Leverage your Body's Strength

All scientific knowledge is provisional, which is why simple answers to nutrition and fitness training questions are elusive. Here are some ideas that are likely to stand the test of time

8Dec2024: Decision fatigue slowing down your workouts?

Try the new and improved PPS Generator to script a three set push / pull / squat workout without breaking a sweat! For more ideas about designing your own workout, check out BYOPT.

31Jul2024: Keep your blood sugar and weight in check with the Five P’s

Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto distills a mountain of nutrition science down into three succinct rules:

1. Eat food.
2. Not too much.
3. Mostly plants.

The above advice could clean up our modern overly-processed diets dramatically. But one topic warrants extra attention: simple carbohydrates. It’s not just “added sugar” that’s of concern; some of the most nutrient dense foods contain sugars that can put weight loss goals out of reach. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying mangoes, bananas, cherries, or watermelon, which contain vital nutrients including the phytochemicals that science has yet to get into a bottle.

The problem is that large sugary meals or snacks cause a rapid blood sugar spike, which forces the body to create new or larger fat cells. Worse still, the peaks and valleys of our daily sugar rollercoaster hit us with pangs of hunger that lead to overeating or leave us tired, cranky, and disinclined to exercise.

So when it comes to dietary sugar, consider adding some or all of the Five P’s to your arsenal:

1. “P.U.F.F” up any sugary foods you might consume to slow its absorption. Add:
   • Protein
   • (Unrefined foods contain one or more of these)! 👆👇
   • Fat
   • Fiber
2. Prioritize. The order in which you eat foods can reduce spikes. Have your dessert last!
3. Play. This trainer showed extreme restraint by placing this third! Exercise after eating. A short walk, some yoga, or strength training will send sugar to the muscles instead of fat cells!
4. Pause. Intermittent fasting is a sure-fire way to temporarily lower your blood sugar, and it doesn’t require any change to the types of foods you eat.
5. Pass. Ketogenic diets aim to drastically reduce sugar in the diet. This can provide short term benefits, but proceed with caution since carbs are the body’s preferred fuel source for exercise and many find adherence to this type of diet challenging.

24Mar2024: Neutral spine takes shape

Ironically, our sedentary jobs have made back pain one of the leading causes of lost work. It’s a problem that defies simple solutions, but Esther Gokhale’s Eight Steps to a Pain-Free Back identifies the correct place to start: What is neutral spine posture? Modern anatomy books point to a “gentle S curve” but our fitter ancestors appear to have benefited from a J-shaped spine with a slightly reduced lordotic curve. Strengthen your core and wake up your sleepy glutes to restore what the modern world has taken from your weary back!

 

6Jan2024: Know Thyself!
     
The Greek Temple of Apollo exhorted visitors to “know thyself!” That’s easier than ever to do—at least with regard to body composition—according to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition last September. The Omron 500 series scale I use with my clients (no-commission Amazon link) tops their list of home options.

Here’s a quick chart that the authors prepared. The full text is also available if you want to see the details.

17Dec2023: Be the barbell!
Virtually every machine or free weight exercise has a body weight alternative. Even the shoulder press! It takes some practice, but this movement can provide an extremely wide range of resistance to the targeted muscles depending on how hard you pull with your legs. These types of modifications make progressive overload possible though years of training. See more body weight exercises here 🤸🏾‍♀️

27Oct2023: JAMA Open: Intermittent fasting helps diabetic patients lower weight and A1C
The largest clinical trial yet on type 2 diabetes showed that eating between noon and 8 p.m. can double the weight loss of counting calories, and help manage blood sugar levels, as well. Calorie counters and intermittent fasters both reduced their A1C levels by over 0.7%. While some safety questions for those taking insulin need to be addressed, these results show an ever-increasing preponderance of evidence in favor of extending your nightly fast as much as practical. NPR has the scoop here.

17Jul2023: Creative and expensive ways to hurt your back.
A sculptor can create art through addition, e.g. adding clay, or subtraction, like carving wood. The same options apply to your fitness pursuits. We can choose to focus on what works well or strive to whittle away what doesn’t. Before beginning any exercise plan, workout, or even individual movement, consider the following:

Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

Carve, chisel, shave, or scrape away the risky or ineffective exercises.

Here’s a variation on a uniquely risky technique I see over and over again, the straight leg seated row:

Let’s start with the obvious: wear safety glasses and edit your last will and testament before pointing what appears to be a budget hunting bow at your face.  To be fair, the above person is flexible and strong enough to perform the movement with good form: a neutral pelvis and the low back’s inward curve preserved.

For comparison, here’s how the average sedentary person or athlete with tight hamstrings or calves might perform this exercise. Keep in mind that, according to one study, 82% of college-age students had tight (overactive or physically shortened) hamstrings:

The hamstring crosses the hip and the knee so a straight leg position creates tremendous tension on the hip, pulling the pelvis back into a posterior tilt and the lumbar spine into flexion. Sooner or later, that spells trouble. If sitting on the floor is a must, bend the knees at least 45° or as much as necessary to maintain the lordotic curve of the low back:

Here are more alternatives:

Bent-over supported one-arm row*

Standing band row. The staggered leg stance* in the above
exercises helps the pelvis and spine remain neutral!

Supported bent over dumbbell row

Inverted Body Leverage Row

For more common exercises to avoid and some safer alternatives, see Do This Not That.

26Jun2023: Hurricanes. COVID-19. Drought. Heatwaves. Persistent wildfires. Reality seems set to test us to the limit. “Well, every toxic cloud of smoke has its silver lining,” you might protest. Alan Watts presents an alternative for the tortured optimists among us with his version of a famous parable from the Huainanzi, a Taoist text transcribed sometime before 139BC:

6May2023: Cyclic sighing one-ups mindfulness exercises and
other breathwork techniques for improvement in mood and anxiety. 🫁


Stanford University researchers (Cell) show that “…breathwork practices, particularly cyclic sighing, were more effective than mindful meditation in increasing positive affect, supporting our hypothesis that intentional control over breath with specific breathing patterns produces more benefit to mood than passive attention to one’s breath, as in mindfulness meditation practice.”

Just take a half-breath in through your nose, briefly hold, fully inhale through your mouth, and finish with a long sigh out through your mouth. Here’s a 15 second primer:

16Dec2022: Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States. At its root is untreated diabesity—prediabetes, diabetes, and obesity.

For decades, the standard advice from dieticians, personal trainers, and doctors alike has been to eat small meals and snacks throughout the day to avoid spiking blood sugar. A better approach is on the horizon.

In a recent study of 36 diabetic patients, 17 experienced complete remission, discontinued their diabetes medication, and maintained it for at least one year. The “cure”? Intermittent fasting. Read more in the most recent study from the The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

15Feb2022: There’s no exercise more fundamental to our health than breathing. The following exercise will help you activate your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS / “rest and digest”) to reign in stress caused by an overactive sympathetic nervous system (SNS / “fight or flight”).

Try this simple “box” breathing pattern for 6 repetitions, or less than 3 minutes. Use diaphragmatic breathing by allowing your belly to move in and out without lifting your chest. Feel free to shorten the duration of each side of the box to make it comfortable—even if that means eliminating the breath holds altogether.

We can go weeks without food, days without water, but only minutes without oxygen. So never forget life’s most important imperative: BREATHE!

20Jan2022: Avoid this very common mistake! I love every individual exercise in this routine (CNN), but together they form about two thirds of a complete strength workout. Can you see what’s missing?

No matter how you do it, every “push” (like the push-up in the red box above) needs an equally challenging, mirror opposite “pull.”

More specifically, this routine lacks a 45° row (AKA “middle back”—elbows halfway to shoulder height). Options include but are not limited to:
• Inverted rows on a
—suspension trainer
—a horizontal bar or even a sturdy narrow table
—your least favorite sheet thrown over the top of a locked door!
• a supported bent over row using a heavy duffel bag
• standing or kneeling resistance band rows
—handles and sleeves recommended

Here’s an option for the gym on a squat rack or Smith machine:

As an alternative, try the TRX mid-back row:

Another good option is the standing band row featured below. Check the band for damage (if it doesn’t have a nylon sheath) and take a staggered stance as bands always fail sooner or later!

Lastly, no single strength-building workout should be performed every day, as the trainer falsely asserts. Always take an “active rest” day between full-body workouts. This means restorative sleep, healthy nutrition, and no heavy stuff until 36-48 hours after lifting.

How does your workout shape up? Check out the Big Five of workout design!

28Dec2021: If you’ve trained with me since the pandemic started you’ll have noticed that my mask of choice is 3M’s 9205+ N95 respirator.

It meets all of my needs:

• 95% filtration (N95)
• breathable (low resistance to airflow)
• tight seal (a mask is only as good as its seal!)

These are no longer in short supply so I encourage clients, colleagues, friends and loved-ones alike to consider this option for themselves whenever they venture into unfamiliar or high-risk environments.

If you have no knowledge or control over the vaccination status or social distancing practices of those around you, an N95 mask is one of the simplest, most empowering tools in our arsenal. Protect yourself and don’t let anything prevent you from getting the exercise your body needs.

They’re single-use masks but limited reuse is an option given financial or environmental considerations.

If we have one, COVID-19 is surely our common enemy, and your personal health is *our* victory garden!

5May2021: Princeton University offers some fantastic continuing education options for students, faculty, and staff through their Employee Learning Center. While this year has presented many challenges, it has also expanded our options! See my recent classes on Body Maintenance 101 and the Big Five of Workout Design.

26Feb2021: “Diets don’t work.” We’ve all heard it, and it seems to check out epidemiologically. It’s also consistent with the vast majority of our personal experiences.

But absolutes are thin balloons–one counterexample bursts this bubble: in 1965, Angus Barbieri went on a diet of coffee, tea, sparkling water, multivitamins (with potassium and sodium), and yeast under medical supervision. Over 382 days he lost 275 pounds. Most impressively of all, he kept it off for at least five years after the experiment concluded.

Angus offers an extreme example, but others abound. In fact, for most of human history, obesity was the rare exception to the norm.

This, in spite of the fact that food scarcity has applied eons of selective pressure to our supple genetic makeup. Our genes exhort most of us to “EAT!” with nearly the same force as they command us to “BREATHE!”

This, in spite of our inherent proclivity for laziness, or more charitably, to conserve calories. The sloth instinct falls somewhere toward the end of the list, but is written in the same indelible ink.

We are thus forced to concede that the food our great grandparents ate–by definition their diets–did work. At least for them and at least at that time. The rub, of course, is that scarcity has been all but completely replaced by superabundance. Daily physical labor has been all but annihilated by the information age.

So what to do? From a public health perspective we must confront the totality of factors at play: psychological (addiction, desire, self-esteem), physiological (insulin and other hormones, circadian rhythms, metabolic disease), and political/economical (food deserts, unwalkable cities, marketing junk food to kids, corn syrup in everything).

On the individual level–and I speak here from personal and professional experience–there are hundreds of things we can do to make incremental changes in the right direction. In concert, they can and do produce weight loss of one to two pounds of fat per week.

The real challenge starts once we reach our target weight, when the body’s “fat thermostat” in the hypothalamic region of the brain pulls out all the stops to restore homeostasis. This is why the only “diet” that really matters is the one you can stick with for the long haul.

But remember, Angus Barbieri did it. He succeeded against all odds, because he was convinced that he could do it. Pop culture’s saline drip of pseudoscientific panaceas on one extreme and well-intended fatalism (learned helplessness) on the other is concentrated poison for any weight loss plan. Every single day, however you see fit, take just ten seconds to reassert your internal locus of control.

This is the simplest and yet most essential step.

And you can do it!

8Jan2021: Exercising outdoors can be challenging in the winter months but a little planning allows us to reap the benefits (Harvard Men’s Health Watch). Reasons to embrace the brisk air–just to name a few: more efficient exercise, white-to-brown fat transformation, and sunlight and movement to combat seasonal affective disorder.

According to Scott Carney, these benefits are just the tip of the iceberg. His book, What Doesn’t Kill Us… (2018) dives into the history of cold training and explores the scientific frontier at great length. It’s a both thorough and entertaining read.

9Dec2020:  [TRAINER PSA]: There are really only a handful of guidelines for building a great strength workout. Despite some fitness jargon, these are simple principles that anyone can learn and apply. Still, nine out of ten workouts you’ll see online lack one or more of these critical components:

1. Incorporate all basic compound movements:
   1. Push
   2. Pull
   3. Squat (or any multi-joint exercise for the legs like lunges, step-ups, deadlifts, kettlebell swings…)
2. Work within your active range of motion in all three planes of movement:
   1. Sagittal
   2. Frontal
   3. Transverse
3. Work muscles in opposing pairs. No anatomy knowledge required; just pick mirror opposite movements. For example:
   1. ✓ Pull-up • Shoulder Press
   2. ✓ Low One-arm Dumbbell Row • Low Dumbbell Press
   3. ✓ Thrusters • Pull-up with a knee tuck
   4. ✓ Wood Chop • Hay Baler (or “Golf Swing”)
   5. ✘ Push-up • Pull-up (Pecs = internal shoulder rotators • Lats = internal shoulder rotators)
4. Pick a resistance and volume that elicits fatigue (e.g. 3 sets x 10 reps leaving only 3 reps on reserve at the end of each set) but never pain. This may produce DOMS one day after, but you should feel fully recovered after 48 hours.
5. Take an active rest day between workouts (restorative sleep + nutrition + no heavy stuff 36-48 hours after lifting).

16Aug2020:  The most thoughtful documentary I’ve seen to date on fasting is Netflix’s Unwell: Fasting. It provides a thorough survey of the potential benefits and pitfalls. It’s only shortcoming: the featured registered dietitian is behind the times. Counterintuitively, intermittent fasting appears to increase–not decrease–metabolism according to recent research.

 

In fact, the small but sustained calorie deficit that many dietitians still recommend for weight loss may actually cause lowered metabolic output! This could be the most important factor when it comes to future weight gain and would go a long way toward explaining why the vast majority of dieters gain weight over the long haul. For more, check out Dr. Fung’s explanation of the benefits of intermittent fasting.

6Aug2020: Along with the surge in body weight based strength training has come a groundswell of interest in running. I’m a proponent of a minimalist running style as advocated by the book Born To Run–a fun, easy and informative read. Basically, you’ll want to take frequent short steps and try to land first on the mid- or forefoot and finish each foot strike with the heel just barely kissing the ground. Here’s Professor Daniel E. Lieberman on the stuff that isn’t controversial.

That said, a suitable goal for most people is to improve cardiovascular/pulmonary health and to burn a modest amount of calories. Trainees who are overweight or have musculoskeletal injuries might find a better risk-to-benefit ratio in lower impact activities like cycling, swimming, rowing, or walking on an incline. Try to phase in minimalist style running slowly by doing it no more than every other day. Switch to twice a week if that proves to be too much and limit the distance and time of each run to what you can do pain-free.

16May2020: With gyms in short supply the spotlight is on home workouts like never before. Body weight only routines can be complete, balanced, challenging, and functional. Sadly, workouts like the Men’s Health “Big Weekend Workout…450-Rep Challenge” are none of the above.

Warning: Do Not Try This At Home!

Range of Motion: Remember, the shoulder is the most mobile, least stable joint in the human body. A passive shoulder stretch with elbows way behind the back is a recipe for disaster. This motion puts the glenohumeral joint into hyperextension–well outside of the average person’s active range of motion. This makes impingement very likely, whether you feel pain right away or not. Over years, this move can wreak havoc.

Worst of all, the fix couldn’t be easier: use two boxes, benches, or sturdy chairs on either side of your body and face the ground. For an example, Men’s Health almost gets it right here. Just make sure to flex your hips to 90° (tuck your knees) so you can keep your trunk facing the ground. Limit the depth to a comfortable range and leave your toes on the ground if you’re not ready for a full body weight dip.

Repetitive Stress and Fatigue to the Point of Failure:

“The ___ rep challenge!” Anytime you see this, take a pass. Two problems here: when you train for muscle growth, there should be a one-to-one ratio of work to rest for a given muscle or muscle group. In this routine, we’re hitting the “push” muscles (triceps, anterior shoulders, chest) set after set with no rest in between. A better option might be to layer pushes with a pull or squat exercise or simply take a rest. Powering through will tax your cardiorespiratory system but is counterproductive because it means you won’t be able to give a full effort with each set. Even more importantly, if you work past the point of fatigue, your form will suffer, making acute injury much more likely. Finally, the volume (sets x reps) in question can cause chronic injury if repeated over weeks or months. Micro tears in muscle produce the supercompensation we’re looking for and heal quickly within 48 hours. Repetitive stress to nonvascular tissues (joints and fascia) can cause damage that might not heal for weeks or months.

Rather than dumping on set after set, a little creativity will deliver the resistance that elicits fatigue with only 3 sets x 10 reps. One possibility: make a beeline to fatigue without ramping up reps using the one-leg push-up below.

Unbalanced Workout

The third problem with the workout is that it primarily targets only the “push” muscles. Whether you’re doing a full body workout or a split routine (different muscle groups on different days), it’s important to select “mirror opposite” movements to create a balanced physique. An avalanche of push-ups would require a tsunami of rows. Most body weight workouts conveniently neglect the upper back musculature. Presumably, they do this because to activate the high back pull muscles you really need something heavy to lift or a shoulder-height or lower object to hang onto. Don’t cut corners here: a pull-up is not the opposite of a push-up. In fact, both of these exercises strengthen the shoulder’s internal rotator muscles (e.g. lats and pecs) and, done to excess, can worsen the common postural problem evident in our poor box-dipper’s form above (rounded shoulders and forward head). If you’re going to do push-ups, complete your routine with an inverted row. Don’t have access to a suspension trainer or shoulder height-or-below bar? Grab a strong broom handle and a couple of sturdy high chairs. If you must, slide yourself under a narrow table and grab the edges. Depending on your push-up form, the opposite pull movement will fall somewhere between these high and low back rows:

8Apr2020: Rock hard abs are fab but a steely spine is sublime. As many as four out of five people will suffer from back pain, the leading cause of disability. Gym closures needn’t worsen your odds.

This 15 minute body weight circuit for the posterior chain will free you from the fetal position. Try three simple exercises to:

• Strengthen your back, shoulders (including external rotator cuff), hamstrings, glutes
• Mobilize (stretch) and stabilize (control) your hips and shoulders
• Reinforce posterior chain endurance to improve posture and protect your spine

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WORKOUT OF THE WEEK ALERT🚨 Episode 2: Lower Body & Back! 💪🏼
This week we have personal trainer, Aron, showing a series exercises you can try anytime and anywhere while practicing physical distancing. 👇🏼 We include 2-3 options per exercise for your own discretion: 1⃣ Lower Body: Single Leg RDL (Romanian Deadlift) – 10 reps per leg 2⃣ Back: Y-Raise – 12 reps 3⃣ Back: W-Raise – 12 reps ☑ Rest 30 seconds or until you’ve caught your breath between each exercise. 👏🏽Challenge yourself to complete 3 rounds! 📲TAG 3 friends on this post to do it with you 😏 . Remember Campus Rec is here for YOU! And during these trying times we will do our best to support you, because #NoDillonNoProblem 🧡 . . #WorkoutOfTheWeek #WorkoutWednesday #WOTW #PrincetonU #VirtualPrincetonU #PrincetonCampusRec #Princetagram #TigersTakeCare #DillonGym #COVID19 #StephensFitnessCenter #CampusRec #NewJersey #IvyLeague #CampusLife #CoronaVirus #NIRSA #NIRSAstudents #WorkingAtPrinceton

A post shared by Princeton Campus Rec (@pucampusrec) on Apr 8, 2020 at 4:15pm PDT

2Apr2020:

With gyms closing all across the U.S., it’s time to get creative with your strength training routine. ACE’s free catalog of exercises offers an extensive resource for workout ideas. Search by target muscles, equipment, or exercise names so that you can plan your routine with or without workout gear.

29Jan2020: I try to stay positive about any well-meaning advice to keep us healthier, longer, but occasionally it’s instructive to analyze an online routine from a safe distance. The Wall Street Journal’s prescription for the Best Exercises for Your 50s, 60s, 70s—and Beyond leaves much to be desired. Here’s an outline of the exercises recommended by the article annotated with my notes below:

In your 50’s

1. Jump squats*
2. Single leg and side planks
3. Jumping lunges*
4. Burpees with push-ups*
5. Overhead push presses with squats*

Bonus: Try Pilates for your core.

In your 60’s

1. Squats
2. Planks
3. Lunges***
4. Burpees*
5. Dumbbell curl and press**

Bonus: Focus on balance with yoga, Pilates or Tai chi.

In your 70’s

1. Wall squats
2. Modified planks
3. Split squats
4. Kettlebell swings*
5. Overhead reaches**

Bonus: Learn golf*** or a new dance routine, such as ballroom or Zumba Gold, a version for older adults.

In your 80’s and beyond

1. Chair squats
2. Wall planks
3. Modified lunges
4. Side-lying windmills
5. Overhead reaches**

Bonus: Stay limber with water aerobics or a stretching class.

This advice makes several common but dangerous mistakes:

1. 1.  Generalization produces undue risk • While every exercise on the list might very well have been “recommended by sports doctors, exercise physiologists and physical therapists” to someone, none of them have been prescribed by the above professionals to the sedentary, deconditioned general population. Moreover, chronological age and biological age are rarely the same–some lucky octogenarians sport the body of a sixty-something. An experienced personal trainer with an NCCA-accredited certification can personalize workouts to minimize risks and maximize rewards.
      To be blunt, some of the exercises above* are comically unsafe for beginners. Ballistic, plyometric, or “power” exercises (jumping, swinging, etc.) of any kind  involve significant acceleration, multiplying the weight shown on your scale, dumbbell or barbell many times over. These should only be attempted after developing a good strength-to-weight ratio (weight loss and strength gain), rock solid core strength and mastery of the basic movements involved (squats, hip hinging, etc.). 
      Your trainer can scrutinize every exercise for potential risks and benefits. The split squat recommended above to 70-somethings is a low risk and high benefit strength exercise for legs of any age. However, forward lunges*** can put undue sheer force on the knee and are rarely worth the extra wear and tear. Likewise, Golf*** produces some of the worst back injuries of any sport. It’s hardly a “bonus” exercise to start on a whim in your 70’s. The above routine lacks basic training in the transverse/horizontal plane, which is a must before ballistic movements are attempted (more on this under #3 below). See Do this, Not that! for a longer list of risky moves and effective alternatives.

1. 1. Lopsided routines produce lopsided physiques • This one really gets my goat. No routine packed with “pushes” can be complete without a similar volume of mirror-opposite “pulls.” Every single push-up, press, and reach**, should be paired with corresponding mid- or high-back row, assisted pull-up or lat-pulldown.

1. Excess saggital and insufficient frontal and transverse plane movement • Balanced workouts will move your body through all three dimensions (planes of motion) to build real-world strength. The WSJ’s workouts emphasizes sagittal movements (flexion/extension through the imagined plane that divides our body into right and left halves) but largely neglects the other two planes of motion.

6Jan2020: Whole foods–the things our great grandparents would recognize as food–are the cornerstone of weight loss and long-term health. What do they have that processed foods don’t? When it comes to weight loss, their most important characteristic might be their low glycemic index. They release any carbohydrates they might contain slowly during digestion.

For more on the benefits of a low-glycemic diet, see this paper from the American Society for Clinical Nutrition. You don’t have to consult a glycemic index chart before every meal, just eat things that our grandparents would recognize as food. When you do indulge in something sweet, slow digestion down with protein, fiber, or fat to avoid blood sugar spikes and their resulting “food comas.”

26Dec2019: Every effective weight-loss diet was thought to have one thing in common: calorie restriction. Intermittent fasting (IF) can offer benefits that all-day grazers–calorie counting or otherwise–might be missing. A recent review of the research (PDF) in the New England Journal of Medicine notes

“improvements in glucose regulation, blood pressure, and heart rate; the efficacy of endurance training; and abdominal fat loss… Cells respond to intermittent fasting by engaging in a coordinated adaptive stress response that leads to increased expression of antioxidant defenses, DNA repair, protein quality control, mitochondrial biogenesis and autophagy, and down-regulation of inflammation”

If you don’t eat between dinner and breakfast (an 8-12 hour fast), you might already be benefiting from IF. Personally, I’ve found 24-48 hour fasts beneficial. It frees up my time those days and, above all else, reminds me that food is fuel–not just entertainment!

18Oct2019: The Game Changers (Netflix paywall) makes a compelling case for a plant-based diet.

I compiled all the info I could find in favor of a vegetarian diet back in 2002.

Shortly after I found a copy of Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating. It’s a short primer on the deficiencies of the food pyramid most of us grew up using and some better options.

Dr. Willett largely based the recommendations in the book on the findings of two massive studies on diet and health: the Nurses’ Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Unsurprisingly, the latest version of the book  (2017) places an even greater emphasis on eating green.

9Oct2019:

The effectiveness of a “calories in versus calories out” strategy for weight loss will be and should be debated by dietitians, doctors, and the fitness world.

That said, the effects of an actual, long-term calorie deficit on any given person (or animal, for that matter) is absolutely settled science. You will lose weight.

To be clear, every person loses weight at a different rate based on their genetics, current body composition, hormones, and a thousand other variables. But stranded on a deserted island with nothing to consume but coconut water, every last one of us would lose weight over time.

This admittedly unlikely scenario circumvents the sticky problems of psychology (addiction, desire, self-esteem), physiology (hormones, circadian rhythms, metabolic disease), and food policy and economics (food deserts, marketing Happy Meals to children, corn syrup in almost everything).

But all that said, the conservation of matter and energy is physics–it’s more fundamental than psychology, physiology, or biology.

Solving seemingly intractable problems often requires working from first principles. And this is as fundamental a principle as you will ever find: matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed. If you’re set on losing weight, acknowledging the basic nature of the challenge is a necessary first step.

In my experience, counting calories can be an effective strategy for clients who are data driven and can hardly help but count their steps and sips.

For the rest of us, lasting change comes when we adjust our long-term relationship with food. An excellent start is to keep a once-a-day food journal to track quantity and quality of food coming in and to better plan the next meal.

Of course food will always be a source of enjoyment and a reason to gather with friends and family. We can’t lose sight of its most fundamental purpose, though, which is our basic survival. In the past, scarcity compelled us to eat or starve. With obesity set to become the leading cause of death in the developed world, the stakes are just as high as ever.

24Sep2019:

Like a half-decent bed, any good fitness plan has four legs:

1) Exercise

A) Strength training (muscle fatigue)
B) Cardio (cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary health / calories out)

i) Steady state
ii) Interval training

C) Flexibility training (as needed to restore range of motion)

2) Rest

A) 36-48 hours of rest between strength workouts to allow for supercompensation
B) Restorative sleep (7-9 hours for most people)

3) Nutrition

A) Quantity (calories in)

i) calorie deficit → catabolic / weight loss
ii) calorie surplus → anabolic/ weight gain

B) Quality: whole foods that meet basic needs

i) Macronutrients: carbohydrates, fat, protein
ii) Micronutrients: vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals etc.

4) Mind-body or community-oriented practice such as breathing exercises, music, meditation, slow walking, Tai Chi, etc.

A) Relieve chronic stress
B) Promote sense of mental and physical well-being

17Sep2019:

4Sep2019:

Soda–Diet or Otherwise–Not Fit for Human Consumption

JAMA Internal Medicine just published what appears to be the largest investigation of the link between soft drinks and death from all causes. Researchers found a 52% increased risk of death by circulatory diseases for those who drank two or more diet sodas per day compared to those who drank less than one glass per month (doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.2478). Earlier this year, another large study published by Circulation (doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.037401) found sugared soda consumption  increased the risk of premature death by all causes an astounding 63% for women and 29% for men.

22Aug2019:

It’s no wonder the average American is fatter and sicker than ever before. We’re programmed from childhood to support billion dollar agribusinesses.

Fed Up (2014, Amazon Prime, IMDB) offers a great introduction to the forces at play. Whenever government organizations attempt to prioritize public health over the interests of the junk food business they’re assailed by lawyers, lobbyists, and even congress members who put profits over the public good.

4Jul2019:

If you’ve got a question about supplements, you’d be hard pressed to find a better site than examine.com. They offer an unbiased and succinct assessment of the latest research on almost every supplement under the sun.

Thinking about taking a supplement? Registered dieticians (the designation RD or RDN demonstrates formal education in nutrition and dietetics) can help you assess the risks and benefits. An RD might use consumerlab.com (paywall) to assess the purity and potency of any particular brand or supplement.

6Jun2019:

Sleep Is Your Superpower | Matt Walker

From 8:50 : “We’ve already spoken about sleep loss and your reproductive system. Or I could tell you about sleep loss and your cardiovascular system, and that all it takes is one hour. Because there is a global experiment performed on 1.6 billion people across 70 countries twice a year, and it’s called daylight saving time. Now, in the spring, when we lose one hour of sleep, we see a subsequent 24-percent increase in heart attacks that following day. In the autumn, when we gain an hour of sleep, we see a 21-percent reduction in heart attacks. Isn’t that incredible? And you see exactly the same profile for car crashes, road traffic accidents, even suicide rates.”

May2019:

Nov2018:
Running in highly cushioned shoes increases leg stiffness and amplifies impact loading

Feb2018:

If quick weight loss is your only goal, the Twinkie diet works about as well as any form of calorie counting. If you plan to live long enough to enjoy Thanksgiving, eat real food (whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit, etc.) to your heart’s content and lose weight slowly (NYTimes paywall)

Jan2018:

“Research suggests that 50% of people who start an exercise program drop out within the first 6 months (Wilson & Brookfield 2009).” Most of us are trying to carry our excess weight uphill. If you’re beginning to feel like Sisyphus, you might be taking on too much, too soon. No matter its size, if you come at your boulder too fast, too hard, or at the wrong angle (that is, against gravity), you won’t be able to keep it moving for long. You’ll never see a strongman carry a plane on his shoulders, but given enough time, he’ll pull clear into the next zip code for you.  A slow, constant pressure is all it takes–overcome your inertia, and there’ll be no stopping you!