Eating for endurance with Matt Fitzgerald

Matt Fitzgerald is an avid runner, a certified sports nutritionist, and the author of a new book called The Endurance Diet. In this book, Matt shares findings from studying the training and diet habits of elite athletes.

In the book, Matt discusses the 5 core eating habits of elite athletes:

1. Eat everything – Those who eat all categories of food. The diet is good enough and not necessarily perfect.
2. Eat quality – Those whose diet is skewed toward natural, unprocessed foods.
3. Eat carb-centered – A carb-centered baseline diet, with days of high carb diets prompted by a heavy day of training.
4. Eat enough – Those who don’t count calories, but instead reconnect with built-in mechanisms for determining how much food to consume.
5. Eat individually – Those with different preferences or intolerances, and who must allow for individuality within the other four styles of eating.

Matt also talks about training essentials for endurance fitness:

1. 80/20 rule of intensity balance – Spending 80% of workouts at a low to moderate intensity and 20% at full intensity.
2. Progressive overload – Increasing capacity by continually challenging one’s self.
3. Purpose-driven workouts – Choosing certain workouts that work better than others.
4. Hard/easy rule – Distribute hard sessions evenly amongst the low to moderate ones.
5. Recovery weeks – Doing less than what you normally do. Organize training in step cycles to get the greatest results.
6. Periodization – Breaking down a training cycle into phases that focus on different fitness building objectives.
7. Down time – Aim to be as fit as possible two to three times per year. Down time is required after each peak.
8. Strength training – Improves overall performance by improving strength and conditioning.

To connect with Matt Fitzgerald or learn more about The Endurance Diet, visit www.mattfitzgerald.org.

 

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Down 65 pounds | Rick Force

Rick Force, a listener of the podcast, shares his health and fitness journey and how he was able to lose 65 pounds.

Though Rick always considered himself an active, athletic person, he always seemed to carry more weight. Within the last 10 years, he started to feel the effects of the extra weight and took action. He began exercise routines, dropped some weight, and felt pretty good. However, after experiencing injuries and taking time off, he would slide backwards into his old habits.

Things changed for Rick after he read a book called Eat Bacon, Don’t Jog. It was then that he realized the key was the food he had been eating. As a result, Rick made changes in his lifestyle. He limited his sugar and carb intake and trained his body to burn fat for energy.

A typical day of eating for Rick now includes coffee with coconut oil and a touch of cream, followed by a lunch around noon consisting of eggs, vegetables, and a protein such as chicken. He may have a snack before officiating a sports game in the evening, usually cucumber. If he’s hungry after the game, he’ll eat steam cooked green beans and sausage or chicken. His energy levels have never been higher and his food intake has never been lower.

Rick encourages others modeling this lifestyle to eat when they’re hungry. He also suggests combining long-term and short-term goals to keep yourself on track and stay focused. Plateaus will occur in your weight loss journey; just stay focused and keep working at it.

The true measure of health is that you have the ability to do what you want to do physically. Weight loss might be a part of the equation, but it’s not the complete picture of health.

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The worst part of a western diet | Gary Taubes

Gary Taubes is a well-known science writer and the author of a new book called The Case Against Sugar.

In this book, Gary examines why sugar is perhaps the worst aspect of any western diet. He explains that this is a relatively new stance, as nutrition policies from the 1970s and onward instead targeted fat content. The popular implication was that sugar was largely benign.

Conventional thinking on sugar is that it’s empty calories. It was often said that people get fat because they consume more calories than they expend. In actuality, different foods cause different hormonal responses, which can impact the storing of fat. The unique metabolism of a glucose and fructose combination can cause an endocrine response and lead to health issues.

Gary also speaks about the link between cancer and sugar. Research has shown that insulin stimulates tumor growth and metastases. Elevated blood sugar and insulin levels will fuel tumor progression and metastases. Whatever causes this insulin resistance will exacerbate existing cancer, and could possibly promote it. The best response is to prevent insulin resistance by removing the sugars and white flours from one’s diet, thus minimizing the risk of cancer.

Alzheimer’s disease is also being linked to sugar. The primary argument states that whatever causes insulin resistance will increase the likelihood of manifesting dementia of any kind.

In the end, we must weigh the risk and decide for ourselves how much sugar we consume. We must balance the desire to enjoy our lives, while also living long, healthy lives. For many of us, it may be easier to avoid sugar than to try and consume it in moderation.

To connect with Gary Taubes or to learn more about The Case Against Sugar, visit www.garytaubes.com.

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Whoops! How do I get back on track?

Donna, a podcast listener, submitted a great question about how we can get back on track after a slip up in our health and fitness journeys.

We’re human. We’re going to slip up from time to time. Getting back on track is important. To do this, you’ll need to build a paradigm around yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

You cannot fix what has happened in the past. When you first slip up, you’re angry and frustrated, and also stuck in the yesterday phase. To get out, realize that you made the decisions to act in a way that caused this setback. Own it those actions and then forgive yourself. Forgiving yourself is so important because it allows you to move on and release those negative emotions such as anger, remorse, or disappointment.

The next step is to recommit. If you’re not committed to your health and fitness journey, these cycles of failure will keep happening. Your commitment is based upon your why. Reconnect with your why and revision your vision of the future and what you’re trying to achieve.

At this point, you are ready for tomorrow. To look to the future, you must do a root cause analysis of why you had a slip up. Drill down beneath the surface level reason and find the root cause of why you made those choices. Establish good habits to manage future points of frustration instead of choosing familiar bad habits, such as eating unhealthy foods.

Consider journaling how you feel, what you ate, and how you slept. Meditation is another option to assist with recognizing thoughts and feelings. Both of these tools will help you understand yourself better and be better equipped to bounce back from any future slip ups.

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Hungry brain with Dr. Stephan Guyenet

Dr. Stephan Guyenet is an accomplished neuroscientist, speaker, writer, and author of the new book, The Hungry Brain. This fascinating book examines the complex science of the brain and breaks it down into simple concepts that everyone can understand.

Stephan explains that the brain is the control panel for our bodies, but specific parts and chemicals drive our behavior around how we eat. Part of the brain decides between competing options through a specific process. Throughout this process, the brain integrates many sources of information when making decisions, including conscious and non-conscious factors. In today’s environment, these circuits give us drives and instincts that are at odds with our healthy goals.

Stephan also speaks about the importance of sleep in relation to the brain. Insufficient sleep has been found to be influential in weight gain. Researchers have found that when people sleep less, they eat more. The brain is more responsive to higher calorie food cues compared to people who has slept sufficiently. This tricks the brain into thinking the body needs more calories than it actually does. An optimization bias is also at play in this scenario, where one will pay more attention to the potential benefits than the cons of eating seductive foods.

Stephan also mentions the Six Steps for a Slimming Lifestyle included in the book:

1. Fix your food environment – Remove tempting foods that surround you.
2. Manage your appetite – Use diet and lifestyle strategies to regulate the appetite.
3. Be aware of food reward – Focus on simple, satisfying foods.
4. Make sleep a priority – High quality sleep aligned with your Circadian rhythm.
5. Move your body – Get regular physical activity.
6. Manage stress appropriately – Shift perception of stressor from uncontrollable to controllable.

To connect with Stephan Guyenet, visit www.stephanguyenet.com or find him on Twitter as @whsource.

 

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Fix your fat liver with Kristin Kirkpatrick

Kristin Kirkpatrick is a widely recognized registered dietician and the author of a new book entitled, Skinny Liver. This book gives a greater picture of what the liver does for your whole body and how to properly take care of it.

Kristin explains that organs such as the heart and brain are the body’s “lead actors” and the liver is the “director”. One of the most important and most resilient organs, the liver has the potential to rebuild itself if given the opportunity. The liver can regenerate itself, and you can even give part of your liver to someone else.

The liver affects other organs and parts of the body. One of the liver’s main roles is to metabolize nutrients and macronutrients. It is also responsible to manage the buildup of ammonia within one’s system. When the liver is not functioning properly, ammonia can build up and cause other health problems.

One main problem associated with the liver is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This occurs when droplets of fat are found within the liver. Eventually the liver becomes overloaded with this fat and can’t function properly. This can develop into a more severe form called NASH, where these droplets of fat turn into inflammation and can lead to fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Kristin also warns of the danger of sugar with liver health. Sugar has no nutrient density and the liver is ultimately responsible for metabolizing fructose in one’s diet. This can become overwhelming for the liver, which may lead to other implications health-wise.

Skinny Liver tells you about potential liver issues and gives you tools and guidance to make changes in your own health. To connect with Kristin Kirkpatrick, visit www.kristinkirkpatrick.com.

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The essentials of mass building

When our weight lifting objective is mass building, there are three key phases to consider: work, food, and rest. All three phases are very important, as you cannot properly build mass without focusing on all three.

Work Phase

This is what most people think of when building muscle mass—doing the actual work or exercise. Pick particular muscle groups that you want to work. This work tends to be more single-joint movements that will isolate muscles. Reps for each set should be in the six to 10 range, with three to four sets total. The weight with the movements are slow and controlled to create time under tension combined with this volume of reps. That combination will give the stimulus to grow the muscle.

Food Phase

After each workout, you will need to consume certain foods to assist in building mass. A little bit of carbs after the workout will restore the glycogen used during your workout. You will also need protein, so consider 1-1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of lean body mass. Also, be sure to drink plenty of water and maintain an overall healthy, nutritious diet.

Rest Phase

Between sets, be sure to rest for 60 to 90 seconds. Slowing down will give you energy and intensity to put into your sets. For most people and muscle groups, a proper rest period between workouts is about 48 to 72 hours. Even if you’re still experiencing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), as long as you’ve given yourself the proper rest period, you should be okay to proceed. Make sure to get quality sleep, usually seven to nine hours per night.

Remember to focus on all three phases to put your best foot forward in building muscle mass.

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