Tag Archives: weight

Weight loss 101

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Happy Monday to yinz,

Losing weight is healthy. It’s really interesting how scaled weight has become this iconic health standard because, apparently so, if we are overweight then we are labeled unhealthy. We have freakin’ weight charts in every doctor’s office that communicate if you are this height then you should be this weight, otherwise something is wrong with you. This tiny little example of societal standards and manipulated norms is what actually screws people up. We are completely fine in the first place until professionals began shoving it down our throats that this is right, this is the way we should live when they completely fail to realize that life should be lived on an individualized basis and not by biased status quo studies that turn health into a math equation all-the-while manipulating the hell out of what it takes to be healthy for you.

Ranting aside, do you know what causes the body to gain weight? Do you know what causes YOUR body to gain weight? We all act/react differently to every single experience and we all store fat in different ways and in different places. A person can store fat if they’re depressed, if they’re angry, if they are exhausted, if they are awake for too long, if they drink too many protein shakes, if they apply a specific deodorant, if a street reminds them of a frightening experience AND a person can store fat in an area of the body that is specifically affected by emotions, grudges, regrets, or shames. Pretty neat, huh? All of this is very important to consider in our individual plight towards better health and it is my goal for today’s post.

In order to understand weight loss and the industry bullshit that surrounds the poor bastard, we need to understand the mechanisms/why’s in which the body can gain or lose weight. We’re up to our eyeballs in misinformation, marketing stunts, biased research studies, and a sheer lack of knowledge of how our bodies work. You want to be in touch with reality? Start with yourself. Because you and only you knows what is best… that is, if you take the time to learn and understand who you are and what you’re all about under a universal reality (no external/personal bias, conditions, judgements, etc.).

Now, for my favorite, over-used word… perspectives!

1) Get healthy to lose weight, don’t lose weight to get healthy – I love this quote, which can be accredited to Josh Rubin of East West Healing & Performance. Why is weight loss the goal when it’s really just a symptom of good health? Why is weight loss the goal when true weight loss, the natural progression and prolonged maintenance due to well-tailored/well-implemented metabolic shifts, cannot be achieved through a quick-fix program or beating yourself into the ground with popular work out dvds? I understand the need for goals or milestones along the way, but weight should not be health-basis-numero-uno. The weight will come off when the body is at a point where it doesn’t need it anymore. I will say that again, the weight will come off when the body is at a point where it doesn’t need it anymore.

2) The body stores fat for protection - Fat is literally a life saver and it’s more or less a result of the body doing damage control. Meaning, if there is a homeostatic imbalance due to some sort disruption – a caloric deficiency, a caloric surplus, too many of the wrong calories, malnutrition, over-exertion (exercise, work, school, relationships, family), lack of sleep, excess mental and physical stressors, environmental toxins/chemicals, emotional trauma, etc. – the body will most likely store fat as a protective reaction (I say most likely so I can note that not everyone reacts accordingly). We are all familiar with the relationship between fat and cholesterol, and that the body produces its own cholesterol, right? Well, an increase in cholesterol production is also a form of protection since cholesterol is actually one of our body’s most powerful anti-oxidants. We all hear that high cholesterol is bad and, while it can be a sort of warning sign, few fail to make the holistic connection as to why it’s elevated without pointing fingers at diet. Got stored fat? Consider what your body is protecting you from (and why you need to store fat). Fat also protects us from the cold! Hooray!

3) Scales mean jack - Because fat weight vs muscle weight vs water weight vs poop weight… DUH. All weight is not created equal and scale cannot differentiate between the three pounds you lost after pooping or the three pounds you lost from sweating your butt off in a sauna (only to be naturally regained by eating and drinking mineral water, respectively). Don’t forget that muscle weighs more than fat and if you are involved in some sort of physical training program with a caloric-sufficient diet, chances are you won’t see that scale budge even though you could be gaining muscle weight while losing fat weight. Our weight fluctuates on a daily basis and it is absolutely not an indicator of [good] health NOR progress. I hear people all the time proclaim, I lost ____ pounds this week! That’s cool and all, but what type of weight did you lose? Maybe that weight loss isn’t permanent and maybe it could be due to an unhealthy result (i.e. stress, suppressed appetite, depression, stimulants, dehydration, etc.). At a recent family party I had a person tell me that they recently lost 30+ pounds. When I asked And how do you feel?… I got… Well, I feel god-awful. *facepalm*

4) Are you even eating enough? - Consider this: the body needs [enough] energy to function. If I limit my daily caloric intake and, thus, deprive my body of the energy it takes to perform tasks at a high efficiency rate and in a timely manner, why the HECK would it think… hey, now is a good time to lose weight… ? Actually, HOW the heck would it have the energy to do such a high-energy-demanding task, which usually requires a higher metabolic rate? THIS is huge when people approach me about weight loss because I often find that they aren’t eating enough calories (any calories) throughout the day for their body to even consider losing weight on top of all the energy it takes to breathe, think, eat, drink, digest, detoxify, poop, pee, move, exercise, sleep, recharge, remember, be creative, and deal with life’s daily stressors. The body ain’t stupid. Having said that, I have had many-a-conversation lately with various peers of mine all umbrella-ing under one classic, underlying theme… People are dumb. I’d also like to point out that sleeping enough is also über important… also. 

5) Diet is a factor, but your food education is, too – This is where misinformation comes into play. We’re taught that saturated fat, cholesterol, red meat, dairy, sugar, starch, salt, soda, and fruit juice (a.k.a. sugar water) are all bad for our health; they will make us SO fat and sick. Instead, we’re taught that unsaturated fats, vegetable/nut/seed oils, wheat, corn, soy, grains in general, copious amounts of vegetables, six to eight daily servings of fruit, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds are all healthy and will keep us lean. My response to that is… Who says so? The government? The medical system? Please tell me when was the last time you had my best interest at heart and also when it didn’t involve an industrial profit. 

6) Intolerances, allergens, detox issues, poor digestion, malabsorption, deydration – First, I’m going to point some fingers at the over-saturated amount of chemicals and toxins that we are exposed to on a daily basis. We breathe, apply, and come in contact with this crap and it could be a big factor in our body protecting us with fat storage. The chemicals in your deodorant, in your makeup, in the air freshener, in car fumes, in your window cleaner, in your tissues, in your laundry detergent or fabric softener… you name it (actually, if you can’t read it) and it can probably affect your physiology in some way and it can greatly affect the detox system if it’s not already under distress. The same goes for food additives (the gums, the dyes, the non-pharmaceutical grade added vitamins). Then there are food intolerances that make your body think it’s in a war zone every day (this can also spur an auto-immune deficiency). Gluten, for instance, is one major food intolerance that can cause weight gain and people may just think that they need to run a few more miles each day and find out that they just gain more weight (probably due to a grand stress reaction). Which brings me to poor digestion and, thus, malabsorption. You can eat all of the healthy, leaning-out food you want, but if you cannot absorb said food it is possible that your body isn’t getting enough calories to meet its energy demands. Finally, dehydration… I’m hoping this is a no-brainer after reading through my alluding-theme perspectives. Spark that awareness!

7) Exercise smarter, not harder… or not at all – I started Crossfitting about a month ago. Within the first three weeks of going hard I noticed that I began to put weight on around my stomach. I added some muscle mass here and there but I was also adding fat. No, I wasn’t eating too much… I actually wasn’t eating enough to meet the demands I was putting on my body AND this started to affect my sleeping patterns… waking up in the middle of the night, restlessness, resulted dehydration, etc. I thought this was really cool in a weird science-nerd kind of way. I absolutely love the fact that I went through this because it gave me some more perspective into how MY body works, acts, and reacts at this point in my life. Sure, I could have probably done this type of workout and recovered with ease when I was 18 with the endless testosterone running through my body, but I’m not 18. I’m 27 and I’m not as active as I was almost a decade ago. And I say “or not at all” because I hate the stipulation that in order to lose weight exercise is necessary. Any intelligent personal trainer or health enthusiast will tell you that an exercise program will never outwork a poor diet. The diet will always be the foundation and exercise is a complementary component towards your specific goals. No, you don’t have to exercise to lose weight. It helps, but it’s not as important as the media makes it out to be (i.e. the biggest schmuck… I mean, loser). My solution will always be to go smarter by taking the time to sit back, rest, reflect, and look at the big picture of the why and how in respect to my body.

8) Emotions – What your choice of manifestation? Where are you storing yours?

Hopefully you can get the jist that there will never be a one-size-fits all solution nor will there ever be just one solution to a problem that really isn’t a problem at all. Fat storage is a symptom, a mechanism, a safety device, a warning sign, a smaller result of a much bigger picture. It’s not a reason to define yourself, to get down on yourself, to beat yourself up, or to think you’re not pretty enough, not handsome enough, or not fit enough. The body is trying to send you a message and only you can decipher its underlying cause. Don’t believe in the bullshit; believe in yourself.

Happy trails,

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It’s all about metabolism

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A higher metabolic rate translates to a higher quality of life. – This guy

What does metabolic rate have to with leading a quality life? Well, everything really. We know that the metabolism is the main calorie-burning epicenter – the body’s ability to turn food into biological energy and heat at a rapid rate AND with efficiency. We know that people like to boost their metabolism with shots of caffeine, energy pills, extracts, protein shakes, amino acids, steroid hormones, and hours in the gym. What good does this all do if the mechanisms which fuel bodily activities are not understood? I mean, why are people constantly taking shots in the dark when they have absolutely no physiological clue as to how their body actually runs, responds, reacts, digests, assimilates, regenerates, rebuilds, eliminates, converts, produces, reduces, or, the all-encompassing, metabolizes? I can take green coffee bean extracts all damn day long because it’s supposed to increase my metabolic rate (so then I’ll burn calories quicker, eliminate body fat, eat whatever I want and be “ok,” etc.), but how do I really know whether or not it’s working?

I’d say the best approach to elevating the metabolic rate is to understand what is actually involved in the metabolism. For starters, metabolism involves hormones and a lot of ‘em. The hormones involved require a balance with one another – within homeostasis. For example, in male’s there must be a greater ratio of Testosterone:Estrogen and in females there must be a greater ratio of Progesterone:Estrogen (yes, excessive estrogen levels for women is actually BAD). When those ratios are imbalanced and there exists a greater amount of [unopposed] Estrogen then the metabolic rate will likely decline because of the anti-metabolic affects of excess Estrogen (which can trigger stress-hormone reactions, hypoglycemia, muscle loss, weight gain, bacterial imbalance, encourage cell division, water retention, and also cause organs to become “sluggish”). We’ll go into Estrogen’s true-colors role within the body in another blog, but my point is to show how a simple imbalance can create an opportunity for a weaker metabolic rate – that is, a weaker functioning body. Other hormones involved include thyroid (T4, T3), pituitary, progesterone, testosterone, pregnenolone, cholesterol, DHEA, estrogen, serotonin (tryptophan), prolactin, insulin, glucagon, cortisol, adrenaline, and aldosterone (to name a few). 

So-to-speak, metabolism fuels the body and hormones fuel the metabolism. So what fuels the hormones? Well, hydration, nutrition, and rest, of course! Let’s keep it simple and focus on nutrition (because I tend to throw in hydration as part of nutrition since water should always have a mineral content, i.e. nutrition). Nutrition can be broken down into two categories: Macronutrients (Fats, Proteins, and Carbohydrates) and Micronutrients (Vitamins and Minerals). Macro’s can be further broken down into Saturated Fats, Monounsaturated Fats, Polyunsaturated Fats, Animal Proteins, Plant Proteins, Simple Carbohydrates, and Complex Carbohydrates. Micro’s go further into Fat-Soluble Vitamins A, D, E, and K, Water-Soluble Vitamins B and C, and Minerals such as Calcium, Copper, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Selenium, Zinc, Iron, Phosphorus, Iodine, and Maganese.

Phew. 

Sleep is next in line as a essential platform to allow your body some time to rest, recover, and rebuild from a day-in-the-life. Whether or not you did anything today, your body is still working, digesting, assimilating, producing, excreting, and being a living organism that’s just trying to do what it needs to do to survive.

Alright, so I have thrown a lot of information at you and your probably waiting on me to tell you to do this, that, and voila – you’re metabolism is as good as new! Well, that can exist and the approach can be viewed as a metabolic recovery rather than a metabolism-boosting scheme (like we’re marketed) because, in my perceived reality of many people whom I interact with on a daily basis, most people are in need of a recovery – to get back what their body used to be, what their body used to be able to do, and how their body used to function with efficiency. Ever hear someone say, “I used to be able to eat that when I was younger” or “I was very active when I was younger so I could eat whatever I wanted.” While those statements may be true of the past, the mindset that the opportunity no longer exists in the present should not hold water. Throughout our American-way lifetime we are bombarded with metabolism-weakening opportunities: gluten, grains, processed foods, unsaturated fats, trans fats (spoiled unsaturated fats), inflammatory proteins, artificial sweeteners, additives, preservatives, chemicals, toxins, heavy metals, alcohol, dehydration, resulted constipation, antibiotics, vaccines, and you name it. It’s no wonder our bodies can’t do it anymore because the metabolic rate, the metabolic processes, and the metabolic efficiency cannot continuously work at top speed because of all the crap we put our body through and put through our body.

Take your body into perspective with metabolism: any physical imbalance is likely a result of a hormonal imbalance which is likely a result of a nutritional/sleep imbalance (minor lifestyle details aside). Boom.

If you’d like to discuss this perspective along with other health-related insights, please contact me for a FREE Conversation.

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Lita Lee’s diet do’s and don’ts

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Today’s post highlights Lita Lee’s diet recommendations from her free monthly newsletter along with my perspectives in plain text…

Avoid

  • Synthetic vitamins, minerals and isolated substances. Agree. Most of the vitamins added to our foods are impure, shipped-from-overseas, made-in-a-lab, laced-with-metals, I-guess-you-can-call-them vitamins. Purchase non-fortified or non-”added to” foods/drinks.
  • Junk foods, refined foods, fast foods, and fake foods, especially fake sugars (NutraSweet, Splenda or Sucralose, Sacharin, etc.). Agree. All sweeteners are chemicals and toxins to the body. People think they’re “healthier” by avoiding sugar and opting for sugar-free, but they’re just making their body work harder and burdening it more. The body can use sugar – no matter what the source – but it has a shitty time digesting or utilizing fake foods.
  • PUFA (all omega-3 and -6 oils) – all oils that are liquid at room temperature (such as flaxseed, fish oils, borage, Canola, and all seed, nut and bean oils, etc.). Avoid all foods containing PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) such as most bread, most cereals, vegetable juices, etc. When you suck the juice from a vegetable, you get various amounts of toxic PUFA with no protection from the mother fiber. Agree. Polyunsaturated fats are highly toxic and unstable on a molecular level. These can convert into trans fats and are found EVERYWHERE in our food supply – even “healthy” foods contain toxic PUFAs. Avoid omega-6 as much as you can. Omega-3′s are healthy, but should not be heated as they are unstable molecules under pressure. To protect yourself in an PUFA meal – add some saturated fat (animal fat, butter, dairy, coconut oil) to the meal to slow down the oxidation (rancidity, inflammation) of the fat molecules within the body. 
  • Farmed fish and argibusiness animals – all are fed soy, chemicals and drugs. Agree. They are fed unnatural diets, which completely compromises their immune system, so since they’re sick 24/7 they must be administered antibiotics and other steroids to keep them “healthy.” Humans experience this wild reality, too, ya know. 
  • Deli meats containing by-products of the meat industry. Agree. A lot of deli meats are the scraps and leftovers pressed into a slab of meat. Then they’re dressed in nitrates, artificial flavorings, and nutritionally-void salt. No bueno.
  • Avoid or use rarely: all gluten and high PUFA (omega-6 and -6 oils) foods which include seeds, nuts, nut butters, beans (except green), wheat, rye, barley. Raw seeds and nuts are even more toxic than roasted seeds and nuts because they contain protease inhibitors which stress the kidneys. Sprouted seeds contain various amount of cyanide. Eating 100 grams of alfalfa sprouts can be lethal. Agree. Gluten can “burn” through the mucosa intestinal lining and create holes within the digestive organs. Most nuts and seeds contain a high PUFA content and they also yield anti-digestive properties (this is a natural defense mechanism to ward off animals from eating the crops prior to harvest – the same goes for grains, too!). The alfalfa thing is wild – I’ve never heard of it but damn if that’s true. Death by alfalfa!
  • Raw cruciferous vegetables – they must be cooked to destroy the thyroid inhibitors (goitergens). These include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens, Chinese broccoli, kohlrabi, bok choy, turnip root and greens, and rutabaga. Fermenting cruciferous vegetables does not destroy goitergens. Not all good things are necessarily “good” and in the case of cruiciferous vegetables… raw isn’t too good. I wouldn’t avoid this all together, but just make sure they’re thoroughly cooked before consumption if you want to keep your metabolic rate in tip top shape (hint: metabolism and thyroid function are bros). 

Seek

  • Organic whole foods as best you can. Whole milk. The whole egg. The whole grain. Agree. I get that organic is “expensive” but you are investing in yourself. People will spend so much on clothes, cars, toys, houses, etc. but they consider the fuel that keeps them alive to not be a worthy investment if a gallon of milk is 6-8 bucks. Those who are not-so-well-off – do the best that you can.
  • Organic, pastured, grass fed, soy-free animal protein. Most chickens, turkey and pork are fed soy (in the US) even if they are labeled organic and free range. Same with eggs. Agree. Eggs are tricky. “Vegetarian fed” eggs are still fed grains and soy, and not a chicken’s natural diet of insects and worms. So you do your best with what you know. If organics aren’t around, try local to minimize the transport time and possible greater toxin exposure.
  • Organic oats, rice, and corn are good. Also, heirloom grains are good (spelt, quinoa, kamut, amaranth, etc.). Make sure the heirloom breads contain no PUFA. Agree and disagree. Some people can’t do grains at all for many reason: their digestive system can be compromised from years of irritation and inflammation, they can have a food intolerance, a food allergy, and their digestive system simply may not be able to handle the grain. Always soak and wash rice thoroughly prior to consumption. Make sure your corn is non-GMO because 86%+ of the U.S. corn (26% world-wide) is an unregulated, government-backed science experiment. 
  • Carrots, beets, onions, cucumbers, squash and eggplant. Agree. Root vegetables are naturally anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic because they must protect themselves while growing in the earth. This protective quality translates when they are digested within the body and can help balance intestinal bacteria. Carrots should be eaten raw and consumed on a daily basis as they’re extremely protective against pathogens and increased estrogen hormones produced within the intestinal tract from stress. 
  • Fresh salad greens (except for head lettuce). Yes and no. I’m not too well-versed on greens aside from their vitamin content. I’ve heard that raw greens are high in PUFAs so they should be avoided for that reason but they’re also high in vitamins/minerals and when cooked down in water it can be consumed as a natural “vitamin water.”
  • Fruits and potatoes are the only two foods that do not contain PUFA. Fruit juices are high in salicylates so it’s like drinking organic aspirin (very anti-inflammatory). Potatoes are the best vegan source of protein and have an excellent protein efficiency ratio. Agree. Sing it, sister.
  • Use only coconut oil in you rcooking. This is the healthiest fat you can eat and very prothyroid. Butter and olive oil are healthy, too, but not for cooking. Choosing/consuming the right cooking oil is the key to avoiding rancid (trans) fats and limiting an inflammatory response. Coconut oil is 98% saturated fat and is extremely stable at high temperatures and pressures. It is the go-to cooking oil for everything and anything. Try it and love it. Butter has a tendency to burn and it also is not a pure saturated fat; its unsaturated fats are prone to spoiling, too. Olive oil is definitely all it’s cracked up to be… just not when it’s heated. Use it topically and keep it in a dark bottle in a dark, cool place. 
  • Non-iodized white sea salt and coconut water. Avoid colored salts. The color is either dirt or toxins. For example, pink or orange color in Himalayan sea salt is toxic inorganic iron. Agree aaaand I’m still understanding iron’s role within the body. Salt isn’t unhealthy, but its source and processing play a big role. From what I gather, iron can be highly toxic in excess. The body has an extremely hard time of eliminating excess iron because it doesn’t have a true mechanism to get rid of the stuff. There are some tricky diet approaches to get iron out, but the best approach is to avoid iron-rich foods all together, one of those being a deep sea salt [that's colored or moist].
  • Organic dairy products, raw if possible: whole milk, kefir, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese. Agree and disagree. I love me some dairy, especially milk and cheese. The yogurt recommendation gets me because it’s lactic acid content, which is an inflammatory/stress response from cells, can do more harm than good (especially in an compromised metabolism or digestive system). If people are eating dairy to provide the gut with good bacteria… what about the concept of just balancing the bacteria that’s naturally in there now? If you think that you have more bad than good bacteria, then take a look at the diet. Treat the cause with a diet and lifestyle shift, not the symptoms with a band-aid.
  • Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) from lanolin is one vitamin I recommend for everyone. Agree. Vitamin D is huge for immune health and is a synergist for calcium.
  • Turmeric (from New Chapter) is an important herb I also recommend. I’m not well-versed in Turmeric but I am familiar with its ability to aid in digestion.

Pro-thyroid Diet

  • 4 oz (25 grams) organic animal protein 3x/day, fruits 3x/day, fresh fruit juices 3x/day, carrots daily, white sea salt on all foods and in juices, coconut oil as your main oil and Great Lakes Gelatin as the best protein powder. NOTE: this is the adult amount and would be less for a child. This is a pretty standard and generic recommendation. Three meals may not be ideal for those on a broken metabolism, which will require someone to eat more frequently so their blood sugar doesn’t drop and create a stress hormone response. A high amount of animal flesh protein can actually be anti-metabolic and highly inflammatory, which isn’t what anyone wants and isn’t available in small orders. Great Lakes Gelatin is an extremely pure and beneficial protein, but it’s expensive. Carrots should be raw and consumed in between breakfast and lunch to aid with digestion and detoxification for the remainder of the day into the next.
  • Eat ripe fruits (except grapefruit) and drink fruit juices (except apple or grapefruit juices) daily. In a ripe fruit (bananas, pears, peaches, nectarines, etc.), the starch is converted into healthy sugars. Agree. Fruit is your friend. Grapefruit juice can contain a high amount of phytoestrogens, which are nay bueno when the goal is to increase metabolic rate and efficiency.
  • White sea salt (not commercial salt) is very important and should be consumed on all foods and in fruit juices. Agree. Salt your juices. It sounds wild but it works synergistically with the sugar and mineral content. A small pinch of salt will do just fine.
  • Drink organic coffee (not decaf) with milk, cream or 1/2 & 1/2. Green, black, and white teas absorb lots of fluoride from water, air, and soil – I don’t recommend them. Agree. Most decaf coffees are treated with formaldehyde to strip the caffeine content. If you’re a tea-lover, make sure you’re drinking it with pure water: get yourself a good filtering system or purchase glass-bottled water and heat it up on the stove as needed.
  • Do not drink water from plastic bottles. Not only do they contain endocrine disruptors, but many brands are tap water plus added synthetic vitamins/minerals and tons of plastic bottles are contaminating our oceans and killing our marine life. Avoid RO and distilled water – it’s dead and destructured. Agree. It’s wild what most companies try to sell as “healthy” water when it’s really just science.
  • Carbonated water is good for you if it doesn’t contain fluoride. My favorite brands include Perrier and Pellegrino, both of which come in glass bottles. Agree. The CO2 (carbon dioxide) provides the body with energy on a cellular level – it’s an energy-antagonist! On top of that, most carbonated waters are mineral waters so there isn’t a need to add salt! Good stuff.
  • Use an ion exchange filter to remove fluoride and all the other impurities from your sink and your shower. I recommend Tim Hickey of Friends of Water. Agree. And I recommend Tyent. I had access to one for a while. It was awesome.

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The no-detox-diet approach to detox

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A friend recently asked me about Detox Pads and if they’re legit or not. I’ve heard of them through my sporadic late-night-half-asleep-trying-to-fall-back-asleep infomercial viewing parties, but I couldn’t tell you a damn thing about them until I embarked on a Google session. Just as I suspected – crap! I don’t think they’re crap because they don’t work or they’re a waste of money or because there are better-spent detox mechanisms. No. They’re crap because that’s not how the freaking detoxification system is meant to function!

There are TONS of detoxes that claim to work: detox diets (only 1 day, no 2 days, no 3 days, no 5 days, no 7 days, no 14 days, no only 30 days to detoxify possible years upon years worth of toxin exposure!), detox liquids, detox pills, detox powders, detox machines, detox baths, detox exercises, detox retreats, detox this, and detox that. Some of these platforms may yield results, some may do nothing, and some could make matters worse without a good idea of why there’s a need to detox in the first place. The bottom line is: a true detox occurs when the body is operating at a high metabolic rate, is at a 98 F or slight above temperature, is digesting, assimilating, and excreting properly, and is balancing hormones accordingly. 

Question: Does anyone really know how the detoxification system works? Because the last time I checked, the detoxification system is one of the most intricate and intelligent systems on this planet and it knows damn well what it is doing. It knows how to detoxify in a pro-metabolic environment, but it also knows how to keep itself sustained in a highly toxic, anti-metabolic, and/or an over-burdened not-so-ideal living environment that prevents it from fully doing its job in a timely and effective manner. Ya with me?

A detoxification system that cannot fully/properly/efficiently/effectively detoxify is a SYMPTOM to a greater cause. The detox system isn’t the problem, it can be found within an imbalance, unawareness, irresponsibility, or neglect of the following:

  • Daily caloric intake - Eating enough daily calories to sustain your body’s daily needs to operate daily, function daily, and perform daily human body activities… daily (the detox organs need energy, too, ya know!)
  • Hydration - Consuming enough water, salt, potassium, magnesium, and sugar which provide cellular energy, nutrient delivery, and flush the body of [cellular] waste
  • Environmental toxins - Avoiding plastics, BPA, phytoestrogens, gases, smoke, mercury [fillings] [fish], lead, arsenic, all fluoride, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, inhalation or skin exposure to various chemical-based sprays, lotions, or applicants (household sprays, cosmetics, deodorants, sunscreen, perfume, etc.)
  • Digestive and immune health - Maintaining a balanced ratio of good:bad intestinal bacteria. Maintaining an acidic stomach pH to prevent pathogens, fungi, parasites, and harmful bacteria from entering the body. Consuming a diet high in fat-soluble vitamins to build immunity. Increasing dietary saturated fats while decreasing pro-inflammatory polyunsaturated fats/omega-6. Limiting food allergens and irritants such as lecithin, carrageenan, added gums, added cultures, added [synthetic] vitamins, unfermented [gmo] soy, [gmo] wheat, gluten, and [gmo] corn (hfcs, maltodextrin, dextrose).

Maintaining metabolic health through pro-metabolic diet and lifestyle choices while simultaneously limiting one’s exposure to anti-metabolic circumstances is crucial in maintaining not only detoxification system health, but overall the-body-is-a-system-of-systems health! 

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Sunday wrap up June 17th

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Miss any posts this week?

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Can sugar be healthy?

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Sugar is bad for health. Sugar causes weight gain. Sugar causes insulin resistance. Sugar causes diabetes. Sugar will rot your teeth. 

What if Sugar wasn’t bad? What if Sugar increased fat-loss and built the immune system. What if Sugar protected teeth? What if Sugar was a vital nutrient to life?

Sugar has obviously fallen victim to the ever-increasing obesity epidemic in the US. There are many sugar-based blames: from soda to energy drinks to ice cream to fresh fruit to juice to white potatoes to white bread to mocha joe latte’s. So0o0o, why are these bad? Is it possible that these foods can actually promote health and that Sugar isn’t solely to blame?

What is the source of sugar? Does the sugar contain any nutritional value? Is the sugar treated and laced with chemical sprays? What about the individual consuming Sugar? Is their digestive system assimilating and eliminating properly? Hormones responding accordingly? How well can they detoxify – liver and kidney function? Is their thyroid functioning well? What is their body temperature in the morning, before/after lunch, and before bed? What is their pulse at the same times? What about their body’s ability to utilize and store sugar efficiently? What about the rest of their diet? Do they consume other nutrients along with sugar – fat, protein, vitamins, minerals? Does this person exercise or consistently move? What are their sleeping patterns? Do they become stressed very easily? How often are they stressed? What happens physically and emotionally when they become stressed?

I’m getting at context. Context is everything for everything and, in this particular case, sugar is very well-deserving of a context when it comes to labeling it as healthy or unhealthy.

Am I hinting at the fact that Sugar can actually promote health? Yes. Sugar can be healthy, therapeutic, stress-relieving, metabolism-boosting, homeostasis-promoting, hormone-balancing, and even fat-burning! But, again, placing sugar intake and its need into context of the individual is important to understand how and why sugar can be healthy.

Some further reading supporting sugar to help provide some more perspective on my craziness…

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The fat loss web

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a larger version of the diagram can be found here

As you can see from Fat Loss Web, fat loss is a bit more involved than anything that can be read in a health magazine or diet blog, i.e. Long-distance running, incorporating sprint intervals after a weight training session, performing calorie-burning squats 3x a week, cutting carbs from the diet, increasing daily protein intake, drinking ice-water, or consuming metabolic-stimulants such as caffeine or ginseng. While these have all been promoted as fat-burning practices for some years now (and have worked in some cases), they aren’t necessarily the best approach.

The body wants to survive. What happens when it is in survival mode? Well, fat storage (amongst other processes) And the reasoning (for the sake of today’s post)? (from top left to right)

  • Blood Sugar Imbalances
  • Adrenal Dysfunction (Stress)
  • Gut Dysfunction (Digestion)
  • Thyroid Dysfunction (Metabolism, Digestion)
  • Mind/Body Issues
  • Hormonal Imbalances
  • Cellular Dysfunction (Energy)
  • Brain/Neurotransmitter Dysfunction
  • Immune System Imbalance
  • Liver Dysfunction (Detoxification)

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about taking fat storage into perspective as a positive occurrence (the body saying, “yo, I’m trying to keep you alive here!”) and this blog is to take that perspective one step further by listing some of the mechanisms that can encourage fat storage (and thus providing a perspective on fat loss)…

  • Not eating enough calories to be alive: Breathe, think, drink/eat, digest/eliminate, move/exercise, and rest/sleep. The body needs enough energy to at least keep the lights on!
  • Over-consuming intestinal-inflammatory foods such as grains (gluten, wheat, corn), beans/legumes (soy), polyunsaturated fats (omega -6′s), dehydrated foods (commercial flour, sugar, salt, meal/protein powders), or raw/uncooked above ground vegetables (a great debate, of course).
  • Over-consuming a nutrient-void diet via refined, packaged, boxed, canned, artificially-made, or commercially-raised foods.
  • Over-consumption of toxins vs. the body’s rate of detoxification via smoking, alcohol, plastic/canned food, skin-applicants (lotions, soaps, make-up, etc.) herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, or air-born toxins (gases, fumes, smoke, etc.).
  • Dehydration and/or Over-hydration: Not consuming enough liquids or over-consuming water, which over-saturate cells and flush them of their vital nutrients.
  • Not sleeping enough/irregular sleeping patterns: 7-8 hours/night and a bed time of 10-11pm to 6-7am are ideal for hormonal patterns.
  • Over-training/over-exercising (this is co-dependent with rest/sleep) – Energy In vs. Energy Out vs. Energy Recovery.
  • Avoiding carbohydrates (sugar) – The body’s primary fuel source are carbohydrates (which are broken down into sugar within the digest system). Avoiding or limiting carbohydrates can cause the body to burn muscle for energy.
  • Avoiding fats (specifically saturated fat) – Dietary fats are required for many hormonal processes, tissue stability, vitamin absorption, and bodily functions.
  • Personal unhappiness and a lack of self responsibility

A common theme? Stress.

Physical, dietary, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual stress. Every single dysfunction and mechanism listed above are stress reactions – symptoms to a greater cause. 

What encourages stress? I will take a wild guess that you already have a good idea as to what is causing your stress. To those who have no clue: take some time to listen to yourself, become aware of your actions and reactions, take note, and reflect.

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The Gym: We’ve got a first timer over here!

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So, I took the plunge and signed myself up for a membership at LA Fitness. I was never really a gym guy because I enjoyed the challenge of MacGuyver-ing a work out where ever, whenever, with whomever and with whatever (as I’ve done plenty of times throughout my travels and home-stays). But, for my current goals, I want a few more resources at my disposal. After two days, here’s what I have observed…

  • A PERSONAL Trainer training clients while on a cell phone throughout the duration of the paid service. How very IMpersonal trainer of him.
  • The same Personal Trainer not even paying attention (looking, observing, or critiquing) to a different client doing walking lunges. What about their form? What if they are doing them incorrectly and slowly setting themselves up for an improper muscle recruitment pattern? What if they are not completely a full range of motion and are doing half reps which can incorporate less of the desired target area. The body will adapt to a situation – whether right or wrong – and it can learn how NOT to lunge (using the wrong muscles to move) if incorrect form is consistently used. 
  • Rows upon rows of exercise machines, which seem to consistently be occupied throughout the duration of my recent off-peak-hour visits. I can maaaaybe see the point of exercise machines in a rehabilitation situation to ease into muscle and nerve recruitment, but, in reality, these machines teach the body how NOT to stabilize, support itself, move, bend, twist, flex, rotate, extend, adduct, or abduct. Oh, you can do an assisted sit-up? Let me know how that goes when you’re trying to SIT-UP out of bed without a machine helping you. Sincerely, Condescending Wonka.
  • More rows – this time of treadmills, stair-masters, and ellipticals – all equipped with televisions, radios, and iPod charging capabilities, and also consistently occupied. I’m all for running (believe it or not). I’m all for getting up off your ass, moving, and creating a healthy blood flow – I just think there are better means, methods, and environments to do so. It’s a big world out there…
  • Five flat benches… FIVE. Hey, uhhhhhhh, how much ya bench? The last time I checked the bench press was the most bass-ackwards measurement of strength. It’s a pure isolation exercise of the lower and middle pectorals (chest), the front deltoids (shoulders), and the triceps. Five. The body is a system of systems – it prefers to work in unison and not isolation.
  • I overheard a gentleman in a cut-off shirt shout across the weight room so all brethren could hear, “I guess all of those shots in the ass are finally paying off.” He was referring that the amount of steroids he injected into his butt are making his balls shrink, his eyes sunken in with rage, and his muscles more cut than a turkey sandwich. I have no words.
  • I experienced a tall, muscular gentleman bench press near where I was exercising. I stood close by without his awareness incase he needed a spot for a possible weight he could not manage. He did some warm up sets at 145 pounds with ease. He jumped to 195 – Ok, he put up a decent amount of reps. Lastly, he attempted 215 pounds. More power to him, but he could not lower the bar to his chest to complete a “full rep” and the bar was lop-sided the whole time (favoring his stronger arm and not so much the other). Wants vs Needs. Ego vs Logic. Sprint vs Marathon. 
  • A couple were exercising together. The male seemed a bit more experienced based on his build and lingo while the woman looked equally experienced, but their conversation enlightened me that she was not well-versed in anything weight-related (I’m assumed she was a runner and was giving the gym a try out of persuasion). They were doing squats nearby off a rack. He was going on about how squats were a full-body exercise, that they burn a great amount of calories due to the multiple muscle recruitment, and (he was excited to say this part) that it would “torch that fat right off your butt!” I raised an eyebrow at this mindset. It made me wonder if they correlate exercise and high energy output directly (and possibly only) to fat burning. While this concept can hold true in the appropriate circumstances, it is certainly not the whole piece to the fat-burning puzzle. I wonder because I’ve come across a lot of people that believe in the concept that “to burn fat or lose weight, high-calorie-burning-exercising (or durations) are absolutely necessary.” I don’t fully believe in that mentality as there is a time and place for exercise in relation to fat-loss, but it seems to have become a health-staple-mindset. #Fwomp

Personal observations, assumptions, and over-analyzations aside…

Why?

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Why low-carb diets *cough* work

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Gluconeogenesis

Say it with me… Glu - Co - Neo - Genesis

Gluconeogenesis is the conversion of protein to sugar for energy. Not just dietary proteins… muscle is made of protein, too, ya know!

This conversion occurs as a stress reaction. When in a state of stress (dietary – low carb, exercise – too much, mental – #life, sleep – not enough/irregular, etc.) the body burns through sugar like there’s no tomorrow (because it wants to survive so there can be a tomorrow). This can cause the body to become hypoglycemic and, because all of the sugar supplies are depleted, other sources of energy must be tapped into. Adrenaline and Cortisol are two stress hormones that “kick-in” to run the body while reserves are being put into place. Those reserves are found through the conversion of proteins to sugars (Gluconeogenesis!). The body wants to run on sugar. It NEEDS to run on sugar because sugar is the body’s most useful and quickest-acting form of energy. Unfortunately, if there isn’t enough dietary protein then the body can turn to muscle for energy. The body will store (or spare) fat in a stressful state to stay alive – fat is a form of protection. The body should not run on fat – it’s very a rare occasion and it’s a very inefficient way for the body to convert energy (this process is known as Ketogenesis).

The body mainly stores dietary sugar in the liver and muscles. Once digested, converted, and stored, the sugars are known as Glycogen. Ideally, glycogen can be stored for about four to six weeks. When many low-carb diets begin they experience a quick rush of weight loss, of getting cut/lean, boosted energy levels, and are shaving inches off of their waist! Yes, this can all happen, but by no means is it healthy or long-lasting. Muscle weighs more than fat, remember? Sugar is the body’s primary form of energy, remember? The body will burn muscle and store/spare fat, remember? Once that four-to-six-week mark hits people can plateau, burn through muscle, put on weight, their brains can become foggy (because the brain uses sugar, too!), their libido/sex-drive can become extinct, and their muscles can become “cut” (but really they’re just being eaten alive).

For those who carve Low-Carb diets in stone, be aware that most dietary proteins are being converted into sugars and are not being used the way nature (or you) intends. Not to mention that Glucagon is constantly secreted to make up for the lack of dietary carbohydrates (the primary mechanism for protein to enter cells is by way of carbohydrate transport and Glucagon increases blood sugar levels by pulling from reserves). On the other hand, low-carb diets are a much better alternative to all of the commercial carbohydrate crap that’s available today in grocery stores and restaurants (bread, pasta, grains, etc.). Rather than attributing success to a healthy diet, first consider the massive amount of unhealthy foods that have been eliminated. Oh, and we can’t forget that intestinal bacteria thrives off of sugar and when there isn’t enough food for them to consume they search elsewhere (hence, chronic bacterial infections, sinus infections, thrush, intestinal inflammation, bloating, gas, irregular bowel movements, etc.)

Perspective? EAT MORE SUGAR a.k.a. good, clean, organic, nutrient-dense, natural carbohydrates – potatoes, fruit, OJ, milk, cane sugar, and even SODA. If you have blood-sugar handling issues and that’s the reason that you low-carb then consider the issues as a symptom to a greater cause – replacing an issue with a new issue just adds more problems, confusion, and sadness to “Why can’t I be normal?!.” Perspective to blood-sugar-issue people… EAT MORE SUGAR.

Yes, it’s possibly to live a healthy lifestyle sans carbohydrates, but how is “healthy” truly defined? More power to feeling good, being happy, sleeping well, having great bowel movements, having a high sex-drive, a full head of hair, and being resilient to stress, but how are those achieved by each individual? What are the habits, mechanisms, and double-checks that confirm “healthy”? Suggestion? Lab Tests such as Thyroid, Hormones, Mineral, Vitamins, and Stool can provide a great perspective.


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Metabolism, Stress, Cold Hands & Feet

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I’ve been asked about (and have experienced) cold hands and feet on occasion. It’s not just a way of life, as it can be for some, but a true symptom of an underlying cause. External environment aside, the body isn’t meant to have cold hands or feet and stress is its most important factor. No, not running-from-a-lion stress (although that can be included), but dietary, physical, and mental (and thus all resulting in hormonal) stress can very easily be the cause.

You can live without an arm or a leg but you can’t live without a liver! (Paul Chek)

Paul is right. In a state of stress (or shock) the body will pull blood from the non-important areas of the body to bring it back into center where all of the vital organs reside. These vitals keep the body ticking; not-so-much the fingers, feet, or knee caps. The body knows exactly what it is doing and, as individuals, we must be responsible to keep an eye and ear out to understand, interpret and then react accordingly to what’s going on.

The temperature of [the] fingers, toes, and nose helps to interpret the balance between stress and thyroid; [the] fingers should be less cold as [the] metabolic rate comes up. In extreme hypothyroidism, the hands and feet can be very cold while the oral temperature looks o.k.; then as the metabolic rate increases, the difference between fingers and mouth decreases. (Ray Peat)

Thanks, Ray. He hit the nail even more on the head by correlating stress and thyroid function – metabolic rate, homeostasis, the epicenter of all-things-regulating-healthy-bodily-functions. Peat looks at the heart rate and body temperature as instruments in determining thyroid (metabolic) health.

It’s not rocket science to notice cold hands and feet, meaning you don’t need a thermometer to tell ya what you can experience through awareness. Why does it happen? Well, I can go on about diet, physical, and mental stressors, but I think I’ll be barking about what you intuitively already know. Instead, here are a few questions to get you pointed in a perspective direction…

  • What time of day do you experience cold hands and feet? Upon waking, before/after lunch, before/after dinner, before/after exercise, before/after bed.
  • What is your heart rate at the same times mentioned above?
  • Do you notice cold hands and feet or an increased/decreased heart rate when consuming certain foods/drinks, in between meals (note the duration), doing certain activities (exercise, showering, sleeping, work, school, sex), or pertaining to certain sleeping patterns (sleeping “on time” or enough)?

This perspective approach can be taken with ANYTHING, not just cold hands and feet. Lifestyle Journals are the new black.

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