In this final episode (yes, we’re ending at the century mark), we share some of our stories abroad, such as coconuts and natural pedestrian movement in Vietnam. ;) We cover some of the highlights over the past few years, as well as some typical flawed messages from the mainstream, such as the DASH diet. Salt is not really the demon that we’ve been advised to avoid, but a rather important mineral for healthy functioning–same goes for fat; the widespread fat phobia (or phat fobia;) is terribly unfortunate. Self-knowledge via self-esteem principles and the process of connecting with feelings and needs (nonviolent communication) will enable you to really improve your health and enrich your life. Thanks for listening and for being part of our journey. Best wishes to you all, and make sure to follow your bliss. =)

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Items mentioned in this episode:

Kev’s other blog…
http://freedomlovin.com

http://perfecthumandiet.us/
http://www.fathead-movie.com/

http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/07/31/one-year-later-the-china-study-revisited-and-re-bashed/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancel_Keys#Seven_Countries_Study

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/08/health/best-diets-ranked/index.html
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/diets/10-diets-that-just-dont-work1.htm

BIL 2012 – Dave Asprey – Bio Hacking, Longevity Via Salt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDWRDCM3BXo
Open Season on Salt: What the Science on Hypertension Really Shows
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-science-on-hypertension-really-shows

and now, for some levity…
http://www.youtube.com/user/BadLipReading/videos
beware the “bacon crusted rolls”…
“2012 Debates Highlights” — A Bad Lip Reading of the 2012 US Presidential…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgmARwtptoo
and the “orange peanut”…
“THE NFL : A Bad Lip Reading” — A Bad Lip Reading of the NFL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zce-QT7MGSE
and the “hoo hah, cherry soda!”…
“Ron Paul” — A BLR Soundbite
http://youtu.be/igQlbesF0zA

sensible sustainability…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Salatin

http://www.cnvc.org/Training/feelings-inventory
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory
The Basics of Non Violent Communication 1.1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-129JLTjkQ

extra psychological/philosophical resources…
http://happinesscounseling.com/happiness-resources/

thanks to Mike for our voiceovers (intro and outro). here’s where you can hear more of “the voice”…
http://firstdegreeliberty.podomatic.com/

http://5by5.tv/hypercritical

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Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Sylvia’s site:
http://eatbychoice.net/

Eat by Choice, Not by Habit: Practical Skills for Creating a Healthy Relationship With Your Body and Food: Sylvia Haskvitz MA RD: Kindle Store
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Choice-Not-Habit-ebook/dp/B003GXG3KO/
print version
http://www.nonviolentcommunication.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=46
ebook version
http://nonviolentcommunication.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=127

Listen to Stephanie Bachmann Mattei speak with Sylvia about her life and work in this 2011 interview:
http://nvctraining.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=latest&layout=latest&Itemid=919

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The post 99 – Interview with Eat by Choice, Not by Habit author Sylvia Haskvitz appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

To be healthy or not to be healthy…
http://www.reddit.com/r/Health/comments/12al9u/to_be_healthy_or_not_to_be_healthy/

http://www.cnvc.org/Training/feelings-inventory
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory
The Basics of Non Violent Communication 1.1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-129JLTjkQ

An interesting take on Paleo with some tweaks…
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/

Eating primal on the cheap…
http://www.reddit.com/r/Paleo/comments/1272nx/cheap_primal/

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The post 98 – Choices to be healthy appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

‘Biggest Loser’ weight-loss mentality could pose serious health risks by Kyle Hunt
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=19148948&nid=1010&title=biggest-loser-weight-loss-mentality-could-pose-serious-health-risks&s_cid=queue-4

We invite you to partake in our free webinar on Tuesday, October 2nd, at 6pm Pacific:
The 3 Essential Habits For Permanent Weight Loss
http://simpleweightlossremedy.com/

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The post 97 – The mental side of weight loss and our new webinar appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2012/coca-cola-2012-olympics-cans/

http://jonnybowdenblog.com/lighten-up-to-lose-weight/

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/28/go-easy-on-yourself-a-new-wave-of-research-urges/

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The post 96 – Reflections on the Olympics and understanding self-compassion appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Ashley Tudor’s website for her new book, Sweet Potato Power: Smart Carbs, Paleo And Personalized
http://sweetpotatopower.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato

death march, anyone?…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cactus_to_Clouds_Trail

to get a quantified self…
http://www.wellnessfx.com/product#faq
http://www.meetup.com/quantifiedself/

be careful with those cortisol levels…
http://mindhacks.com/2009/08/02/like-running-through-hell/

“better lighting…for your computer”
http://stereopsis.com/flux/

We appreciate your rating and review on iTunes!

The post 95 – Interview with Sweet Potato Power author Ashley Tudor appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Craving Carbs on an Empty Stomach by Anahad O’Connor
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/26/craving-carbs-on-an-empty-stomach/

http://healthymindfitbody.com/2012/06/25/paleo-bread-is-here/

How Perfect Is The Perfect Body? by Stefani Ruper
http://whole9life.com/2012/07/the-perfect-body/

http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/04/05/28-the-practice-of-self-acceptance/

We appreciate your rating and review on iTunes!

The post 94 – Carb binges and standards of perfection appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Wow, the recent study by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) on calorie type looks like a step in the right direction!

Effects of Dietary Composition on Energy Expenditure During Weight-Loss Maintenance

This study compares a group on a low fat diet, to one on a moderately low carb diet, to one on a very low carb diet. Guess what? Glycemic load (number that estimates how much the food will raise a person’s blood glucose level after eating it) does in fact matter! So this study is pretty monumental, because it is another dagger in the heart of low fat diets being the best option, and another disproving of the “a calorie is a calorie” theory! Read through the study to get the exact breakdowns and how it was done:

Preliminary Communication | June 27, 2012
Effects of Dietary Composition on Energy Expenditure During Weight-Loss Maintenance
Cara B. Ebbeling, PhD; Janis F. Swain, MS, RD; Henry A. Feldman, PhD; William W. Wong, PhD; David L. Hachey, PhD; Erica Garcia-Lago, BA; David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD
[+] Author Affiliations
JAMA. 2012;307(24):2627-2634. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.6607

Context Reduced energy expenditure following weight loss is thought to contribute to weight gain. However, the effect of dietary composition on energy expenditure during weight-loss maintenance has not been studied.

Objective To examine the effects of 3 diets differing widely in macronutrient composition and glycemic load on energy expenditure following weight loss.

Design, Setting, and Participants A controlled 3-way crossover design involving 21 overweight and obese young adults conducted at Children’s Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, between June 16, 2006, and June 21, 2010, with recruitment by newspaper advertisements and postings.

Intervention After achieving 10% to 15% weight loss while consuming a run-in diet, participants consumed an isocaloric low-fat diet (60% of energy from carbohydrate, 20% from fat, 20% from protein; high glycemic load), low–glycemic index diet (40% from carbohydrate, 40% from fat, and 20% from protein; moderate glycemic load), and very low-carbohydrate diet (10% from carbohydrate, 60% from fat, and 30% from protein; low glycemic load) in random order, each for 4 weeks.

Main Outcome Measures Primary outcome was resting energy expenditure (REE), with secondary outcomes of total energy expenditure (TEE), hormone levels, and metabolic syndrome components.

Results Compared with the pre–weight-loss baseline, the decrease in REE was greatest with the low-fat diet (mean [95% CI], –205 [–265 to –144] kcal/d), intermediate with the low–glycemic index diet (–166 [–227 to –106] kcal/d), and least with the very low-carbohydrate diet (−138 [–198 to –77] kcal/d; overall P = .03; P for trend by glycemic load = .009). The decrease in TEE showed a similar pattern (mean [95% CI], −423 [–606 to –239] kcal/d; −297 [–479 to –115] kcal/d; and −97 [–281 to 86] kcal/d, respectively; overall P = .003; P for trend by glycemic load < .001). Hormone levels and metabolic syndrome components also varied during weight maintenance by diet (leptin, P < .001; 24-hour urinary cortisol, P = .005; indexes of peripheral [P = .02] and hepatic [P = .03] insulin sensitivity; high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol, P < .001; non-HDL cholesterol, P < .001; triglycerides, P < .001; plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, P for trend = .04; and C-reactive protein, P for trend = .05), but no consistent favorable pattern emerged.

Conclusion Among overweight and obese young adults compared with pre–weight-loss energy expenditure, isocaloric feeding following 10% to 15% weight loss resulted in decreases in REE and TEE that were greatest with the low-fat diet, intermediate with the low–glycemic index diet, and least with the very low-carbohydrate diet.

Many people can lose weight for a few months, but most have difficulty maintaining clinically significant weight loss over the long term. According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2006), only 1 in 6 overweight and obese adults report ever having maintained weight loss of at least 10% for 1 year.1 Among dietary weight-loss trials, in which reporting bias can be eliminated, the long-term success rates may be even lower.2 One explanation for the poor long-term outcome of weight-loss diets relates to behavior, in that the motivation to adhere to restrictive regimens typically diminishes with time. An alternative explanation is that weight loss elicits biological adaptations—specifically a decline in energy expenditure (adaptive thermogenesis) and an increase in hunger—that promote weight regain.3 – 4

Obesity treatment should emphasize behavioral methods to foster and maintain decreased energy intake. Several recent clinical trials indicate a direct relationship between dietary adherence and weight loss, regardless of dietary treatment group assignment.5 – 7 However, because metabolic pathways vary in energetic efficiency, dietary composition could affect energy expenditure directly by virtue of macronutrient differences or indirectly through hormonal responses to diet that regulate metabolic pathways.8 – 9

Diets that aim to attenuate the increase in blood glucose levels after eating—specifically, low–glycemic index (emphasizing carbohydrate source)10 and very low-carbohydrate (focusing on carbohydrate restriction)11 diets—have been hypothesized to confer such a “metabolic advantage.” Acutely, reducing dietary glycemic load diet may elicit hormonal changes that improve the availability of metabolic fuels in the late postprandial period, and thereby decrease hunger and voluntary food intake.9 ,12 Chronically, a low–glycemic load diet may attenuate the decline in resting energy expenditure (REE) that occurs during weight loss.13 – 14

We conducted a controlled feeding study to evaluate the effects of 3 weight-loss maintenance diets, which encompass prevailing ranges of macronutrient composition and glycemic load (a low-fat diet, a low–glycemic index diet, and a very low-carbohydrate diet) on energy expenditure, hormones, and components of the metabolic syndrome.

The study comprised run-in and test phases (Figure 1). During the run-in phase, we obtained baseline data for study outcomes, restricted energy intake of participants to achieve a 12.5% decrease in body weight, and established energy requirements for stabilizing weight at the reduced level. We assessed body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry before and after weight loss. During the test phase, we used a 3-way crossover design to evaluate test diets (low-fat, low–glycemic index, and very low-carbohydrate) in random order under conditions of weight maintenance. We measured study outcomes during an inpatient hospital admission and under free-living conditions at baseline and the end of each test diet period. Data were collected at Children’s Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, between June 16, 2006, and June 21, 2010. Stable isotope analysis for assessing total energy expenditure (TEE) was conducted at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. The institutional review boards at all participating institutions approved the study protocol, and participants provided written informed consent. Methodological detail can be found in the eMethods.
Figure 1. Study Design of the Run-in and Test Phases

Body composition was assessed during the weight monitoring period of the run-in phase and following weight loss. Assessments during inpatient hospital admissions and under free-living conditions occurred during the weight monitoring period and at the end of each test diet period. Immediately before the 3-day inpatient hospital admission, the assessments under free-living conditions were conducted over 14 (total energy expenditure) or 7 (physical activity) days. There were 6 possible diet sequences to which each participant could be randomly assigned (as described in the eMethods).

Participants

Participants included men and women aged 18 to 40 years with a body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) of 27 or higher. To compensate participants for their effort, we provided $500 at the end of the run-in phase, following at least 10% weight loss, and an additional $2000 upon completion of the final inpatient hospital admission.
Dietary Interventions

Our goal was to design test diets that (1) would encompass a broad range of macronutrient composition and glycemic load, (2) have been commonly recommended for obesity treatment, and (3) could be physiologically sustainable for long periods. To avoid bias, we formulated menus with healthful components inherent to typical prescriptions for respective diets. In view of the mechanistic nature of this study, relying on a feeding protocol, we did not design the diets for long-term practicality.

Table 1 shows the composition of the run-in and test diets. The run-in diet was consistent with the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range specified by the Institute of Medicine,15 with protein intake at the upper end of the range to enhance satiety during weight loss.16 The low-fat diet, which had a high glycemic load, was designed to reflect conventional recommendations to reduce dietary fat, emphasize whole grain products, and include a variety of vegetables and fruits.17 The low–glycemic index diet aimed to achieve a moderate glycemic load by replacing some grain products and starchy vegetables with sources of healthful fat and low–glycemic index vegetables, legumes, and fruits. The low-fat and low–glycemic index diets had similar protein and fiber contents. The very low-carbohydrate diet was modeled on the Atkins Diet and had a low glycemic load due to more severe restriction of carbohydrate. We provided 3 g of fiber with each meal (Metamucil, Procter & Gamble) during the very low-carbohydrate diet as recommended.11 To ensure micronutrient adequacy and minimize the influence of micronutrient differences among test diets, we gave each participant a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement.

Study Outcomes

Assessments conducted during inpatient hospital admissions included the primary outcome of REE by indirect calorimetry and secondary outcomes of hormones (leptin, thyroid stimulating hormone, triiodothyronine, and free urinary cortisol), insulin sensitivity (indexes derived from an oral glucose tolerance test18 ), other metabolic syndrome components (high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 activity, high sensitivity C-reactive protein [CRP], and blood pressure), and participant ratings of hunger and well-being. (To convert triiodothyronine to nmol/L, multiply by 0.0154; HDL and non-HDL cholesterol to mmol/L, multiply by 0.0259; triglycerides to mmol/L, multiply by 0.0113; plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 to pmol/L, multiply by 19.231; and CRP to nmol/L, multiply by 9.524.) Assessments conducted under free-living conditions included TEE by doubly-labeled water and physical activity by accelerometry.
Statistical Analyses

The crossover trial was designed to provide more than 80% power to detect a difference of 80 kcal/d in REE between diets, as observed in our prior study.14 The order of diets in the test phase was randomly assigned for each participant. We followed the intention-to-treat principle, ascribing the assigned diet to each measure regardless of adherence.

Analytical procedures were based on methods for crossover trials described by Senn.19 For each outcome, we fitted a repeated-measures mixed-effects model with measurement period as independent variable (baseline, low-fat diet, low–glycemic index diet, very low-carbohydrate diet), adjusting for sex, age, weight after run-in phase, sequence of diets, mean weight during measurement period, order of measurement period (baseline always first; test-phase diets second, third, or fourth), within-participant covariance among measurement periods, and where applicable correlation among 3 daily measures within the measurement period. Variables with skewed distribution were log-transformed for analysis. One variable with extreme skew (CRP) was rank transformed for analysis.20

We tested the overall null hypothesis of equal mean in the 3 test-phase periods (H0: low fat = low glycemic index = very low carbohydrate) using a 2-sided criterion of P < .05. Whenever this hypothesis was rejected, we performed pairwise comparisons with a Bonferroni-adjusted criterion of P < .017 (= .05/3). We also constructed a test for linear trend across diets, proceeding from highest to lowest glycemic load.

We applied an outlier-deletion algorithm with optimal properties, equivalent to robust regression.21 As missing values were uncommon (typically 1 per outcome), we did not perform any imputation, relying on the unbiasedness of mixed-effects regression when data are missing at random.22 We used SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute Inc) for all computations. Data are shown as mean (95% CI) unless otherwise noted.
RESULTS
ABSTRACT | METHODS | RESULTS | COMMENT | AUTHOR INFORMATION | REFERENCES

We enrolled 32 participants, including 17 men and 15 women. Of these, 11 participants did not complete the study (Figure 2). Baseline characteristics for the 21 participants who completed the study are shown in Table 2. Noncompleters did not differ from completers with respect to any of these characteristics. During the run-in phase, participants lost a mean (SD) of 14.3 (0.9) kg, corresponding to 13.6% of baseline body weight. Percentage body fat by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry decreased from a mean of 33.6% (95% CI, 30.0%-37.2%) at baseline to 29.1% (95% CI, 25.1%-33.1%) after weight loss. Mean (SD) energy intake during the test diet phase was 2626 (686) kcal/d. Body weight did not differ significantly among the 3 diets (mean [95% CI], 91.5 [87.4-95.6] kg for low fat; 91.1 [87.0-95.2] kg for low glycemic index; and 91.2 [87.1-95.3] kg for very low carbohydrate; P = .80).

Energy expenditure during weight-loss maintenance differed significantly among the 3 diets (Table 3 and Figure 3). The decrease in REE from pre–weight-loss levels, measured by indirect calorimetry in the fasting state, was greatest for the low-fat diet (mean relative to baseline [95% CI], –205 [–265 to –144] kcal/d), intermediate with the low–glycemic index diet (–166 [–227 to –106] kcal/d), and least for the very low-carbohydrate diet (−138 [–198 to –77] kcal/d; overall P = .03; P for trend by glycemic load = .009). The decrease in TEE, assessed using the doubly-labeled water method, also differed significantly by diet (mean [95% CI], −423 [–606 to –239] kcal/d for low fat; −297 [–479 to –115] kcal/d for low glycemic index; and −97 [–281 to 86] kcal/d for very low carbohydrate; overall P = .003; P for trend by glycemic load < .001). This result was not materially changed when substituting measured respiratory quotient (RQ) for calculated food quotient (FQ). Neither total physical activity nor time spent in moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity differed among the diets.
Figure 3. Changes in Resting and Total Energy Expenditure During 3 Test Diets for Weight-Loss Maintenance

Each summary box (shown in cyan) with error bars indicates mean (95% CI) change from a common baseline period preceding weight loss obtained from analysis of crossover experiment and adjusted for sex, age, order of diets, baseline weight, and mean weight during the 4-week diet period. Connected lines indicate individual outcomes for each participant. Both resting and total energy expenditure showed a significant linear trend in mean change from low-fat to low–glycemic index to very low-carbohydrate diets (P < .01).
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Table 3. Study Outcomes
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Hormones and Components of the Metabolic Syndrome

Serum leptin was highest with the low-fat diet (mean [95% CI], 14.9 [12.1-18.4] ng/mL), intermediate with the low–glycemic index diet (12.7 [10.3-15.6] ng/mL), and lowest with the very low-carbohydrate diet (11.2 [9.1-13.8] ng/mL; overall P < .001) (Table 3). For the 3 diets, cortisol excretion measured with a 24-hour urine collection (mean [95% CI], 50 [41-60] μg/d for low fat; 60 [49-73] μg/d for low glycemic index; and 71 [58-86] μg/d for very low carbohydrate; overall P = .005) and serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (mean [95% CI], 1.27 [1.01-1.60] μIU/mL for low fat; 1.22 [0.97-1.54] μIU/mL for low glycemic index; and 1.11 [0.88-1.40] μIU/mL for very low carbohydrate; overall P = .04) also differed in a linear fashion by glycemic load. Serum triiodothyronine was lower with the very low-carbohydrate diet compared with the other 2 diets (mean [95% CI], 121 [108-135] ng/dL for low-fat diet and 123 [110-137 ng/dL for low–glycemic index diet vs 108 [96-120] ng/dL for very low-carbohydrate diet; overall P = .006).

Regarding components of the metabolic syndrome, indexes of peripheral (P = .02) and hepatic (P = .03) insulin sensitivity were lowest with the low-fat diet. Comparing the low-fat, low–glycemic index, and very low-carbohydrate diets, serum HDL cholesterol (mean [95% CI], 40 [35-45] mg/dL; 45 [41-50] mg/dL; and 48 [44-53] mg/dL, respectively; overall P < .001), triglycerides (107 [87-131] mg/dL; 87 [71-106] mg/dL; and 66 [54-81] mg/dL, respectively; overall P < .001), and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (mean [95% CI], 1.39 [0.94-2.05] ng/mL; 1.15 [0.78-1.71] ng/mL; and 1.01 [0.68-1.49] ng/mL, respectively; P for trend by glycemic load = .04) were most favorable with the very low-carbohydrate diet and least favorable with the low-fat diet. However, CRP tended to be higher with the very low-carbohydrate diet (median [95% CI], 0.78 [0.38-1.92] mg/L for low-fat diet; 0.76 [0.50-2.20] mg/L for low–glycemic index diet; and 0.87 [0.57-2.69] mg/L for very low-carbohydrate diet; P for trend by glycemic load = .05). Blood pressure did not differ among the 3 diets.
Hunger and Well-being

Using a 10-cm visual analog scale, ratings of subjective hunger (mean [95% CI], 5.7 [4.6-6.8] cm; 5.4 [4.4-6.5] cm; and 5.8 [4.8-6.9] cm, respectively; P = .62) and well-being (6.1 [5.2-7.0] cm; 6.9 [6.0-7.8] cm; and 6.3 [5.3-7.2] cm, respectively; P = .21) obtained before breakfast did not differ significantly among the low-fat, low–glycemic index, and very low-carbohydrate diets.
COMMENT
ABSTRACT | METHODS | RESULTS | COMMENT | AUTHOR INFORMATION | REFERENCES

The results of our study challenge the notion that a calorie is a calorie from a metabolic perspective. During isocaloric feeding following weight loss, REE was 67 kcal/d higher with the very low-carbohydrate diet compared with the low-fat diet. TEE differed by approximately 300 kcal/d between these 2 diets, an effect corresponding with the amount of energy typically expended in 1 hour of moderate-intensity physical activity.

The physiological basis for the differences in REE and TEE remains subject to speculation. Triiodothyronine was lowest with the very low-carbohydrate diet, consistent with previously reported effects of carbohydrate restriction23 ; thus, changes in thyroid hormone concentration cannot account for the higher energy expenditure on this diet. The thermic effect of food (the increase in energy expenditure arising from digestive and metabolic processes) dissipates in the late postprandial period and would not affect REE measured in the fasting state. Because the thermic effect of food tends to be greater for carbohydrate than fat,24 – 25 it would also not explain the lower TEE on the low-fat diet. Although protein has a high thermic effect of food,16 the content of this macronutrient was the same for the low-fat and low–glycemic index diets and contributed only 10% more to total energy intake with the very low-carbohydrate diet compared with the other 2 diets. Furthermore, physical activity as assessed by accelerometry did not change throughout the study. Alternative explanations for the observed differences in REE and TEE may involve intrinsic effects of dietary composition on the availability of metabolic fuels13 – 14 or metabolic efficiency, changes in hormones (other than thyroid) or autonomic tone affecting catabolic or anabolic pathways, and (for TEE) skeletal muscle efficiency as regulated by leptin.26 – 29 Regarding the last possibility, the ratio of energy expenditure to leptin concentration has been proposed as a measure of leptin sensitivity,30 and this ratio varied as expected in our study among the 3 diets (very low carbohydrate>low glycemic index>low fat).

Although the very low-carbohydrate diet produced the greatest improvements in most metabolic syndrome components examined herein, we identified 2 potentially deleterious effects of this diet. Twenty-four hour urinary cortisol excretion, a hormonal measure of stress, was highest with the very low-carbohydrate diet. Consistent with this finding, Stimson et al31 reported increased whole-body regeneration of cortisol by 11β-HSD1 and reduced inactivation of cortisol by 5α- and 5β-reductases over 4 weeks on a very low- vs moderate-carbohydrate diet. Higher cortisol levels may promote adiposity, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease, as observed in epidemiological studies.32 – 34 In a 6-year prospective, population-based study of older adults in Italy,35 individuals in the highest vs lowest tertile of 24-hour cortisol excretion, with or without preexisting cardiovascular disease, had a 5-fold increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. C-reactive protein also tended to be higher with the very low-carbohydrate diet in our study, consistent with the findings of Rankin and Turpyn.36 Other studies also have found reductions in measures of chronic inflammation, including CRP with a low–glycemic index diet.37 – 39

A main strength of our study was use of a controlled feeding protocol to establish weight stability following weight loss. Other strengths included a crossover design to allow for within-individual comparisons, examination of 3 physiologically sustainable diets spanning a wide range of prevailing macronutrient compositions, control for dietary protein between the low-fat and low–glycemic index diets, state-of-the-art methods to assess TEE under free-living conditions, collection of other study outcomes under direct observation during inpatient hospital admissions to a metabolic ward, and use of observed RQ by indirect calorimetry to verify macronutrient differences among the diets.

Main study limitations are the relatively short duration of the test diets and the difficulty extrapolating findings from a feeding study to a more natural setting, in which individuals consume self-selected diets. In particular, the very low-carbohydrate diet involved more severe carbohydrate restriction than would be feasible for many individuals over the long term. Therefore, the study may overestimate the magnitude of effects that could be obtained by carbohydrate restriction in the context of a behavioral intervention. In addition, participants in the study were selected for ability to comply with the rigors of a 7-month feeding protocol and may not represent overweight and obese individuals in the general population. Although we could not assess participant adherence during the outpatient phases of the study, good maintenance of weight loss throughout the test phase provides some reassurance on this point.

A methodological issue in crossover feeding studies involves the possibility of carry-over effects between test diets. However, random assignment of participants to a diet sequence and statistical control for order effects would diminish this possibility. In addition, we used compartmental modeling for analysis of TEE to correct for residual tracer and possible variations in dilution spaces and water kinetics among study periods. Another limitation relating to TEE measurement involves reliance on several assumptions, including the FQ of the test diets. However, sensitivity analysis demonstrated that our results would withstand plausible inaccuracies in estimates of FQ and qualitatively similar results were obtained when substituting measured RQ for calculated FQ. In addition, we did not assess physiological differences among participants (for example, involving insulin secretion40 – 41 ) that might influence individual responses to the test diets.

In conclusion, our study demonstrates that commonly consumed diets can affect metabolism and components of the metabolic syndrome in markedly different ways during weight-loss maintenance, independent of energy content. The low-fat diet produced changes in energy expenditure and serum leptin42 – 44 that would predict weight regain. In addition, this conventionally recommended diet had unfavorable effects on most of the metabolic syndrome components studied herein. In contrast, the very low-carbohydrate diet had the most beneficial effects on energy expenditure and several metabolic syndrome components, but this restrictive regimen may increase cortisol excretion and CRP. The low–glycemic index diet appears to have qualitatively similar, although smaller, metabolic benefits to the very low-carbohydrate diet, possibly without the deleterious effects on physiological stress and chronic inflammation. These findings suggest that a strategy to reduce glycemic load rather than dietary fat may be advantageous for weight-loss maintenance and cardiovascular disease prevention. Ultimately, successful weight-loss maintenance will require behavioral and environmental interventions to facilitate long-term dietary adherence. But such interventions will be most effective if they promote a dietary pattern that ameliorates the adverse biological changes accompanying weight loss.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
ABSTRACT | METHODS | RESULTS | COMMENT | AUTHOR INFORMATION | REFERENCES

Corresponding Author: David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD, New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center, Children’s Hospital Boston, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115 (david.ludwig@childrens.harvard.edu).

Author Contributions: Dr Ludwig had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Study concept and design: Ebbeling, Swain, Feldman, Wong, Ludwig.

Acquisition of data: Ebbeling, Swain, Wong, Garcia-Lago.

Analysis and interpretation of data: Ebbeling, Feldman, Wong, Hachey, Ludwig.

Drafting of the manuscript: Ebbeling, Swain, Feldman, Wong, Ludwig.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Ebbeling, Feldman, Wong, Hachey, Garcia-Lago, Ludwig.

Statistical analysis: Feldman.

Obtained funding: Ebbeling, Feldman, Ludwig.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Ebbeling, Swain, Wong, Garcia-Lago, Ludwig.

Study supervision: Ebbeling, Swain, Ludwig.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: All authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Dr Ebbeling reported receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health and foundations for obesity-related research. Dr Ludwig reported receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health and foundations for obesity-related research, mentoring, and patient care; and royalties from a book about childhood obesity. No other authors reported any conflicts of interest.

Funding/Support: This study was supported by grants R01DK072428 and K24DK082730 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bethesda, Maryland; grant M01RR02172 from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health, to the Children’s Hospital Boston General Clinical Research Center; grant M0102635 from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health, to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital General Clinical Research Center; grant UL1RR02575801 from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health, to the Harvard Catalyst Clinical and Translational Science Center; and a grant from the New Balance Foundation.

Role of the Sponsors: The funding organizations had no role in the design and conduct of the study, in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data, or in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.

Disclaimer: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Center for Research Resources, the National Institutes of Health, or the US Department of Agriculture.

Additional Contributions: Michael Leidig, RD, and Carolyn Walsh, MD (Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts), organized daily study operations; Karen Yee, MS, RD, Rachel Froelich, MS, RD, and Lisa Bielak, MS, RD (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts), developed and delivered the dietary interventions; Robert Markowitz, MD (Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts), provided help with hospital admissions and blood sample collections; and Sarah Kalil, MSN, Hope Forbes, MA, and Elizabeth Scarola, MA (Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts), provided assistance with data collection and management. Drs Walsh and Markowitz, Mr Leidig, and Mss Yee, Froelich, Bielak, Kalil, Forbes, and Scarola received compensation for their work in the form of salary support.

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I’m sure the 1/3rd of Americans who are obese are likely rejoicing that this is a possibility- that they can simply take a pill and watch themselves get thin.

But they are being sold down the river. Much like those who believe they can get something for nothing in the health care arena, popping a pill to rid oneself of unwanted fat is just the band aid approach to weight loss- and is still not taking responsibility.

I’m reminded of the lyrics I heard of a song on Pandora today- Crystal Method/Evil Nine doing “Cakehole”:

“Every facet, every department of your mind, is to be programmed by you. And unless you assume your rightful responsibility, and begin to program your own mind, the world will program it for you.”

On paper, and on the surface, it would seem that an obesity cure in pill format would be a great thing. But you can’t get something for nothing, as in the case of health care- and their are no doubt side effects of this drug that we haven’t heard about yet. Beyond that, as thin as someone can get, if they haven’t worked on their relationship with themselves, this will just be skipping the most important steps on the path to health and healing from within.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/fda-clears-new-weight-loss-pill-13-years-article-1.1103538

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has approved Arena Pharmaceutical’s anti-obesity pill Belviq, the first new prescription drug for long-term weight loss to enter the U.S. market in over a decade.

Despite only achieving modest weight loss in clinical studies, the drug appeared safe enough to win the FDA’s endorsement, amid calls from doctors for new weight-loss treatments.

The agency cleared the pill Wednesday for adults who are obese or are overweight with at least one medical complication, such as diabetes or high cholesterol.

The FDA denied approval for Arena’s drug in 2010 after scientists raised concerns about tumors that developed in animals studied with the drug. The company resubmitted the drug with additional data earlier this year, and the FDA said there was little risk of tumors in humans.

“The approval of this drug, used responsibly in combination with a healthy diet and lifestyle, provides a treatment option for Americans who are obese or are overweight and have at least one weight-related comorbid condition,” said FDA’s drug center director, Dr. Janet Woodcock, in a statement.

Arena and its partner Eisai Inc. of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., expect to launch the drug in early 2013.

With U.S. obesity rates nearing 35 percent of the adult population, many doctors have called on the FDA to approve new weight loss treatments.

But a long line of prescription weight loss offerings have been associated with safety problems, most notably the fen-phen combination, which was linked to heart valve damage in 1997. The cocktail of phentermine and fenfluramine was a popular weight loss combination prescribed by doctors, though it was never approved by FDA.

In a rare move, the FDA explicitly stated in a press release that Belviq “does not appear to activate” a chemical pathway that was linked to the heart problems seen with fen-phen.

WEIGHT LOSS JOURNALING TIP

The FDA said the drug acts on a different chemical pathway in the brain, which is believed to reduce appetite by boosting feelings of satiety and fullness.

Obesity Society President Patrick O’Neil said he’s encouraged by the drug’s approval because it underscores the idea that lifestyle changes alone are not enough to treat obesity.

“This is good news because it tells us that the FDA is indeed treating obesity seriously. On the other hand, it’s not the answer to the problem – or even a big part of the answer,” said O’Neil, who teaches at Medical University of South Carolina and was the lead researcher on several studies of Belviq.

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I’m sure many in the paleo and low carb world are rejoicing at the idea of being able to transport the insides of their sandwiches into their mouths on something other than lettuce…but is this the answer? I’m in agreement with this blogger on not going too crazy on this stuff. However, if they have a coconut flour version, I may change my mind and go crazy on this stuff! Paleo bread slathered with coconut oil? Paleo french toast? Hmm…

Here’s the post from grokettesprimalmusings, with some relevant data on why it may be a good idea to use this as a treat rather than a staple:

http://grokettesprimalmusings.blogspot.fr/2012/06/paleo-bread.html

It is here! Well, almost… The Paleo Bread! It will be distributed to stores around the country starting June 29th. Paleo peeps rejoice, as they are salivating over the possibility of sinking their teeth into the fresh, fluffy goodness of bread with ham, cheese, mayo, pickles, and tomatoes. Finally, we no longer have to suffer through our sad little lives of Paleo doom. Imagine the possibilities! Almond butter and jam sandwiches, ham and cheese, French toast… you name it. With the Paleo Bread it is all possible. And it’s Paleo!!!

Or… is it?

Friends, when you started your Paleo journey… no, wait, let’s make this about me! When I started my Paleo journey, I was your regular bread and pasta junky! Bread for breakfast, bread for lunch, pasta for dinner. Sleep. Repeat. Then I dove into the subject of Paleo-ism… and I found that wheat is not my friend. With a heavy heart I quit eating bread (and pasta, and rice, and legumes… etc!) I wondered how I will find substitutes, especially for my lunch time sandwiches. It took a little while for my brain to shift and get the idea, that maybe substitutes weren’t what I needed to be looking for. Maybe sandwiches, to me, could be a thing of the past, and I could eat other things instead. I came up with all kinds of wonderful solutions to this “problem”… and so, I have not eaten a sandwich in 18 months.

The Paleo Bread comes as almond flour bread and as coconut flour bread. We’ve all learned that coconut flour and almonds are great for us. Or well, we’ve learned that almonds are almost great for us. Enjoyed in moderation, after soaking, sprouting, and dehydrating them, a handful of almonds a day makes for a wonderful snack. The occasional almond flour pancake breakfast brings ultimate joy and Oooohs and Aaaahs to my house. And it’s wonderful to live in the 21st century and be able to offer this treat to my family.

BUT, should you be indulging in paleo bread every day? Absolutely not. Chances are, the almonds used for this bread are not raw, nor soaked, nor dehydrated, and therefore not as easily digestible. Meaning, phytic acids (naturally occurring in almonds) binds to vital minerals in your gut, making it impossible to be absorbed into your intestine… and down the road will lead to a mineral deficiency. (Read this lengthy article on Mark’s Daily Apple if you feel so inclined). You will also throw off your omega 6/3 balance by eating too many almonds.

Having said all that… I will likely give this bread a try. Well, let’s say, I’ll let my kids give it a try, because I honestly don’t have that much of an interest. But it shall remain a treat, and it will not become a household stable. I made a conscious decision to be Paleo. And things like paleo bread, no matter how delicious it tastes, will remain the lesser evil, to be enjoyed in moderation (like, really, really!!), but will certainly never become a main source of nutrition for me.

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But a few things led me to thinking that, it might not happen for these women. Is personal training dead? I wouldn’t go that far yet, but major changes need to happen in this industry to keep things moving forward and thriving.

Here’s why I think personal training needs to at minimum, undergo a revolution, if not, it may go away due to a poor ROI:

1. The trainer was putting these women through a complicated routine- using medicine balls, Bosu trainers, and stability balls. I’m sure these exercises were all good and well, but is this really what these women need if their goal is to say, lose 50 pounds? As Wes & I have said many times on the HMFB podcast, losing weight comes down to nutrition, first and foremost. Exercise is all good, but I would say about 90% of weight loss comes down to nutrition (after of course you have the right mindset!).

2. I overheard a conversation one of the women was having with the trainer. She said she drank a lot over the weekend and was now “working it off”. The trainer laughed and said well, it’s good that you’re here. Hmmmm….this led me to believe that there probably hasn’t been any talk of nutrition, or maybe it was the classic USRDA food pyramid nonsense. Drinking a lot of alcohol on the weekend and then going to the gym to “work it off” is not a recipe for success, and, it’s a waste of money to pay a trainer if you want to lose significant weight.

Binge and purge!

3. At one point, while the trainer was having the women go through an exercise with medicine balls (that honestly looked pretty tough!), her phone rang and…she answered it! So she’s chatting away on the phone while her clients are busting their butts. Is this motivating?

Sadly, I don’t think the above scenario is too far from typical scenarios at gyms everywhere. When I was doing personal training, I was certified through the American Council on Exercise (ACE), and National Acamdemy of Sports Medicine (NASM). ACE is still teaching the low fat/high carb food pyramid scheme, and I’m not sure what NASM teaches but their website in the nutrition section says “Reflects research and teaching expertise from top institutions including: Stanford University, the California Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Southern California, University of Pennsylvania”. And at the University level, the US government’s version of nutrition is still the name of the game.

So what should happen with personal training?

I think there’s a need for professionals as guides to losing weight or getting fit. Just like people hire coaches for specific sports, or for business. But what I see that has happened is trainers often learn a huge bag of tricks and throw them at their clients, because, they feel the need to be worth what they are charging. I think the days are truly winding down of being able to get a job as a trainer at a gym and stand around and have clients hire you with no prior knowledge of your success rates.

Everyone passes the certifications!

So then what should personal training look like?

I would simplify it. Sure, some small percentage of people out there actually need sport-specific conditioning. And everyone should be “functionally fit”, as the trendy term says. But this isn’t your typical weight-loss client walking into a gym or seeking out a trainer. If 2/3rds of Americans are overweight and 1/3rd are obese, let’s focus on that first and foremost. So here’s what I would do with those women:

Tell them not to exercise at all for a week or two, beyond just a little walking. When people want to lose say, 50-100 pounds, getting them in the gym for “core work” and ignoring nutrition isn’t going to work. Also, exercise can be like digging a hole to put a ladder in. It can make someone hungry to the point of overeating. Let’s get them away from the “calories in, calories out” theory.

Start with psychology. Self-acceptance will be the most important thing this person can do, before we even talk about food. Without this major pillar of self esteem, the best diet and workout plan in the world will still not likely result in goal accomplishment. Written exercises or sentence completions can go a long way in a short time. In a way, I agree with Dallas & Melissa Hartwig that It Starts With Food, but really, it starts with the mind.

Then tackle nutrition. So after 2-3 weeks of not exercising, and working on improving self esteem through written exercises (and possibly a guide/counselor), it’s time to get serious about eating. Cut out all carbs besides veggies for 2 weeks. What kinds of addictions does this person have? Let’s clear them out and start over, retraining the taste buds. Not only will this radical weight loss plan allow this person to lose addictions, it will help them lose some weight as well. This is crucial in the early stages of the plan, mainly to gain momentum. After the 2 weeks of no carbs, they can start adding them back just a little bit at a time- but we’re sticking with mostly fruits and veggies, and staying away from grains & desserts, (I would even wait on my beloved sweet potatoes, but this will be an individual call).

Around this time, they should be walking daily. It can be for 5 minutes if that’s all the time they have, but just getting out there and moving.

After the first month, we can start doing some core exercises, corrective exercises for any injuries, flexibility work, and some light strength training. These sessions do not have to be lengthy, it’s possible to get them done in 30 minutes, depending on injuries

Now it’s easy to build from there. Now we can start getting fancy. Maybe this comes into play in the 3rd month, after this person has lost a substantial amount of weight and is feeling good about themselves. They will no doubt have more energy and motivation to get into some functional training, and back to optimal health.

Looks cool but we’ve got an obesity crisis!

This isn’t a foolproof blueprint to a new world of personal training, but it’s a start. It would be a tough adjustment for trainers who are used to selling packages of 1-hour sessions where they feel they must give their clients something they couldn’t learn on the internet.

But sometimes, the simple approach is the right approach- and people will always pay for results, no matter how they are achieved!

The post Is personal training dead? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-it-time-to-retire-the-low-carb-diet-fad/#comment-835006

I think Denise’s article is an important rebuttal in what seems like an endless debate, with the government and mainstream media coming down on the side of a low fat, high carb diet being the healthy way to go, and the people who actually put diets to the test in the real world showing how the proof is in the pudding…err.. the pork?

But what is the motivation behind a study like this coming out? Is it purely an innocent mistake by the researchers? Or…could there perhaps be some bias in this study? Let’s take a look.

Here are the researchers who performed this study:

Ingegerd Johansson (ingegerd.johansson@odont.umu.se) Lena Nilsson (lena.nilsson@nutrires.umu.se) Birgitta Stegmayr (birgitta.stegmayr@socialstyrelsen.se) Kurt Boman (kurt.boman@medforskskelet.se) Göran Hallmans (goran.hallmans@nutrires.umu.se) Anna Winkvist (anna.winkvist@nutrition.gu.se)

Notice anything about their emails?

Lots of universities. No big shock there, right? That’s who usually does these types of studies.

How much bias could there be here in this study? We have a group of researchers working for universities funded by the Swedish government. Hmm….well the first thing that comes to mind is this:

If they came out with a study showing that a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet was healthy, a whole lotta professors, dietitians, and nutritionists would suddenly have to admit they were wrong, and what they were teaching and recommending was actually bad for people’s health! What are the odds of all of these highly-esteemed professionals doing a 180 like that?

The second thing that comes to my mind is…

The government. Think they are unbiased? Think again! Just like in the US, the government in Sweden is influenced by industries. Anytime you have an organized body that gives out recommendations to the general public, it will no doubt become influenced and swayed by the various special interest groups ready to take advantage. So nothing the government does can really be considered “unbiased”!

The good thing is, the arguments for LCHF will win out in the end because…people who eat more this way are healthier, and the truth will rise to the surface, no matter how many charts and graphs attempt to cloud it.

The post Is it time to retire the low carb diet fad? – Comments appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

How Bad is Peanut Butter, Really? by Mark Sisson
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-bad-is-peanut-butter-really/

Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss

10 Simple Strategies for Eating More Veggies
http://jonnybowdenblog.com/10-tips-eating-veggies/

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http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 93 – Grocery shopping and eating your veggies appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We discuss Kevin’s return to cool SoCal from hot and humid Asia. Apparently, traveling in developing countries can be a way to lose weight, whether or not one wants to! Lots of heat, walking, and small portions can take their toll. So, getting more protein and fat (and some carbs from sweet potatoes), as well as strength training, is now on Kev’s agenda. Both weight gain and weight loss can entail self-acceptance and self-image issues. Using a feeding tube (as in the case of the “K-E Diet”) as a substitute for psychological understanding can of course be costly. Caloric restriction (w/ optimal nutrition) might have anti-aging and health benefits, yet this needs to be balanced with overall well-being and a pleasurable life. Probably our best bet for extending our life-spans involves bio-tech innovations that target the main factors in aging, such as what Aubrey de Grey proposes (http://sens.org).

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Read up on Kevin’s travels, including his 30-day car fast ;)
http://freedomlovin.com

Table of Contents of Ashley Tudor’s new book
http://sweetpotatopower.com/202-2/

The K-E Diet: Brides-to-Be Using Feeding Tubes to Rapidly Shed Pounds
http://gma.yahoo.com/k-e-diet-brides-using-feeding-tubes-rapidly-080053646–abc-news-health.html

Oxford University Science Society debate between Aubrey de Grey and Colin Blakemore
http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2012/04/video-this-house-wants-to-defeat-ageing-entirely.php

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The post 92 – Issues of weight loss and gain and life-extension appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show, we discuss the fine art of eating healthily while traveling abroad. Kevin relates his ongoing experiences in southeast Asia, where there’s hot food and hot climate! He’s noticed lots of junk food and soda that people are consuming, especially tourists. The widespread consumption of rice is probably the least harmful grain, although there’s not much nutrition in it–just extra carbs (aka, cheap filler). Coconut is once again a very healthy choice (especially the oil and milk in curry), as opposed to oh-so sweet banana pancakes! Walking and pushups and other resistance training are helpful to stay in shape while on the go.

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Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Find out what Kevin’s been up to:
http://freedomlovin.com

A Taste of Exotic Meats at the Explorers Club Annual Dinner
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-03/exotic-meats-explorers-club-annual-dinner

India’s City Dwellers at Greater Risk Than Americans for Heart Disease
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2012/04/20/indias-city-dwellers-at-greater-risk-than-americans-for-heart-disease/

Russell Peters – about Chinese and Indian price negotiation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO_Fc-OT1Pg

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The post 91 – Health and fitness traveling tales from Asia appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our facebook fan page.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Some amusing vidcasts:
http://tikibartv.com/

Find out what Kevin’s been up to:
http://freedomlovin.com

The various purported pros and cons of soy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy#Health_benefits
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy#Health_risks

Nonviolent communication informs us of a clear and accurate way to express our needs, so that others hear us in a way that doesn’t entail misunderstanding and further frustration and conflict. In turn, individuals get connected to what’s most alive in them, in terms of their feelings and needs, and they are then in a realm that enables them to enrich their and others’ lives.

The useful nonviolent communication vocabulary:
http://www.cnvc.org/​Training/feelings-inventory
http://www.cnvc.org/​Training/needs-inventory

Highly recommended 3-hr workshop given by Marshall Rosenberg (split up in approx 10min segments):
The Basics of Non Violent Communication 1.1
http://www.youtube.com/​watch?v=M-129JLTjkQ
The workshop in one segment:
FULL – Nonviolent Communication Workshop – Marshall Rosenberg (2000) (Multi Subtitles)
http://www.youtube.com/​watch?v=UEqmZ2E1o64

How long can a person survive without food? by Alan D. Lieberson
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-long-can-a-person-sur

Caloric Restriction and Longevity by Sharon Hirsch
http://hplusmagazine.com/2012/04/04/caloric-restriction-and-longevity/

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We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Zoe’s incisive remarks about metabolism and “calorie counting”:
http://www.zoeharcombe.com/

A couple body fat calculators that may be useful:
http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/body-fat-percentage-calculator.php
This one by Barry Sears requires signing up to access it:
http://www.zonediet.com/tools/body-fat-calculator

Leave it to USN&WR and the other orgs listed on http://dashdiet.org to lead countless people really astray.

Nonviolent communication informs us of a clear and accurate way to express our needs, so that others hear us in a way that doesn’t entail misunderstanding and further frustration and conflict. In turn, individuals get connected to what’s most alive in them, in terms of their feelings and needs, and they are then in a realm that enables them to enrich their and others’ lives.

The useful nonviolent communication vocabulary:
http://www.cnvc.org/​Training/feelings-inventory
http://www.cnvc.org/​Training/needs-inventory

Highly recommended 3-hr workshop given by Rosenberg (split up in approx 10min segments):
The Basics of Non Violent Communication 1.1
http://www.youtube.com/​watch?v=M-129JLTjkQ
The workshop in one segment:
FULL – Nonviolent Communication Workshop – Marshall Rosenberg (2000) (Multi Subtitles)
http://www.youtube.com/​watch?v=UEqmZ2E1o64

We appreciate your rating and review on iTunes!

The post 89 – Listener emails about calories, carbs, and success stories appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss our experience at an LAfuturists meeting, where Aubrey de Grey gave a presentation on strategies for engineering negligible senescence and the necessary steps to achieving longevity escape velocity. Basically, much more funding of research is needed. Then, we also cover a pretty thorough article in the msm about why Americans are overweight. Excess carbs, especially in the forms of sugar/corn syrup and grain/flour-based products, are the main culprit. Will power only works for so long, so the key is to make lasting mental and lifestyle changes.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://www.kurzweilai.net/investing-in-the-fountain-of-youth
http://www.sens.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejuvenation_(aging)#Strategies_for_Engineered_Negligible_Senescence_.28SENS.29

Why we’re fat, Part 1: Simple question with many complex answers by Marni Jameson
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/health/os-why-americans-are-fat-food-20111231,0,1020993.story

The low-calorie will power program?
http://www.aetv.com/heavy/weight-loss-bios/chad.jsp
http://www.aetv.com/heavy/weight-loss-bios/ashley.jsp

Thanks for your review on iTunes!

The post 88 – Longer health and life spans, overweight explanations appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

This show we cover a mix of things, starting with the stats on long-lived people in Japan. It turns out that many centenarians and super centenarians might not be alive! We share our thoughts about the aging process and maximizing one’s potential. Some Japanese relatives seem to be working the governmental welfare system. Speaking of “the system,” we cover some of the USDA’s newest guidelines for school lunches. Contrary to dietary dogma, dairy without fat is less healthy than dairy with fat. Consumption of dairy products may or may not be advisable; it varies across individuals (e.g., those lactose intolerant). Keep in mind that milk contains more carbs as well. Lastly, we cover a report about two rat/mouse studies showing that high-fat chow led to hypothalamic inflammation. Yet another example of research that unfortunately bolsters fat-phobia in our culture. See the purportedly non-inflammatory rat chow link below if you’re curious about its ingredients.

We invite you to join our fb fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Japan, Checking on Its Oldest, Finds Many Gone
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/world/asia/15japan.html

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/01/25/20120125school-lunch-standards-require-more-veggies-whole-grains.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=fat-may-put-hypothalamus-on-fritz-11-12-27

Standard rat chow, anyone?
http://labdiet.com/pdf/5001.pdf

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The post 87 – Aging, school foods, rodent brains on fat appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We finish our discussion with Sonia about increased longevity, starting with innovation via the benefits of free market dynamics. We also explore various ways to get involved in the anti-aging movement, including the do-it-yourself bio-community. Strategies for Engineering Negligible Senescence is a main organization involved in solving the problem of aging. Will humans be able to not only stop the aging process, but also reverse the damage that aging has wrought? Maybe, and repair of various damage looks promising, given advances in stem cell research, gene therapy, nanomedicine, etc. Various costly mythologies in our culture, which take our focus off individual flourishing, will eventually give way to a more life-enriching, wondrous, and prosperous future for ourselves and humanity in general.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Sonia’s site: http://soniaarrison.com

The costly nature of governmental regulations…
“The FDA and its legal penumbra are monstrosities that distort all of the usual incentives involving profit and progress, and steer them towards bad ends.”
http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/12/when-you-make-medical-progress-illegal-what-results-is-a-black-market-in-medical-progress.php

Do-It-Yourself Bio
http://diybio.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIY_biology

Explore the plans to solve the 7 deadly sins of aging…
http://sens.org/

The First Immortal by James L. Halperin

http://coins.ha.com/c/content.zx?content=tfi

http://www.cryonicssociety.org/free_ebooks.html

Francis Collins – Biotech and the Leading Edge of Medical Science
http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail5056.html

FM-2030: “If it is natural to die then the hell with nature. Why submit to its tyranny?”
http://www.bidoun.org/magazine/19-noise/the-future-takes-forever-becoming-fm-2030-by-benjamin-tiven/

http://www.liveforevermovie.com/

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The post 86 – Interview with 100 Plus author Sonia Arrison, part 2 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Sonia’s site: http://soniaarrison.com

Media coverage via the Today Show…
http://www.soniaarrison.com/blog/2011/12/15/arrisons-100-plus-featured-on-the-today-show/

SENS5 – 100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything – Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6xYA4iKuk4

A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life by J. Craig Venter
http://warwicks.indiebound.com/book/9780670063581

Nanomedicine Book Site by Robert A. Freitas Jr.
http://www.nanomedicine.com/

John Smart’s treasure trove of futurist information…
http://accelerating.org/ & http://accelerationwatch.com/

Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, anyone?
http://vhemt.org

Another in-depth interview that Sonia did…
Sonia Arrison on Singularity 1 on 1 (part 1)
http://youtu.be/4SQWnTeV8uo

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The post 85 – Interview with 100 Plus author Sonia Arrison, part 1 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

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Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Anthony Bourdain – No Reservations – Namibia 2:3 (what I referenced begins at the 9min mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYNf8ZCNZgg
Anthony Bourdain – No Reservations – Namibia 3:3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONq6KZD2JYQ

http://www.latestinpaleo.com/paleo-podcast/2011/8/15/episode-28-ahs-animal-style.html
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2011/08/carbohydrate-hypothesis-of-obesity.html
Gary Taubes in-depth multi-post rebuttal: http://garytaubes.com/2011/11/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/health/our-ancestors-ate-a-low-carb-diet-63418.html
http://paleohacks.com/questions/13319/has-the-carb-pendulum-swung-too-far-in-the-opposite-direction
http://www.latestinpaleo.com/paleo-podcast/2011/8/29/latest-in-paleo-episode-30-gary-taubes.html

Nell Stephenson: Paleo Nutrition and Fitness Expert (Episode 399)
http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/2381/nell-stephenson-paleo-nutrition-and-fitness-episode-399/
http://triswimcoachonline.com/tri/interview-with-ironman-triathletepaleo-dieter-nell-stephenson-podcast-31/

Re: Science Saturday: Why We Get Fat (John Horgan & Gary Taubes)
http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/35831
here’s a VERY informative interview with Gary Taubes
http://www.skepticality.com/the-science-of-fat/

Fasting Triglycerides, High-Density Lipoprotein, and Risk of Myocardial Infarction
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/96/8/2520.long
Insulin Resistance as a Predictor of Age-Related Diseases
http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/86/8/3574.full.pdf
http://paleohacks.com/questions/12947/mainstream-article-linking-low-carb-and-insulin-control-to-longevity

further reading about insulin’s effects…
http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/does-insulin-deserve-a-bad-reputation-the-low-carb-experts-weigh-in/9458
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/12/25/does-insulin-really-deserve-a-bad-reputation/

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The post 84 – High-carb paleo issues appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

After discussing a recent cruise and the nature of the foods onboard, we delve into the parallel needs for self-responsibility and independent thinking in the realms of nutrition and political philosophy. Being major advocates of freedom, we discuss the nature of “government,” particularly its inherent rights-violating and propagandistic ways, which don’t serve the interests of individuals. The corporate food and nutrition industries tend to use the coercive tools of government to promote their own agendas, which aren’t so healthy for individuals either. Fortunately, health care will eventually be based on self-reliance and free market services, not a top-down, hierarchical system at odds with personal choice, property rights, and prosperity. Same goes for children’s education, where intrinsic motivation (rather than external control) is essential for growth and flourishing. Speaking of which, be sure to check out the upcoming PaleoFX Theory to Practice Symposium.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

a little levity – Muppet Show – Swedish Chef – making donut …maybe gluten free? ;)
http://youtu.be/mbs64GvGgPU

Mark Sisson talks to Lew Rockwell on how to get healthier
http://www.lewrockwell.com/lewrockwell-show/2011/11/15/234-just-do-the-opposite-of-what-the-government-says/

our political future of complete liberty…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntaryism

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=cholesterol-conundrum

U.S. House protects pizza as a vegetable
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/17/usa-lunch-idUSN1E7AG1WO20111117

http://robbwolf.com/2011/02/08/paleo-physician-network-is-live/
http://paleophysiciansnetwork.com/

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=health-care-4-common-myths-test-yourself

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/01/23/why-almost-everything-you-hear-about-medicine-is-wrong.html

check it out! The PaleoFX Ancestral Momentum – Theory to Practice Symposium – March 14-17 2012
http://www.paleofx.com/

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The post 83 – The severe health effects of government appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2011/08/go_ahead_eat_chocolate_for_breakfast.html
http://www.nutellausa.com/faqs.htm

http://games.crossfit.com/finals/workouts
http://games.crossfit.com/about-games
2011 CrossFit Games – The Champions, Rich Froning and Annie Thorisdottir
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItDWedJpwpw

Congrats, Jimmy!
http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/4478/500-our-500th-episode-extravaganza/
Our guest appearance on Jimmy’s show…
http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/1814/wes-bertrand-and-kevin-koskella-offer-you-a-healthy-mind-fit-body-episode-353/

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The post 82 – Nutella and breakfast fare nuttiness, highest intensity crossfit appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

All In The Mind – 10 September 2011 – A weight on my mind
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/allinthemind/stories/2011/3311052.htm

Testing a new cognitive behavioural treatment for obesity: A randomized controlled trial with three-year follow-up
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2923743/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy

Sweet Poison – Book review of Sugar Nation by Jeff O’connell
http://www.muscleandbodymag.com/article.php?ArticleID=5956

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The post 81 – Snipping the string of yo-yo dieting appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Vegan is a huge craze right now, especially with the movie “Forks Over Knives” that just came out. (I haven’t seen it yet, but I intend to “stomach” it and view it sometime soon).

The movies and books promoting the vegan diet are usually well-intentioned. And, they even provide a place for those eating the Standard American Diet (SAD) to go and get healthier. Going from eating lots of sugar, and getting the bulk of your calories from grains and processed foods, to a plant-based diet is no doubt a step up in health.

But is it possible to get even healthier?

Of course!

The vegan diet is so restrictive, that you pretty much have to eat grains to survive. And grains, especially wheat, as we know are the cause of so many problems including “wheat belly” and other nasty maladies!

So then what? Well, as we have discussed on the Healthy Mind Fit Body podcast, the healthiest diet will be one consisting of a variety of meats, veggies, fruit, some nuts and seeds, and some dairy if you are able to tolerate it.

It’s really not that complicated. And, this “diet”, whether you want to call it paleo, primal, or low carb, actually allows for a whole lot of tasty foods and interesting variety!

I hear a lot of people who truly want to know what is best, and REALLY want to get to their perfect weight, get confused at what is “good” and what isn’t. There are a few points that are really important to grasp no matter where you are in your journey, to make sure to make the positive changes permanent:

1. If you have followed the USRDA or the S.A.D., you are addicted to sugar. You must lose that addiction! This doesn’t have to be as hard as it may sound, or even that you can never have the taste of sugar on your lips again. As you replace you sugars with healthy fats, you will start to miss sugar less and less.

2. If you have transitioned to veganism, you may have to get over your fear of meat. Meat has certainly been demonized from many angles, particularly after the now-debunked China Study came out a few years ago. However, ancestrally speaking, it’s what we as humans were meant to digest. And, this idea that you will get sick if you transition from a vegan diet to one with meat is also a myth! You may have a transitionary period where things aren’t perfect for a while, but this would also happen if you were quitting sugar. Hardly a bad thing!

3. Get interested in vegetables. There are so many of them. You don’t have to be boring.

4. Find what works for you. Get the general gist of paleo/primal/low carb, but don’t become religious about it. If you think something isn’t working for you, remove it from your diet for a month. See what changes happened.

A lot of this will be trial and error. You will learn what works for you.

Do you have any good paleo/primal/low carb recipes you can share for the newbies?

The post What can I eat???? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

How he did this is by basically throwing out the old rules, and learning from all his mistakes as he went along, instead of analyzing everything to death and never getting out of the starting gates.

What is it that you’ve been wanting?

The post Getting Anything You Want appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In the second half of our interview with Barry Sears, PhD, we begin by discussing the nature of “anti-nutrients,” such as lectins and phytates found primarily in grains and legumes; best to steer clear of them, at least as staples. Everything you eat will have a hormonal and inflammatory consequence. Regarding consumption of omega 3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), adjust based on your level of inflammation–as evidenced by your arachidonic acid to EPA ratio (SIP, or Silent Inflammation Profile)–which will typically mean consuming between 6 and 10 grams of omega 3s per day. Saturated fats aren’t really the villain that the mainstream “experts” have claimed they are; omega 6 fatty acids are more inflammatory. Having a consistent balance of macronutrients is key, consuming more fat (“high octane fuel”), adequate protein, and fewer carbs than typical. Antioxidant supplements tend not to have much empirical support, although polyphenols (found in fruits and veggies) have important health benefits. It’s vital to reduce your intake of refined carbohydrates (flour and sugar or high fructose corn syrup-based products) as well as omega 6 fatty acids, while increasing your intake of omega 3s. And of course calorie restriction tends to increase longevity as well. It’s never too late to get in the zone; you’re only one meal away, after all.

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Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://drsears.com/

Why doctors don’t like to talk about antioxidants. – By Kent Sepkowitz – Slate Magazine
http://www.slate.com/id/2300578/pagenum/all/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphenol_antioxidant

http://zonediet.com/
http://zoneliving.com
http://zonehealth.com

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The post 80 – Entering The Zone with Dr. Barry Sears, part 2 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

If you want to get a debate going and even tempers flaring, just bring up one of the topics in the 3rd rail of discussion: politics, religion, or nutrition.

Some people will say to avoid discussions of politics and religion in mixed company. But not many mention nutrition in that category.

I contend that nutrition is the most potentially inflammatory topic of the three!

Here’s why:

1. Most people eat 3 times a day. So, everyone is an expert in nutrition! Even if they eat breakfast at Starbucks, lunch at McDonalds, and dinner at Taco Bell every day. Science be damned, don’t take away my mocha frappachinos, French fries and 7 layer burritos (do those still exist?)!

2. Politics and religion can easily be avoided. Most gatherings involve a meal. Church is only once a week for most religious people. Politics is a little trickier, because it’s talked about on TV 24×7, so you’d think our individual worlds revolved around it! But the truth is, despite all the rhetoric about Democracy, as citizens we have very little control of what our so-called leaders may decide for us. So everyone may have an opinion, but once you realize that all these opinions don’t amount to a hill of beans (or beef?) at a luncheon, it becomes advantageous to move on in the discussion- or take it “off line”.

3. Nutrition is not off limits! It’s completely acceptable to launch into a discussion on food while at a gathering where there is a lot of food eating going on. Typically, I will be prompted to give my opinion because of my part in Healthy Mind Fit Body. However, I’m not a fan of the topic. Not many will be convinced of anything, no matter what one’s credentials are. And I’m sure there are those who will think “What do a couple of goofballs on a podcast who talk about donuts all the time know about eating?” I take solace in realizing that even bio-chemists who spend their lives with this stuff face the same wrath at their dinner parties!

4. The general consensus is, it’s fun to eat poorly! Some events I have been to remind me of my 8th grade. I had always been taught to get good grades, and I was generally in classes with smart kids. But 8th was high school for me, and suddenly it was COOL to get BAD grades! Being the contrarian that I am, I did the bare minimum and ended up on top of the bell curve with mostly A’s that year. So, not much has changed. I’ve been accused of being a carb nazi and even trying to ruin people’s fun because of the things I eat at parties or get togethers. But the funny thing is, I don’t preach- the mere idea of eating what I want to eat often times doesn’t sit well with people. So, in the general consensus case, actual talking doesn’t even have to happen before people get offended!

What has your experience been with the triad of inflammatory topics? Put in your comments below!

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The post Politics, Religion, and Nutrition appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

This is the first half of our interview with Barry Sears, PhD, in which we discuss the nature of eicosanoids and in particular arachidonic acid in relation to metabolic health and overall health. Excessive carbohydrate consumption (which is terribly easy to do in our culture) coupled with excess omega 6 fatty acid consumption (and minimal omega 3 fatty acid consumption) tend to lead to chronic inflammation and disease states. The ratio of (long chain) arachidonic acid to (long chain) eicosapentaenoic should be around 1 to 2, but in most individuals it’s much higher, which is due primarily to unhealthy diets—diets not fashioned for our genes. Massive changes in our nutrient intake from our Paleolithic origins can deleteriously affect our levels of hormones, especially the hormones that control the inflammation process. Even if you’re thin, it’s still important to eat foods (and macronutrient ratios) that don’t contribute to insulin resistance and lipotoxicity.

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Items mentioned in this episode:

http://drsears.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eicosanoid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_resistance

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The post 79 – Entering The Zone with Dr. Barry Sears, part 1 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Last weekend, I attended my nephew’s 3-year old birthday party. There were probably 15 other kids around his age there. Let’s take a look at what was on the menu:

1. Capri Sun. Ohhh, but this is the 100% fruit juice one! Still, there is probably as much sugar as there is in soda.

2. Corn chips. Yummy, salty, & addictive!

3. Candy, LOTS of candy. In fact, there was not just one, but TWO pinatas, filled with Tootsie Rolls, Dum Dums, Sweettarts, and some unknown white chocolate treats. Kids had pockets full of this stuff that’s usually reserved for Halloween!

4. Pizza! What kids birthday party would be complete without pizza?

5. And of course, cake, because their insulin levels needed to be jacked up just a little more!

I’m pretty sure I was the only one in attendance who saw anything wrong with the eating agenda. And, I know what you might be thinking: “Don’t be such a party pooper! Live a little once in a while!” I do get that this isn’t a daily thing for most of the kids (at least lets hope not). However, I’m looking more at the question of why do we as a society feel that carb craziness is just part of life as a kid, particularly at a birthday party?

I think it comes down to this. Most of us grew up with this same sort of routine carb indulgence around holidays and birthdays. Many still do participate in this on a regular basis. So, we think “we turned out okay, why should I deprive my kid?” Or, it’s simply that questioning the premise here is just too difficult.

Imagine serving healthy snacks like beef jerky, instead of junk food?
What if they didn’t get juice and had to drink…water?
And, wouldn’t it be sac-religious to not have birthday cake??

So it comes down to keeping social connections in tact and not rocking the boat and risking isolation from friends.

You see, it all comes down to self esteem, and being able to individualize when you know what is the best route to take, even if that means going against the stream.

I think there’s a way to “have your cake and eat it too” here (and not even have to serve cake!). Some things can be outright skipped, i.e. pinata hitting can be replaced with another game that doesn’t involve candy. Soda or juice can be sparkling water or even some semi-healthy drinks like flavored coconut water or the low sugar Vitamin Water. Vegetable chips over corn chips, steak instead of pizza, and are you ready….a paleo dessert like this chocolate custard instead of cake!

It all may sound insane at first glance, but a healthy and still fun kids birthday party is all totally doable. You may get questioned by your friends at first, but who knows, you may influence them in some way by leading by example, and showing what a healthy family looks like!

What about you? What do your birthday parties look like?

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The post Kids, Carbs, and Connecting Mind and Body for Health appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

This person said she had just started to eat paleo-style, and was really hungry, but felt like she was eating too many nuts so was trying to cut down on them.

Many hard-core paleo types chimed in:

“Yes, stay away from nuts! Just eat big meals and don’t snack, that’s what I do!”

“Eat real foods! Stay away from nuts!”

“Eat more vegetables!”

I’m getting the feeling that some people are starting to get a little extreme on their devotion to all things paleo. First of all, “strict paleo” is a myth. You will never be able to eat true paleo, because it’s impossible- unless you are going to go out and kill the animals yourself, and eat the organs and all!

People wanted to advise this woman to stay away from nuts. Tom me, this idea of staying away from nuts is….nuts! The latest trend seems to be that nuts have too many omega-6 fatty acids and therefore, would throw off the sacred omega6:3 ratio which I hear should be around 3:1 or so.

I have issues with that. First of all, who came up with this ultimate ratio? It seems no different to me than going back to the Zone ratios of 40/30/30, and pretty soon we’re going back to calorie counting obsession!

Of course we do want to get plenty of omega 3 fats in our diets, as they are anti-inflammatory in nature. However, eliminating nuts is not necessarily the pinnacle of health. As Mark Sisson pointed out in his article on Nuts and Omega-6s, “Isolating Omega-6 fatty acids and then exposing them to air or heat is bad dietary policy.”.

So isolating omega-6 fats, rather than eating whole nuts, is the problem.

Now, am I suggesting we all go hog-wild on nuts? No!! It’s better to get your fats from wild caught fish and grass fed beef, and avocados, and a bunch of other things.

But let’s get back to the original question, if someone is hungry all the time, should they be looking to avoid nuts?

This is mostly an individual call. Bigger meals may help here. More veggies may help, so might adding fats like olive oil or coconut oil to meals.

But let’s say you eat lunch around noon most days, and let’s say that you like to exercise around 6pm. For me, I could not go 5.5 hours and still have enough energy to work out without consuming some food beforehand. Can you skip the nuts? Sure, but they are a convenient, filling snack. I also mix in avocadoes, fruit, and even a packaged energy bar here and there. (I can here the screaming now, “OH NO YOU’RE NOT PALEO!!!!”). This works for me. I typically will eat 4-5 times a day. If I eat less, I will usually be hungry.

The point is there is no paleo prescription, there is no perfect macronutrient ratio, or exact times you should or should not be eating.

Once obesity levels are no longer an issue, I say we have an all-out knock-down drag out caveman brawl about the minutia. Until then, by all means go paleo, but keep it in the realm of something that you can do, not something to get all nutty over.

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The post Extremism in Nutrition appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

This episode we discuss briefly the film Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and the costly perspective of “living the good life” while having an unhealthy lifestyle. We don’t need to just roll the genetic (and environmental) dice in relation to health and fitness; we can take informed steps in the realm of nutrition and lifestyle in order to maximize our health and longevity. The 2011 Ancestral Health Symposium at UCLA brought together many individuals who are dedicated to human vitality and the knowledge and practices of how to ensure it. The loss of muscle mass over time (sarcopenia) can be counteracted through weight or resistance training, which can be performed up to your last year (or week) of life!

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Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/

http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/08/some-people-live-long-despite-poor-lifestyles-but-that-doesnt-mean-youll-be-one-of-them.php

http://ancestryfoundation.org/
http://ancestryfoundation.org/Ancestral_Health_files/AHS%20Abstracts.pdf
http://vimeo.com/ancestralhealthsymposium

http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/08/calcium-channels-and-aging-muscles.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_LaLanne

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The post 78 – Ancestral health symposium reflections appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

I had such a great experience overall and wanted to blog some of the highlights here.

There was a huge list of amazing speakers, and there were 2 tracks so you couldn’t possibly see everything you wanted. Also, as a volunteer, I was unable to attend a few because of the responsibilities I had. But I made it to more talks than I thought I would!

They will be releasing all the talks on video. I’ll post here when they do. But for now, just a few tidbits (going off of memory, as I did not take any notes).

First, the volunteer team was a really amazing group! I felt lucky to have met everyone and hearing everyone’s story and how they arrived at paleo. Overall, the impression I get with paleo/primal types is that they are generally happy and open-minded (rejecting everything you ever thought you knew in the area of nutrition is probably the reason why here!).

I don’t really have a favorite talk, most of the ones I saw were top-notch. However, here are a few that really motivated me:

Mark Sisson/Marks Daily Apple: He spoke about bringing back play into your life. I was so happy to hear this message, as my priority with workouts these days has been to have fun with whatever I’m doing. He made a lot of good points about how it is so important to our health to have fun! Dragging yourself to the gym a few days a week can get old really fast, why not try activities where there is no “goal”, and instead it is just about being in the moment? He discussed this idea of being present, and not being attached to the outcome. It really hit me that playing is a great way to be completely in the moment (he even showed a picture of himself on a paddle board with a dolphin right next to him, on a day when the dolphins were especially playful!).

Erwan LeCorre/MovNat: MovNat is probably the most revolutionary concept at the Symposium. Erwan really knows his stuff and delivers it in a compelling and humorous way. At one point he showed a picture of a mountain lion, and said “What do you think he does, strength training twice a week with a little cardio mixed in?” The overall message was the same one he’s been putting out there- train your body to work with nature. Why are you doing the exercise you are currently doing? What is the purpose? The MovNat message is extremely motivating to me, and made me want to get out there and move naturally, instead of sitting through another talk!

Tom Naughton/Fat Head Movie: Definitely the funniest talk of the weekend, Tom took a shot at both “bad science” and the mainstream media who love to spin stories. He showed a variety of examples of times where correlation does not equal causation- including a study where they “proved” that eating meat causes cancer- but unfortunately were including meat on a pizza as eating meat, without considering everything else! I really liked the end of the talk. Someone in the audience asked how are we going to change things? His answer was to make the government with it’s FDA and USRDA wings irrelevant, by bringing the truth to light!

So many more of the sessions were fantastic and I highly recommend checking out the videos when they are available.

Next year, I’d like to make a push to include a psychology angle that was not presented- self esteem as it relates to weight loss and health. There were a couple of good presentations on how food affects mood and behavior, which is an important topic, but Wes & I could add another dimension to this mind-body equation that is tremendously important to overall health. Hopefully there will be a HMFB talk at AHS12!

Special thanks to Aaron Blaisdell and Brent Pottenger for putting this amazing event together!

The post The Ancestral Health Symposium (AHS) 2011 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this episode Kevin addresses a couple listener emails dealing with implementing the healthy mind fit body lifestyle. Communicating feelings and needs in a compassionate way will help get your and others’ needs met and resolve conflicts. Nutrition needs to be given priority over particular types of exercise in order to achieve fat loss, and of course “chronic cardio” is our least favorite form of training. Strength training is a great complement to your lower carb, higher fat and protein eating regimen. Try to check out this summer’s Ancestral Health Symposium in LA!

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Some nonviolent communication resources…
http://cnvc.org
http://nvcworld.com

Great site for tips about the primal lifestyle; Grok on!
http://marksdailyapple.com

Kevin’s interviews with a couple lower carb/Paleo athletes on his other show…
http://triswimcoachonline.com/tri/interview-with-ironman-triathletepaleo-dieter-nell-stephenson-podcast-31/
http://triswimcoachonline.com/tri/paleo-triathletes-interview-with-coachtriathlete-mark-pomery-podcast-40/

Ancestral Health Symposium
http://ancestryfoundation.org/

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!

The post 77 – Listener emails about exercise, training, nutrition and health appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

No carb or low carb….or SLOW carb?

First of all, let’s assess why carbs would be considered “bad” to begin with. Eating carbohydrates causes your blood sugar to rise, and your body to produce insulin. This insulin, when elevated continuously, will lead to fat storage. And, high carb meals lead to a crash in energy and more hunger only a a few hours later.

So what can we do?

Eliminate carbohydrates altogether? Slow them down? Or just keep them “low”?

The answer to this depends on what your goals are.

Are you 100 pounds or more overweight and addicted to sugar and other carbs? Then it will be important to go without almost all carbs for 2 or 3 weeks, then slowly bring them back in. This will allow you to lose your taste for them, and give you a much better chance at not continuing to go carb crazy! (By the way, the human body can live without carbs, but not without protein or fat).

Then there’s the slow carb approach, which has been made popular from books like the 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. This means sticking to the carbohydrates that take a long time to digest, mostly vegetables and legumes (beans). These are high in fiber and will keep you full longer. But there is a catch. Eating veggies is pretty much undisputed in the realm of health, but legumes are another story. Yes, they are high in fiber. But they contain gut-irritating proteins that cause indigestion and gas for a lot of people.

Finally, there’s the low carb life, which is what we discuss on the podcast. We lump the paleo diet into the low carb category, but in the overall big picture, paleo is not a true low carb diet (just much lower carb than the Standard American Diet, SAD). The paleo diet is an attempt to eat more like our ancestors, emphasizing whole foods over processed, and quality protein like grass fed beef and wild caught fish. Like the slow carb diet, there is no counting of calories. Cavemen and women did that for ages and they didn’t seem to have weight problems.

There are even people talking about combining paleo with slow carb!

So: while there are reasons to go no carb on a temporary basis, low carb/paleo is the best option, where you will get the most overall nutrients, or “bang for your buck”, and experience the least amount of food-related allergies and other health issues.

The post No Carb or Low Carb? (or Slow Carb?) appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

There’s doing lots of crunches at the gym. There’s cutting fat out of your diet. There’s “8 minute abs”.

These belly fat trimming schemes have been around for a long time. But they’re not working! Otherwise, people would be getting thinner, not fatter.

Most people are annoyed with their belly fat. In fact, they don’t even want to admit that it’s there! So it becomes a constant state of living in denial. Here are some lesser-known ways to get rid of belly fat once and for all:

1. Start by accepting where you are. Are you 20 pounds over where you’d like to be? Then don’t keep saying you want to “lose 10 pounds”.

2. Don’t even think about exercising harder or more often to lose your belly fat. It most likely won’t help! You may even make yourself more hungry and GAIN weight that you don’t want.

3. Be aware of what you are eating. Don’t count calories, just think about every last thing you put in your mouth, instead of just doing “social eating” or “stress eating” without thinking, and finishing off a bag of chips or pint of ice cream for no reason!

4. Set goals, but don’t tell anyone. It seems counter-intuitive, but if you tell someone your goals, it diffuses them. So, write the goal down, but keep it to yourself- and stick with your plan for at least 30 days to create a new habit.

5. Don’t skip meals (or snacks). Breakfast will set you up for the day. Get plenty of protein in the morning to stay full until lunch. If you get hungry, don’t will power your way to noon, just grab a healthy snack, such as a handful of nuts, until you can eat a meal again.

Give these tips a try for 30 days, see how it goes, and you may be delighted with the results!

The post Unconventional Ways To Lose Belly Fat Fast appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

However, vegetarians and vegans, who have lately grown in numbers due to the many books promoting these diets, have a big hurdle to overcome. How do you keep your carbohydrate intake to a healthy level if you are avoiding meat?

Well, I will say right off that it is very difficult to do a low carb vegan diet. I mean you CAN do it, but you will be living on lots of nuts! It becomes very imbalanced and you miss out on key nutrients.

Being a low carb vegetarian, however, isn’t that hard to do.
And really, it should be the goal of vegetarians to minimize carb intake, particularly the processed stuff, like bread, cereal, and pasta. All too often, I have been around vegetarians who were not healthy, which kind of defeats the purpose of limiting your diet (of course there are other, non-health related reasons people don’t eat meat, but in that case they may not be as concerned about health issues).

So how do you do it? How do you stay in the low carb living zone while avoiding meat?

I would start with cutting down on these 2 things:

1. Processed foods- breads, pasta, cereal, soda. A lot of packaged foods.
2. High sugar vegetables. For example, corn and carrots are high in carbs while broccoli, kale and artichoke give you more bang for your buck.

Then, add more fat into your diet. I mentioned nuts. Nuts are great, but you CAN overdo them! Avocados are another fairly convenient snack. I also like eating green olives, and adding them to various dishes to increase fat content. In order to do this, you will have to get over any fat phobia you may have!

Finally, eat the fruits that are highest in fiber to keep you full for longer. Papaya, Guava, Cantaloupe, Orange, Apricots (dried, unsulfured), Mango, and Strawberries are great options.

If you don’t eat fish, make sure to supplement with fish oils, rich in omega-3 fatty acids which we need to moderate inflammation.

It’s a bit more of a challenge to go low carb and vegetarian at the same time, but with the right tweaks to your diet, you can be on your way to a healthier body!

The post The low carb vegetarian diet- is it possible? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Let’s start with this surprising fact: studies have shown that people eating a diet high in fat will generally lose more body fat and at a faster rate than someone who eats a high carbohydrate, low fat diet.

This is contrary to what we have been taught, and contrary to what the government and other agencies keep telling us. However, it’s true: eating fat does not cause fat gain, and it is quite the opposite that is true!

So how is this true?

Well, it’s all about signals. Eating enough fat in your meals communicates a signal to your brain that you are full, and it’s time to stop eating. Carbohydrates for the most part do not have this same effect, although carbs with fiber will do this (however, there are other problems there that I’ll get into another time!). High glycemic carbs like sugar have the reverse effect, and will actually stimulate hunger!

Here are a few examples of fats that will help you to burn fat on your body:
-Coconut oil
-Avocados
-Almonds
-Walnuts
-Olives
-Animal fat

These fats take longer for your body to burn than carbs. This is where satiety comes in, as well as maintaining high energy levels throughout the day. Eating fats like these will also allow you to get away from the idea that you need “will power” to lose or burn fat, or that you need to spend a lot more time exercising.

***
Pick up the Healthy Mind Fit Body total package today!
-Get over your blocks and achieve permanent weight loss
-Feel better, look younger, and live longer
-Eat tasty foods while burning fat
-Bring back your excitement for life…and your internal happiness!

To change your life today!
***

It’s also important to mention the insulin factor. High levels of insulin mean more storage of body fat. Carbohydrates generally have your body producing the most insulin to digest. On the other end of that scale, omega-3 fats such as from fish actually help lower your insulin levels.

And, finally and maybe most importantly, fats taste good! (yeah probably didn’t have to tell you this!). You can have your fat and eat it too, despite the common misnomer that if it tastes good, it’s probably bad.

Focus on replacing most of your carbohydrates with healthy fats, and you will be on your way to a fit body!

The post Eat fat to burn fat? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

What exactly does a diet that burns fat mean? How can you avoid calorie counting, losing energy, and eating bland foods and still get down to your fitness goals?

First, you will have to make protein your friend. Protein has a way of filling us up, and you won’t even have to worry about calories as you make protein a staple with most of your meals. My favorites are grass fed beef, wild caught salmon, and rare ahi tuna!

Next, it’s important to eat vegetables every day. They also help to keep you full for a long time, and are also a good source of fiber.

The following step is one that a lot of people get hung up on: eating healthy fats. Even though for a couple of decades now the science has shown that fat does not make you fat, many people still believe this myth! Some examples are nuts, avocados, coconut oil, and olive oil…even saturated fats are healthy for the most part, even though popular mythology would have you believe they can cause heart attacks right on the spot! Just make sure to avoid partially hydrogenated fats which are often used in packaged foods.

Frequency of eating can also help many people. This one is a little controversial, however, one thing for sure is that if you let yourself get really hungry, you are much more likely to overeat and eat more of the foods that help make you fat! This doesn’t mean to snack on potato chips and Goldfish crackers, but if you find yourself hungry between meals, a handful of nuts or some beef jerky can go a long way.

The last important thing that is rarely discussed in healthy nutrition and diet is staying hydrated. Thirst can sometimes be mistaken for hunger, and drinking water will keep you from going into that starvation mode where you will just eat anything that’s put in front of you. The exact amount of water will vary depending on the person, but 64 ounces seems to be about right for a lot of people.

The post Can you create a fat burn diet? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss the process of staying focused on your healthy lifestyle choices. It’s not a matter of using either sheer will power or “tricks” to stay on track with your dietary goals. Having a “Zen-like focus” isn’t as important as getting in touch with your feelings and needs, so that you can develop strategies for a healthy lifestyle that doesn’t conflict with your long-term goals. Instead of applying duct tape and sitting on your hands, it’s important to deal with subconscious conflict, which may be hindering you from becoming at peace with your choices and feeling good about yourself. Introspection and self-work are key!

We invite you to join our FB fan page

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

How Self-Control Works by Dan Ariely
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-self-control-works&print=true

where do ideas come from?…
http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/archives/2006/07/071106.html

Hilarious Seinfeld Clip (S8E08) broccoli as “vile weed” ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJw6Z-MLyBA

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 76 – The nature of self-control appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we delve into a couple listener questions regarding the transition to a healthier dietary lifestyle. What do you with your carb/junk food “cravings”? The main task involves viewing your feelings and food choices as part of your psychology, and thus within your control. For one, it’s important to find alternatives that are both healthier and just as tasty as your not-so-healthy food choices. Second, we recommend a couple powerful psychological methods (nonviolent communication and sentence completion exercises) to reorient your way of dealing with food, which will help you come to better terms with your own emotions and choices.

Our new bonus program, Defeat Your Cheat Days, entails effectively dealing with psychological patterns and altering habits acquired since childhood for meeting your needs; and this entails developing compassion for your child-self and becoming your own best friend. The 5-day sentence completion program will help you acquire the self-knowledge and motivation needed for optimal functioning in this realm. We provide more details in our email newsletter (http://freefitnessaudio.com) as well as at http://getyourperfectweight.com

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Go to http://freefitnessaudio.com to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/the-llvlc-show-episode-468-tim-ferriss-promotes-his-slow-carb-approach-from-the-4-hour-body/10680

http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/06/02/should-you-have-cheat-days-on-a-diet/

http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/12/17/the-4-hour-body-and-cheat-days/

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 75 – Cheat day defeat appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

This is the second half of our interview with psychologist Guy Winch, author of a new book titled, “The Squeaky Wheel: Complaining the Right Way to Get Results, Improve Your Relationships and Enhance Self-Esteem.” We start off by discussing effective complaining, which includes the components of the “complaint sandwich.” This includes the ear-opener, the content, and the digestive. Starting with something pleasant is important, because it creates a genuine connection. The content of the complaint should be only about one specific incident, without any criticism (no global assessments or impugning of character). The digestive entails a request that invokes resolution in a positive way, thus maintaining the connection.

Research shows that men need to focus on maintaining eye contact and women need to match the communication flow, so that more effective complaining can happen between couples. Constant complaining entails a theme of victimization, as the person seeks sympathy. Criticism (such as accusations, generalizations, and character slams) can be dealt with effectively, i.e., turned into valid complaints, by not taking things personally, and instead focusing on specifics that can be resolved. Parents need to step off the “demand/withdraw Merry-go-round” with their tweens/teens, by maintaining a flow of mutual interest and sharing, coupled with complaint sandwiches. Taking charge of getting your needs met through effective complaining enables your health and wellness and fosters better interactions in your personal life and in the marketplace.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Go to http://freefitnessaudio.com to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Guy’s site, where you can discover more about The Squeaky Wheel
http://www.guywinch.com
Guy’s blog on Psych Today
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-squeaky-wheel

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/
Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 74 – Complaining effectively with psychologist Guy Winch, part 2 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Attitudes of helplessness, hopelessness, and pessimism practically guarantee ineffective complaining, while thinking optimistically, and especially addressing the proper person, practically guarantee getting your complaints resolved. Being persistent and methodical helps a great deal in the complaining process too. Excessive complaining, however ineffective, tends to reflect a victimized mindset that reinforces itself and fosters feelings of disempowerment and defeat. Hostility, blaming, and criticism usually generate defensiveness in the other person and represent ineffective complaining–whereas showing empathy, understanding the other person’s context, as well as reframing your own emotional state, represent effective complaining. To be continued next week…

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Go to http://freefitnessaudio.com to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Guy’s site, where you can discover more about The Squeaky Wheel
http://guywinch.com

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-squeaky-wheel

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-squeaky-wheel/201101/what-complaints-choirs-tell-us-about-our-complaining-psychology

http://www.guywinch.com/the-burrito-manager-who-could-not-say-sorry/

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)

http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 73 – Complaining effectively with psychologist Guy Winch, part 1 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

This show we covered some listener emails. The first dealt with the topic of fiber; do we need it and can we get enough in our diet. Adequate amounts of insoluble and soluble fiber can be found vegetables (such as broccoli and cauliflower), fruits (such as berries), and nuts. Another listener related vast improvements in many aspects of her health and a renewed zest for staying fit (having stepped off the calorie-counting and exercise deadmill). The last email noted the junk food ills of the public school system; a lack of nutrients and an overabundance of carbs don’t help kids’ physical and mental conditions. Thanks for writing, everyone! Stay tuned for an upcoming helpful addition to our hmfb package as well as another interview for the next show.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Go to http://freefitnessaudio.com to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

What happens to your body after you drink a Coke http://ow.ly/549to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup

Check out our friend Brett’s show: School Sucks Podcast
http://schoolsucksproject.com/

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 72 – Fiber, listener successes, and junk food school appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Go to http://freefitnessaudio.com to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Diana Spechler’s website:
http://dianaspechler.com (where you can order her latest novel Skinny)
Diana’s other site, for anonymous confessions:
http://bodyconfession.com/

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 71 – Getting Skinny with guest Diana Spechler, part 2 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

This is part one of our two-part interview with author Diana Spechler, author of Skinny, her latest novel. We begin by discussing the nature of body image issues. As we noted a couple shows ago, various psychological patterns can be found on bodyconfession.com, one of Diana’s sites. Mental inertia can be self-sabotaging, of course, so self-acceptance (owning various disowned parts of yourself) is key to understanding where you are and getting to where you want to be. Intergenerational transfer of eating patterns from parents (and extended family) to children is common, and one solution is to stock your shelves with healthy choices. “Fat camps” seem to be quick fixes and typically offer programs that are based on calorie-counting rather than a healthy mental perspective on foods and taking into account the insulin factor in weight gain/loss. Articulating and understanding our emotions is another key to developing a healthy self-concept and beneficial eating habits.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Go to http://freefitnessaudio.com to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Diana Spechler’s website: http://dianaspechler.com (where you can order her latest novel Skinny)
Diana’s other site, for anonymous confessions: http://bodyconfession.com/

a helpful language to learn…Nonviolent communication: a language of life By Marshall B. Rosenberg
http://bit.ly/kqnsYo (google books)
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/feelings-inventory
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory

a helpful and comprehensive psychotherapeutic workbook: The Art Of Self-Discovery
http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_23&products_id=38

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :) http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 70 – Getting Skinny with guest Diana Spechler, part 1 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Some people agreed with my points on cheat days, but others were mad at me. They blame me for trying to take away their favorite carb indulgences!

But I have no interest in taking away anything from anyone.

I just want to point out what you are setting yourself up for when you implement cheat days in your diet. Basically, you are setting yourself up for failure.

You know how many cheat days I have in my diet?

I don’t count, because I “cheat” nearly every day!

Rather than “go on a diet”, and attempt to implement a short term solution to getting into shape, consider a lifestyle change that will leave you with more energy, put you in a better mood, and allow you to not even want to feed your body junk for 24 hours! This is not a diet and you won’t have any guilt if you have an unhealthy food item, or even a couple of unhealthy meals.

Your body doesn’t know what day of the week it is!

The idea is to incorporate health into your life permanently. A great way to do this is via the sentence completion plan in the back of our Healthy Mind Fit Body book. The time investment is minimal as compared to how much better you will look and feel! Excuses like cheat days will no longer stop you from getting down to your perfect weight.

Sign Up here and receive:

“The Three Pillars of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Through the Mind-Body Connection” Audio

The post Cheat Day: Everyone’s Favorite Excuse appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Normally, it’s one of 3 things for each meal. I do enjoy what I eat, but, I also love variety!

So Everyday Paleo was perfect for me, in that it has LOTS of quick, easy, and tasty recipes, and has LOTS of big, colorful pictures!

There are so many things I loved about the book.

First, Sarah gives a quick breakdown of paleo eating, how it has worked for her to transform her own health, and how she has implemented it with her family, particularly with her 3 kids. She covers the challenges of paleo living like school lunches, and eating out- but simplifies it so you are left with no more excuses!

The next section is “Paleo Kitchen Essentials”. I think this is a major reason to get this book! One of my biggest problems with cooking is not having the right kitchen items and getting stuck. This section has pictures and affordable ways to get exactly the equipment you need.

Then a good chuck of the book is the recipes. Breakfast is where I really like variety, so I tried the Egg Cupcakes. It was far easier to make than I thought it would be! I’m still missing some of the equipment I should have had, but, I made it work. I had these things done from start to finish in 25 minutes. They turned out great! Like little quiches.

The recipe pages are color coordinated so you can easily flip to a section. There are even paleo deserts!! Can’t wait to try some of those.

The final two sections are:

-30 day family meal plan with shopping lists (HUGE bonus)
-Workouts

The meal plan with shopping lists make the idea of turning a family paleo a no-brainer. The workouts have amazing picture demonstrations, and show various ways to incorporate your kids into your workouts.

Overall, the book has a simple and happy feel to it. Anyone can do this! If you want the science behind the paleo diet, you’re probably better off with Robb Wolf’s Paleo Solution book. But if you want more of the practical steps and a guide to developing a healthier, happier family and self, Everyday Paleo fits the bill!

Click below to pick up a copy at Amazon.

The post Everyday Paleo Book Review appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this episode we explore the topic of sex, specifically its health benefits, both physically and mentally. Hormones such as oxytocin and DHEA are fostered in the process. Immune and longevity benefits are also noted. It’s important that sex be integrated with the mental side of things for optimal benefits to be derived. Sharing your sexuality with someone you value can bring about the fulfillment of other needs, such as romantic love. Thus, psychological visibility (reflecting your values) becomes a main factor in seeing sex as spectacular and an important component of the happiness of which you are worthy. Sex can evoke powerful emotions, of course, which can result in cultural mores proscribing and prohibiting its expression (and even discussion), which doesn’t help kids understand and develop a healthy view of human sexuality. Going low-carb/Paleo may augment your sex drive, as will fitness/strength training.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Go to http://freefitnessaudio.com to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

69 DUDES!  ;)
http://youtu.be/zYWT4uYOPvs

Sex Your Way to Better Health: A Dozen Reasons Why You Should Have Sex Tonight by Yvonne K. Fulbright
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317189,00.html

http://paleohacks.com/questions/654/paleo-diet-lifestyle-and-sex-drive#axzz1JjNi7uNQ

The Psychology of Romantic Love
http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_24&products_id=45
Books On Love & Relationships
http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_24

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 69 – Sex for health and fitness appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss  various psychological patterns in body image issues found on bodyconfession.com, a new site by Diana Spechler, whom we’ll be interviewing in a few weeks about her upcoming novel. Body image is affected adversely by comparison contests in your mind. Self-acceptance–i.e., owning those disowned parts of yourself–is key, as is correct nutritional and fitness information. For instance, cravings for sweets can be dealt with by eating a piece of dark chocolate or healthy fruit and even adding stevia, rather than eating cupcakes (or name your high-carb poison). To cultivate trust in being able to treat your body well is to also honor your self-worth, actualizing your potential as an expressive, joyful, and playful person. Also, if you examine your feelings as stemming from unmet needs, you can devise life-enriching strategies to get all your needs met. Ultimately, “Nothing tastes as good as feeling good about yourself.” :)

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Go to http://freefitnessaudio.com to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://bodyconfession.com/

http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/04/05/28-the-practice-of-self-acceptance/

Nonviolent communication: a language of life By Marshall B. Rosenberg
http://books.google.com/books?id=nY4tDDO93E8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034/
The Basics of Non Violent Communication 1.1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-129JLTjkQ
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/feelings-inventory
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory
Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

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http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 68 – Body image issues appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Go to http://freefitnessaudio.com to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

A hilarious potential cooking show…
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/bfb12aea47/charlie-sheen-s-winning-recipes

Gary Taubes debriefs with Jimmy Moore about his experience on The Dr. Oz show…
http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/3844/taubes-vs-oz-special-and-ben-hewitt-interview-episode-456/

Gary Taubes’ appearance on The Dr. Oz show
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/man-who-thinks-everything-dr-oz-says-wrong-pt-1
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/man-who-thinks-everything-dr-oz-says-wrong-pt-2
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/man-who-thinks-everything-dr-oz-says-wrong-pt-3
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/web-exclusive-dr-oz-and-gary-taubes-debate-exercise

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_Nut_Cheerios#Health_appeal

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

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http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 67 – Low-carb taubes in the land of dr oz appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Go to http://freefitnessaudio.com to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Behavioral Approaches to Weight Loss – Take our obesity poll
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=obesity-poll&WT.mc_id=SA_CAT_MB_20110119

Meet the Caveman Dieters – Inside the World of Paleo Diets and Caveman Work-Outs
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/paleo-diet-meet-caveman-dieters/story?id=13030483

The deleterious effects of chronic video game playing…
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s10e08-make-love-not-warcraft

Once a Villain, Coconut Oil Charms the Health Food World by Melissa Clark
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/dining/02Appe.html?_r=2&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all
-
Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
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The post 66 – Weight loss behaviors and mindset appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss some of my new experiences in the Land Down Under and then touch on the six pillars of self-esteem by psychologist Nathaniel Branden. We address some of the six pillars, particularly in relation to a listener’s email, which shares her healthy mind fit body experiences amidst a culture that is not so inclined to health and fitness. Ultimately, the best way to inspire others is to present an example of optimal functioning to others and thus pique their interest about the process of achieving a healthy mind and fit body.

We invite you to join our fb fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

next best thing to a flock of cockatoos… ;)
Dumb and Dumber Most annoying sound in the world & Mocking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrbKn5boVPA

Nonviolent communication: a language of life By Marshall B. Rosenberg
http://books.google.com/books?id=nY4tDDO93E8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034/

The Basics of Non Violent Communication 1.1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-129JLTjkQ
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/feelings-inventory
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory

be sure to check out our past series on the six pillars of self-esteem…
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/03/28/episode-27-the-practice-of-living-consciously/
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/04/05/28-the-practice-of-self-acceptance/
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/04/13/29-the-practice-of-self-responsibility/
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/04/27/30-the-practice-of-self-assertiveness/
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/05/06/31-the-practice-of-living-purposefully/
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/05/13/32-the-practice-of-personal-integrity/

Lifestyle More Important Than Genes to Natural Longevity
http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2011/02/lifestyle-more-important-than-genes-to-natural-longevity.php

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

The post 65 – Promoting change from within appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss the nature of the HCG diet, why it’s a fad and what the scientific research says. Rather than going the quick-fix route, which in this case entails eating only 500 calories a day, go for what’s really healthy for you in the long term. You can’t go wrong with Paleo (no grains, legumes, and dairy), but any significant reduction in carb consumption (and corresponding increase in fat consumption) will have positive effects on fat loss and your blood readings. What’s beneficial for you (not excess carbs) should be in line with your long term values of health, vitality, and longevity.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Don’t skimp on vitamin D…
Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease
http://www.ajcn.org/content/80/6/1678S.long

Retail HCG diet drugs are frauds, FDA warns
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/01/26/20110126fda-warnings-about-diet-drugs.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_chorionic_gonadotropin

8 reasons carbs help you lose weight
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/8-reasons-carbs-help-you-lose-weight-2442968/

The Top 10 Health Podcasts Every Low-Carber Should Be Listening To by Jimmy Moore
http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/the-top-10-health-podcasts-every-low-carber-should-be-listening-to

Some places for relatively inexpensive online ordering of blood tests…
http://directlabs.com/
http://medlabusa.com/
http://personalabs.com/
http://privatemdlabs.com/
http://healthcheckusa.com/
https://results-direct.com/

Please consider making a donation to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated :)
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

The post 64 – HCG diet facts and fictions appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

“I have to pay my rent!”
My answer: “No, you don’t. You can put in a 30-day notice to leave, or you can just not pay. Of course there are consequences to everything. But you have a choice. You can get a cheaper place, or sleep on a friend’s couch, or move back in with your parents….”

The “have to’s” in life typically just stress us out and don’t help us get to our goals. Let’s look at making lifestyle changes.

Let’s say someone smokes & drinks regularly, and is 20 pounds overweight.

They might think to themselves: “I have to get healthy and get in shape!”

So they will proceed to quit smoking, quit alcohol, start exercising, and cut out carbohydrates- all at once! Most people that do this are setting themselves up for failure. Why not tackle one thing at a time? Maybe you feel you have to make all of the above changes to get healthy. But “chunking it down”, as Tony Robbins would say, may be a lot easier than to go cold turkey in all areas at once!

Diet itself is no different. When I first realized I needed to make dietary changes, I knew there were some things I could cut out. I started with 3 things at first: soda, cereal, and pasta. These changes led me to actually WANT to start cutting out more bad carbs and replacing them with healthy protein and fats, because I started associating those carb foods with feeling tired and sluggish, and having a gut. They weren’t serving me, and this became obvious.

One thing at a time seems to work well for a lot of people. What has your experience been with making positive lifestyle changes?

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The post Do you have to? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Towards the end of our conversation, he said he wanted some advice on fitness. He said he wants to start running 3-5 miles a day to lose some weight and get in shape. I mentioned that it’s going to be more about diet & nutrition than how much exercise he can squeeze in.

So he says: “Well, I try to eat pretty healthy.”
I ask: “What kinds of things do you eat?”
And he replies: “I usually start out the day with a bowl of Honey-Nut Cheerios…do you think that’s good?”

Let’s look at why he would think this is a healthy way to eat. Here are the claims Cheerios makes on their site, and my debunking comments:

“13 Vitamins & Minerals
Contains “good source” (at least 10% of the Daily Value per serving) of the number of vitamins & minerals indicated.”
Wow! 10%! Seriously? I can’t even believe they are bragging about this!

“Low fat
Contains 3 grams or less of fat per serving or per 50 grams if serving size is 30 grams or less.”
Why is low fat a good thing? Oh, because this USRDA says so! Sorry, this is yet another strike against Cheerios.

“Good source of calcium
Contains at least 10% of the Daily Value of calcium per serving.”
Another whopping 10%. And why is getting this calcium good in the first place? We should be more focused on a balanced magnesium/calcium ratio instead of just looking at one side of the story.

***

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***

“Made with whole grain
Contains at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving. U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend eating at least 48 grams of whole grain per day.”
Oh boy, WHOLE grains! There’s that all-knowing USRDA again, giving out horrible advice that will go further in making us sick than healthy!

“Helps reduce the risk of heart disease
Product may reduce the risk of heart disease as part of a heart-healthy diet.”
The key where they cover their asses is that last part of the statement “..as part of a heart-healthy diet.” And it MAY help. No studies showing this to be true. Deceptive claim at the least!

“Can help lower cholesterol*
Product can help lower cholesterol as part of a heart-healthy diet.
”
Same as above. Can it? Or not? And which kind of cholesterol is it lowering?

This commercial is part of the Honey Nut Cheerios propaganda that’s fooling millions of people.

“Excellent source of iron
Contains at least 20% of the Daily Value of iron per serving.”
Let’s see, where else can we get far more iron per serving. Meat! No need for processed crap if you are after iron.

Well I could go on and on, but the bottom line is, Cheerios are simply fake food, and not meant for human consumption. It’s too bad that so many people fall for this idea that because something has the American Heart Association’s stamp of approval and the full endorsement of the government that it must be good!

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The post Honey Nut Cheerios & Health? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We address the psychological topic of dealing with mental and behavioral changes, especially in relation to those who don’t want to give up their favorite comfort foods, which are typically some form of unhealthy carbs. We explore our newsletter post covering this topic, as well as a listener’s response to it, who relates her stories about dealing with the unhealthy eating habits of her patients and co-workers at a hospital. We read some choice quotes from a motivational book titled As A Man Thinketh by James Allen, which was written over a hundred years ago. Become a “master gardener” of your own mind; understand your own power to change your life course and make firm commitments to lifestyle changes. Also, it’s extremely helpful to compassionately connect with feelings and needs in relation to making changes. For instance, when someone is feeling fearful or reticent or dismissive of a healthy message, acknowledge those feelings and understand various unmet needs that might give rise to them, via nonviolent communication. This will tend to dissolve antagonism and place the focus on what truly matters, which is adopting life-enriching strategies to get one’s needs met.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_a_Man_Thinketh

Instructions for Sentence Completion Programs
http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/articles_essays/instructions.html

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg
http://bit.ly/gwJa4h (google books)

The vocabulary of nonviolent communication
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/needs-inventory
http://www.cnvc.org/Training/feelings-inventory

The Basics of Non Violent Communication 1.1 (extended workshop)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-129JLTjkQ

Please consider contributing to the HMFB cause! Much appreciated
http://healthymindfitbody.com/donate/

The post 63 – Sowing the seeds of your own health success appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

I don’t like to get elaborate with my meals. In fact, I keep it incredibly simple, yet, healthy and tasty. Here’s an example of a typical lunch I have:

-Cook up some ground beef on the stove (or take out leftovers from the night before).
-Add a spice to the meat (like cumin!)
-Pour some mixed frozen veggies into a bowl
-Microwave them for 1:30
-Add some olive oil
-Cut up an avocado, add about half to the bowl of veggies
-Add 1/2-3/4 pound of the cooked meat into the bowl

Enjoy!

I do several variations of this. Sometimes I will use guacamole, olives, or cheese in place of the avocado (or in addition to!). Sometimes I will do turkey, fish, or even canned tuna (in that case I need pickle relish, not paleo but necessary to me!). Also, when I use meat, I will sometimes add spaghetti sauce as well (always opting for the lower sugar content in the sauce, preferably no sugar added).

Oddly, I never get tired of this meal. With the variations, I can go through a week of eating lunch and dinner in, and never have the same meal twice! I know I can get much more creative, but many nights it seems there isn’t much time to slave over a stove- and I know I can easily get healthy, tasty nutrition quickly with one of my standards.

So the recipes such as the ones on everydaypaleo.com are great & not hard, but keep in mind you can not cook much at all and still get to your perfect body!

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The post Simple eating appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we explore the facets of Sarah’s transition to Paleo nutrition, her upcoming book, and her focus on health and fitness while maintaining a busy lifestyle and family with three boys. Motivation is key, especially determining what you’re going for (or what you’re chasing), putting your goals into perspective; just showing up for a workout may be a good goal initially. And, for those concerned with getting the family on board with Paleo foods, with the various Paleo recipes that Sarah presents, kids will leave very few left-overs! It’s vital to keep your priorities in line to ensure a happy life as well as practicing honesty with yourself and others. Also, restaurant eating can be done selectively, though not recommended for everyday healthy eating. Btw, the ultimate Paleo kitchen instrument is the pressure cooker! Don’t forget that you can choose from myriad herbs and spices for your tasty dishes.

We invite you to join our facebook fan page

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Sarah Fragoso’s site
http://everydaypaleo.com/

Pre-order Sarah’s book Everyday Paleo: Embracing a Natural Diet & Lifestyle to Increase Your Family’s Health, Fitness, and Longevity
http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/11/30/everyday-paleo-book-is-ready-for-pre-order/
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Everyday-Paleo/Sarah-Fragoso/e/9780982565810
http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Paleo-Sarah-Fragoso/dp/098256581X

http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/12/14/what-are-you-chasing-and-of-course-a-recipe/

Andy Deas exploring aspects of crossfit training…
http://chasingcapacity.com/category/crossfit/love-hate-series/

Check out Sarah’s video demos down the page…
http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/11/15/thanksgiving-recipes-and-everyday-paleo-pumpkin-pie-cooking-demo/
http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/10/19/cooking-demo-paleo-tacos-with-purple-cabbage-slaw/
http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/09/07/cooking-demo-breakfast-paleo-pizza/

Hopefully you have a Trader Joes near you…
http://everydaypaleo.com/2009/12/21/paying-homage-to-trader-joes-salsa-verde/

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!

The post 62 – Everyday Paleo with guest Sarah Fragoso appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show, we relate the recent injuries and hospitalization of our close friends and discuss the nature of hospitalization, things to watch out for–such as superbugs–and things to try to avoid, such as CT scans, physical exams, circumcision, C-sections, and antibiotics (unless your life depends on them, of course). In turn, your focus on optimal mental and physical functioning is key for a happy and long life–hopefully a greatly extended one! Getting the impediments of government out of the way will enable much more innovation and accountability in health care and medical research. Oh, and eggs–with yolks–are great to eat (don’t accept the cholesterol myth).

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/12/27/are-eggs-bad-for-you/

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/eight-deadly-superbugs-lurking-in-hospitals/19647632/

http://www.cracked.com/article_18840_5-common-medical-procedures-that-secretly-arent-worth-it.html

http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2010/06/the-carrot-of-happiness.php

http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2010/06/the-mess-of-modern-medicine.php

http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2008/05/the-million-year-lifespan.php

http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schuler_genomics_101.html

Art Devany at 73!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1eyOjgcPSA

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 61 – The ills of hospitalization, living long and prospering appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Over the Christmas holiday, I spent a few days with my parents who follow a low fat, high carb diet. Very little of what I preach here at Healthy Mind Fit Body gets through to them, as they are steeped in the idea that fat must be consumed in limited quantities, that bread is the “staff of life”, and that cholesterol from eggs (specifically egg yolks) leads to “high cholesterol”.

Well let’s take a look at this last myth and break it down!

First of all, the science backs the fact that consuming cholesterol in your diet does not raise your cholesterol levels. The problem is that in the 70′s and 80′s, there was a mass campaign to demonize eggs, because of their cholesterol content. The thought was that eating eggs would lead to high cholesterol, and ultimately heart disease. Nonsense!

Not only does dietary cholesterol NOT lead to higher blood cholesterol, it’s not a highly significant measure of health. As most people know, there is HDL and LDL cholesterol, and raising HDL is a good thing. Even elevated LDL is not necessarily unhealthy. It would depend on the kind of LDL we’re talking about! (A good, fun look at this is in the movie “Fathead” by Tom Naughton).

Here’s a video that might help explain this a little further:

And what is good about eggs?

Lots!

Here’s a list of nutrients that eggs contain:

1. Rich in B-vitamins
2. Also contain vitmains A & D
3. Great source of ribovlavin
4. Great source of choline
5. Also abundant in lutein, zeaxanthin, and carotenoids which protect our eyes from macular degeneration.

Keep in mind, most of these nutrients are found in the yolk.

By cutting eggs out of your diet or sticking with egg-whites only, not only are you missing out on lots of essential nutrition, you also miss out on flavor and the satiation that the yolks provide.

I tend to eat my eggs raw in smoothies, or scrambled with avocado and salsa.

How do you like your eggs?

The post Are eggs bad for you? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show, we explore some expert opinions from the mainstream about the ills of carbs, which indicate that the high-carb/low-fat diet dogma is starting to be dispelled. Yet the notion that there are “good” and “bad” carbs still persists, such as whole grains (allegedly good) and refined grains (allegedly bad). Actually, lower amounts of carbs from fruits and veggies are much more nutritious than carbs from grains, breads and cereals (not to mention from sweets). Artificial sweeteners are better than sugary sweeteners, but beware habitually consuming “candy cigarettes.” Make sure not to overdo the carbs with dried fruit too. Thanks to everyone who nominated and voted for us on podcastawards.com; although we didn’t win, it definitely helped get the hmfb message out. :)

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

A reversal on carbs by Marni Jameson
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-carbs-20101220,0,5893431,full.story

Cleaning up your carb act: Where to begin by Marni Jameson
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-carbs-tips-20101220,0,4034450,full.story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy%27nut
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwashiorkor

Calories, fat or carbohydrates? Why diets work (when they do)
http://www.garytaubes.com/2010/12/calories-fat-or-carbohydrates/

http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/12/25/does-insulin-really-deserve-a-bad-reputation/

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 60 – The turning of the high-carb tide appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

I was fascinated to discover that the author of  weightology.net, James Krieger, wrote a post on confirmation bias, apparently around the time he embarked on his five-part series of posts titled “Insulin…an Undeserved Bad Reputation.” Ironically, his post about a common fallacy in thinking and argumentation as well as his five-part series of posts on insulin had a quite familiar ring to them—the one defending the calorie theory of weight loss (“theory” should not be taken in the scientific sense here).

Essentially, Krieger’s posts attempt to challenge the key component in understanding the efficacy of lower carbohydrate/higher fat macronutrient percentages in the human diet to maintain an optimal body fat percentage: the peptide hormone insulin. The insulin factor has been identified as key by a whole host of people, too many in the low-carb/Paleo present (and past) community to mention here. All of us have based our view of insulin on three things: the totality of empirical research on its mechanism of action and systemic effects; an anthropological analysis of the history of food consumption by homo Sapiens; and, the overwhelming benefits of present-day Paleo and various low-carb dietary regimens. So naturally, Krieger has a lot of explaining to do if he seeks to confirm his belief in the status quo calorie theory, which advocates eating fewer calories and exercising more (creating an “energy deficit”) for those who have excess body fat, i.e., are overweight or obese.

Fortunately, as far as insulin being primarily responsible for fat gain and fat storage in humans, we need look no further than James Krieger’s own meta-analysis: Effects of variation in protein and carbohydrate intake on body mass and composition during energy restriction: a meta-regression by Krieger JW, Sitren HS, Daniels MJ, Langkamp-Henken B. After considering a total of 87 studies comprising 165 intervention groups that met the inclusion criteria, the conclusion from this study was the following: “Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets favorably affect body mass and composition independent of energy intake, which in part supports the proposed metabolic advantage of these diets.” Essentially, subjects lost significantly more fat mass on low-carb regimens than low-fat regimens. Of course, delving into the specifics of those 87 studies referenced is beyond the scope of this article, yet they no doubt provide a pretty thorough perspective on the empirical validity of the insulin factor in weight loss. Many rigorous isocaloric studies support the contention that insulin secretion (via carb consumption) is the primary culprit in fat storage.

Let’s nonetheless explore some of the alleged myths about insulin that Krieger’s posts consider. Unfortunately, variants of the red herring fallacy are particularly evident in the following statements from his first post:

MYTH:  Carbohydrate Drives Insulin, Which Drives Fat Storage
FACT:  Your Body Can Synthesize and Store Fat Even When Insulin Is Low

Here it seems biochemistry is being turned on its head. There are so many studies indicating that the purported “myth” above is factual that I’m frankly amazed the claim is being made. On the anecdotal side, there are also quite a few individuals who are on ketogenic diets (no carbs) because they are trying to prevent or minimize brain seizures, and this camp is pretty lean. Moreover, any human eating strict Paleo or even the induction phase of the Atkins’ diet doesn’t evidence much fat storage either.

It’s of course true that your body can synthesize and store fat even when insulin is low. But that’s beside the point, because the real question is this: based on empirical analysis, how much fat is synthesized and stored when insulin secretion is low? The answer is of course “very little,” relative to when insulin is high (in terms of daily secretion). This difference is found in the majority of individuals, though by no means all, as I’ll note below.

MYTH:  Carbohydrate Is Singularly Responsible for Driving Insulin
FACT:  Protein Is a Potent Stimulator of Insulin Too

Well, carbs are primarily responsible for driving insulin secretion. As a type 1 diabetic since 1995, I’m quite familiar with this process. While protein does indeed stimulate your pancreatic beta cells to secrete some insulin (and in my case sometimes requiring an exogenous infusion of insulin), carbohydrates stimulate them more. And as you’ll read below, Krieger himself even concedes this important point.

Now let’s move on to some points made in his second post on insulin,

MYTH:  Since diabetics who inject insulin gain weight, this means that insulin is the reason for weight gain in non-diabetics
FACT:  Amylin is co-secreted with insulin in non-diabetics; amylin has appetite suppressant and lipolytic effects

Type 1 diabetics are less likely to have overweight issues than type 2 diabetics (having excess body fat increases the likelihood of type 2 diabetes). For most people, body fat gain primarily depends on the amount of carbohydrates being consumed——the more carbs consumed, the more insulin required, and thus the more body fat gained. Any effects of amylin are neglible to this process, and the study that Krieger cites on amylin causing “lipolytic effects” leaves one with more questions than definitive answers. In any event, any fat loss induced by this peptide hormone pales in comparison to what happens when you lower your insulin levels.

MYTH:  Lowering Insulin Will Improve Appetite Regulation
FACT:  Insulin Is One of the Many Hormones Critical to Satiety

Individuals suffering from hyperinsulinemia might beg to differ on this one. Satiety is a complex issue, to be sure, and insulin’s role here is no exception. If anything, the evidence shows the opposite of the “fact” above; higher insulin secretion will tend to promote more consumption of carbs, reflecting the proverbial sweet tooth or junk food junkie behaviors. Whether this is a psychological or physical phenomenon or a combination of both is difficult to ascertain. Whether people consume high-carb/low fat foods or low-carb/high fat foods has a lot to do with their knowledge and their motivation too.

And as we noted on our podcast (episodes 58 and 59), if insulin works on the brain to cause a feeling of satiety, and insulin resistant individuals do not respond as effectively to some of the effects of insulin, it is possible that some individuals may be resistant to the satiety-promoting effects of insulin—causing them to feel hungry despite high insulin levels. Leptin, another hormone which has been shown to promote satiety in healthy individuals, is found at unusually high levels in obese people, but they still feel hungry. Leptin resistance may be to blame. Dozens of other hormones affect appetite in some way, and the overall feeling of satiety or hunger is probably a net result of many different hormones.

So, how important is the contribution of insulin to feelings of satiety and hunger, compared to other hormones? That question does not have a definitive answer. Again, it is complicated and difficult to study the role that any individual hormone plays in regulating hunger, but insulin does not represent the entire picture.

The second post on insulin by Krieger concludes with the following statement:

As I mentioned earlier, people seem to confuse blood glucose control and insulin control.  It is the management of blood glucose itself that is partly responsible for the health benefits of low-glycemic carbohydrates, or reducing carbohydrates, or increasing protein intake, or consuming dietary fiber, or consuming fruits and vegetables, or consuming whole foods over processed foods.  It is not the control of insulin; the control of insulin ends up being a byproduct of these other behaviors through improvements in insulin sensitivity (how responsive your cells are to insulin) and reductions in blood sugar swings.

This explanation misses the mark, as demonstrated by my own experience of taking tens of thousands of blood glucose readings over the last 16 years, since I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. As I noted on our podcast, my blood glucose levels tend to fluctuate a lot more than non-diabetics’ levels do, because 1) injecting insulin subcutaneously doesn’t have as immediate an effect as when it’s secreted endogenously by your pancreas (though I still do secrete some insulin endogenously) and 2) the regular insulin I inject in bolus amounts for meals doesn’t exactly match the digestion and conversion of carbs to glucose into the bloodstream and thus the exact demand for insulin, in order to keep blood glucose in the normal range (say, 80-120 mg/dL). (On average, however, my A1c (glycated hemoglobin) levels are typically 5-6%, which should forestall many of the long-term complications such as retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy.)

Yet, I’m nevertheless at my ideal weight with about 10% body fat, which I’ve maintained for years, ever since I began a reduced carb/increased fat diet in 1997 (losing five percentage points in body fat in the process). It’s clear, not only from my personal experience as my own best doctor and patient but also by a plethora of studies, that total amount of insulin secretion is the primary factor in body fat level—particularly in the majority of the human population with a genotype that tends to store carbs as fat rather than burn them. For the segment of the human population who can eat lots of carbs without gaining fat, this is arguably an even less fortunate phenomenon, because it may lead to the unwarranted assumption that their higher level of insulin secretion is healthy (“I’m not overweight, so I’m healthy!”).

At the end of Part 3 on insulin, Krieger offers an explanation as to why he’s not fat:

Why Am I Not Fat?

My own personal experience with dairy fits right in with the science.  I consume a lot of dairy and have for many years.  I go through 2-3 gallons of milk per week.  I also go through a lot of Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, regular cheese, and whey protein.  I have some type of dairy with just about every meal.   Thus, I have large amounts of insulin flowing through my body pretty much all day.  If insulin was truly the fat-promoting, weight-gaining hormone that some have made it out to be, then I should be obese by now.  Yet, I am not……not even close.

Not only that, but the people who think insulin makes you hungry, that would imply that I should be starving all of the time with all of the insulin that is flowing through my body all day.  Yet, I’m not.

Got Milk?  Got Insulin!

The evidence is overwhelming that dairy products do not promote weight gain, and they actually inhibit weight gain in animal studies.  This is despite the fact that dairy products produce very large insulin responses, as much or greater than many high carbohydrate foods.  Thus, it is clear from this article, as well as my previous articles, that the carbohydrate/insulin hypothesis is incorrect.  Insulin is not the criminal in the obesity epidemic; instead, it is an innocent bystander that has been wrongly accused through guilt by association.

Just because he has not accumulated excess body fat as a result of the various carbs in his dairy product consumption doesn’t mean that others experience similar results. In fact most people who consume excess carbs, whether in the form of milk or cookies, will store more body fat than, say, if they were eating cheese and whey protein. To his point, I have experienced a slightly higher requirement of insulin when consuming whey protein powder and even yogurt (I eat the healthier whole-fat kind), but it’s not nearly as pronounced as when I consume extra bread or a banana, for instance.

Thus, it’s important not to treat all dairy as identical in terms of the insulin factor. For instance, I stopped drinking milk about a decade ago, in order to reduce my total daily carb consumption, —and I lost body fat and my blood lipids (HDL and triglycerides) improved. Cheese requires very little insulin, unless you venture into the realm of the carb-containing processed Velveeta and cheese slices.

In the fourth post on insulin, which was one of particular interest to me (being a type 1), we encounter some more claims that constitute red hearing fallacies:

Insulin Is Not Required for Cells To Take Up Glucose
[...and...]
Glucose Transport is Not Insulin Dependent

While it’s true that some glucose is uptaken via cell membrane channels other than GLUT-4, which is the channel responsive to the insulin receptor, this is irrelevant because most glucose uptake (i.e., by cells responsive to insulin, about 40% in a fasting, resting state) does require insulin.

The two studies that Krieger references are interesting, in that they focus on insulin’s inhibitory action on glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis by the liver, but they fail to prove his claim that insulin isn’t the key aspect of fat storage. Sure, basal insulin levels keep the liver from adding excess glucose into your bloodstream, but what matters is the insulin secreted to deal with the carbs that you consume (the bolus insulin amounts). For instance, of the typical 30 units of insulin I inject per day, at least 20 units are used to deal with the typical 100 grams of carbs I consume per day; thus, most of the insulin injected is dedicated to glucose uptake into my lean tissue and fat tissue.

In a summation of this fourth post, Krieger wrote:

When you inject insulin into an uncontrolled diabetic, you are now providing a brake on all of the processes mentioned earlier.  You inhibit production of glucose by the liver, so blood sugar falls.  Because there is no longer hyperglycemia, glucose uptake into cells actually decreases.  Lipolysis is inhibited, so free fatty acid concentration falls to near zero.  Because there are no longer free fatty acids to make ketones, ketone production slows down.  Proteolysis is also inhibited.

Insulin does indeed inhibit production of glucose by the liver, which causes blood glucose to either remain at a current level or fall; it all depends on how much insulin is injected. A basal rate amount of insulin will not typically cause blood glucose to fall, but rather remain homeostatic (unless affected by intense exercise, which can act as an “invisible insulin”). When a bolus amount of insulin is injected so that a meal with carbs can be consumed, blood glucose will either stay the same, lower, or even increase (due to either the misalignment of timing of the peak insulin and carb digestion periods, or not injecting enough insulin to deal with the carb amount).

Explaining insulin’s function in a fasting type 1 diabetic doesn’t enable us to determine insulin’s function during a meal state. Advocates of low-carb diets of course concur that insulin inhibits lypolysis (and proteolysis and ketone production), for this is the central reason why people who eat more carbs typically have a much harder time burning their own body fat.

More from Krieger’s fourth-post summary:

Insulin… – More of a Traffic Cop Than a Storage Hormone

Metabolic tracer studies have proven what Schafer had hypothesized nearly a century ago……that insulin’’s main role in the body is inhibitory rather than excitatory.  While insulin certainly does have excitatory functions, it is not primarily a “storage hormone” that many individuals claim that it is.  Insulin is not needed for your cells to take up and store glucose.  Certainly, it enhances uptake, but there is a big difference between enhancing uptake and being needed for uptake.

The above claims are not only unsubstantiated, but also yet another red herring fallacy. If you read in detail the study that Krieger relies on to make this claim, and the other study he references (done by one of the same researchers 22 years later, mind you), you’ll find that mixed in with many basic truths about insulin and metabolism, are a lot of false claims regarding the main role of insulin. Again, as any type 1 diabetic who uses an insulin pump (and their attending physician) will tell you, basal insulin rate amount is much less than the total of daily bolus infusions. In other words the amount of insulin required on a daily basis to prevent your liver from adding glucose to your bloodstream (via glycogenolysis or gluconeogenesis) is significantly less than the amount of insulin necessary to induce the uptake of glucose into your fat, muscle, and other lean tissue cells, created by the carbs you consume during your meals.

Insulin is needed for uptake of glucose into cells during meals; insulin doesn’t merely “enhance” uptake. Of course, we should keep in mind that during a fasting, resting state, roughly 60% of glucose in your bloodstream is being used by cells that don’t require insulin, namely the brain and other nerve cells and red blood cells. The percentage of uptake of glucose by various tissues of course changes dramatically as soon as you start moving around and eating things.

In his finale post, Krieger lists his reasons for why insulin allegedly is not the main culprit in people with weight issues:

The ‘carbohydrates drive insulin which drives fat storage’ mantra is a perfect example of cognitive miserliness.  It is a concept that is based on incomplete information regarding insulin, carbohydrate, and body weight regulation.  Many people are drawn to this hypothesis because of its simplicity.  However, its simplicity is exactly what makes it incorrect, because it does not address all the available data.  It is a shortcut in thinking, based on a narrow view of insulin’’s effects on lipolysis and glucose.

Well, given what we’ve explored so far, an appropriate retort to the above is simply, “Saying it doesn’t make it so.” Though we addressed on our podcast some main points on his list of reasons for not impugning insulin (episodes 58 and 59), let’s address some final ones here:

Very high carbohydrate diets have been demonstrated to produce weight loss when people are in an energy deficit

This is true, but it’s overlooking the overwhelming amount of evidence (including Krieger’s own meta-analysis) that very low carb diets have induced significantly more body fat loss in individuals than very high carb diets. And as Atkins noted, the ultimate “energy deficit” diet——starvation, or fasting——doesn’t burn as much body fat as the “fat fast” diet, consisting of a thousand calories per day, 90% fat and 10% protein, which has been demonstrated to shed body fat the fastest. In other words the calorie theory of weight loss is overly simplistic, because it doesn’t take into account the huge metabolic effects of the hormone insulin.

A type I diabetic without insulin becomes hyperglycemic because of overproduction of glucose by the liver, not because insulin can’’t get into cells

Once again, this is not taking into account all the evidence. Sure, in a fasting state the liver does cause hyperglycemia (i.e., for those diabetics with not enough beta cells still functioning; my own cells are able to handle the amount of glucose output from my liver in a fasting state——two years ago I fasted for 4 days and my blood glucose readings were normal, despite injecting no insulin). Additionally, when hyperglycemia occurs in a fasting state for type 1s, if glucose could enter our fat and lean tissue cells without insulin, it would result in normal blood glucose levels. So, even though the cause of high blood glucose in a fasting state is the liver’s production of glucose, the other half of the story is that this hyperglycemia would not occur if none of our cells required insulin to clear glucose from our bloodstream.

You cannot simply look at the temporary effects of insulin on lipolysis and glucose storage.  You have to address what is happening over a 24-hour period; body fat will not increase if there is no overall energy surplus.

Don’t be a cognitive miser.  Insulin is not the bad guy.

To the contrary, insulin is indeed a bad guy, and there’s no compelling reason to support the non-hormonal calorie myth of weight gain/loss; it’s an unscientifically simplistic notion that basically floats the mainstream nutritional boat. Still, Krieger noted the following in his Part 5 post (Addressing the Critics),

Therefore, it comes down to a matter of energy balance.  The postprandial insulin secretion is irrelevant…insulin cannot trump the laws of physics.

Thus, we’ve come full circle. The conclusion drawn from his meta-analysis mentioned at the beginning of this critique contradicts his above claim. The energy surplus/deficit notion (aka the calorie theory) of weight loss is misguided at best when one factors in the hormonal side of metabolism—as one astute researcher wrote, “We have got the first principle of dieting wrong. Energy in does not equal energy out (put a gallon of petrol in a diesel car if you question this).”

Let’s conclude with a few more statements from Krieger’s post 5,

Certainly, when you average across all foods, carbohydrate produces the greatest insulin responses, and protein comes in second.  However, when you start looking at individual foods, some protein sources can produce similar insulin responses to some carbohydrate foods (even some carbohydrate foods that create rapid rises in blood glucose).  And this is not to mention the synergistic effect that protein and carbohydrate can have on insulin secretion when consumed together.  Yet, studies that have combined the two have shown large amounts of weight and fat loss.

“Large amounts of weight and fat loss” as a result of combining consumption of carbs and protein compared to what, and under what conditions? There are a lot of questions being begged by the above claims, in addition to much research being overlooked. Moreover, there is no mention of fat in the fat-loss equation.

However, the vast majority of prospective studies have failed to show a relationship between either basal or postprandial insulin levels and future weight gain; in fact, some studies have shown higher insulin levels to be predictive of less weight gain in overweight people. Also, insulin levels are not predictive of weight loss.

Thus, the concept that high insulin drives fat storage is a concept not supported by the scientific data.

Wow, case closed, right? Not hardly. In fact, just the opposite. Writing such inaccurate statements does not make them magically come true. In the studies included in Krieger’s own meta-analysis, study participants who were followed over 12 weeks or more, and who ate a low-carb diet, lost 14 lbs of body weight more than low-fat dieters. When comparing loss of body fat between those eating low-carb and low-fat diets, low-carb eaters lost 12 lbs more fat mass than the low fat group. As in all things, it’s important to separate one’s observations of the empirical research from one’s evaluations of it; it’s important to draw sound conclusions. People have needs for understanding and objectivity in these matters, so that they can regain and maintain optimal health and well-being.

Best wishes to those on this journey!
Wes

The post Does insulin really deserve a bad reputation? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Here’s my quick analysis on cheat days:

1. By implementing a cheat day, you are automatically saying that you are “on a diet”, and have not simply changed your eating lifestyle (or your psychology around food). “Going on a diet” means that you have to follow this diet, and it is very easy to get off track and “fall off the wagon”- which can mean forgetting about the whole thing, or going into a roller coaster phase of jumping on and off the wagon, and never gaining any traction on your quest for your ideal weight and health.

2. It is easier to eat “generally healthy” than to be super strict 6 days a week and junk it up on the 7th day. Tim Ferriss says he “has to have his chocolate eclairs”, so he eats one or two of them on his cheat day. The “have to have” mentality sounds to me like an addiction- and the other 6 days he is literally sacrificing and depriving himself. By changing your eating lifestyle and your psychology (as we explain how to do in our book Healthy Mind Fit Body), addictions like this will fall away. Does that mean you will never have an eclair or other indulgence ever? Nope! You can easily have the occasional dessert or sweet treat following the 80/20 (or 90/10) principle, and you will not be falling off the wagon or damaging yourself!

3. Health-wise, your body is used to a clean diet for 6 days and then you hammer it with junk. Does this sound like the healthiest way to treat yourself? Not to me! Also, your body will likely have a recovery period after your cheat day- especially if you are loading up on carbs (and alcohol as I’ve heard others mention!). I know that in following a paleo/low carb diet, my body doesn’t do well with a lot of carbs at once. Also my alcohol tolerance is pretty low. I can imagine if I had a “binge on alcohol” day at this point, I would be hurting pretty bad the next day or two! Beyond that, by eating carbs or sugar, you are lowering your immunity- and that can equal unwanted colds and flus, especially in the winter.

4. Some people can certainly handle cheat days, just like some people can lose weight on a low fat, high carb diet. But for others, it could be like shooting  yourself in the foot in the attempt to achieve your fitness goals. I’d rather go with the sure thing- and that would be changing the way you view food from a psychological perspective, so that eating healthy becomes easy…and what you desire!

The post The 4-Hour Body and Cheat Days appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this second half of our discussion of the role insulin plays in fat storage, we cover the last two posts on the weightology.net blog that dispute insulin’s role. Guest Stephanie Murphy again joins us to explore some more of the biochemistry involved, including cell glucose channels and receptors. One of the main controversies seems to be whether insulin is mostly inhibitory or excitatory in nature; we side with the latter, i.e., that insulin is mostly a fat storage hormone (resulting from excess carb consumption). Additionally, insulin adversely affects blood lipid levels, among other systemic issues. Trying to lose weight in the way most “authorities” in the mainstream recommend (low fat/ high carb) is an uphill battle, physically (hormonally) and psychologically. We again conclude that relatively high insulin secretion is detrimental not only to body fat accumulation (for most people), but also to overall health and longevity.

Feel free to vote for Healthy Mind Fit Body Podcast in the “Health/Fitness” category every day until mid-December!
http://www.podcastawards.com/

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Insulin…an Undeserved Bad Reputation by James Krieger
Part 4 – http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=571
Finale – http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?p=734

Insulin: understanding its action in health and disease
http://bja.oxfordjournals.org/content/85/1/69.full

Mechanism of action of insulin in diabetic patients: a dose-related effect on glucose production and utilisation
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1604580/pdf/brmedj00125-0013.pdf

Jimmy Moore’s interview: Gary Taubes Update With Preview Of ‘Why We Get Fat’
http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/2403/the-return-of-gary-taubes-episode-401/

Michael Eades extensive thoughts on metabolic advantage…
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/metabolic-advantage/thermodynamics-and-the-metabolic-advantage/
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/weight-loss/low-carb-and-calories-part-2/

Get started on your healthy mind fit body journey!

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!

The post 59 – The ills of insulin, part 2 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Efficient is definitely a word I would use to describe this workout. Also intense! I honestly don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life in the gym. With each exercise, there is a digital gauge on the screen that tells you how much weight you are pushing, pulling, or lifting. I did 6 reps on 4 exercises. With the first rep, it was easy to give it my all and watch that gauge shoot up to the maximum. But with each successive rep, it became much harder to get anywhere close to that first rep.

Some of this is definitely mental. When doing a shoulder press, for example, on the way down you can literally just let the machine overtake you and relax- or keep pushing all the way until it’s all the way down. This is one thing that makes it different from free weights. It can be far more intense (as it was for me) than just picking up a couple of dumbbells, but this workout is not strictly for people who are already fit! It’s also perfect for someone who is not ready for much weight at all, since this is all about effort, and not amount of weight.

Also, a huge advantage of the CZT is no weights to stack or unload! My least favorite part of strength training.

I love the whole concept of this workout. There wasn’t a ton of rest between each exercise, so I was done with everything in less than 20 minutes. In talking to Skylar and Keith, I learned that this is not a workout you would want to do every other day (thankfully!). Some people will do this once a week as their only workout, or once every two weeks in combination with other exercises. There’s lots of ways to benefit from the CZT, it all depends on your goals and the amount of time you have.

So the outcome? Well, immediately after the workout I felt a bit beat up! I was then as hungry as a horse the rest of the evening, but after eating probably 1000 calories (1/2 a chicken, veggies, fruit, and nuts), I oddly felt a lot of energy the rest of the night. I was slightly sore the next day, and even a little more sore 2 days later, but overall I felt like I got a lot of “bang for my buck”.

Long live efficiency in exercise!

The post Efficient Exercise: Intensity and the CZT machine appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show, guest and friend Stephanie Murphy joins us to address a series of posts on the weightology.net blog that dispute the insulin factor in weight management. Stephanie’s academic background is in biochemistry and she’s currently in the midst of her MD/PhD program at Dartmouth. In this first half of our discussion, we explore the nature of insulin and glucose metabolism. Contrary to weightology.net’s claims, relatively high insulin secretion is detrimental not only to body fat accumulation (for most people), but also to overall health and longevity. A high carb eating regimen causes relatively more insulin secretion, which tends to suppress the immune system and contribute to a cascade of hormonal changes involving inflammation–thus, a higher risk of chronic diseases.

Feel free to vote for Healthy Mind Fit Body Podcast in the “Health/Fitness” category every day until mid-December!
http://www.podcastawards.com/

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Jimmy Moore’s informative podcast
http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/

Insulin…an Undeserved Bad Reputation by James Krieger
part 1 – http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eicosanoid

Stephanie and Mike’s podcast
http://porctherapy.com

Liberty in your lifetime…
http://freestateproject.org

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 58 – The ills of insulin, part 1 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

1. Don’t beat yourself up. So you overate at one meal. It happens. Give yourself some empathy, and get right back to a smart low carb paleo type meal the very next time you eat. One slip doesn’t mean that you’ve “fallen off the wagon”- it just means that you had one slip!

2. Skip the sugar. For a while at least. If you overdid dessert, it can be easy to fall back into carb addictions by continuing to eat sugar. Cut sugar out for a few days after a slip, and you’ll be just fine.

3. Eat plenty of fat. When you overeat with carbs, if you’re not careful it can lead to more carbs with each meal. Instead of opting for rolls and pasta, next time, do extra olive oil or guacamole.

4. Move. I don’t mean move out of your house, I mean, just move your body! Just walking every day can do amazing things for your health and fitness levels. Your mood will improve as an added bonus.

5. Set goals. You “carbed up” at Thanksgiving? Okay…now is a great time to enter that New Years 5k…or even just shoot for smaller goals like cutting out sodas in December.

6. Sleep! Sleep is so underrated when it comes to your health and fitness. Most people need between 7-9 hours. The more you can get, the less likely you are going to wake up exhausted, depressed, and surrounded by McDonalds Big Mac wrappers.

7. Get centered. Holidays can be stressful and lead to emotional eating. Become conscious of everything you are eating, accept your slips, and bounce back as fast as you can.

8. BONUS! If you are worried about “slipage” and what the results could be to your waist and gut, download our ebook and start doing some of the written exercises immediately. Once you have the self-knowledge, it is MUCH easier to stay on track through the holidays so that you don’t have to worry about “New Years Resolutions”. Right now through Tuesday, November 30th, we are offering a 10% discount on all our products- including the book and audio book! To get your discount just go to:

http://getyourperfectweight.com

and use discount code “HOLIDAZE” (all caps)

I want everyone to be able to make it through the holidays without the notorious “5-7 pound weight gain” and actually be able to LOSE weight while not counting calories or making sacrifices. So to give you that extra incentive, we’re discounting the products just until this Tuesday!

Just head to http://getyourperfectweight.com and put in the discount code “HOLIDAZE” when you are checking out for the 10% discount.

To your Healthy Mind and Fit Body!
Kevin

The post 7 Tips to Get Back on Track After Overeating appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show, we address some of the myths surrounding foods and eating during the holiday season. From gaining weight to so-called food “comas,” the primary culprit is over-doing the carbs, not simply the portion sizes. Beware the marshmallow toppings and all the other sweets, which can really throw off your carbs-to-protein and fat ratios. As during the rest of the year, you want to be burning fat for energy, not carbs. Eating mindfully is one major key to this process, particularly in social situations with not-so-encouraging or knowledgeable influences. Being an independent thinker is crucial in this age of all kinds of dogmatism.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

The Pilgrims and Property Rights: How our ancestors got fat & happy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66QdQErc8JQ

The Truth about Holiday Eating
http://www.cookinglight.com/eating-smart/nutrition-101/the-truth-about-holiday-eating-00400000001262/

Are We Getting Nutrition All Wrong? by Shantanu Nundy, M.D.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beyond-apples/201011/are-we-getting-nutrition-all-wrong

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 57 – Tis the season to challenge eating myths appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

For example, fitness (as discussed in the interview podcast with Keith Norris) is not a one-size-fits-all solution by any means. For years I did basically the same exercise every week- 2 swims, 2-3 runs, 1-2 strength training sessions and 1 yoga session if I had time.

In 2010, I have become much more interesting! For example, here was my previous week of workouts:

Saturday: Yoga
Sunday: Natural Movement in the park
Monday: Swim
Tuesday: Jog
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Strength training in the gym
Friday: Mini-natural movement session in the park

I’m super excited about my fitness now, because I’m doing a combination of measurable activities (like weights & yoga) that I can compare week-to-week progress on, to more free-flowing workouts, like the natural movement stuff (well even these workouts are measurable, but I’m usually trying new things and working on different systems each time).

Nutrition is the same way. I eat a lot of paleo-style meals, and I really enjoy them. But I tend to do a lot of what’s easy (i.e. ground beef with tomato sauce, mixed veggies, avocado), and I’ve been adding variety lately. For example, my breakfasts tend to be pretty boring- revolving around only 2 or maybe 3 different things that I make. I recently added a new one into the rotation (paleo pancakes!) and it’s giving me excitement to make breakfast again! Getting new, interesting recipes is the key here and there are so many great resources for that now (some mentioned in my last post on the 10 blogs!).

I think this is one of the most important things that the Paleo movement is bringing to the table. In paleolithic days, there was a much more free-flowing approach to exercise, and more importantly, PLAY! Running on a treadmill (or “deadmill”) has no where near as much intrinsic fun as say climbing a tree, or even running stairs! The enjoyment factor is what is going to keep people going, whether it’s a tasty variety of meals or a taking advantage of one’s natural surroundings or simply becoming aware of what activities are enjoyable and which ones feel like a chore.

The post Variety is the key appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show, we follow up with last week’s episode discussing the junk food diet and calories. We also explore excessive calorie consumption in relation to Adam, the host of Man v. Food on the Travel Channel. Needless to say, “getting the t-shirt” takes a toll on the body. Did paleo humans eat low-carb? By today’s SAD (Standard American Diet) standards, yes, even though some ate moderate carb diets (~40% of calories). So, should we go on a snack-food diet in order to prove it’s bad effects? We conclude no, as we address a listener’s points, one of which was for us to increase our caloric intake to see if we’d gain body fat and adversely affect blood readings. Fortunately, such studies have been done (clinical and controlled, not just anecdotal), showing the beneficial effects of what Atkins noted as “metabolic advantage.” In other words, as long as your insulin secretion remains low (as a result of eating low carb), increasing fat intake will typically not cause increases in body fat. The same can’t be said for most people who increase their carb intake, since those extra carbs will tend to be stored as fat and kept there, courtesy of insulin.

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Items mentioned in this episode:

Adam takes a bite out of Washington, DC
http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Man_V_Food/Episodes_Travel_Guides/Episode_Washington_Dc

Kevin’s new post about important blogs to follow
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/11/17/the-10-most-important-blogs-you-should-be-reading-if-you-care-about-your-health/

further reading on metabolic advantage…

Is a Calorie Really a Calorie? Metabolic Advantage of Low-Carbohydrate Diets
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2129158/

Dr. Michael Eades has extensive and comprehensive posts on the subject of food metabolism
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/ketones-and-ketosis/karl-popper-metabolic-advantage-and-the-c57bl6-mouse/
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/metabolism/overfeeding-and-metabolic-advantage/
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/weight-loss/ac-fat-loss-bible-critique-part-ii/

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 56 – Man v. food, metabolic advantage appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Here is the list, in no particular order, with a quick summary of what they are about and a quote from the author:

1. Robb Wolf
http://robbwolf.com

Robb’s site has both a blog and podcast. I’ve found it to be a great resource for Paleo nutrition.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- The basics of the Paleo Diet.

2- Health and performance benefits of a Paleo lifestyle.

3- How to actually DO the Paleo diet.”

2. Livin La Vida Low Carb/Jimmy Moore
http://livinlavidalowcarb.com

Jimmy also has a blog and a podcast, covering many angles of low carb dieting.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- First, the goal is to offer up encouragement for people who have been discouraged by the gulf of misinformation that’s out there about diet and health. The last thing people need to see on a blog about this subject is more of the same old blame game that it’s your fault if a high-carb, low-fat diet isn’t working. You’ll never find that on my blog.

2- Second, I provide education about what the right way to eat, exercise, and live as healthy as you can. Citing the latest studies, interviewing the experts in the field, and researching all the biggest health headlines to cut through the useless chatter, one thing you can count on when you visit the blog is to leave just a little more enlightened than when you came.

3- Finally, and probably most importantly, I want people to be inspired when they come to my blog. Whether it’s by my own success story or something they read about someone else’s journey, there’s just something about the power of a changed life that can empower others to do it do. Ultimately, everything I do is centered around providing inspiration that will catapult people to produce changes in their life that will make them happier and healthier than before. If that happens, then my mission in this world has been accomplished.”

3. Free the Animal/Richard Nikoley
http://freetheanimal.com

Richard’s popular blog is a great resource for practical information on Paleo/Primal eating as well as fitness and natural movement.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- Visitors to Free the Animal who read through some of the posts there and get a sense of the place should come away with the realization that we don’t advocate a diet but way of eating that satisfies, is delicious and looks appealing (check out the Food Porn category).

2- Second, eating this way has a tremendous positive impact on body composition, energy levels, mood, sense of well-being and sleep.

3- Third, we do things different around here. We’re not afraid of the f-word, or any words for that matter and we simply call things as we see them, sometimes with a bad attitude. So, fourth: you know we’re never lying to you.”

4. Natural Movement/Erwan Le Corre
http://movnat.com

Erwan’s MovNat is light years ahead in terms of natural fitness advice (as it harkens back to primitive times).

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- For now, the take-aways are mostly *perception* (approach, philosophy) and * inspiration*.

2- It is the philosophy that people are universally drawn to. It inspires them to look at fitness with a new angle.

3- But then, MovNat is not just jumping around, it’s how you can effectively, efficiently and safely move naturally (in any setting in fact).”

5. Tom Naughton
http://fathead-movie.com

Tom is the creator of the hilarious and informative documentary Fat Head, and his blog pulls no punches, whether it’s a discussion on nutrition, weight loss, emotions, science or politics.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- The standard dietary advice is a load of bologna, so don’t listen to it.

2- If you want to become healthier, here’s the most important step: no sugar, no grains.

3- Real health comes from eating real food.”

6. Everyday Paleo/Sarah Fragoso
http://everydaypaleo.com

Sarah’s blog is a great resource for Paleo recipes, and planning your healthy, fit life while balancing family life and a busy schedule.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1. Be prepared. Being busy is not an excuse! Planning ahead is imperative when managing feeding a family, taking care of oneself, and fitting in exercise.

2. You AND the kids should be eating healthy – get rid of the junk and get the children involved in meal prep and planning – you will be AMAZED at the foods your kids will eat when they are allowed to help make it!

3. Even a novice can make great tasting Paleo meals and eating healthy is not boring or tasteless but much rather the exact opposite.”

7. Matt Metzgar
http://mattmetzgar.com

Matt’s blog is a unique resource for the Paleo life, including the scientific studies to back up the facts.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- The Paleo model can be extended beyond diet to overall lifestyle. Here you are talking about things like sleep, socializing, child-raising, outdoor activity, etc. Usually the more you can mimic the Paleo times across different aspects of life, the better.

2- Paleo does not equal low-carb. The latest research shows that Paleolithic diets were 39-40% carbohydrate. While some people might feel better or heal on a low-carb diet in the short run, the data shows Paleo diets were moderate carb.

3- I hope readers learn not to just take my word for things. I link to abstracts and studies, and so I hope readers look at things and make up their own minds.”

8. Josef Brandenberg
http://josefbrandenberg.com

Josef is a personal trainer and has great articles based on his real life experiences, both with his own path to health and with his clients.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- The absolute most important thing I want people to take away from my blog is that a healthy human body does not get fat. Portion control is something that should take care of itself. If you have the physiological desire to eat too much, then there is something else going on. Your fat cells are not trash cans that just gobble up whatever swims by in the blood. The first place to look is at your diet – some calories just make you hungry: canola oil, refined carbs, etc. Switch over to real food—meat, veggies, fruit, real fats; and you will find that your appetite is automatically regulated appropriately.

2- The second place to look is at what you do – aerobic exercise simply does not work for fat loss, in fact it might actually inhibit fat loss. Resistance and interval work will get you excellent results, put you at less risk for injury and save you hours and hours per week. It’s all upside and NO downside.

3- Finally, for all of the women, throw away your scale. The numbers on the scale do not reflect how you look with or without clothes. It is entirely possible to drop 2 sizes (like 12 to 8) and not lose a single pound. (Just in case your math isn’t very good 8 is less than 12 - smaller clothes, not bigger because of the extra muscle.).”

9. Art De Vany
http://arthurdevany.com

Art’s blog is a definite must for anyone who wants to learn more about fitness from an evolutionary standpoint.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- The relaxed and sound way to recover the healthy lean body and active, yet peaceful, mind that are our genetic legacy is to mimic, within the limits of modern foods and work, the health-giving activity patterns and diet of our ancestors.

2- The evolutionary model is a filter that helps you screen out conflicting, incorrect, and biased diet and clinical studies so you can make your own choices rather than being influenced by the “latest” study (which is probably wrong—only about half of them stand up even when they are done according to the double-blind, Gold Standard, of research—or shows such a minor effect that it is pointless).

3- Disrupted insulin signalling, inflammation, and chronic stress are the enemies. These are easy to alter if you understand the influence of evolution on the human species.”

10. Keith Norris
http://theorytopractice.wordpress.com

Keith has a lifelong passion for fitness and it shows in his usual comprehensive blog posts discussing efficient exercise.

What are the three most important things you would like visitors to your site to take away?

“1- I want people to realize, first and foremost, that the realization of, and maintenance of, optimal health need not be an all-encompassing, full-time endeavor.

2- Coupling a Paleo diet with workouts that are brief, brutal, basic and infrequent is key to obtaining top-notch health.

3- It’s not the amount of training that the body can endure that is all that surprising, but just how little high-intensity stimulus is required for optimal results.”

11. Your Recommendation

Which blog would you add, or what blogs do you look at that you find helpful in the realm of getting healthy and staying fit? Please comment below!

The post The 10 Most Important Blogs You Should Be Reading…if you care about your health appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show, we discuss the controversy over the so-called junk food (or twinkie or snack-cake) diet done by Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University. What looms large in this news item is the calorie theory of weight loss, which has been invalidated by the clinical and empirical evidence, yet it continues to be promoted as the primary way to understand weight loss. We suspect Haub lost weight and his blood lipid profiles improved because he lowered his carbohydrate intake, not because he lowered his caloric intake per se. (As science journalist Gary Taubes noted in his very well-researched book Good Calories Bad Calories, the hormone insulin is the main factor in obesity and weight loss.) Also, it’s vital to note that Haub’s health could have been improved considerably more by eating in a low-carb/paleo/primal way, thus lowering his blood insulin levels, than by consuming junk food. So, should we go on a snack-food diet in order to prove it’s bad effects? ;) While we don’t recommend it for anyone who’s concerned about their health, at some point better nutritional information will generate a demand for better food choices in the marketplace.

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Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds by Madison Park
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html

Not exactly the health food section…
http://www.littledebbie.com/products/cakes_brownies.asp

Tom Venudo’s continued promotion of the specious calorie theory of weight loss…
http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2010/11/the_twinkie_diet.php

“A calorie is a calorie” violates the second law of thermodynamics by Richard D Feinman and Eugene J Fine
http://www.nutritionj.com/content/3/1/9

Chapter Six – Calories by Dr. James Carlson
http://drjamescarlson.com/content.aspx?idx=44

Mark Haub’s dietary log…
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Prof-Haubs-Diet-Experiments/152304481454281

Jimmy Moore’s germane blog and forum thread…
http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/did-kansas-state-nutrition-professor-dr-mark-haub-really-go-on-a-little-debbie-snack-cake-diet/9226
http://www.livinlowcarbdiscussion.com/showthread.php?tid=5278&pid=113826#pid113826

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 55 – The Twinkie diet and the mistaken calorie theory appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

(Being an avid listener to his podcast, I have to admit I was chomping at the bit to devour the book!)

The book is science and relevant data written in a humorous and entertaining fashion, with tons of real world evidence (much like Wolf’s podcast at http://robbwolf.com).

Robb tells his story and the stories of several people who he trains, gets into the nitty-gritty of paleo nutrition (or as I like to call it, “nutrition”!), including the problem with grains, the significance of sleep and stress when it comes to our health, and how to implement the paleo lifestyle, EASILY!

I specifically liked all the tips he gives along the way, and the 30-day meal plan (I’ve already tried the Quick Paleo Pancakes and the Sloppy Joes…thumbs up to both!).

I think this book covers it all when it comes to your physical health. The fact that it is a fun and easy read as well as enlightening allows me to have no reservations in recommending it to the bio-chemistry fitness geek and the couch potato lay-person at the same time.

Even though I’m already a paleo guy, I learned a lot of new information that I have begun to implement and reap the benefits from. Whatever level of knowledge you may think you have, reading this book is sure to lift your health and your spirits!

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The post The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf: Book Review appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this episode, Kevin interviews fitness enthusiast and trainer Keith Norris, and they discuss the motivational aspects of peak performance and many of the finer points of maintaining a fit body and healthy lifestyle. For example, in order to ensure that you get your workouts, train in the morning or schedule an appointed time, which you’ll be less likely to let slide. Keith’s idea of “Physical Culture high life” entails realizing and experiencing the positive mental components and mind/body integration benefits of physical training, such as high intensity interval workouts. The ability to focus and the ability to apply intensity are two keys to fitness psychology (“brief, brutal, and basic,” as Keith says). Learning to “listen to your body” is also an important aspect of your overall wellness. Our knowledge of exercise science is ever-expanding, and implementing reasonable rules of thumb instead of meticulously calculating things helps to keep everything in perspective and serve your well-being. You are “an experiment of one,” so make sure to question “authorities” and be the scientist of your own body.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Keith Norris’ site
http://theorytopractice.wordpress.com/
his related site
http://efficientexerciseaustin.wordpress.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louie_Simmons

Dr. Stuart M. McGill’s spinal insights
http://www.backfitpro.com/

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 54 – Fitness theory to practice with guest Keith Norris appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

But this morning I sinned! When I travel, I try not to worry about being perfect paleo or even perfect low carb. I go with the Pareto 80/20 principle (or more like 90/10 in my case), and still eat low carb and paleo as much as possible, but figure that I’m going to be doing a little more of that 10% than usual on these days.

So this morning, I slipped and had a regular, straight up pancake with my breakfast, equipped with butter and maple syrup. The rest of my breakfast was paleo to the max- scrambled eggs, bacon, and some fruit. This was at a cafe and the pancake came with the breakfast that I ordered, and it was one of those huge pancakes! I saved it to the end and ate half of it and felt like I didn’t need any more. It tasted GOOD, but my body told me that this was a strange new food I was giving it. I didn’t have any digestive issues but definitely had a different feel.

And, I’m not freaking out about it!

This will not be the last “slip” on this trip, but I after going to the store yesterday, I am now traveling with apples, avocadoes, macadamia nuts, and beef jerky, so it’s not likely that I will be jumping on the high carb train again anytime soon!

Just for fun, here’s a hilarious video I came across from a guy who stumbled upon a double rainbow:

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The post Pancakes in Paradise appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Nope, this year I decided to lay low. Some people are going to do what they can to make things healthier, like handing out various types of so-called “health” snacks (I REALLY hope none of the paleo people actually handed out beef jerky!). Others will just let their guard down and scarf down the Snickers, Milky Ways, and Mounds bars to their hearts’ content. And still others will refuse to participate completely and not even acknowledge the silly holiday!

So now that the day is past, how do you feel? Did you charge it with the trick-or-treaters and pick up pillow cases full of candy? Did your kids bring home some “treats”? Or did you stick with what works and gives you energy, a low carb diet, and buck the trend of eating junk on the 31st and the days to follow?

If you broke down and indulged in wrapped up pieces of candy, all is not lost! No need to beat yourself up, no need to feel bad. All you need to do is pick right back up and get back to what you know is healthy.

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The post Did you have a healthy Halloween? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Or, do you eat 5 or 6 times with smaller meals?

There typically 2 camps when it comes to healthy eating. When I was growing up, it was ALWAYS 3 meals a day. I didn’t get many snacks (well of course the occasional Ho Ho or Ding Dong!), and as hungry as I could get I was always instructed to “wait until dinner” and not to “ruin my appetite”.

When I got older, and discovered the Zone diet, I began eating fewer carbs and eating more often. This worked like a charm! Instead of eating breakfast at 7:00, and be starving by 11, I would eat at 7, 10, 1, 5, and 8! My meals became smaller. I felt better, and I was rarely as hungry as I used to be.

Part of why this was working so well is that before, I would just wait to eat and I’d be so hungry that I’d eat 3 sandwiches or something. Of course, part of the problem was that I was eating way too many carbs, and they were not keeping me full. So switching to more protein and fat was a huge improvement.

Now that I’m eating more paleo, I do notice that I do not have as much need for snacking. However, I still don’t often have time to make and eat a big enough meal to keep me satisfied for 6 hours. So, I still snack here and there.

Example #1: I’m working on an article. It’s 11:45 a.m. My stomach is starting to growl. I know I will be finished with this article by 12:30, but I just need a little energy to be able to think clearly for that 45 minutes. So, I eat a handful of almonds and finish the article at 12:30, when I have lunch.

Example #2: I eat lunch at 12:30. I have a 40-minute workout planned for 5:30. I have a good sized paleo lunch, but by 5:30 I need a little more fuel to have the energy to get through my workout, otherwise, I will crash and burn. So eat some jerky, nuts, and a few berries around 4:30, which carry me through my workout and satiated until dinner.

I have friends who can go all day without eating. Great for them! I think this just shows how we are all built a little differently. If I skip breakfast, I will not be functioning very well until I can get food in me. If I skip lunch I will have a headache until I can eat.

Bigger meals do help, but healthy snacking can be a great way to make sure you have energy all day and are not tempted to overeat at any one sitting.

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The post To Snack or Not to Snack? That is the question… appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss a couple news items dealing with what paleolithic humans ate and what this means for low-carb eating, or not. Regardless of what group ate what particular foods, in the weight loss journey it’s key to recognize the role that insulin plays in fat storage. We also address an email concerning the nature of carbs and endurance training, as well as potential difficulties in gaining support for the low-carb lifestyle from those close to us. In the process of resolving disputes about diet and food, “nonviolent communication” strategies are amazingly beneficial, which focus on feelings and needs and win/win scenarios that ensure that everyone’s needs get met.

We invite you to join our FB fan page: http://facebook.com/healthymindfitbody

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Paleolithic Europeans Had Bread Along With Meat, Study Says
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/science/19bread.html

Matt Metzgar: 10 Years Later
http://www.mattmetzgar.com/matt_metzgar/2010/10/10-years-later.html

Cambridge Journals Online – Abstract – Estimated macronutrient and fatty acid intakes from an East African Paleolithic diet
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7908053&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0007114510002679

Can You Be an Endurance Athlete and Primal?
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/jonas-colting/

Interview with Paleo Ironman Triathlete & Author Nell Stephenson – Podcast #31
http://triswimcoachonline.com/tri/interview-with-ironman-triathletepaleo-dieter-nell-stephenson-podcast-31/

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg
http://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034

The Basics of Non Violent Communication 1.1 (extended workshop)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-129JLTjkQ

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 53 – Paleo bites the potato appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss the nature of having “rigid” rules for eating. Is there a downside to eating healthily all the time? Further, are there any upsides to not caring much about what you’re consuming? We explore whether healthy eating might become an “obsession” for some and why some view it as pathological. What matters, of course, is what foods you focus on as staples, so there is no need to be overly strict. Your relationship to things that aren’t so healthy, such as “junk food,” also needs attention. Clearly, having the right nutritional info is key in this process, which will help you become more in harmony with your food choices, and they’ll come more naturally. Also, the psychological process of overcoming habits that aren’t so healthy and that may be causing disruption in your life is crucial–so that you can be at peace with yourself.

Tell us about your own “orthorexic” challenges by commenting after this podcast…

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Podcast episode 8 in which we discussed aging…
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2009/11/03/8-slowing-aging-and-staying-young/

Dedication to Healthy Foods Considered an Eating Disorder by George Dvorsky
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/dvorsky20101012

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 52 – Is orthorexia a problem appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Let’s start with nutrition. I think it is very easy for many people to take an “all or nothing” approach. In other words, they hear something about a diet, and they immediately think or say “Oh I couldn’t do that, it’s too restrictive!” Other reasons given are often that it’s too inconvenient, too expensive or too hard to follow. First, this says nothing about the validity of the diet itself. So yes, it may mean taking more time every day to prepare meals…so is health worth it?

But my point here is not to call out these statements as excuses, but to emphasize that if the idea of overhauling your diet seems overwhelming, why not shoot for small goals? How about some simple things, like cutting sugar intake in half, or replacing that granola bar with a hard boiled egg, or cutting out SOME bread? Achieving these small victories will likely motivate you to keep going and getting closer to a healthy diet.

Fitness is the same way. Maybe you don’t want to run a marathon (nor should you want to! Chronic cardio is real and not good for your health). But goals can help us to get to a new level of fitness. Here are some examples of goals that can put you on that path of seeing visible progress:

-Enter a 5k race. This isn’t going to take up a ton of your time to train, but it’s enough to get you off the couch and out the door.
-Join a CrossFit gym. For whatever reason, I still have not done CrossFit, but I hear great things and I know they are very focused on goals from session to session. And you WILL be challenged no matter what level you start.
-Do super slow workouts in the gym. I’ve been doing variations of this for a couple of years. You can always compare yourself to how you did in your last session. And, they don’t take much time at all- it’s only 1 set of 4-6 exercises! You can see more about this type of workout by reading Tim Ferriss’ now famous post.
-Do a sprint triathlon. These are great for people who like variety to their workouts and don’t have a lot of time to train.

What about my favorite, natural movement? There isn’t a great way to set highly specific goals with natural movement workouts. They are much more free flowing and taking advantage of your surroundings. This is what I like about these workouts. I do about 4 workouts a week where I am trying to hit a goal of some kind (even if it’s just swimming 1 more lap). My 5th workout I like to be not so much goal-oriented, but challenging at the same time. So while this post is about goals, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s fun to run around like a monkey outside sometimes and challenge your body without comparing and contrasting!

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The post A Look at Nutrition and Fitness Goals appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

1. Coconut oil. The gold standard of cooking oils. Yes, it’s loaded with saturated fat, and common wisdom says this is fattening and will lead to dreaded high cholesterol. This is where common wisdom is wrong! Coconut oil has been shown to help with fat burning with a rare type of fat called Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT’s). MCT’s are more suited for energy use rather than fat storage. One study on coconut oil, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, demonstrated that the medium-chain fatty acids that comprise coconut oil were threefold more effective than polyunsaturated oils at raising metabolism. Make sure to get high quality, virgin coconut oil- taste and nutritional value will be higher!

2. Flax Seed Meal. This low carb, omega 3 fatty acid-rich seed can be used in many different meal combinations such as with smoothies, yogurt, or as part of many healthy recipes (like flax cakes). The omega 3′s in flax are not easily converted in your body from ALA to EPA and DHA (which is where fish oils are better), it still helps with your omega 3: omega 6 balance that is so important. Also, flax contains phytochemicals, including many anti-oxidants, and is loaded with B vitamins, magnesium, manganese, and fiber.

3. Cocoa Powder (unsweetened). Cocoa is loaded with antioxidants, and luckily for us chocolate-lovers has many other benefits! The reason for cocoa powder’s healthy kick is because it contains flavonoids. Flavonoids are a form of antioxidant and can also be found in vegetables, plants and red wine. Antioxidants help defend a body against free radicals, and therefore help prevent disease. Cocoa has also been shown to improve mood and help with blood circulation. A great way to get all these health benefits and satisfy your chocolate cravings is to mix a couple of teaspoons of cocoa powder with a little stevia powder in a cup of hot water. For an even better treat, try adding a little full fat coconut milk. Yum!

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The post 3 Food Items You Should Stock In Your Kitchen Cabinet If You Care About Your Health appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss weight scales, heart monitors, and robots that are being used in the health community. Should we turn to technology to help us with our weight loss or fitness goals? Well, it’s important to measure body fat on occasion rather than stepping on the scale frequently. And unless you’re super competitive, heart rate monitors cater to the misguided fitness notion of chronic cardio; instead, do more natural movements, strength training, and high intensity bursts of exercise, such as sprints. Beware the “cheat day” cycle and focus on healthy replacements. The future might look bright for AI software that can assist people mentally and physically. Now, what does it take to maintain the healthy mind fit body lifestyle? We explore they psychological side of this issue via a comment on our last podcast. Self-acceptance is key, as is self-awareness of subconscious thoughts and feelings, in order to become more integrated and focused on your own integrity with healthy processes.

Once again, we welcome you to tell us about your own weight loss challenges by commenting after this podcast or the accompanying blog post at http://healthymindfitbody.com

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

These Digital Trainers Know How to Motivate by Anne Eisenberg
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/business/26novel.html

Psychology beyond the Brain: What scientists are discovering by measuring the beating of the heart by Adam Waytz
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-neuroscience-of-heart

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 51 – Tech devices for fitness, avoiding healthiness self-sabotage and happiness anxiety appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

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The post Run Amoc shoes for Natural Movement appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

So I found Zevia sodas in the fridge. 0 sugars, and sweetened with all-natural calorie-free stevia, as well as something called Erythritol.

Wikipedia defines Erythritol as

“a natural sugar alcohol (a type of sugar substitute) which has been approved for use in the United States[1] and throughout much of the world. It was discovered in 1848 by British chemist John Stenhouse.[2] It occurs naturally in fruits and fermented foods [3]. At the industrial level, it is produced from glucose by fermentation with a yeast, Moniliella pollinis[1]. It is 60–70% as sweet as table sugar yet it is almost non-caloric, does not affect blood sugar, does not cause tooth decay, and is absorbed by the body, therefore unlikely to cause gastric side effects unlike other sugar alcohols. Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling requirements, it has a caloric value of 0.2 kilocalories per gram (95% less than sugar and other carbohydrates), though nutritional labelling varies from country to country—some countries like Japan label it as zero-calorie, while European Union regulations currently label it and all other sugar alcohols at 2.4 kcal/g.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythritol

Doesn’t sound too horrible, but I still don’t like the idea of putting lots of “sugar alcohols” in my body. Something sounds very unnatural about that!

Zevia also contains: Triple filtered carbonated water, caramel color, tartaric acid, stevia leaf, fumaric acid, 45 mg of caffeine, natural flavors, citrus oils, cola nut extract, and citric acid.

The taste reminded me exactly of RC cola, which I haven’t had since I was a kid many years ago. RC was like Pepsi only sweeter! I could not help but think I was putting something less than optimal in my body. It definitely did not strike me as a health drink- I still kept thinking it was coating my insides and rotting my teeth, even though it’s nothing like what regular sodas do.

Overall, I would not recommend Zevia. There are definitely worse things you could drink- but when they say “100% natural”- I think that is a bit of a stretch! I would say, if you’re a Diet Coke fiend, and you’re looking to ween off of soda, give this a try. Otherwise, next time you feel like having a little caffeine hit, I recommend sticking with the healthier teas out there.

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The post Is Zevia cola healthy? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss a motivated listener’s weight loss objectives and once again determine that “counting calories” is ill-advised, and that keeping your daily carb consumption under a hundred grams is a good rule of thumb. After setting goals, it’s important to focus on the process and not get oriented towards bad habits (such as stepping on the scale every day). Once you’ve transitioned to a new eating lifestyle and you’re eating properly, your body is going to adjust and lose its excess body fat. We address three problematic beliefs. If you believe you have “Too much weight to lose!” then the practice of self-acceptance is key. Only by fully accepting your condition right now will you be able to move on to where you want to be. If you believe you have to “Give up favorite foods” then it’s important to realize that those unhealthy foods can be gradually replaced with new healthy favorites that are aligned with your weight loss goals. And introspection is crucial to living free of self-conflict. Finally, if you believe “Who’s to know what’s good to eat, so what’s the point?” then you need to embrace the practice of self-responsibility and objectivity in order to stay healthy.

We welcome you to tell us about your own weight loss challenges by commenting after this podcast or the accompanying blog post.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Sesame Street: Kermit Reports News On The Tortoise & Hare
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no1ilt3VjBY
the real story…Hare vs Tortoise race (Disney 1934)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdZIfafAlaU

The practice of self-acceptance is key to not feeling overwhelmed
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/04/05/28-the-practice-of-self-acceptance/

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 50 – How to overcome weight loss overwhelm issues appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

There are many ways to avoid these debilitating and depressing afflictions. Follow the tips below and significantly reduce your odds of becoming ill during the winter months.

1. Avoid sugar. As hard as this might be during the holidays, sugar is the #1 reason people fall ill! Sugar impacts your immune system and makes you more prone to disease. If you can’t go without sweets and desserts during this time, try to significantly reduce the amount you do eat and choose a few specific times you will indulge. Daily sweets will surely impact your health, so avoid those daily chocolate hits at the office!

2. Get adequate sleep. When your sleep is impacted through stress or a busy lifestyle, your immune system is weakened. You should actually sleep a little longer through the night during the winter months, so do attempt to maintain your sleep schedule during the holidays and resist cutting back on your sleeping hours.

3. Don’t stuff yourself. When you overeat, your liver is forced to work extra hard, and this can lead to you getting sick. It might be tempting to eat more than necessary, but try to resist. Another reason to avoid overeating is the fact that gluttony leads to weight gain, because any energy your body doesn’t use gets stored as fat. Stick with smaller meals more often through the day and don’t be pressured into eating “just a little bit more.” Avoid falling into the trap of filling up on appetizers before a meal. Think about what you’re eating and don’t overdo it with alcohol.

4. Reduce stress and prioritize. Prioritize and plan your work and daily activities so that you don’t try to overdo it. When you become overwhelmed and stressed out, your immune system suffers and makes you more susceptible to colds and flu. Try yoga or meditation, or any other relaxing activity (a nice hot bath or alone time) for 20-30 minutes a day where you don’t have to rush around or be anywhere specific.

5. Cook with coconut oil. For a long time, coconut oil was the preferred cooking oil in North America, until the vegetable oil industry spread false rumors about its health benefits. Recent studies prove that coconut oil is healthy and keeps our immune systems strong. Coconut oil is a healthy form of saturated fat. Eat a couple teaspoons of coconut oil each day (in cooking or in a smoothie) to help maintain health.

6. Work out. If you can’t get in both your aerobic and weight lifting workouts and need to skip one, make sure you skip your anaerobic activity rather than your aerobic one. Anaerobic activities like sprints or weight lifting actually add more stress to the body and it is beneficial to skip these types of workouts occasionally to give your body a break. An otherwise stressful time of year like the holidays is the perfect time to give your body this type of break.

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The post Six tips to avoid catching a cold or flu over the holidays appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this episode we begin with more paleo banter and its challenges (especially on the road), Kevin’s exercise regimen, including a hand-on collision with a turtle. We address one listener’s solitary journey of weight loss, amidst those who seemingly don’t care, as well as his question about who to trust…how does one know for certain whose ideas are correct when it comes to diet and nutrition? How can one tell a crackpot from a legitimate expert in these matters? Basically, it’s important to strive for objectivity, by looking at the evidence and paying attention to the carb/insulin factor, as articulated by numerous researchers and practitioners. Once you have the proper knowledge, mind set, and motivation, you can then lead by example and encourage others to live optimally as well. If you find value in our show, help keep it going and contribute to your own health and fitness by purchasing an Healthy Mind Fit Body ebook at http://getyourperfectweight.com. Thanks much!

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_moccasin ;)

Amazing maple almond butter (among others)…
http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/products.php

Famous article by Gary Taubes, explaining where so much went so wrong in nutritional information:?http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html

What’s so wrong about the so-called nutritional experts in the health care industry…
http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/06/22/37-interview-with-dr-james-carlson-part-1/

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 49 – Nutritional crackpottery and HMFB podcast value appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Many athletes complain about the same thing. They train really hard, they lose weight, but then they hit a plateau and the fat burning seems to hit a wall and stops. There are many reasons for this…but more importantly, there is a solution! Many times, athletes are unable to get down to their ideal weight or body shape because of:

• eating the wrong foods and eating too much
• training too hard, or not taking enough recovery days
• skipping workouts
• getting stressed out about workouts

For me, reality started settling in after college. I needed a fitness and nutrition plan – the mac & cheese and meatless spaghetti diet just wasn’t cutting it. I was developing a spare tire and I never had any energy. I made some major changes to my lifestyle and finally got back to the body I wanted and had more natural energy.

The changes I made were even more important as I started doing triathlons. As an athlete, you need the energy to train twice a day sometimes, and you also have to pay particular attention to your health to avoid injuries and illnesses. You need to keep up your endurance, as well.

So – how can you do this and maximize your fat burning potential? You need to figure out:

• the things those Low Carb, Low Fat, and calorie-restricting diets don’t tell you
• the best and worst foods for maintaining (or gaining) optimum health
• which fats help you lose weight and boost immunity – and which fats you should avoid
• seven items you should look for in a grocery store that will do wonders for your health
• the lies everyone is told about exercising hard to burn calories and why exercise alone is an inefficient way to lose weight

If you’re looking to get into the best shape of your life, while achieving optimum health, you need to train smart, not hard.

Click here to get your free audio (which answers the five issues above), “3 Pillars to Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using the Mind-Body Connection.”

Good luck!

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The post How to Maximize Your Fat-Burning Potential – Guidelines for Athletes appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we interview Richard Nikoley, whose blog promotes “expressing our primal genes for lean health, vitality, and attractiveness.” Understanding our nature as “rational animals” entails living as individuals who can make the wisest choices for ourselves, based on evolutionary fitness insights. Low-carb higher fat and adequate protein eating is a great start, and a paleo regimen just takes this to its logical conclusion. High intensity, brief workouts are great (chronic cardio, not). Being overweight is indicative of a broken metabolism, not bad genes. Intermittent fasting has positive health benefits. Probiotics (good bacteria) can be acquired in all sorts of natural ways, which don’t involve yogurt (ditch the anti-bacterial soap!). You have bare hands, so give bare feet a try.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Richard’s site
http://freetheanimal.com

Evolutionary fitness proponent Art Devany
http://www.arthurdevany.com/

for the adventurous paleos…Man Eating Bugs: The Art and Science of Eating Insects
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1580080510/?tag=paleodietcom-20

next best thing to going barefoot…
http://freetheanimal.com/2010/06/out-with-the-vibram-five-fingers-and-in-with-the-soft-star-runamoc.html

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 48 – Freeing the animal with guest Richard Nikoley appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Original Paleokit: Beef jerky, nuts, and berries
Grass Fed Paleokit: Grass fed beef jerky, nuts, and berries
PaleoKrunch Cereal: Grainless granola cereal made with coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, and honey.
PaleoKrunch Bar: Grainless granola bar made with coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, and honey.
Original Just Jerky: Just Beef Jerky!

Receiving the package of paleo snacks in the mail was excellent timing for me. As I’m trying to eat more and more paleo-ish, one of the hardest things is finding quick, easy snacks that are also healthy. Most of the bars out there are either too high in carb, or they have many chemicals that I can’t pronounce!

I’ve been really enjoying the jerky, nuts and berries. It’s an odd combo, but it has that sweet-salty taste that actually goes well together. And the plain jerky is fantastic for a quick snack when you are really after some extra protein.

The PaleoKrunch cereal has really been a treat! I haven’t eaten cereal in years and usually prepare a breakfast in the morning. But with this cereal, I’m pouring coconut milk over it and it’s good to go. I found that it works best to mix in some light coconut milk with the real thing, so that it mixes well with the contents of the cereal. This meal left me feeling satisfied and energized for hours after- as opposed to regular cereal which used to leave me hungry a short time after eating it! I still would not want to eat PaleoKrunch every day- it seems like more of a twice a week thing, but it’s great if you’re short on time in the morning.

And the bars, they are just the cereal in bar form. They taste great, my only problem with them is that they crumbled in my hands! I guess that’s what happens when they’re not loaded with preservatives!

Overall I definitely recommend Steve’s Original snacks.

Right now, you can get 10% off your order by going to http://stevesoriginal.com and using discount code ‘healthymindfit’.

Enjoy!

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The post Paleo Kits & Steve's Original snacks- A Review appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

There was an empty life guard tower on a mound of sand, and behind it was stairs going up to the boardwalk in two directions. There were some bars on the life guard tower. Not a lot to work with, but we made do.

1. Pull yourself over the bars and jump down the tower stairs.
2. Crawl down the mound of sand.
3. Sprint to the stairs and do a loop- up one side and down the other.
4. Sprint back to the tower, repeat.

We did 4 rounds of this, and WOW that workout packed quite a punch for both of us! The warm-down walk back to the car was well-needed.

The thing about this workout is that it is simple & fast, yet, it works all the muscle groups and energy systems. Walking, sprinting, pulling up, and crawling does a body good!

What is your favorite workout?

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The post Natural Movement: How to add more fun into your workouts appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this shorter show we cover the challenges of being an olympian and the nature of self-identification, followed by a critique of a mainstream article on losing weight. Again, the calorie theory of weight loss rears it’s ugly head. We once again note the insulin factor in fat gain and storage. I share my yummy new paleo-ish drink: half coconut milk and half almond milk. It’s important to overcome your carb addiction, which entails resolving inner conflicts.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_pentathlon

7 Easy Steps to Losing Weight by Simon McNeil
http://foxnews.com/health/2010/09/03/easy-steps-losing-weight/

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 47 – Losing weight steps and missteps appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

There really is no such thing as “burning” fat. Your body doesn’t heat up like a furnace when it gets rid of unwanted fat. However, if you have been eating a more traditional high carb, low fat diet, and you are aiming to change in your diet in the effort to lose extra weight, you will have to replace the carbohydrates with something- and dietary fat is a great substitute.

We need fat in our diets to survive. Fat will keep you full far longer than carbohydrates, or even protein. Dietary fats are also the most stable form of energy. Of course, you want to avoid trans fats, like the “partially hydrogenated fat” that we’ve discussed on this blog & podcast, but drop your fear of fat and gravitate towards avocados, nuts, coconut oil, coconut milk, olive oil, meats, etc.

The French have longer life spans than the Americans, and they eat far more fat than we do, in general.

Adding more fat to your diet will not suddenly “burn” fat off your body. But if you strategically replace a good amount of the carbohydrates you currently consume with calories from fat, you will, in the long run, have a much easier time getting to the thin body you want!

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The post Is it true that fat burns fat? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

The truth is, the best fuel to use during any endurance exercise is not sugar but fat. Yes – “carbo loading” simply means you are building up glycogen stores, which means you have sugar to use as fuel. But the more efficient you are at fat burning, you will be able to go longer (and farther). Stu Mittleman, Slow Burn, is one of the greatest distance runners of all time. He normally eats a ratio of 40-30-30 (carbs-protein-fat), but when training for an event, he increases his fat to 50 percent of his diet!

I have found this way of eating also beneficial when I occasionally train for a race. Otherwise, with a high level of carbohydrates in my diet, I end up on this roller coaster ride where I have to keep consuming more carbs to keep up my energy levels- otherwise I will crash! Does this sound healthy?

So unless you are an English Channel swimmer, and want to store some extra fat, carbo loading isn’t a useful practice- and the science is behind this.

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The post Carbo Loading, Exercise, and Low Carb Diets appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show, Kevin shares his recent natural movement experiences in Austin with Erwan for a day (and I share my unnatural movement experience on the ranch;). It’s important to understand the mental side of natural movement and conditioning in general; be focused and mindful, so as to excel and avoid injuries. Kevin has been taking advantage of some nutritious Paleokits by Steve Liberati, whom he interviewed (at the end of this show). We answer a couple listener emails, one concerning eating paleo-ish and shopping paleo or low carb, and the other concerning the issue of cholesterol and our recommendations.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://movnat.com

Get a 10% discount on Paleo Kits (use code – healthymindfit )
http://stevesoriginal.com/store

A new grocery store choice: http://freshandeasy.com/

Dr. Carlson’s astute analysis of cholesterol
Chapt. 2 http://www.drjamescarlson.com/content.aspx?idx=39
Chapt. 4 (about HDL) http://www.drjamescarlson.com/content.aspx?idx=41

Please visit our new page for a video presentation of our book/bonus package:
http://getyourperfectweight.com

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 46 – Natural movement benefits, paleo-ish shopping, cholesterol myths appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Trans-fatty acids are usually made from a vegetable oil like soybean, cottonseed, corn, or rapeseed (canola). Those oils have been treated by a process called hydrogenation where it is highly processed to make it a solid at room temperature.

When margarine first came on the market, consumers were fed a brain-washing marketing scam that told them that if they replaced butter with this margarine, their risks of heart disease and cancer would be lowered. That didn’t happen – in fact, it later became evident that the chemical process used to solidify vegetable oils to make them look like a saturated fat actually caused the very illnesses they were trying to avoid!

Harmful effects of trans-fatty acids:

-cause you to burn sugar and store fat

-increase levels of LDL (low-density lipoproteins) or “bad” cholesterol

-decrease levles of HDL (high-density lipoproteins) or “good” cholesterol

-increase your perception of pain

According to the law, as of 2006, food manufacturers must list trans fats on the nutritional information labels on foods and so now consumers may be more aware of what is in their food. However, some manufacturers try to convince you that their products are “low in trans fats” by advertising as such…but keep in mind that even small amounts are harmful!

To be safe, avoid all foods containing any amount of trans-fatty acids. Most foods that sit on a shelf (baked goods, snacks, peanut butter, cookies, crackers, and candy bars) will contain hydrogenated – or partially hydrogenated – oils. Even some “healthy” diet products marketed for weight loss contain this poison!

Don’t go with the crowd and eat that stuff just because it’s there, or because everyone else is. Convenience is not more important than your health. Read those labels!

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The post Hidden Poison in Your Food appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We interviewed Erwan on our podcast which was posted last week, and had a great time discussing what MovNat is and the type of exercise we did as children translated into the adult world.

Not something we attempted at the workshop!

I had a few revelations this day.

One is, we discussed the traditional ways in which people exercise. Erwan pointed out that there is no practical reason to do multiple “reps” of various exercises, [CORRECTION FROM ERWAN: "Actually, we do repeat moves in MovNat! Only that it is not the sole way to train/move. Series of reps are most of the time combined with other movements, to favor the ability to transition (with ease, speed and accuracy), instead of always separating movements (different series for different movements), or reps (taking a break between series of reps). Also, the types of movements that can be performed as series are much more varied that in a conventional approach of fitness. That is because is MovNat, natural movement IS the conditioning. 100% of movements that are performed are either the real, complete movement, or a segment of them, so that repeating them will condition us to ultimately perform natural movement (practical and adaptive physical action) with max efficiency."]
such as the classic 10 pushups. When in nature will you suddenly need to do multiple pushups? Or squats? With the exercise in MovNat, you don’t do things in order to build muscle, but building muscle is a result of the things you do.

After the first part of this course, my view of fitness and exercise was already changing!

The other thing I noticed is, whatever the exercise is in MovNat, it involves using your core muscles. Even though we did a lot of pulling ourselves up and jumping, my arms and legs were not sore the next day- but my abs and glutes were definitely sore!

The course was not brutally hard in terms of the amount of exercise we did throughout the day. However, the last couple of hours with the hot Texas sun beating down on me, I started to fade. While everyone else in the clinic was from Texas and at least somewhat used to exercise in 98 degree temps, the wimpy Californian boy was not! The good thing was, there was no humidity that day, so 98 felt like 98 instead of 108!

We finished up the day with a circuit of sorts, that Erwan invented, using our surroundings- which consisted of stairs and picnic tables. We had to sprint up the stairs, crawl down a few steps, jump up onto a table, and jump down. This was repeated 5 times. After we finished that, I think one of the guys in the class wanted to do more, but I was pretty satisfied with my day overall- and ready to jump in the natural springs pool right next to where we were doing the training.

The pool was cold and felt FANTASTIC! I did a couple of laps, thanked Erwan for the day, and headed home- where eating and sleeping were the order for the rest of the day.

Overall, the MovNat clinic was a physical and mental challenge that opened up my mind to creativity, and has me now wanting to do more of this. I’m already thinking of new routines for my workouts this week, and how I can go back to having FUN at each and every workout!

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The post My Natural Movement workshop with Erwan Le Corre appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

-Reduce your sugar intake. A high carb/sugar diet weakens your immune system and causes wrinkles. Studies have shown that high levels of sugar in the body can be just as damaging to your skin’s appearance and health as nicotine and unhealthy exposure to UV radiation.

-Take fish oils. The Omega-3 essential fatty acids found in fish oils help lower your blood pressure, improve your mood and maintain brain health. All three of those things are associated with longer, healthier lives.

-Eat your greens. Many of the nutrients in dark leafy green vegetables help slow aging and can even prevent age-related illness.

-Get safe sun exposure. Your body needs UVB exposure in order to manufacture Vitamin D. Vitamin D fights cancer, obesity, diabetes, builds bones, and is a general, all-around tonic for enhanced performance. 20 minutes a day of peak sunlight (during warm months) should do it.

-Drink green tea and reap the benefits. In addition to the benefits of anti-oxidants, studies have shown that green tea aids in fat-burning and lowers “bad” cholesterol levels.

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The post Slow the Aging Process: A How-To Guide appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this inspiring interview, we explore with Erwan the nature of practical and adaptive movement that enables truly excelling in health and fitness, as well as an ethics of contributing to the well-being of others (an emphasis on collaboration rather than competition). MovNat brings about feelings of personal empowerment, confidence, freedom and efficiency. The more mindful we are of the possibilities of our bodies, the less prone we’ll be to “the Zoo human syndrome,” in which people don’t really engage with nature and with natural movement that challenges one’s mind and body. Combined with a paleo eating lifestyle, MovNat ensures an ideal physique, among other fine things. As Erwan wisely noted, “We can’t brush aside millions of years of evolution.” Simply put, natural movement is about being “strong, healthy, happy and free.”

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://movnat.com/

Mens Health Magazine – A Wild Workout for the Real World
http://tinyurl.com/24muoxk

The Sudbury Valley School Experience
http://tinyurl.com/23xhbv6 (link to google books)

Black Belt
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1084019/

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 45 – Natural Movement with guest Erwan Le Corre appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

But it’s true.

There are thousands of fitness plans that tell people to exercise more and eat less in order to lose weight. The benefits of exercise are well-known (even I exercise almost on a daily basis), but is this method effective in successful weight loss and ideal weight maintenance?

Answer: no way! Sure, the people in those (in)famous before and after photos included some form of exercise in their weight loss plans, and most probably followed a restrictive calorie-counting diet with lots of exercise. That may be effective, short-term, but for the most part, these results will not last.

These diets fail because the emphasis is misplaced. Instead of increasing exercise, many people have dropped pounds of fat simply by reducing their carbohydrate consumption – no exercise involved! I’m not recommending a sedentary lifestyle by any means; it’s not healthy. But most (some say 80-85%) of your success in achieving a permanently fit body is a result of your nutrition, not how many hours a day you perform cardiovascular exercises.

The reason this works?

When you exercise, your appetite is often stimulated, and you may be tempted to overeat.

Another reason is that most fitness programs are not sustainable for most people; they simply cannot maintain an exercise-intensive and calorie-restrictive diet.

Finally, exercise can act almost as a fix for psychological addictions to food or certain types of food: for example, a brief period of exercise will often relieve you of your intense craving for chocolate.

In Part 2 we will explore these above-mentioned three aspects of fat burning and fitness plans in more detail.

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The post Is it Possible to Use Exercise to Lose Weight? Part 1 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

It’s cute, but is it true?

Well, the text at the top starts off with “It’s a simple equation. Exercise more and lose weight.”
Hold on a minute! I realize that for most of our lives we’ve been told that it’s simply the calories you consume – the calories you burn that matters. And exercise is certainly an important and even vital part of a healthy lifestyle.

But these numbers are a bit misleading. Texas (where I am currently residing), for example, gets horrible marks all around and shows a fat guy and a low rank for fitness levels. And, people are definitely car-lovers here, and there is traffic in the cities. But is this why they are fat? It could be a factor, but given that diet is 80% or more of the fit-or-fat equation, I have my doubts.

For example, there’s a motto here- “everything is bigger in Texas”, and this applies to food above all else! Just the other day I was asked if I wanted a “Texas-sized iced tea”! So this extends to other foods and drinks, and typically the ones that are not so good for our waistlines. I can imagine people are more likely to get Texas-sized Cokes and Texas-sized pizzas too, shooting their insulin levels through the roof and storing these calories as fat.

The driving and not walking definitely does not help, and spending lots of time in one’s car is not part of a healthy lifestyle. But the emphasis on graphs like these is in the wrong place. Instead, let’s take a look at the diets of these Americans and show them how they can even stay slim with a long commute if necessary.

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The post Driving is why you're fat? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Join us in our continuing discussion about childhood eating and the best methods of parenting (feel free to comment below the show notes). Promoting reason, respect, and rational self-interest is key to great eating habits. The quest for good nutritional knowledge must be engaged in by both adults and kids, as a partnership. It’s important not to enable bad eating habits, which entails living with integrity and practicing self-responsibility, which is in line with wanting the best for kids. Oh, and dates are ok carbs (like fruit in general), but should be consumed in moderation to minimize insulin levels.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swamp_coolers ;)

Stay tuned for an upcoming interview with Erwan of http://movnat.com

http://sandradodd.com/unschooling

More resources:
http://unschooling.com/
http://unschooling.org/
http://unschoolingamerica.com

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 44 – Good parenting habits, kids and food appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

“When dermatologists checked the skin and diets of 453 people from Australia, Greece, and Sweden, they found that while a healthy diet can’t erase damage done by years of unprotected sunbathing or smoking, it can help.”

I tend to agree with that. An unhealthy high carb diet can certainly accelerate the aging process.

Here’s what the diet consists of:

“Have More of These
Olive oil
Fish
Low-fat milk
Water and tea
Fruit and vegetables
Eggs
Nuts and nut butters Beans”

Not too bad, except the milk and beans may cause some gut irritation.

“Have less of these:
Butter
Red meat
Cakes and pastries
Soft drinks
Full-fat milk
Margarine
Potatoes”

Ok, I agree that cakes, pastries, soft drinks, margarine, and potatoes are good to avoid.
But butter can be okay, red meat for the most part is healthy, and if you’re going to drink milk, full fat is actually better for you than low or non fat!

The rest of the recommendations seem completely reasonable:

“1. Put more fruits and vegetables on your plate.
2. Order salmon when you’re dining out.
3. Have a cup of sugar-free cocoa.
4. Cut back on white bread and sugar.”

Absolutely.
I think “wrinkle-free” is a bit of a gimmick, but they have some of the basics down to avoid wrinkles. Generally, stick with a low carb, no grain diet, and you will be putting yourself in the “anti-aging zone”, and avoiding many of the problems that your insulin-spiked high carb friends are either running into, or will at some point run into down the road.

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The post The Anti-Wrinkle Diet appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we offer further answers to questions by listeners, this time dealing with persuading others, particularly children, about healthy mind fit body lifestyle choices. Ultimately, it’s about respect and understanding, rather than battles of the wills or controlling others’ behavior, such as prohibiting consumption of “forbidden” foods, which at base denies personal responsibility. As we noted in the last episode, much of the time people’s eating decisions stem from how they were treated as children as well as their knowledge (or lack thereof) about food. So, parents need to adopt a healthy lifestyle that models good eating and provides rational guidance for kids, encouraging their own self-responsible choices.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

What Do You Lack? Probably Vitamin D by Jane E. Brody
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/health/27brod.html

Longterm Effects of Food Controls (or the lack of controls) by Sandra Dodd? http://sandradodd.com/eating/longterm

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 43 – More answers to listener questions, eating habits of kids, parenting appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

I know I used to have a huge problem with being way to attached to outcomes. Not achieving my goal times in swimming would bring me down. Not earning “enough” money would lower my self esteem. Not having the life I wanted would stress me out!

It is a hard thing to do, but once you accept this idea of non-attachment, life flows a lot more smoothly.

Let’s say you are the person that wants to lose 75 pounds. You jump on this new low carb diet full force, and you lose 3 pounds the first week. The next week you lose 2 more. The following week you don’t lose any weight. “That’s it! I’m going back to pizza!” you proclaim out of frustration. This is exactly why diets don’t work, and why they are always attached to an often immediate outcome.

Instead, a good way to look at it is- I’m changing my lifestyle to health. I am going to eat as healthy as I can most of the time, and I’m not going to step on the scale daily. If I change my eating lifestyle to a healthy one, I know I am doing the best thing for myself that I can. The results will show eventually, and I will be growing as a person and not be filled with stress and anxiety over it.

Try it out with some smaller things. Give someone a compliment today and don’t even worry about their reaction. Do it because you want to brighten their day! Non-attachment is one of the keys to maintaining a relaxed, happy life, as opposed to basing everything you do on someone else’s standard.

The post Not being attached to the outcome appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

This episode we explore Kevin’s upcoming couple months deep in the heat/heart of Texas, non-sweet bbq, his blog post on the China Study, and then we offer our answers to a few questions by listeners–involving making additions to our site, sprint training, as well as persuading others about healthy mind fit body lifestyle choices. Much of the time, people’s eating decisions stem from their childhood experiences, which tend to be related to our culture’s nonsensical low-fat high-carb messages over the last few decades.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://healthymindfitbody.com/2010/07/12/the-china-study-bites-the-dust/

Mark Sisson’s Sprinting Workout Routine (we interviewed him, btw, in episode 25)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWiE0CNpoEk

Upping the workout ante:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-forest-sprinting/

Why You Got Fat (we interviewed Tom, btw, in episode 18)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlIcXynwE

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 42 – Answers to training and eating questions, persuading others appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

And then there is the breakdown of packaged foods vs. their actual ingredients.

So I’ll stick with the most questionable and relevant foods. What’s not paleo? Here are a few examples. Feel free to chime in with a comment below on what you would add to the non-paleo list!

1. Bread
2. Pasta
3. Cereal
4. “Whole Grains” (or any grains)
5. Tortillas
6. Ketchup
7. High Fructose Corn Syrup (or any corn syrup)
8. Rice
9. Soy- including soy sauce and soy protein isolate)
10. Pop Tarts (they probably ate Toaster Strudels ;))
11. Pancakes
12. Protein shakes

Put down in the comments below what your favorite (or least favorite) non-paleo foods, and ask a question if you aren’t sure!

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The post Paleo Food List part 2 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this second half of our interview with Robb Wolf, author of upcoming book The Paleo Solution, we discuss the potential ills of legumes, such as beans, peas, and peanut butter. Similar to grains, they have some inflammatory properties (but your individual results may vary). Another point covered was: given the plethora of bad foods out there, it’s important for adults to take responsibility and ensure the availability of good foods in their households. Keeping it simple is the key (e.g., protein, veggies, and fat), rather than making it more complex and difficult for yourself (no need for food journaling, for instance). Turns out, pretty much every human does well by removing grains, legumes, and dairy from their diet; then, it’s just a matter of adjusting the macronutrients as needed. Ultimately, the healthy mind fit body lifestyle will provide you the foundation from which you can fine-tune your health…and maybe even go full-on paleo at some point!

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://robbwolf.com
http://robbwolf.com/category/podcasts/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy’nut

by Loren Cordain:
http://www.thepaleodiet.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Diet-Weight-Healthy-Designed/dp/0471413909

Please give us feedback about our book…
http://healthymindfitbody.com/hmfb.html

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
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The post 41 – Paleo solutions with guest Robb Wolf, part 2 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

If you listen to our recent interview with Robb Wolf, you will see that there is a lot to the paleo way of eating, and what is now being called the “paleo lifestyle”!

What can get confusing is, what is paleo and what is not paleo? I thought it would be helpful to come up with a paleo food list. Feel free to comment and add anything else you might consider paleo!

1. Meat- (beef, chicken, pork, game)
2. Fish- wild caught salmon is one of the healthiest
3. Eggs
4. Vegetables- stick mostly with the greens.
5. Fruits
6. Dark Chocolate- go for the higher cacao percentages, eat in moderation
7. Guacamole
8. Coconut/coconut oil/coconut milk
9. Coffee
10. Tea
11. Nuts (except for PEAnuts!)
12. Seeds

The paleo foods list is easy to create.
The non-paleo foods list is a lot harder! I’m going to work on that one, but if you can comment below with additions to the above list and questions about other foods, it would help a lot!

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The post Paleo Food List appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

This show is the first part of our two-part interview with Robb Wolf, a paleo-oriented strength and conditioning coach with a biochemistry background. He offers his insights about the paleo eating regimen and the problems with modern diets. We ask him about his own evolution to the paleo lifestyle, from sick vegetarian, to lower carb, to paleo (dairy, grain, and legume free). We explore the potential drawbacks of eating dairy and grains based on the effects of gluten, lectin and other particular proteins, such as developing “leaky gut” and various autoimmune problems.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://robbwolf.com

further reading on dairy:

Milk. It does a body good. Or Not.
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/uncategorized/421/

The Definitive Guide to Dairy
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dairy-intolerance/

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 40 – Paleo solutions with guest Robb Wolf, part 1 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Several books that I checked out were recommending a vegan diet, and a few of them referenced the China Study (by T. Collin Campbell) as proof that we all should be eating vegan. One book I read by Dr. Joel Fuhrman called “Eat to Live”, gave what appeared to be a credible review of the study, and Fuhrman used it as the basis to the recommendations in his book.

(I incidentally at that time also had someone email me and tell me I was killing myself with meat and that I should read the China Study to find out how I should be eating!)

So I googled it. I came across a few sites praising the China Study as the gospel truth, not to be questioned and a revolutionary study in nutrition. But the most well researched site I came across was this one: http://www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/comp-anat/comp-anat-8e.shtml

This page correctly points out that:

-Level of aggregation of the study data yields, at most, 65 observations (data points) for analysis. This was enough for me to throw out the whole thing, but there’s much more!
-The China Study report lists only 6 statistically significant correlations between meat-eating and disease mortality. Further, 4 of the correlations are negative. The tiny numbers are alarming, or rather, embarrassing to the author’s conclusion.

And then there are these logical fallacies:
-Lack of actual income data for the survey participants is a serious flaw. It makes adjustment of the data for the effect of income less reliable
-Attempts to use the China Study to prove that all omnivore diets are bad

So after reading this article, I was ready throw out the China Study as anything but an attempt to generate a hypothesis rather than prove one.

But if that weren’t bad enough, there is now a much deeper look at the China Study (by someone who read every page of the actual study, not just Campbell’s book) on this blog by Denise Minger: http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/07/07/the-china-study-fact-or-fallac/

What we find here is:

Point #1: “…when we actually track down the direct correlation between animal protein and cancer, there is no statistically significant positive trend. None. Looking directly at animal protein intake, we have the following correlations with cancers:

Lymphoma: -18
Penis cancer: -16
Rectal cancer: -12
Bladder cancer: -9
Colorectal cancer: -8
Leukemia: -5
Nasopharyngeal: -4
Cervix cancer: -4
Colon cancer: -3
Liver cancer: -3
Oesophageal cancer: +2
Brain cancer: +5
Breast cancer: +12″

No proof of a cancer-meat link here!

Point #2: “But what about plant protein? Since plant protein correlates negatively with plasma cholesterol, does that mean plant protein correlates with lower cancer risk? Let’s take a look at the cancer correlations with “plant protein intake”:

Nasopharyngeal cancer: -40**
Brain cancer: -15
Liver cancer: -14
Penis cancer: -4
Lymphoma: -4
Bladder cancer: -3
Breast cancer: +1
Stomach cancer: +10
Rectal cancer: +12
Cervix cancer: +12
Colon cancer: +13
Leukemia: +15
Oesophageal cancer +18
Colorectal cancer: +19″

More of a link to cancer with plants than animals!!!

Point #3: “In these high-risk areas for liver cancer, total animal food intake has a correlation with liver cancer of… dun dun dun… +1.

That’s it. One. We rarely get a perfect statistical zero in the real world, but this is pretty doggone close to neutral. Broken up into different types of animal food rather than total consumption, we have the following correlations:

* Meat correlates at -7 with liver cancer in high-risk counties
* Fish correlates at +11
* Eggs correlate at -29
* Dairy correlates at -19″

Point #4: “Basically, Campbell’s implication that green vegetables are associated with less cardiovascular disease is misleading. More accurately, certain geographical regions have strong correlations with cardiovascular disease (or lack thereof), and year-round green vegetable consumption is simply an indicator of geography. Since only frequency and not actual quantity of greens seems protective of heart disease and stroke, it’s safe to say that greens probably aren’t the true protective factor.”

More flaws in the author’s conclusions from data gathered.

The great points Denise made in her blog post go on and on, and go to show that my initial inclination to throw out the China Study was the right one.

She goes on to say:
“Why does Campbell indict animal foods in cardiovascular disease (correlation of +1 for animal protein and -11 for fish protein), yet fail to mention that wheat flour has a correlation of +67 with heart attacks and coronary heart disease, and plant protein correlates at +25 with these conditions?

Speaking of wheat, why doesn’t Campbell also note the astronomical correlations wheat flour has with various diseases: +46 with cervix cancer, +54 with hypertensive heart disease, +47 with stroke, +41 with diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs, and the aforementioned +67 with myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease? (None of these correlations appear to be tangled with any risk-heightening variables, either.)”

Bingo. Carbohydrate and grain intake and its affects on health are not even considered!

T. Collin Campbell’s conclusion to his book was that animal products are deleterious to our health, and that we should be eating plant-based foods instead. Unfortunately, he not only did not prove this, but has lead many people to believing in more nonsense that if followed, will have negative consequences on their health in the long term.

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The post The China Study bites the dust appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

After interviewing Robb Wolf today on our podcast, who is a wealth of knowledge on nutrition and biochemistry, I can see how easy it is to get bogged down in the nitty-gritty! Differences between sweet potatoes and yams? Which type of nuts are the absolute best? Should I buy organic?

This stuff can go on and on. If you’re coming from a traditional high carb, low fat diet, start with focusing on the basics: eat lots of vegetables, wild caught salmon, grass fed beef, eggs, fruit, some nuts, coconut oil, and cut out or cut way down on bread, pasta, cereal, and grains in general.

Is the other stuff important? Sure! But to get hung up on the nuances would be like spending weeks looking for a personal trainer, when all you need to do is start walking 20 minutes a day!

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The post Priorities in weight loss appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

We discuss a mix of things in this show, starting with my recent experience with food poisoning (wasn’t pretty) and Kevin’s July 4th holiday foodstuff experiences. Confidence comes with being aligned with what’s healthy and good for you and being able to achieve your values in life. And confidence in how you look ought to be a reflection of doing what’s healthy for your body (unlike what the endeavoring-to-be-1000-pounds woman believes). Basically, everyone can be physically fit and healthy. A couple listener questions involved, first, why low carb/high fat/adequate protein eating is good for you, no matter if you already are your perfect weight (based on the insulin factor), in addition to some pitfalls with grains and potentially with dairy and, second, the relative merits of the grain-like seed quinoa. Also, Dr. Weil comes clean and admits that saturated fat is ok and that carbs are detrimental, giving a strong nod to the keen investigational research of science writer Gary Taubes.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

Tasty Thai soup
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_kha_gai

Woman wants to be world’s fattest
N.J. mother of two is striving to top 1,000 pounds
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37596789/ns/health-womens_health/

Fat or Carbs: Which Is Worse? by Andrew Weil
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/healthy-eating_b_629422.html

Grain-like seed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=332309038

The post 39 – Healthy confidence and optimal lifestyle eating appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

How can you eat a healthy, low carb lunch, when many of us are so used to the traditional sandwich, where there’s more bread than anything else!

When I first started cutting my carbs, for lunch I usually just took off one slice of bread- so I ate my sandwiches “tostada style”- putting the meat and cheese on the bread instead of between two slices. This cutting out of 20g of carbohydrates every day did wonders for my energy levels in the afternoon, as well as for flattening out my stomach!

Still, I’ve come to the realization more recently that grains are not healthy- so why do I still eat them, even in small quantities?

I’ve switched my lunches to something like this:

About a cup of frozen broccoli, thawed in the microwave
Sprinkle olive oil and sea salt on the broccoli
Add a tablespoon or 2 of guacamole
Add sliced turkey, roast beef, or turkey
Stir and eat!

You can easily replace the broccoli with artichoke, or your favorite green vegetable.

I’ve also just found out about using broccoli leaves in place of bread! I haven’t figured out where to get broccoli leaves, but if anyone knows, please comment here, I’d love to try this!

For dessert, I’ll have an apple with almond butter or an apple with some cashews.

This lunch keeps me full throughout the afternoon with no crash!

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The post Low Carb Lunch appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Then, as we have discussed on this blog and on our podcast, the truth is far from this common notion. It turns out that many people are actually eating MORE calories and losing lots of unwanted fat! This is undoubtedly quite surprising to adherents of the common notion—and of course it jibes with the numerous controlled and comparative studies that show subjects who consumed the same calories but differing amounts of carbs, fat, and protein (isocaloric studies) lose significantly more fat by eating a higher percentage of fat and lower percentage of carbs. As we’ve discussed on the podcast numerous times, insulin is the main hormonal factor here.

So how do you “eat your way to fitness” if not by cutting out calories? Here are 4 steps that will get you started:

1. Write down what you are eating for a couple of days. Don’t keep track of calories, just write exactly what you eat. Then put an “I” next to the foods that will raise your insulin levels; this will mostly be your carbohydrates (not counting veggies).

2. Look at your “I” foods one by one, and circle the ones you can definitely do without, no problem.

3. Take the list of foods that’s left, and go through each, one by one. Write down 6-8 endings to this sentence stem for each food: “When I think of the idea of going without __________, I feel…” Write these endings down without giving it much thought—just whatever comes to your mind first.

4. Re-read your list and really focus on the feeling what you wrote gives you. Then, write down 6-8 endings to this sentence stem: “As I reflect on the nature of what I’m feeling…”

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The post How to eat your way to fitness in 4 steps appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show Kevin finishes interviewing Dr. James Carlson, who provides us with a wealth of biochemistry knowledge and experiences with patients (and fellow physicians) concerning the ills of the typical dietary (and thus drug) prescription by most health care “authorities”–as well as the vast benefits of eating the proper foods (lower carb and higher fat) to ensure health and longevity. Carbohydrates do affect moods, and people unfortunately can become addicted to them and experience withdrawal symptoms. Insulin secretion needs to be minimized (via low carb foods) for achieving your optimal body fat percentage and ensure overall health.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://drjamescarlson.com/

http://dreamweaverradioandtv.com/

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 38 – Interview with Dr. James Carlson, part 2 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

“How many calories are in that donut?”

What a silly question!

“There are 320 calories in this bag of almonds!”

This is meaningless!

There in fact could be fewer calories in that donut than in the bag of almonds. But guess which food item is going to raise your insulin levels and have a deleterious affect on your health? Hint: It’s not the almonds.

We now know there have been countless examples of people who increased there calorie intake, and, despite common wisdom. LOST weight! It comes down to keeping your insulin levels in check. A sugar-laden donut will shoot insulin levels up pretty high, and you will end up storing fat in the process. Almonds will keep you at an even keel level.

Beyond that, counting calories is a total pain. Eating lots of good fats, and eating when you are hungry is a good call. Choose wisely: Eat whole foods where ever possible, and avoid downing straight carbohydrates- and you will have more energy and keep your body in fat check mode instead of fat storage mode!

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The post The Calorie Counting Myth appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

When hanging out with friends and family who may not share your desire to eat optimally, the most important thing is to stay strong psychologically. There will certainly be a lot of pressure to conform to the group, to eat more, and to have celebratory desserts and drinks.
If you stick to your guns, and only have the desserts and higher carb meals when YOU want to, eventually the people around you will likely respect your choices.

So what should these choices consist of?

Stick with whole foods: Fruits, nuts, things that don’t come from a package. If you have a big high carb meal, turn down desert. Your insulin levels will be spiked from your meal, and piling on a dessert could really wreck you, especially if you’re not used to lots of carbs! Explain why you eat the way you do, but do not try to convince others that they should eat that way as well. Family especially will be tough to convince, so your best bet is just to be as healthy as you can- and let them know you are doing this to better yourself, and because you want to, but that you’re not trying to change them. Eventually they may see the benefits of low carb as you stay healthy and fit!

Enjoy your family & friends as much as you can. No sense in letting yourself get stressed out- this can be worse for you then a couple of frosted old fashioned donuts!

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The post Keeping your diet together on vacation appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show Kevin interviews Dr. James Carlson, who provides us with a wealth of biochemistry knowledge and experiences with patients (and fellow physicians) concerning the ills of the typical dietary (and thus drug) prescription by most health care “authorities”–as well as the vast benefits of eating the proper foods to ensure health and longevity. His book “Genocide: How Your Doctor’s Dietary Ignorance May Kill You!!!” explores these issues in fine detail, including the four myths: eating fat makes you fat;. eating cholesterol causes heart disease; calories are important; exercise is needed to lose weight. In actuality, a low carb, higher fat and adequate protein eating regimen is preferred for humans. Unfortunately, medical doctors were never taught this, and they tend not to care about the truth in this vital matter; a paradigm shift in med school needs to take place.

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter.

Items mentioned in this episode:

http://drjamescarlson.com/

Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/359/3/229

http://lowcarbdoctors.blogspot.com/

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The post 37 – Interview with Dr. James Carlson, part 1 appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Easy to do, I’m sure. He has 2 kids, and a full time job, and tries to squeeze in a workout most days too.

So how does a slip happen?

Partly, it’s what you are buying at the store, and partly, it’s having demanding children around. The grocery shopping part is easy. Don’t buy unhealthy items and have them around your house. But I’m sure you’ve heard that before!

The kids thing is a bit more difficult. They may be demanding because you have provided them with junk food in the past, and they have become accustomed to it, maybe even addicted to carbs! If this is the case, instead of telling them they can’t have any of the crackers, cookies, sodas, etc. that they may be used to, just simply don’t buy it. They will have plenty of opportunities to get that stuff outside the home, but eventually, they will get used to the healthier meals and snacks, and the candy just won’t taste as good!

And then, you as the parent won’t have easy access to all that bad stuff either. Win-win!

“Slipping” also only happens if you are still viewing eating low carb as “being on a diet”. It’s crucial to start to change your psychology to thinking about an eating lifestyle, rather than just a diet. We have much more on this in the free audio below, and in the book, Healthy Mind Fit Body!

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The post The idea of slipping on your diet appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Should we give it up? Do we need to? If so, what do we replace bread with? And for crying out loud, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO PUT THE CONTENTS OF THE SANDWICH ON!!?!

I bring up this topic because I, too, had all of these questions above even as recent as a few months ago. I had a daily sandwich with 1 slice of flourless sprouted wheat bread and thought I was being very healthy. Compared to the typical American lunch, I was being healthy. But me reasoning for eating bread at all was that I needed to put my turkey, avocado, and cheese on SOMETHING!

I have since switched to mixing in my lunch meat, tuna, or grass fed ground beef with a bowl of vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, or artichoke, then mixing in a fat source like olive oil and/or guacamole.

But why did I give up bread, and why should other people do the same?

Bread, although considered a staple food, and for many it would be unheard of to not eat bread. You might as well tell these people to not breathe air! It is so ingrained (no pun intended) in us that bread is a must, that getting it out of our diets may cause a little anxiety. But bread is not a natural food that we as humans were meant to eat. Grains, which most bread is made out of, have only been in the human diet for about 10,000 years. Grains contain high levels of plant toxins called lectins. Research has shown that lectins can disrupt gastrointestinal function and immune system.

What about the benefits of whole grain bread over plain white bread?

It’s really negligible. Whole grains contain harmful phytates, glutens, and lectins that promote inflammation. And, while you do get fiber from these grains, this, too can be seen as a negative. Excessive fiber intake (which easily happens when you eat a lot of whole grains) can increase appetite and interfere with healthy digestion, mineral absorption, and elimination. Whole wheat bread may burn a little slower, but the important thing is you will produce the same amount of insulin to deal with the glucose load!

So with all this, my plan is to simply skip grains altogether most of the time, and replace them with vegetables and fruits. It’s not that much harder than making a sandwich and will lead to a healthier body and less chance of disease in the long run.

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The post Do we need bread? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

There’s a really easy way of looking at all this.

First, never diet. All of these diets are based on solid evidence, but you must change your eating habits and the very way you look at various foods, in order to successfully achieve a fit body- but do not put yourself on a diet!

Second, realize that nutrition is going to be an ongoing quest to get right. However, you can be sure of a few things. Eating fruit, nuts, vegetables, grass fed beef, wild caught salmon, olive oil, and coconut oil are going to be a good base for what you eat no matter what. After that, you can start getting fancy and finding out about all the nuances of low carb eating.

That’s really it. It doesn’t have to be confusing or complicated.

Another hint to stay on track is to stay away from mainstream media! It’s easy to fall back to old ways of thinking if you are constantly hearing that messsage. Instead, check out sites like this one, marksdailyapple.com, and robbwolf.com for the latest in nutrition and for Healthy Mind Fit Body, the psychology behind losing weight, as well as the “best of” in nutrition and fitness.

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The post Low carb, Paleo, Zone, South Beach…which way to go? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss an eclectic mix of topics, starting with the best way to eat Mexican food and what sort of carb-to-protein ratio is optimal. Kevin offers a great hmfb salad (patent pending;) that includes grass-fed beef. We cover the problems with various carbs, not eating an adequate breakfast or greens, or being properly hydrated. Black tea has its health benefits too. Finally, we cover a couple listener emails dealing with the deleterious nature of grains and particular exercise equipment to maintain strength and fitness, as well as my ingenious method for eating blueberries with almond butter (gleaned from a chimp technique:).

Stay tuned for next week’s interview with Dr. James Carlson!

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter

Item mentioned in this episode:

5 Reasons You Are Hungry After Eating
http://fitho.in/2010/06/07/5-reasons-you-are-hungry-after-eating/

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 36 – Eating rules of thumb, recipe tips, problems with grains appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we discuss the latest mainstream acknowledgement of what we’ve been saying all along: excess carbs (i.e., high insulin levels) have bad health effects, not saturated fat. We also explore The Belly Fat Cure, a book by Jorge Cruise, fitness guru and nutrition coach. He’s brought a message that’s quite similar to ours into the mainstream (even on Oprah), which is great, but we have our caveats and explain why our unique focus on the psychological side of weight loss, fitness, and nutrition is so important!

Click here to get your free audio download of the 3 Pillars Of Achieving Your Perfect Weight Using The Mind/Body Connection, as well as our succinct newsletter

Items mentioned in this episode:
Carbs against Cardio: More Evidence that Refined Carbohydrates, not Fats, Threaten the Heart
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbs-against-cardio

http://jorgecruise.com/how-it-works/

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bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

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The post 35 – The real belly fat cure appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

The diet plans with cheat days usually involve eating a strict, low calorie (often low fat too) diet 6 days out of the week, and on the seventh day, you get to eat anything you want and as much as you want.

Is this a good idea?

Well, to start with, I don’t believe in diets. I’m not on one, and I eat what I want all of the time.

So the first issue I have with cheat days is that it assumes you are not eating what you want 6 of the 7 days of the week. How fun are those 6 days???

So what is the solution? NEVER have any fun days??

No!

I’d much rather “have my cake and eat it too” (although cake is not a good option here if you follow along with what I’m saying!). The important thing is not being a perfectionist, but to actually change your taste buds so that you crave the foods that are good for you, and not the crap that will give you low energy, extra fat, and leave you wanting more of it!

So, I’m not in favor of diets…or so-called cheat days. Change your tastes by making a psychological break from the foods that aren’t doing you any good. Then start replacing them with great tasting foods that are also good for your health!

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The post Should you have "cheat days" on a diet? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) and weight scales are not the best indicators of body fat percentage, which reflects the carb/insulin factor

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/childhood-obesity-pediatric-weight-management-clinic/story?id=10650793

Parents are responsible for the kinds of foods kids eat; they shop for groceries and stock the shelves at home

http://abcnews.go.com/nightline/video/baby-battle-bulge-10672649

It’s important to focus on the macronutrient amounts when ensuring the health of kids; low carb and higher fat is better

Parents need to lead by example and educate kids about healthy eating–and model the eating of good foods

Most of the cause of obesity (whether child or adult) revolves around nutrition, not exercise

It’s very important to check in with kids’ feelings in relation to their eating habits (and have discussions about their cravings)

Eating Processed Meats, but Not Unprocessed Red Meats, May Raise Risk of Heart Disease and Diabetes
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2010-releases/processed-meats-unprocessed-heart-disease-diabetes.html

Consuming less processed meat (and processed foods in general) is always a good rule of thumb

Please take our survey about goals and challenges: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y9ZVW8H

bumper music “All In My Head” (Remix) – http://www.kosheen.com

Feel free to rate and/or review our show on iTunes!
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The post 34 – Issues in childhood obesity appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

Everyone has a saboteur within that helps “keep them safe”. Often, this saboteur keeps us so safe that it prevents us from getting what we want. For example, I have to get out of my comfort zone to ask for that raise. It’s what I really WANT, but something holds me back from asking my boss for more money.

Thoughts that go through my head may be “Who am I to want more money? What will my boss think of me if I ask? I’ll feel like a fool if the answer is no! I may get fired!!!” and on and on.

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These are all examples of that saboteur trying to keep you in your comfort zone.

Think about weight loss.

Many similar thoughts apply here:

“If I lose weight, I will change, and I may not like who I become.”
“My friends won’t like me as I improve myself.”
“I won’t be able to enjoy myself if I have to change my diet.”
“Who do you think you are? You’re a fat person. You’re just never going to be thin, so forget trying!”

And on and on.

This is your saboteur, doing its best to keep you safe from change. Sure, there is a place for your saboteur, in the face of danger it is good to listen.

But it will kick in for everyone at some point when you’re going after a positive change in your life.

The best thing you can do is make friends with this saboteur. Give it a name. Listen to her. Do not fight her. Instead, understand what she is trying to do, thank her, and proceed to take the action you know is the right one.

Notice how the saboteur kicks in when you are with groups. Think about it next time. Don’t put yourself on autopilot, instead, listen to these thoughts. See if you can acknowledge them, and move on, without a struggle. Really observe what is going on inside, and you will find that whatever is holding you back will become less and less of a factor until it’s finally normal to here this voice and act anyway!

The post What is holding you back? appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

In this show we explore the nature of health and fitness training from an expert’s perspective

Josef’s fitness blog and site
http://josefbrandenburg.com/
http://thebodyyouwant.com

Aerobic exercise is not all it’s cracked up to be, and it might be making you hungrier and thus causing binge eating

Weight and high intensity shorter training is better for health and fitness than lots of endurance exercising

Try to avoid all those crappy carbs, such as lots of bread, grains, and cereals

The priority should be minimizing your insulin secretion, even though e.g. high quality meats are better than not so much

You can’t take at face value the results of studies reported by the mainstream media

Falsehoods are still being promoted in nutrition textbooks!

You don’t have to starve yourself and suffer in order to lose weight; just change the types of food you’re eating

Putting fat people on treadmills doesn’t really help them lose their extra fat

Personal trainer certifications aren’t good ways to judge knowledge and competence

Isolation exercises can fall short when it comes to overall fitness and “toning” muscles

Using calipers to measure bodyfat isn’t very reliable; a measuring tape can be a useful device, though

Governmental “officials” have no business telling you what and how to eat (even though they continue to intervene)

Famous article by Gary Taubes, explaining where so much went so wrong:?http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html

Please take our survey about goals and challenges: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y9ZVW8H

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The post 33 – Interview with fitness instructor Josef Brandenburg appeared first on Healthy Mind Fit Body.

1. You go on a business trip. You’re busy with work the whole time. No time to eat healthy! You’re eating out for every meal and cleaning your plate. Too much alcohol is consumed every day….desserts are a must with clients! Snacks are mostly carbs…

2. You go on vacation. Carb city. Again, too much alcohol, too much indulgence, not enough exercise. “Afterall,” you remind yourself, “I’m on vacation! I need to enjoy myself!” The problem is your body doesn’t go on vacation from processing carbohydrates…and you stack on the pounds.

3. You get together with friends who you haven’t seen in a while. With a heavy travel schedule, this reuniting happens every time you come back home. Big dinners are part of the get togethers, and again, alcohol is flowing!

Here are 4 tips on how to avoid weight gain when you are traveling:

1. If you drink alcohol, keep it to a minimum. Don’t avoid it altogether, but business trips and vacation can get really out of hand when it comes to overdoing it.

2. Take out the bread on your sandwiches & burgers, and avoid the bread many restaurants sometimes serve before dinner.

3. No desserts. This one will take a lot of self esteem and being able to not get sucked into peer pressure from the group. Most desserts out are carb-laden, insulin spiking nightmares that will leave you feeling bad. The hard thing about avoiding dessert when you’re out at dinner with people is the ones who will try to make you feel “uncool” or “uptight” for not indulging. Experience the emotion, acknowledge what is going on, and make the decision that is right for you.

4. Walk. You can walk a lot on trips, just be conscious of the times when you can take the stairs instead of the elevator, or walk a few blocks instead of taking a cab. What seems like a little extra walking here and there can make a big difference.

There you go. Follow these tips and you will not come back from your trips feeling sluggish and fat, and disappointed in yourself for not following through!

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