I read an interesting study the other day.

In this study, the researchers argued that when it comes to Metabolic Syndrome (hypertension, dyslipidaemia, glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia, central adiposity {big belly}, high blood sugar) obesity may actually be a good thing.

Here’s why.

• Metabolic Syndrome is a result of our Standard American Diet
• The S.A.D. combination of too many calories and the over-consumption of sugar + fat-centric meals causes…
• An increase in the secretion of insulin. When this happens on a regular basis, we end up with…
• hyperinsulinemia, which…
• Causes the expression of the lipogenic transcription factor SREBP-1c and its target enzymes and so on and so on and so on until we end up with Metabolic Syndrome and all of the wonderful ailments I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Sounds pretty grim, doesn’t it?

And the first thing that your doctor is going to tell you if she suspects you have Metabolic Syndrome is to lose weight.

As if obesity is the cause of Metabolic Syndrome.

But, it ain’t.

We know that our bodies respond to our Standard American Diet by increasing the amount of circulating insulin.

This leads to an increase in body-fat.

Common sense tells us that this is bad.

These researchers disagree.

They propose that this new body-fat delays, rather than causes, the metabolic syndrome induced by chronic caloric surplus.

They argue that subcutaneous fat in general exerts a positive effect on insulin sensitivity. Subcutaneous fat is the body-fat that exists between your muscles and your skin – we’re not talking that solid “beer belly” kind of fat.

This “healthy” type of adipose tissue is genetically determined and has a strong sexually dimorphic component as well. Females, at any given body mass index, are protected against insulin resistance more than males.

And if we prevent insulin resistance…we prevent Metabolic Syndrome.

To test this hypothesis further, the researchers bred obesity resistance mice with with db/db mice, which normally become obese and develop severe metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) by the age of 8–10 weeks.

Sucks to be a db/db mouse.

They ended up with some mice who stayed lean despite their voracious appetites.

Unfortunately, these mice developed Metabolic Syndrome in 4 weeks instead of the typical 8-10 weeks.

The researchers concluded that body-fat is a normal response designed to permit stockpiling of fuels while simultaneously protecting our lipid-intolerant organs.

Metabolic syndrome appears only after the storage capacity of the adipocyte compartment has reached a maximum, at which point a gradual accumulation of ectopic fatty acids begins.

Ectopic means “not where it’s supposed to be”. It accumulates in the abdominal region (beer belly), the liver, muscle tissue including the heart, the pancreas, and perhaps in lipid-rich deposits in the arteries.

Obesity should therefore not be regarded as a pathology or disease, but rather as the normal, physiologic response to sustained caloric surplus without which the advent of metabolic syndrome is accelerated.

Conclusions

• Obesity isn’t a disease
• It’s a symptom of another disease – Metabolic Syndrome
• It’s better to have squishy, subcutaneous fat than the big, hard beer belly kind of fat

My Suggestion

Stop thinking of obesity as a health issue unto itself.

If obesity is a result of something else, you need to know what that cause is and then take action to reverse the problem.

You can start by dumping the Standard American Diet and replace it with something more Mediterranean or Asian or Paleo.

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And, if you like what you see here, click here for updates or Share this Post with the rest of the world.

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Related Posts

• The Health Habits Diet – Part 1
• The Health Habits Diet – Part 2
• The Making of the Health Habits Diet
• Diet Compliance Chart
  
• Caveman Diet
• Paleo Recipe Resource Page
  
• What Kind of Paleo are You?
• Is Paleo Eating the Cure for Diabetes?
• News Flash! Caveman Diet Good…Your Diet Bad
• Peri-Workout Nutrition

Matt McClain - Rocky Mountain News

Gluttonicide

1 [Latin gluttonicidium, from glutton- + -cidium -cide] : the act or an instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally by means of habitual eating to excess

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2 : one that commits or attempts gluttonicide

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I discovered this amazing new word while skimming some new studies online.

You are not going to believe the research I am going to share with you tomorrow.

Back when I was a kid, I had 4 types of taste buds: Sweet, Salty, Sour & Bitter

And then, they discovered that I (we) actually had a fifth taste bud specifically for savory foods like meat, cheese & mushrooms. This taste is commonly referred to as Umami (fun fact – in Japanese, umami means flavor or taste.)

And because they can’t leave well enough alone, some researchers in Australia have recently discovered a sixth form of taste.

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And it just so happens to be a taste for FAT.

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And how does this fat taste bud work?

Well, according to the researchers, “people with a high sensitivity for taste of fat actually eat less fatty food and have less likelihood of being overweight“.

Unfortunately, this also means that people with a low sensitivity for taste of fat are more likely to eat more fatty food and have a greater likelihood of being overweight“.

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And there is nothing you can do about it.

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But, luckily for food manufacturers, research has already begun on creating an artificial fat flavoring that can be added to low-fat foods in order to trick your newest taste bud.

For more info check out the following links

• British Journal of Nutrition
• Herald Sun

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And, if you like what you see here, click here for updates or Share this Post with the rest of the world.

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Related Posts

• The Health Habits Diet – Part 1
• The Health Habits Diet – Part 2
• Is Stephen Colbert a closet Paleo
• The Making of the Health Habits Diet
• Diet Compliance Chart
  
• Caveman Diet
• Paleo Recipe Resource Page
  
• What Kind of Paleo are You?
• Is Paleo Eating the Cure for Diabetes?
• News Flash! Caveman Diet Good…Your Diet Bad
• Peri-Workout Nutrition

A little over a month ago, I introduced my Health Habits online personal training service….

…and I can’t believe how successful it’s been.

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Each new client has achieved noticeable results (weight loss, strength gains, improved endurance, lower heart rate and blood pressure) after just a few weeks.

I couldn’t be happier….or more relieved.

Because, if I am being completely honest, I have to admit that I was a little bit worried about doing online training.

I was worried that because my online clients wouldn’t be getting the same “hands on” type of attention that my face to face clients get, they might not get the same quality of results.

And, my (slightly overinflated) ego wouldn’t be happy with half-assed training results. I built my training business solely on word of mouth and a mild case of OCD when it comes to designing and implementing training programs.

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Now I am kicking myself for not doing this sooner.

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So, as a thank you to all of the people who already signed up, and because I am unbelievably happy about how things have gone so far, for the remainder of the month, I am offering 3 months of online training for the price of 2 months.

Unfortunately, because I design all of the training programs by hand, I can only take on another 8 clients…sorry.

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3 Months of Online Personal Training – $500….Save $250

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Last week it was Michelle Obama.

This week it’s British celeb-chef Jamie Oliver making an appeal to the American public…begging them to change their food & lifestyle habits in an attempt to save their children from a shortened and unhealthy future.

[polldaddy poll="2682541"]

In Part 1 of this series, I outlined the basics of my Health Habits Diet

1. A modified Paleo Diet will make up the majority of your meals
2. Specific peri-workout nutrition will help improve your workouts and boosts your metabolism
3. Modifications in your nighttime eating are geared to your specific weight loss goals
4. And sadly, portion control still plays an important role for HH dieters.

I also introduced you to 4 different types of Health Habits dieters

1. People concerned with rapid weight loss with no concern for fitness (strength, endurance, etc)
2. People who want to improve their overall health
3. People who want to get fit but aren’t concerned about losing weight
4. People who want to get fat and burn fat at the same time

Note:

I hate how most diet books are “one size fits all”. While a general Paleo-style diet will go a long way to improving the health of most people, it isn’t perfect. Some of us are blessed with an ability to eat whatever we want without getting fat. Mos of us aren’t. Some of us want to maximize our fitness. Some of us couldn’t care less.

• Our starting points are different
• Our goals are different
• As a result, our diets should be different

Today, I will tell you what I do with each of the 4 “types” that I outlined above. If you fit neatly into that “type”, go right ahead and claim your Health Habits diet. If you don’t fit in very neatly, shoot me a comment or an email and together we’ll build your personal HH diet.

The “Need to Lose Weight Fast” Client

Obviously, the fastest way to lose weight is to drop your calories as hard and as fast as possible. We’re not doing that. People who diet this way always end up worse off than they started. So, don’t even go there.

Here are my rules for the “Need to Lose Weight Fast” client

1.     We start with a Paleo Basic style of diet….

Eat This

• Foods that are as close to nature as possible. If our Paleo ancestors couldn’t make it, you can’t eat it.

• Meat -i.e  beef, pork, chicken, fish, seafood, etc…
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Nuts & Seeds
• Seed Oils
• Water

Don’t Eat This

• Grains
• Sugar
• Dairy
• Legumes
• or any other Processed crap. If it comes in a box or has multi-syllabic ingredients, it ain’t Paleo.

2.     Then we remove all the calorie dense vegetables….potatoes, carrots, parshnips, beets, corn, sweet potatoes, peas and squashes

Kind of a low-carb Paleo Diet.

3.     We also stop eating 4 hours before bedtime (nothing but calorie free beverages)

4.     And Portions are controlled

• 1 plate-full per meal (no seconds)
• Vegetables make up 2/3 of the plate

• Note – We don’t count calories on any of my diets. Our goal is to feed your body foods that are high in nutrients and relatively low in calories. As your body gets more of the stuff that it needs, it will respond by reducing your appetite / hunger. Counting calories always leads to reducing calories again and again and again. it just doesn’t work long term.



The “Want to Get Healthy” Client

This client isn’t concerned with weight loss or strength or running a marathon.

They just want to be healthy. To that end….

1.     We start with a Paleo Basic style of diet….

Eat This

• Foods that are as close to nature as possible. If our Paleo ancestors couldn’t make it, you can’t eat it.

• Meat -i.e  beef, pork, chicken, fish, seafood, etc…
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Nuts & Seeds
• Seed Oils
• Water

Don’t Eat This

• Grains
• Sugar
• Dairy
• Legumes
• or any other Processed crap. If it comes in a box or has multi-syllabic ingredients, it ain’t Paleo.

2.     Then, we can re-introduce legumes and dairy…slowly.

• During the re-introduction of beans & dairy, we watch for changes in digestion. Not to get all gross about it, but the Paleo argument against legumes & dairy focuses directly on digestion. The theory is that our ancient Paleo DNA hasn’t had time to adapt to these foods. As such, our immune system and as a result, our GI system has problems digesting these foods.

• If we start seeing GI problems, we remove the offending food and try another. Simple

3.     We also stop eating 4 hours before bedtime (nothing but calorie free beverages)

The “Want to Get Fit” Client

This client wants to maximize their fitness. This could be a triathlete or a MMA fighter or a weekend warrior who wants to regain past glory. Luckily for them, fat loss is not a major issue.

Even luckier for them, this diet will still peel of fat.

1.     We start with a Paleo Basic style of diet….

Eat This

• Foods that are as close to nature as possible. If our Paleo ancestors couldn’t make it, you can’t eat it.

• Meat -i.e  beef, pork, chicken, fish, seafood, etc…
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Nuts & Seeds
• Seed Oils
• Water

Don’t Eat This

• Grains
• Sugar
• Dairy
• Legumes
• or any other Processed crap. If it comes in a box or has multi-syllabic ingredients, it ain’t Paleo.

2.     Peri-Workout Nutrition is introduced

3.     Right before bedtime, a small high protein/high fat meal is eaten.

• This meal is designed to help your body recover from your workouts.

4.     No specific attempt at Portion Control

• As your body gets more of the stuff that it needs, it will respond by reducing your appetite / hunger. Counting calories always leads to reducing calories again and again and again. it just doesn’t work long term.

The “Want to Get Fit and Want to Get Lean” Client

This client makes up the majority of my personal training clientele.

They want to maximize their fitness and get ultra-lean in the process.

Not to surprisingly, we pull out all the stops for this client.

1.     We start with a Paleo Basic style of diet….

Eat This

• Foods that are as close to nature as possible. If our Paleo ancestors couldn’t make it, you can’t eat it.

• Meat -i.e  beef, pork, chicken, fish, seafood, etc…
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Nuts & Seeds
• Seed Oils
• Water

Don’t Eat This

• Grains
• Sugar
• Dairy
• Legumes
• or any other Processed crap. If it comes in a box or has multi-syllabic ingredients, it ain’t Paleo.

2.     Then we remove all the calorie dense vegetables….potatoes, carrots, parshnips, beets, corn, sweet potatoes, peas and squashes

Kind of a low-carb Paleo Diet.

3.     Peri-Workout Nutrition is still included

4.     The pre-bedtime, small high protein/high fat meal is also still included.

• This meal is designed to help your body recover from your workouts.

5.     But no carbs (fruit & veg included) are eaten during the 4 hours before bedtime

• As your body gets more of the stuff that it needs, it will respond by reducing your appetite / hunger. Counting calories always leads to reducing calories again and again and again. it just doesn’t work long term.

6.     And Portions are controlled

• 1 plate-full per meal (no seconds)
• Vegetables make up 2/3 of the plate

• Note – We don’t count calories on any of my diets. Our goal is to feed your body foods that are high in nutrients and relatively low in calories. As your body gets more of the stuff that it needs, it will respond by reducing your appetite / hunger. Counting calories always leads to reducing calories again and again and again. it just doesn’t work long term.

So, there you go.

Hopefully, you fit nice and neat into one of these categories.

If not, shoot me an email and I will give you a hand building your personal HH diet.

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And, if you like what you see here, click here for updates or Share this Post with the rest of the world.

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Related Posts

• The Health Habits Diet – Part 1
• The Making of the Health Habits Diet
• Diet Compliance Chart
  
• Caveman Diet
• Paleo Recipe Resource Page
  
• What Kind of Paleo are You?
• Is Paleo Eating the Cure for Diabetes?
• News Flash! Caveman Diet Good…Your Diet Bad
• Peri-Workout Nutrition

Like most personal trainers, my business has been built on word of mouth.

When my clients lose weight and get fit, their friends notice and I pick up a new client.

And, considering that most of my clients are interested in melting off body-fat, diet & weight loss has become a bit of an obsession for me.

So, when it comes to dietary recommendations, I need to get it right.

That’s why, at it’s core, the Health Habits Diet is a modified Paleo-style diet.

Apple Glazed Turkey Breast

Because based upon the scientific research and my first hand experience, there is no better way of eating for general health and gradual weight loss than Paleo.

You’re eating foods that are high in nutrients and relatively low in calories

And while, it’s always a big transition for new clients, the ones who buy into the concept and trust me (even for a month or so) always see great results….always.

But, we’re not done yet.

As much as I love the Paleo Diet, it’s not perfect. As much as some Paleos want to believe that everything Paleo is good and everything modern is bad, they’re wrong.

1. Certain foods enjoyed by some Paleo Dieters make weight loss difficult. For that reason, during a weight loss phase, they are eliminated.
2. And as I said in this post, it’s not only what you eat, it’s when you eat it, and the Health Habits Diet makes use of precise peri-workout nutrition to allow my clients to:

• Perform better during their workouts
• Maintain muscle mass while dieting
• Gain muscle mass if desired
• Boost their metabolism and
• Speed up fat loss

But, we’re still not done yet.

Depending upon the goals of my clients, nighttime eating and meal size must also addressed.

• Clients interested primarily in fat loss eat nothing for the 4 hours before sleep (except for a tbsp of fish oil)
• Clients interested in gaining muscle mass while losing fat will eat a solid meal before bed.

• As well, there are never any seconds on the Health Habits. One serving per meal…and don’t try getting around that by buying gigantic bowls or plates.

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So, to recap, these are the basics of my Health Habits Diet

1. A modified Paleo Diet makes up the majority of your meals
2. Peri-workout nutrition for better workouts and a metabolism boost
3. Nighttime eating geared to specific weight loss goals
4. Portion control

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So, where do you go from here?

In my next few post, I will outline the specific menus I recommend for the following “types” of Health Habits dieters.

If you don’t find yourself in one of these archetypes, shoot me an email and we can whip up something specific to your needs.

Dieter Archetypes

1. Rapid weight loss with no concern for muscle mass
2. Just wants to get healthy
3. Wants to gain muscle and/or get really strong without getting fat
4. Wants to maintain / gain muscle while losing as much body-fat as possible

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Just a reminder, tomorrow is my birthday, so I won’t be posting.

In the meantime, look through these archives to get a better idea of what to expect with the next post.

• Diet Compliance Chart
  
• Caveman Diet
• Paleo Recipe Resource Page
  
• What Kind of Paleo are You?
• Is Paleo Eating the Cure for Diabetes?
• News Flash! Caveman Diet Good…Your Diet Bad
• Peri-Workout Nutrition

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And, if you like what you see here, click here for updates or Share this Post with the rest of the world.

Like previous First Ladies, Michelle Obama has found her First Lady Issue – and luckily for America, it’s Childhood Obesity.

America has to do something about childhood obesity…NOW.

Our collective lifestyle is essentially a perfect storm that ensures that our children are going to keep getting fatter and sicker year after year.

But, what are we supposed to do.

• Most families require two incomes…ergo home cooked meals are hard to come by.
• America’s food producers make a greater profit on processed “food in a box” than they do on fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, etc… so we can’t expect them to lead the healthy eating parade.
• Between our anti-pedestrian neighborhoods and our fear of strangers, our kids don’t play outside anymore. I remember as a kid being outside for hours playing sports and doing kid stuff. I bet you do too. When was the last time your kids spent an entire Saturday outside in the fresh air, running around doing something good for their health?
• Add to this tv, video games, insane amounts of homework, the internet, the fact we drive everywhere, mega malls, etc….

It all seems pretty grim, doesn’t it.

But, like the first Lady says, “childhood obesity is imminently solveable”

We just need a good plan.

And that’s where we are right now. At the planning stage.

No big gov’t involvement…yet. No big corporate sponsored advertising campaigns. No new taxes or regulations.

So, before all of that happens, America’s parents might want to take 15 minutes and think about what help they want from their government so that they can keep their children lean, fit & healthy.

If you need some help getting started,perhaps these articles can give you some ideas.

• America’s “Official” Obesity Solution
• A BAN on Fast Food TV Advertising Would Reverse Childhood Obesity Trends
• Your Kids are being Targeted
• The status-quo is broken…We need a new model for burning fat and getting fit
• Fat Babies become Fat Kids become Fat Teenagers become Fat Adults
• The Politics of Obesity
• MEND: A Better Way to Reverse Childhood Obesity?

And I would love to hear your suggestions.

Heck, I would love to assemble all of your suggestions and forward them to the First Lady.

So, think about it and leave a comment.

Or email her yourself via the White House Contact Form.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates or Share this Post with the rest of the world.

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]]> http://www.healthhabits.ca/2010/02/03/flotus-tackles-americas-fatness/feed/ 0 http://www.healthhabits.ca/2010/02/02/the-making-of-the-health-habits-diet/#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed http://www.healthhabits.ca/2010/02/02/the-making-of-the-health-habits-diet/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:46:38 +0000 healthhabits http://www.healthhabits.ca/?p=7609

Tomorrow, I will be sharing with the Health Habits Facebook Group one of the most effective fat-burning, muscle building, health improving diets I have ever designed.

But, before I do that, I thought I would show everybody the 3 central rules that I used to create the Health Habits Diet.

1. It’s Not Only What You Eat
2. It’s When You Eat It
3. And How Much Of It That You Eat

Simple, right?

Let’s take a closer look.

What You Eat

There are a lot of diets that restrict the types of food you can and can’t eat:

• Low-Fat Diets
• Low-Carb Diets
• Vegetarian/Vegan Diets
• High Fiber Diets
• Liquid Diets
• Organic Food Diets
• Whole Grain Diets
• and the list goes on and on and on…

The fact is, certain foods improve your health and certain foods don’t.

• Certain foods are high in nutrients and low in calories
• Other foods are high in calories and low in nutrients
• Certain foods make you hungry
• Certain foods cause inflammation (that’s bad)
• Certain foods make you fat

Based upon the most recent research, I have put together my list of the foods that improve your health and the ones that wreck your health.

When You Eat It

What makes more sense:

• Drinking all of your daily fluid intake at one sitting (think Big Gulp)?
• Or spreading it out over the course of the day?

• Skipping breakfast and lunch and then eating a huge dinner?
• Spacing your food intake out evenly over the whole day?

• Eating all of your carbs for breakfast, fats for lunch and proteins for dinner?
• Eating meals balanced in macro-nutrients (carb, fat, pro)?

It’s not just the types of food you eat that’s important, it’s when you eat those foods.

And tomorrow, I will tell the Facebook Group about two incredibly powerful meal timing techniques.

How Much You Eat

This one is a no-brainer.

10,000 calories of the healthiest health food per day is still going to make you fat.

It’s just too bad that most dieters see calories as the end-all and be-all of successful weight loss. If the weight isn’t coming off fast enough, they just drop the calories a little more. And then a little more. And then just a little bit more.

Until 1 of 2 things happens:

1. They achieve their weight loss goal and then have to maintain their skinny-fat physiques on 1000 calories per day for the rest of their miserable calorie deprived lives, or
2. Their body revolts and forces them (via hormones, brain chemicals, etc) to eat and eat and eat.

Neither scenario works.

That’s why focusing solely on calories is the worst thing you can do if you’re trying to lose weight.

Conclusion

Tomorrow, I will be sharing with the Health Habits Facebook Group my latest fat-burning, muscle building, health improving diet.

It’s based on these 3 rules and it works better than anything I have ever seen.

Hope you like it.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates or Share this Post with the rest of the world.

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Related Posts

• The Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet….weight loss miracle or a great …
• Paleo Recipe Resource Page
  
• Diet Compliance Chart
  
• Caveman Diet
• The New Ultra-Longevity Diet
  
• Dr. Dan’s Paleo Diet Saves Christmas
  
• Hormones, Problem Areas and Your Body-Fat Map – Part 2
• Think Yourself Thin….The Complete Beck Diet for Life
  
• The New Non-Diet Mediterranean Diet