowl for lunch, which prompts your body to release appetite suppressors like cholecystokinin and peptide YY, which brings us to:



Hormones

Ghrelin, insulin, leptin, glucagon, T3, and other hormones program everything but the DVR. They tell us to eat, stop eating, where to store the calories, and what stores get burned. Easy fat loss means eating and living in a manner conducive to optimal hormone function. Eat not because you’re bored but because ghrelin is making your tummy rumble. Eat post-workout carbs (if you train really hard) to improve insulin sensitivity and drive glucose into muscles. Avoid snacking because it disrupts leptin, an important appetite hormone that communicates fat levels to the brain. Glucagon wants to turn on hormone-sensitive lipase to burn body fat, but it can’t do that in the presence of insulin, another reason not to snack. Don’t eat right before bed because your body has important jobs to do during sleep and digestion is not one of them. If you wake up after 8 hours feeling exhausted it may be because you spent half the night digesting a bowl of cereal instead of repairing tissue and releasing beneficial growth hormones.

Let hormones do their job. Help them help you. When you get in their way by snacking, ingesting artificial foods, missing sleep, and stressing over deadlines, they start storing calories as belly fat, breaking down muscle for fuel, and demanding naps. Real food and healthy living encourage hormones to stop defending body fat. And the more we work with them, the more they work with us, in a positively reinforcing cycle, which brings us to:
Conditioning
You are under attack. From the moment you wake up, you are bombarded with food cues intent on putting donuts in your belly. Radio ads surreptitiously sneak the thought into your head. Billboards with eight foot krullers invade your peripheral vision on the commute to work. When you get to work, it’s like the second battle of Ypres as the baker across the parking lot deploys delectable smells that seep into your nostrils. You get off the elevator and see everyone assembling at Bob’s desk. This saboteur has let the enemy in by offering donuts to the office. Comrades will think it suspicious if you don’t say “hi,” so you approach. The doughy delights are closing in. The peer pressure begins. “Boston cremes are why I go on living,” says Jane. Your tingling taste buds concur. Brain chemicals continue the barrage, reminding you that this snack will improve your mood. The propaganda campaign culminates with the reminder from your memory that you’ve always associated donuts with cheerful Sunday mornings, the family gathered around the breakfast table. The odds are stacked against you. Conventional defenses like “eat less” and “everything in moderation” are powerless against this battered blitzkrieg. You need conditioning.

Hunger is just one driver of eating. Commercials, emotions, smells, peers, and repeated behavior can trigger feeding, even on a full stomach. Our ability to form habits and respond to signals was essential to our development as a species. We don’t consciously hit the brakes in our car. It’s a reflex that allows us to keep texting. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t know that some habits are bad, like texting while driving and eating junk food. When we were cavemen, we had to remember where all the tasty fruit grew. If we found a pomegranate tree, we stored the data. Today, if you buy a Jamba Juice, you cement that knowledge in your body and will permanently crave that treat when you near that block. Like Pavlov’s dogs, you have hardwired a response.

Studies have shown just how rewarding food can be, especially “hyper-palatable” industrial food designed with the perfect fat-sugar-salt ratio. Snacking on these highly addictive treats puts taste buds and dopamine in the driver’s seat. Your brain doesn’t know this stuff is unhealthy, it just knows you’ve found easy energy, so it releases spurts of feel-good reward chemicals that urge you to keep eating.

So how do we combat this juggernaut? With the very same weapons: habits and a conditioned response. Instead of gorging on donuts for the temporary dopamine and serotonin boost, seek the long-lasting and healthy rewards associated with fat loss and sustained energy levels. Feeling good all day beats feeling good for five minutes. Forge new healthy habits to replace the bad ones. Learn to cook. Get interested in your ingredients. If you crave sugary beverages, switch to tea, kombucha, or maybe lightly flavored water (preferably no artificial sweetener). Try coffee with cream for a week and see if you no longer crave sweetener. Find restaurants that practice farm-to-table sourcing. Exercise not for the calorie burn but for the endorphin boost, muscle building, and healthy eating it necessitates. Support muscle gain with quality protein and carbohydrate. Tricks can help limit overeating, like using smaller or darker plates, or brushing your teeth shortly after dinner. Hot spices may slow eating. Pre-emptive eating often helps. Try having a protein shake early in the day to ward off hunger. Some find rules to be helpful, like “no coffee after 10am,” but that may border on The Hard Way and lead to guilt. Instead of an outright ban, remove stimuli and make healthy substitutes. Take proactive steps to control your environment.

  • Keep your home free of junk food.
  • Try not to shop hungry.
  • Watch no commercials (children are especially vulnerable to food advertising).
  • Avoid known triggers like the donut guy.
  • Talk to friends and family about your diet and health goals and develop a support system.
  • Root out enablers. A friend who suggests ice cream after you were clear about your goals is not being helpful.
  • If housemates stock cookies, ask that they hide them.
  • If drinking makes you overeat, cut back for a while, or have large, filling meals beforehand.
  • Stay away from shops you can’t resist, like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. Take alternate routes.
  • Plan ahead whenever possible to avoid eating on impulse.
  • Feast occasionally. Eat above your normal calories now and then.
  • “Cheat” a little. Avoiding Doritos and donuts all the time may make you binge if you ever do succumb. Instead, allow yourself a little, every now and then. But beware: this demands strong willpower. Buy small packages, or single servings. Don’t stock the pantry.
The first bad habit to break is snacking. In a remarkable coup, the food industry co-opted the word and gave it a healthy connotation. Snacking is anabolic. It is more food. Advocates of frequent feeding argue that digestion burns extra calories. It does a little, but the meager benefits don’t outweigh the hormone disruption, insulin spikes, and impeded fat oxidation. Longer breaks between meals rest the digestive system and stabilize insulin levels, correcting appetite signaling and encouraging body fat mobilization.

 

WARNING: You may not be accustomed to tapping body fat for fuel. If skipping snacks leaves you foggy, irritable, and lethargic, you may be insulin resistant and/or addicted to regular (probably high carb) eating. Kicking the habit will be very difficult. Some find it easier to rip off the band-aid by cutting snacks immediately. They may suffer for days or weeks, but eventually should adapt to utilizing body fat. Others may find success by gradually increasing the time between meals until snacking is no longer necessary. Healthy fat and low glycemic plant foods may help, including beans, if you tolerate them. Tiny, refined carb breakfasts are less likely to sustain you until lunch. If you’re not ready to eliminate snacks, keep the makings for healthy ones on hand, like fruit, canned fish, “ants on a log,” jerky, homemade nut bars, hard boiled eggs, cheese, whey powder, rice cakes, kale chips, or nut butters. If you suffer from a metabolic disorder, it is essential that you improve insulin sensitivity. Lift weights intensely, build muscle, and sprint to get your muscles dumping and refilling glycogen.
Let’s revisit the donut scenario and see how healthy habits and a conditioned response (The Easy Way) can thwart this powdered assault. You approach Bob and his donuts but you aren’t hungry because blood sugar is stable and appetite suppressing hormones are still circulating after a breakfast high in protein, vegetables, and quality fat. Backing up this healthy habit is a changed perception of junk food. You recognize the donuts for the menace they are: fat, sugar, too much salt, and zero nutritional value. They may taste good, but you know you’ll have hours of guilt. Your blood sugar will rise and fall, preventing fat utilization, prompting another snack before lunch, and reinforcing a bad habit. If that thought isn’t enough gunpowder, then simply wave at Bob, but stay away. Avoid from the donuts and eliminate the temptation.
Yes, calories matter. But fixating on them regardless of the source is The Hard Way. Think differently about real and manufactured foods. Make a positive association between vegetables and looking sexy in skinny jeans. Enjoy your steak and know it’s leading to a healthier, leaner bod.
Perhaps organic, pasture based diets speed fat loss because of our changed perception of industrial food. It becomes even easier to say “no thank you” to a snack when you know it’s only contributing empty calories. It also makes sense from a political and ethical standpoint.

“Ah-ha! There it is. This hippy is just trying to indoctrinate me into his greenie animal rights cult!”

Well yeah, but the science backs it up. Eat healthy animals and you’ll be healthier and thinner. If you’re an animal lover and need extra motivation, this is easy. Just watch some undercover 

CAFO videos

 and you’ll never touch industrial meat again. If you take a moment to consider the lifelong torment of a laying hen, you’ll only eat pastured eggs. If their suffering doesn’t bother you, just consider how inferior the product is. Vegetarians believe the’ve found the humane alternative to industrial meat. But vegetarianism dislocates and kills animals, worms, and insects. It is highly unsustainable due to dependence on non-renewable resources like petroleum, phosphorus, and potassium.

These pigs will live here their entire lives and make you fat.

Are critics correct when they argue this paleo-like style of eating is just a low calorie diet in disguise? Are locavores simply overpaying for placebos? Is this just another fad? In the end, what matters is: what can you follow? Can you count calories and add cardio for every donut? Maybe temporarily. But most dieters regain lost weight. Won’t compliance be easier if you just train yourself to eat real food?

The Diet
Whether you’re counting calories, macronutrients, or points, or simply eating mindfully, focus foremost on whole foods. Base meals on healthy animal protein and/or vegetables. Enjoy fruit, nuts, dairy, legumes, and ancient grains if moderation is easy, and there are no digestive issues. Starches and sugars found in whole foods are just fine as long as calories stay in check. Don’t stress about the number of meals. One to seven have been found to work. If you’re not hungry in the morning, skip breakfast. Try not to excessively snack.
Example day

BREAKFAST: Veggie omelette, whole (preferably raw) milk or cream if you have coffee.
LUNCH: Chipotle salad. Steak, greens, fajitas, rice, guacamole. Increase rice if you lifted weights.
DINNER: Wild salmon with roasted seasonal vegetables, dark chocolate and berries for dessert.
The filling meals and high nutrient density should limit the urge to snack or overeat. Your body will smoothly transition from burning the meal to burning stored fat. Dining out is no different; order animal protein and vegetables. Wild fish is a great choice. If you must have an appetizer (so named because they’re usually sweet and salty, triggering insulin and thirst) make it a salad. Don’t stress over occasional deserts, but share them when you can, and preferably with me.
How Did We Get Here?

It used to be simple. Wild plants and animals were all we had. Then we started planting. In the book “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” Prof. Jared Diamond explains how the agricultural revolution sparked civilization. Domesticating animals and grains meant we could specialize, survive winters, and wage wars. We also started dying earlier. We can’t go back to the forest, but that doesn’t make us slaves to modern food. The sustainable farm offers a bounty difficult to fatten on. It helps us do our best to eat the way nature intended. If for no other reason than to look better naked.

Isn’t nature incredible? It’s like an enormous restaurant.
                                                                   Woody Allen

 

NOTES
  1. Many dieters do just fine with grains. Sandwiches can help control portions. They’re not my ideal, but they’re certainly a superior choice to factory food. I would absolutely choose oat bread from a local organic farm over industrial ground beef with ethylene gas ripened tomato and iceberg lettuce. For strict locavores, when seasonal produce is limited, grains may be necessary for survival. In my opinion, ancient grains are better choices. These include ancient grains include amaranth, spelt, einkorn wheat, and quinoa.
  2. “Sean are you saying calories don’t matter? Are you saying I can eat as much steak as I want??” No.
  3. “Sean, all of the things you consider bad worked for _____ (me, neighbor, weight loss guru, dog, Alec Baldwin). Of course they worked, they cut calories. My point is: how easy/enjoyable/healthy/sustainable was it?
  4. “Sean, isn’t this basically low carb paleo?!”
    You would probably classify this as “primal,” not “paleo,” neither of which are low carb de jure. I don’t like waging war on macronutrients. After all, the low-fat 80’s got us into this mess. You still eat carbs with this diet, but you get them from vegetables and fruit, and maybe some rice and oatmeal, instead of pasta, bagels, and pizza. Add starch based on activity. Weight training especially demands it. And remember, I’m advocating 80/20. If you wanna make that 20 all carbohydrate, then try it. If the scale goes up, you know it’s not a great idea.
  5. “Sean, do you think I’m made of money? This diet will cost a fortune!”
    Hondas are cheaper than BMWs. Food from rich soil is more nutritious. Grass fed cows have less fat. So sure you may spend more, but you get more for your money. Grains and legumes are inexpensive for a reason: they’re cheaper to grow. But they’re dense sources of energy with low nutritional value. You can get energy from healthy fat and your stored fat. (You’re trying to burn fat, remember?) Bone-in roasts and whole chickens are undervalued because fatty cuts are still less popular, a vestige of the low-fat days. Slow-cook cheaper meats. Stop throwing away egg yolks (for shame!). If you’re still low in total calories, struggling to feed a family of five, buy more root vegetables, white rice, and oatmeal. Packaged foods like Wheaties and Mac & Cheese are cheap due to discounted raw ingredients (subsidized grain), and artificial additives, so automatically they have a head start on your local farmer. It should actually cost even less, but you pay for convenience, shipping, and advertising. Shop in-season. Join CSA’s. Buy shares of cows. Order meat online if local farmers are too expensive. Prices are slowly normalizing as demand increases. A pound of grass fed ground beef tends to cost a dollar or two more than grain fattened. Check out eatwild.com. Read Joel Salatin’s book: Folks, This Ain’t Normal.
  6. “Sean, I’m trying your diet and I’m exhausted and craving carbs!”
    You may be a a glucose addict and need to adjust to fat oxidation. For those with metabolic disorders it’s arduous. Be patient. Ween off the other stuff with compromises. This isn’t a low carb diet. It’s a low processed food diet.
    I too suffer from paleo self-righteousness. It will pass when I become self-righteous about something else.
  7. “I’m constipated!”
    Eat your vegetables. They have plenty of fiber. However, big poops are not necessarily good poops.
  8. “I’m annoying people with my snobbery!”

    I too suffer from paleo self-righteousness. It will pass when I become self-righteous about something else.
  9. “Sean, I do everything you’re saying and I’m still not losing fat!”
    De-stress. Sleep 8 hours. Keep a strict food journal. Some people suffer from highly disrupted appetites. You may need to temporarily dabble in calorie counting to develop an understanding of food density. Daily caloric needs vary widely. Inactive people require far less food. Don’t overestimate your needs or expenditures. An hour on the elliptical does not burn as many calories as you think. If after a month of strict compliance you’re still not losing fat, you may want to talk to your doctor. They aren’t fat loss experts, but you can discuss possible problems like medication side effects. Push for tests to determine allergies, nutritional deficiencies, and thyroid function.

     

    And what are your goals? If you want single digit body fat, or you’re shooting a nude scene next month, The Easy Way aint nearly enough. You’ll need more powerful weapons such as very high protein diets, leaner meats, omitting higher carb veggies, cutting booze, intermittent fasting, cutting dairy, supplementing with fish oil, steady-state aerobics, and other tricks. Our bodies seem to prefer carrying slightly more fat than what we’ve idealized. Getting to a healthy weight can be easy, getting below that is a real challenge. Let The Easy Way do the bulk of the work. Fine tuning requires more drastic measures. The sculptor’s razor, not his chainsaw.

     

  10. “Can I still indulge at ballgames, movies, and other special occasions!”
    If you do, don’t stress over it. But are they “special” or every other night? And do you really enjoy the indulgence or is it just habit? At Yankee stadium, hotdog cues are ubiquitous: peers, ads, smells, and your own conditioned response. The dogs are delicious, but if you feel crappy afterward, what’s so special about them? If you do eat ’em, plan accordingly. Make them your dinner instead of piling them on top of previous meals, and include “healthy” options if available, like salads. If, on the other hand, you’re afraid of the cues and need help avoiding them, eat a satisfying meal before the game. If you must have a snack, choose peanuts, and drink extra water between beers.

     

    Holiday meals are good occasions to feast. But if you still want to limit calories, this diet shouldn’t cramp your style at all. Meats and vegetables tend to be plentiful. Just skip the finger foods and bread. And don’t be like me and whine about the animal sources. People are moving at their own pace and it’s not our job to proselytize at every meal. If someone asks, that’s different, but try not to be judgmental, casting the first stone and all that. Most of us were McDonalds regulars at one time.
    As far as movies go, if you eat the popcorn, have it plain. Nothing with a wrapper because it’s loud.
    If you’re presented with this dilemma nearly every day, a flexible diet called If it Fits Your Macros is probably a good choice.

     

  11. “I want a cheat day!”

     

    Do you mean extra total calories? Good, you should have one weekly or so. Don’t even call it a cheat day. Remove the negative connotation. It’s a feast day. Cheating implies wrongdoing. It’s one day, or meal, of extra food. Relax. In fact, if you eat right all week, one feast day may have beneficial effects, psychological and physical, like improved insulin sensitivity and metabolic rate maintenance.
    Or by “cheating” do you mean junk food like donuts and candy? That depends on you. Can you have one day or meal of sugary, fatty snacks, and not fall back into regularly snacking this way? Would you completely binge if you tried total abstinence? If you can use moderation, have the junk food. But are you the type who easily develops bad habits? Is it more incipient cheating, building from a donut per week to donuts every other day, to one every morning? If you have no idea which type you are, seek professional guidance.

     

  12. “Sean, my doctor says you’re nuts! I have high cholesterol! And the TV says high protein diets cause inflammation and cancer!”

     

    One problem with the media is they often fail to distinguish between studies. Headlines like “high protein diets cause cancer” often neglect to mention where the information came from. Randomized double blind trials, rodent studies, and epidemiological data based on food questionnaires all contribute to the total body of scientific evidence. Neither give the last word, but some are more valuable than the others. Some food surveys have shown correlation between high fat diets and heart disease, but controlled clinical trials tend to show Atkins style diets have healthy effects on blood markers. But again, I’m not advocating a very low carb diet (The Hard Way). For sedentary obese individuals, it may jump start fat loss and get them to their goals, but maintenance diets should probably be higher in carbohydrate to combat inflammation. Regarding cholesterol: some individuals hyper-respond to dietary sources (although their number is smaller than big pharma would have you believe). Most of us reduce cholesterol production in the liver based on intake, but some may have a genetic defect that can lead to hypercholesterolemia. Individuals in this group and anyone with a history of heart disease should absolutely confer with their physicians about diet and medication. Just be sure to ask pointed questions.

     

Many thanks to Briana Hedderich for her editing.
(Shmuck that I am, I accidently unlinked all sources in a copy/paste debacle. When I’m not too busy, I’ll plug them back in.)

 

Shudder at the Mudder

Posted on by Sean Hedderich

 

My sister sent me a text message four days before the event. “So what’s your game plan for the mudder? Are you gonna run straight to the cornucopia for supplies or just head out to find a water source?” She succinctly captured my anxiety level.
 

I still hadn’t selected my outfit. I knew when I signed up that it might be cold in late April, but the warm winter put it out of my mind. Then as the

Mudder

 crept closer and the days got cooler, my nervousness grew. I started obsessively checking the weather forecast. It was like a kick to the stomach when I saw expected highs of 45. My internet browsing history from that week reveals a man hysterically searching for “wetsuits,” “tricks for staying warm without clothes,” and “tough mudder cancellation policy.” The fine print warned against showing up intoxicated, ruling out the one useful tip I’d discovered.

 

I figured clothes would just stay wet (survival experts advise stripping after falling into frozen lakes), and a wetsuit seemed like cheating, so I decided to buy a bathing suit. My only requirements were that it permitted movement and had a velcro pocket for my lip balm (I’m an addict). My only other gear decision had been made months earlier. I planned to run in

vibrams

despite forum warnings about traction.

 
I don’t really like jogging. For general physical preparedness, a basic level of proficiency is probably a good idea, but for regular exercise I think the risks outweigh the benefits. It pummels the joints and makes athletes slow, predominantly stimulating the slow twitch muscle fibers. But for this event, I needed to do it. I added 1 to 3 runs a week and cut back slightly on my weight training. Leading up to the event, I structured my sessions more like a Mudder. I ran half miles on the treadmill (it’s inferior to the ground, but I needed to be in the gym), alternated with exercises. For example:
 
Half mile run. 2 minutes of pull-ups. Half mile run. Dead lifts. Half mile run. 4 minutes of plank variations. Etc.
 

Total sessions lasted over 2 hours. That’s a volume I’d normally never use, but the event can last twice that. To address specific Mudder requirements I worked on my muscle-ups, an exercise that combines a pull-up with a dip. Weighted carries, Turkish getups, box jumps, and sprints also entered the program. Some bear crawls, spidermans, and yoga addressed mobility needs.

We arrived at the site around 9 for our 10:20 start time. The overnight low was in the 30’s, but the day was sunny. After registering, there was little to do but move around to keep warm. I considered taking advantage of the free head shave but waiting on the line was too cold, so I went back to jumping around and cringing. Finally our time came. We had to climb a wall to enter the starting area, a nice touch.

 

I began the run in old sweats and a T-shirt, which I planned to dump after the first water obstacle. The trail immediately got muddy, a test my vibrams passed easily. They sank deep but slid out effortlessly, perhaps better than a heavier sneaker or hiking boot. The trouble came when the terrain got rocky. Vibrams come in thicker

models

for trail running, but I wore KSO’s, a minimalist design with very thin soles. This required diligently placing every step, never just running on autopilot. This would be a disadvantage for someone going “for time,” but I was more interested in the primal aspects of the event. Feeling the earth beneath my feet seemed more natural.

 
It quickly became clear that the herd needed thinning. Running the first leg was fun but annoying. Mudders seemed ignorant of basic rules of the road, the etiquette of staying to the right and passing on the left. Teams were especially guilty of traveling abreast instead of single file.
 
The course did not follow the map provided online, which was fine. The first obstacle was a crawl under barbed wire (this was about as complicated as things would get), a baptism by fire that jolted me into the present. I was now very cold and wet, and sporting scraped elbows. After crawling out I discarded the old sweats and ironic tee. My official costume thus revealed, I ran off. I was chilly in my trunks, but glad to be rid of the heavy, muddy clothes.
 
Then came the one I’d been dreading, the Arctic Enema, a long crate filled chest high with water and ice. Nothing would get colder than this, so now I would know my limits and whether I would dry afterward. I hesitated briefly then leapt in. It was beyond cold, a temperature my body could not yet compute. Sure I’d iced injuries before, but this was different. No sane individual would remain in this ice. Fighting the urge to scamper over the side, I plunged beneath the wall that divided the crate in two halves. I didn’t pop up right away because I mistook the ice above me for the bottom of the wall. It just felt so heavy on my head. I finally jumped up screaming and lurched for the far wall. Once out and on the ground, I realized why people panic in freezing waters. All thoughts turn to getting out.
 
Then I started running again. Now I was actually exhilarated. Yes it was freezing, but also such a tremendous blast of feeling. This was a completely new experience, and I knew the worst was over.
 

After a few minutes I was dry everywhere but under the trunks, and I knew then they were the right decision. Wet clothes, no matter what wickaway technology they employ, cannot dry faster than

human skin

. Perhaps a speedo would be even wiser, except I refuse to go there.

 
Running along on quiet trails, my teammate and I put several miles behind us, and a few more obstacles. The terrain worsened and my calves bore the brunt of it. Every step required a forefoot strike. Despite my best efforts, I still landed badly on sharp rocks, but nothing caused injury. Training for months in vibrams seemed to have taught my body how to react. If our ancestors did it, I could too.
 
I went heavy for Hold Your Wood, which requires carrying a log for about ten minutes. It was too wide (or I’m too tight) to carry on both shoulders, so I alternated sides or carried it in my hands, dropping it frequently. Choosing a lighter load would feel too much like skipping the obstacle, and the weight made it more rewarding when I finally dumped it at the end. Along the way my teammate traded with someone suffering under a heavier log, partly in the spirit of camaraderie, and partly for a more appropriate challenge.

I’ve read books like “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” and “Love in the Time of Cholera,” and I think I’ve understood them. They’re about girls, right? Just kidding.

                             Nick Hornby
The vibrams proved their worth on the climbing obstacles, finding easy toeholds on walls and cargo nets, and staying out of the way in tight quarters. Everest, a tall slippery quarter-pipe, was cake, due in part to my footwear.

The rings and monkey bars were the easiest obstacles of the day. My muscle-up and pull-up regimen helped me out, but I’m also a wiry guy, and my frame is conducive to climbing. The big fellas falling into the water next to me would probably have loved a bench pressing contest afterward.

The most difficult obstacle was the balance beam, a long plank above water. I can’t say if the vibrams helped, but I don’t think they hurt. I barely made it.

Nearing the end, my calves were almost finished. More than three hours after starting, we reached the final obstacle: dangling electrified wires. This one was a let down. They were about as “live” as Ashley Simpson. I’m no masochist, but at least gimme a tickle.


And then it was over. We were handed a beer, t-shirt, headband, and space blanket. We all had a blast, and I would definitely do another.

I have a headband like this guy



Was it tough? Sure. I would think the ironman,  a strongman competition, a day of bootcamp, and childbirth are probably tougher. The cold wasn’t pleasant (it was about 50), but it was sunny and not too breezy. Had it been raining or cloudy I’m not sure I would have made it. The few instances of wind were awful.

Did I wear the right clothes? The swimsuit was stylish, so yes. The KSO vibrams slowed me down on trails and in the trenches, but I liked the savage element. I had no traction issues. I advise petroleum jelly or body glide for the armpits and other creases, although my teammates didn’t use any and had no problems.

Did I train right? I probably should have run more and practiced carrying logs, but my lifting routine seemed adequate. Maximum strength is not necessary. The website suggests 6 pull-ups as a basic requirement, and I agree.



Was I sore afterward? The Mudder was 36 hours ago, and I am very sore, my calves in particular. I’m also bruised, scratched, and sunburned, but none of it is too painful. It’s a “good” sore. My teammates who wore sneakers have less soreness.

 
Can anyone do it? No. At 12 miles, it’s almost a half marathon, and many people simply can’t run or walk that far. But athletic people can do it, if they’re like Jeff Bridges and have true grit. But there’s doing it, and there’s doing it well. Like anything educational, you get what you put in. If you walk, choose a light log, and skip the hardest events, you’ll still get your headband, but you’ll get less out of it. Gunning for the lead would be fun, and I may try that one day, but sticking around and helping fellow mudders climb the walls and rope ladders made the entire experience more rewarding. And I’m glad I didn’t lose my lip balm.

 

The case for ambulating.

Posted on by Sean Hedderich
Why walking can burn fat, work your butt, and fix your back. 
 

Bob sat all day. He sat at breakfast, in the car, in his cubicle, at lunch, and on the toilet. Then he drove to the gym where he sat on the leg press, chest press, and the bike. Now he’s home sitting on the couch wondering why his back hurts (1). Kudos to Bob for exercising, but does he know we evolved to walk upright?

9 hours of tightening
Walking is the best possible exercise.
                             Thomas Jefferson

Resolutions to start exercising are often scuttled by confusion. Where to begin? Is yoga good? Should I start jogging? Whatever your goals, whatever your level of fitness, walk first. Before stressing over the details of a complex training program, just start moving. If you’re intimidated by kettlebells, jump ropes, bowflex, and Zumba, just step outside. Once you’re doing it regularly, then you can, and should, add weights and cardio.

The not so distant future

Walking is foundational. It builds basic strength, stamina, and core stability, which you’ll need before anything else gets thrown on top.

 
Can it also wake up our butts and fix our aching backs?
 
Sleepy Tushy

Up to 80% of adults will experience back pain in their lifetime (27). Research suggests they may just need to train their glutes.
Bob should definitely be lifting weights. But after sitting all day, muscle creep has set in (2). His hip flexors (upper thigh) and hamstrings have tightened, while his quads and butt muscles are overstretched (gluteal amnesia) (3). A recent study compared glute activity between two groups of adult men; a healthy group, and a low back pain group. The study revealed that walking at an incline produced much greater glute activation in the healthy group (20). The low back pain sufferers weren’t using their butts, resulting in too much lumbar stress. Psoas tightness could have been a factor, as well as disuse of the gluteals. Inactivity (constant sitting) can lead to atrophy of the hip musculature (21). So even if Bob goes to the gym, his butt is like me on vacation: stretched out and in no mood to work. His back woes could be the result of substituting lumbar extension for hip extension, hinging in the lower back instead of the hip.

Walking Works the Butt
The job of the glutes is to push us forward more than up. Squats recruit them at the bottom of the movement, but less at the top. As you stand up, the contribution of the glutes drops because the load is vertical (the weight is above them, gravity is pulling down), and their action is horizontal (pushing forward). At this point, the quads and hamstrings have fully shortened, but gluteus maximus has not. It could further contract, pushing your hip into hyperextension. But because you are standing up and not lying down or moving forward, there is no load, and therefore no training stimulus. It isn’t until horizontal loading combined with hip hyperextension that peak gluteus maximus contraction occurs (19). Therefore, hip bridges and hill sprints are better butt exercises than squats.
You could start doing bodyweight bridges immediately, but loaded bridges and sprints require a foundation of mobility, stability, and strength.
Enter walking. When you walk, your hip moves into full extension.
 
Bridging = exaggerated stance phase

Though not the main locomotors, the glutes fire with every step, primarily in the stance phase (23). And they work disproportionally harder the faster you go (24). Find an incline, and they’ll work harder still. As they contract, the antagonist hip flexors lengthen. Finally we’re starting to offset the imbalances caused by sitting. But that’s assuming form is correct. Walk tall, and lead with the hips. Actively extend the back leg. Put your hands on your butt to feel if it tightens as you push off, but remove them if you visit in-laws.

Low lunge stretch

 

If your hips feel tight, or your pelvis is tucked under, this stretch may help. Lift the chest and push the hips forward. If you don’t feel much in the rear upper thigh, or if it bothers your lower back, try elevating the front foot. You can further increase the stretch by bending the back knee and resting the foot on something.

In a nutshell:
You sit all day, which loosens and weakens the glutes, which are overpowered by tighter hip flexors, possibly leading to pancake butt and lower back pain. Walking, thigh stretching, and bridging might fix it.

Active and Sedentary: Two Groups of Non Walkers
Some don’t walk because it’s difficult, others because it’s easy. The sedentary group includes elderly, obese, infirm, and simply inactive. Joint pain, fear of falling, fatigue, asthma, depression, even agoraphobia can be impediments. If you are in this group, you must walk. Pronto. You can improve balance, lymph flow, bone density, mood, joint lubrication, and cardiorespiratory conditioning. Start small; minutes a day, and just gradually keep adding.

 

The active group omits walking because it’s chump change compared to their workouts. What’s 250 calories against 600 expended in a spinning class? These individuals have limited time available for training and want the most bang for the buck. But if they’re having trouble losing fat or building muscle (and perhaps chronically fatigued) the reason could be overtraining.

Weight training and cardio are catabolic activities. They deplete energy stores, damage muscle, and punish the nervous system. Assuming sufficient recovery and nutrition, these are all good things, until they’re not. That threshold is different for everyone, but the warning signs are consistent: chronic fatigue, insatiable appetite, joint pain, inflammation, and plateaued fat loss or muscle gain.

WALKING

Burns mainly fat
Easy on the body
Long duration
Fast recovery
Spares muscle
Conducive to high frequency
Limited effect on appetite
Lowers stress hormones
Very safe

 

SPINNING

Burns mainly glucose
Hard on the body
Short duration
Slow recovery
Breaks down muscle
Inconducive to high frequency
May stimulate appetite (16)
Elevates stress hormones (14)
Greater likelihood of overuse injury (13)

Long story short: spinning may lead to overtraining and overeating, but you can sustainably walk all day, all week, increasing fat metabolism, without substantially stoking your hunger or hurting yourself.

Don’t stop exercising! Resistance training and brief, intense cardio (especially high intensity intervals) provide tremendous stimulus and myriad benefits. But try swapping some workouts with walking. Think of it as active recovery, speeding the healing process until your next session. If fat loss is your goal, remember that fat is the preferred fuel for low level activity. You’re burning fat right now. Take a walk and you’ll quadruple the combustion rate and recover much more quickly than you would had you chosen spinning.

Elite bodybuilders understand this. Its why they do an hour of light cardio (easy cycling, walking) almost daily, and frequently fasted (early AM). They gently, patiently, and consistently cook off fat stores with easy aerobic exercise.

Building muscle and burning fat requires ideal conditions. Your body is neurotic and fragile, always planning for the worst. Overstress it daily, and it will respond by hoarding fat, breaking down muscle for fuel, and speeding the aging process. It is very easy to train too much. It is nigh on impossible to walk too much.

Walk, then Lift

Another quirk of the active group is they tend to launch directly into physical activity the moment they enter the gym. My advice, especially considering they probably drove there, is to walk for five minutes.

To walk is to stay. Sisyphus can sympathize.

“Alright, I’m sold! To the gym I go!”

Ah, the treadmill. The ground wasn’t good enough, we had to make it move.
Real walking requires active hip extension; pushing off the ground to propel your body. But the treadmill only asks you to swing your leg forward in time to land on the belt, which then carries it back for you. Studies have shown treadmill walking produces faster cadence, diminished stride length, and a shorter stance phase, suggesting less recruitment of the glutes and hamstrings (4,5,6). Arm swing is impacted, which may negate some of walking’s upper body benefits.
The treadmill is less proprioceptively demanding. Unless you drop your ipod, there’s no variety. You aren’t navigating terrain changes, and the inclines are all programmed and predictable, which is less challenging for your muscles, nervous system, and brain.
And for you heliophobes, part of the whole Walking Experience™ is collecting some vitamin D! The treadmill separates you from that orange thing in the sky.
These machines are also a bit dangerous. Holding on decreases chances of falling, but further alters arm swing and trunk rotation, possibly leading to injury (those tiny contractions of the forearms add up over time).
And on a personal note, I loathe the notion of negated work. You expend just enough energy to nullify that of the treadmill. It’s digging a ditch while someone fills it in. It’s absurd! Call me a luddite or tree hugger, but what a waste of electricity. What does it say about us when even walking must be motorized?
HOWEVER! There are obvious restrictions to outdoor walking. In our car-centric culture, sidewalks are becoming obsolete. And rain can short out your iPhone. So by all means, if nature is unavailable, the treadmill beats the couch.

“But I’m busy! And walking is boring!”

I know. Try this stuff.

  • Get a bluetooth headset and make your calls on foot. You’ll look like a schmuck, but you’ll be healthier.
  • Try podcasts, lectures, or audiobooks. If nature can’t provide enough stimulation, perhaps the dulcet voice of David Mcullough would help.
  • Park far. From work, the store, whatever. If you live in a city, perhaps you could walk to work, unless that city is Baghdad.
  • Get a dog.
  • Get a standing desk.
  • Travel. Take walking tours. Hike. Visit neighbors. It all adds up.
  • Call customer service on your headset. That guarantees hours of exercise, and the endorphins may mitigate homicidal urges.
  • Quit your desk job and juuuuuust kidding, I’m not that far gone.
  • Ditch the cart and walk the golf course, if they’ll let you.
  • Try a pedometer. Cheaper is fine, unless you want bells and whistles.
  • Perhaps an app. Android or iPhone tracking data might spur you on.
Other reasons I like walkin.’
Walkin is good for you
  1. Ward off dementia.
  2. Spinal therapy. Although studies have shown mixed results (26), there is some evidence that walking may be a beneficial treatment for chronic low back pain. The inconclusive results could be due to poor coaching or compliance, or the paucity of data. Hypothetically, the gentle rotational loads induced by walking may provide adequate stimulation for the core musculature.
  3. You’ll really work your calves. Distal muscles are activated the most (10).
  4. The hamstrings are involved in propulsion but work harder to decelerate your leg as it swings forward (9). Athletes should consider this when training for injury reduction.
  5. Cook off some of your dinner. Postprandial walks lower triglycerides (11).
  6. Walking may have a positive effect on bone density, but should not be relied on alone to combat osteoporosis (8). Regular weightlifting and adequate nutrition are recommended.
  7. Improve insulin sensitivity (12).
  8. Postmenopausal women can substantially decrease chances of cardiovascular events (25).
  9. Older adults with diabetes can decrease chances of mortality from cardiovascular disease (18).
  10. Good for brainstorming, or cooling off after a fight.
All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.
                              Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzche

 

Notes on Form

  • Walk tall. Lead with the hips, lift your chest.
  • You want some firmness in your midsection, but looseness in the upper spine and shoulders.
  • Speed up a bit. “Mall strolling” isn’t as good for you, according to spine biomechanist Dr. Stuart McGill. Natural arm swing and the cyclic loading of tissues associated with faster walking results in lower lumbar spine torques (3).
  • You may want to stop and stretch now and then. The thigh stretch above is great. Calf stretches may help alleviate pain in the arch of the foot.
  • Take off the heels, unless you like knee osteoarthritis (17). Gisele agrees with me.
  • Ditch the bags. Ladies I’m gonna become a purse snatcher just to improve your gait! Any bag is a bad bag, altering joint mechanics, stride length and cadence (28). Single strap bags lead to lateral bending of the spine and altered hip and shoulder mechanics. Rolling luggage leads to spinal rotation (32).
  • Textbooks need to go digital before all the smart kids develop sciatica. Double strap backpacks contribute to forward leaning, which can increase stress on intervertebral discs (31). One study suggests loosening and wearing the backpack lower may reduce stress (30). Shoulder bags are best worn across the chest, but your best bet is packing light.
  • Ditch the overbuilt athletic sneaker. The higher the heel, the greater the knee adduction (caving in) (33). Barefoot is best (34), or at least opt for a flat soled, minimalist design.
  • Get your nose out of your smartphone. You look like Charlie Brown walking around with your head hanging like that. The extreme cervical flexion is bad for your neck (I am guilty of this one).
  • Seek out soil and sand. Pavement hurts, earth heals.
ipad 4 xmas pleez lol
Legitimate Excuses
Regrettably, perambulating is not a panacea, and some injuries require attention prior to walking. If disease or an injury causes you to limp, the compensatory patterns could create problems elsewhere. Fix this. Get a sound diagnosis and possibly seek physical therapy.
 
One Small Step

When we think of the moon landings, Neil Armstrong probably comes to mind before Michael Collins, pilot of the command module. Myths, legends, stories, and scripture invariably describe a journey. The hero experiences a transformation along the way, and when he returns with the elixir, it’s more likely on foot than in a volkswagon. A walk to the deli may not compare to carrying Sauron’s ring to Mordor, but someday it will. Eventually, for all of us, just taking one small step will present an epic struggle.

My mind can never know my body, although it has become quite friendly with my legs.
                                                                                                                     Woody Allen

REFERENCES

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16736200
Lis AM, Black KM, Korn H, Nordin M. Association between sitting and occupational LBP. Eur Spine J. 2007 Feb;16(2):283-98. Epub 2006 May 31

2.http://journals.lww.com/spinejournal/Abstract/2010/03010/Is_Activation_of_the_Back_Muscles_Impaired_by.9.aspx
Sánchez-Zuriaga, Daniel PhD; Adams, Michael A. PhD; Dolan, Patricia PhD. Is Activation of the Back Muscles Impaired by Creep or Muscle Fatigue? Spine: 1 March 2010 – Volume 35 – Issue 5 – pp 517-525 doi:10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181b967ea, Biomechanics

3. McGill, Stuart. Low Back Disorders. Human Kinetics, 2007. 83 – 87, 110 – 11

4. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268003398000126
F. Alton, L. Baldey, S. Caplan, M.C. Morrissey. A kinematic comparison of overground and treadmill walking. Clinical Biomechanics Volume 13, Issue 6, September 1998, Pages 434-440

5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19756711
Carpinella I, Crenna P, Rabuffetti M, Ferrarin M. Coordination between upper- and lower-limb movements is different during overground and treadmill walking. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010 Jan;108(1):71-82. Epub 2009 Sep 16.

6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16182398
Warabi T, Kato M, Kiriyama K, Yoshida T, Kobayashi N. Treadmill walking and overground walking of human subjects compared by recording sole-floor reaction force. Neurosci Res. 2005 Nov;53(3):343-8. Epub 2005 Sep 21.

7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14749199
Rainville J, Hartigan C, Martinez E, Limke J, Jouve C, Finno M. Exercise as a treatment for chronic low back pain. Spine J. 2004 Jan-Feb;4(1):106-15.

8. http://journals.lww.com/jgpt/Abstract/2005/12000/Effects_of_Walking_only_Interventions_on_Bone.6.aspx
Palombaro, Kerstin M PT, MS. Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy: Effects of Walking-only Interventions on Bone Mineral Density at Various Skeletal Sites: A Meta-analysis. December 2005 – Volume 28 – Issue 3 – p 102–107

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