Lose Weight and De-Stress: The Wisdom of John Berardi
I had the opportunity to attend a talk by author and researcher Dr. John Berardi. As always, JB had a very powerful message. Here are some highlights from his lecture:
Important vs. Interesting: There is a mountainous amount of information on weight loss hitting us from every possible angle. It therefore becomes vital to discern between what is important and unimportant. Unimportant aspects (so called "noise") usually includes: Sluggish thyroid, toxins, cortisol and any number of fat burning supplements you aren't currently taking.
The Important 5: What Really Works?
1. Exercise: Any exercise is better than no exercise, but to get the maximal results, resistance training and high intensity interval training (HIIT) are essential. You may have to work up to higher intensity training and hiring a trainer for a couple of sessions isn't a bad idea. 5 hours a week of exercise is about what you need to make significant changes.
2. Food: "Do not dig your own grave with a knife and fork". Most people are not honest with themselves when it comes to their food intake. JB's basics for food consumption are as follows;
- Eat every 2-3 hours throughout the day.
- Include lean, complete protein at every meal and snack during the day. Aim for about a gram per pound of body weight.
- Include veggies at every meal and snack throughout the day. The ideal amount of servings of fruits and veggies are 8-10.
- Include a variety of healthy fats in the diet daily. Include olive oil, avocadoes, flax oil, fish oil and raw nuts.
- Consume carb-rich foods only after exercise. Eat mostly whole grain carbs and consume them after exercise when your body best utilizes them.
- Follow the principle of Hara hachi bu - eat only until you are 80% full.
- Protein supplement
- Fish oil
- Greens
- Multivitamin
5. Know what to do when the above steps aren't working: We need to realize first that needing this step at all is very rare. The most common problems in this case are;
Poor ATP production: ATP is the universal energy currency in our bodies. Poor ATP production may be caused by sub-clinical anemia and/or insulin problems.
Low thyroid activity: This may be an issue of poor thyroid output, poor conversion or low thyroid hormone activity.
I really appreciated the back to basics approach of this talk. It's a good reminder to revisit some basic things we may not be doing in our lives to improve our health.
Material used with the permission of Dr. John Berardi. Dr. Berardi is the author of Gourmet Nutrition and the creator of the Precision Nutrition System.
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Do you think people focus more on the "interesting" because they're not motivated work on the "important" OR is it because there's in information overload on the "interesting" crap that waters down the real advice?
ReplyPeople are intrigued and distracted by new and shiny things. And that concept doesn't have to be materialistic. Just read any pitch for a "MuscleTech" product.
They friggin create their own fancy sounding terms.
Also, I'm not sure about it watering down REAL advice. To me the difference between real advice and fake fluff is like oil and water.
The problem is... just like in the real world, oil is much harder to find since we are surrounded by water.
ReplyI am sure that any thyroid patient would not agree with the statement that a sluggish thyroid is an unimportant issue. As a thyroid patient myself I have to say that it is VERY important and frustrating at the same time. Sometimes no-matter how hard you are working for a better body, if your body is not functioning well, nothing is working. This can be very disheartening and frustrating. Unfortunately, you can only sympathize once you've experienced such a problem...
ReplyBrass, I doubt Berardi was speaking of legitimate diagnosed cases of underactive thyroid. In fact he goes on to discuss the lifestyle choices that can lead to sluggish thyroid. But still these are not organic causes - they are lifestyle related. And, key point, reversed by engaging in the basic healthy behaviors mentioned.
People tend to focus on things that don't return results. Underactive thyroid is an excuse many who don't actually have it will use to not get healthy. "I can't. I have a sluggish thyroid. Diets don't work for me."
I spent months convinced I had underactive thyroid. Hey I had all the symptoms! My blood work came back normal. Turns out I just wasn't doing the basics outlined in the article!
My mom is struggling to lose weight now. She sends me links to "here's why I can't lose weight info". Every time I talk to her she has a new theory.
My question to her is always, "Mom, how many calories are you eating?" Her reply is always, "I don't know."
After a year of "dieting" the woman has yet to track calories for just a single day!!
She's lost in the irrelevant details. She won't do the basics. So, she won't lose weight.
ReplyDaleK--My mother-in-law has a thyroid condition as well. Although her's is legitimately sluggish, she's on meds for it that restore her hormone levels to near normal. However, once she went on thyroid meds, she only lost about 10-15 lbs and then stayed at her current weight (she's still very obese). Even if you're on thyroid meds, if you eat too many calories, you'll still gain weight and stay fat.
It irritates me when my mother-in-law wants her doctor to "adjust" her thyroid medicine so she'll lose more weight...it's like she doesn't want to do any work at all to improve her health.
ReplyBerardi also used to push this patently absurd idea that one should avoid combining carbs and fat in the same meal.
His approach to fat loss is called "G-Flux" in which he advocates eating large amounts of food and doing even more insane volumes of exercise.
You guys need to talk to Lyle McDonald if you want some straight talk about fat loss.
ReplyAlso, this idea that one must eat ever 2 to 3 hours is absurd and not supported by the evidence. Intermittent fasting anyone?
Again, you all should talk to Alan Aragon about meal frequency for someone who actually consults scientific studies to find the truth.
And carbs only after exercise? Please. Granted, carbs are more likely to be used for glycogen replenishment when consumed after exercise but as long as you're not going way beyond your caloric requirement, you're not going to gain any more fat by enjoying carbs at other times of the day.
ReplyI'm all for eating every 2-3 hours. I really works for me. Yesterday I forgot my snacks and was ravenous when I got home. Needless to say I consumed more calories in about 15 minutes than I did all day. BECAUSE I was so hungry. Self-control you say? Sure. But if I can control it by eating every 2-3 I'll go with that. There goes your evidence.
ReplyMe too! I need snacks...just little ones like raw nuts and a piece of fruit, but something. Otherwise, like you, I will overeat at my next meal.
ReplyI love the eating every 2-3 hors or 5-6 mini meals a day or however it turns out as long as you know how much you are consuming, calorie wise. When I was in a position of working a crazy schedule (think Corporate job) & could not do this, it was a lot harder to keep my weight & health under control. I also like to eat so knowing that I am going to have a mini meal every 2-3 hours really works for me. My meals are extremely healthy & I look forward to every one as well as keeping my hunger in check so I do not over eat from being too hungry. People need to do what works for them so some may go the 3 meals & 2 snacks route.
As for exercise, I have found that weight training is a god send for me & have been doing it for years & years. HIIT has also really made a difference in reducing my body fat too. I did not even start that until a couple years ago & I have seen terrific results. I agree with the author though. HIIT is hard stuff so work up to it & know what your are doing first.
I don't agree with the consuming of carb rich foods only after exercise though. I consume a carb/protein/healthy fat mix. I think if you are exercising & eating right that all these little specifics are not so important. I do a very intense weight routine & what I consume after the workout is not always in line with what experts say in terms of type of protein & carbs, but my mix works for me. Yes, if you are competing, you may want to delve more into the minutia, but for the average person, it is not as important as just getting your protein, carbs, fiber, good fat in thru the day & within the calorie requirements that work for you.
Sorry for the length. Got carried away!
ReplyIt's pretty easy to get bogged down in the details of how to eat and when, or about how to exercise effectively since that seems to change every few years, but overall his advice is pretty basic and makes much sense. A proper diet without all the crap and as few preprocessed foods as possible mixed with regular exercise and activity is the way to stay in reasonable shape.
Yum-Yucky...I think you've hit it right about people going more for the interesting due to information overload. The diet industry is a huge machine and their influence on our society is unquestioned. People want the magic bullet, which doesn't exist. They don't want to face facts and accept that you have to be aware of what you're eating and how much exercise you get. The diet industry will always fuel that desire for the quick fix and we are a society of excess.
ReplyI don't know what's worse - the diet industry or the pharmaceutical industry. In pharmaceutics they many times promote pills and so forth that bring temporary relief to problems that can be resolved through a healthy diet and exercise. But of course they won't tell you that.
ReplyI agree...forget the hype and the idea that eating needs to be so complex. I'm from 1966 too...maybe that year produced an abundance of common sense!
ReplyI'm confused by that exercise for 5 hours thing. I heard that from Jillian Michaels as well, and I'm trying to do that.
But does it matter how LONG you exercise if you produce a caloric deficit?
Also, if I run at a 6.0 level on the treadmill for 3 miles, my HR monitor says I burn around 262 calories in 30 minutes. But if I walk at an incline at 4.0, I burn 300 calories in one hour walking 3 miles. Which is preferable? Working out for an hour burning more calories at a lower HR? Or working out for shorter periods of time at a higher intensity?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
ReplyDo both on different days.
ReplyI think he's right on about daily relaxation vs. saving it all up to use at once. I find that when I go on vacation and have a whole week of relaxation, I get really bored after about a day. But it's very nice to be able to come home after work and chill out with my one alcoholic beverage per day and a magazine and just decompress for a little bit. It helps me unwind and destress so I can take on another day.
Replyeating every 2-3 hours is totally nuts... in most cases that would mean nothing but a continuous gluttony... i think that feeling of hunger, i.e. the real one = physical, is essential for humans and that non-stop eating just screws up your body: it is rather doubting our (paleolithic) ancestors were eating so often...
ReplyEating every 2 or 3 hours works because then you are not starving at meal time and therefore able to not gorge yourself as many are prone to do. Eating every 2-3 hours does not mean eating a full meal each time, but rather smaller meals or just snacks like fruit or veggies. That surely cannot be considered gluttony. And by eating this way, you do feel hungry, just not ravenous like when you only eat maybe 2-3 meals a day.
Referring to our ancestors, they gorged themselves when they ate because they had to hunt for their food and never knew when they would eat again. Animals do this and I believe we shared this characteristic in our history. But today, in our society, that behaviour is not necessary for most of us as food is plentiful and readily at your fingertips. I do believe this behaviour does emerge in many of us when we are feeling those hunger pangs and we tend to overeat which is definitely gluttonly. By eating more often and by eating smaller portions, we are helping to ensure that we do not feel that type of hunger that causes so many of us to overeat and thus, gain weight. And our bodies are designed to retain fat, it is a survival mechanism. If your body is used to feeling hungry, it will naturally retain every calorie you feed it because this survival mechanism kicks in, and this is not a good thing. It was good back when we were a more physical species and burning off calories naturally, but in our current society, we are not nearly as active and these calories are not being burned off.
There are those who eat only when they are hungry, as you say, and are able to only eat at those times without overeating. Unfortunately, I believe, these people are in the minority as many more of us will and do overeat. What works for one does not necessarily work for others.
Just my .02.
ReplyOccasionally if I'm home and can take the time and effort, I might eat mini-meals every 2-3 hours, otherwise it's more like every 5 or 6, with some fruit thrown in here and there. As for carbs only after exercise, that's not going to happen, and I see no reason that it should.
Reply