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Low Fat Diet Farce

Last week in my entry about increased protein intake and government recommendations I mentioned that I was also going to discuss the farce of low fat diets. Low fat diets were the crazy for a LONG TIME. We were constantly bombarded with advertisings and products claims that scream “0 grams of fat per serving”, “Fat FREE”, “Low Fat Food”…you get the point. As a result fat became the devil. People started cutting fat out of their diet until it was as low as possible.Even with all the low fat madness the average fat intake of Americans didn’t even drop below 25% of total calories.

In the mid 1990’s fat became cool again with the popularity of low carb diets. Now there were “healthy fats”.

Side note: I decided I hate the term “healthy fats” it is dumb as an argument could be made for the inclusion of each type of fat for health reasons with the exception of industrially produced trans fats. You’ll never hear me use that term again.

Back to what I was saying…in the mid 90s fat became cool. More research was being released regarding the great health benefits of a Mediterranean diet (which is moderately high in fat). Product claims switched and now they boost “healthy fats” (there’s that damn term again). The media turned on the government and the national dietary guidelines saying that the government’s low fat recommendations were wrong and partly to blame for the obesity epidemic. Everyday people jumped on this bandwagon, bashing the dietary guidelines for their low fat ways, and supported the latest fad diet which promoted high intakes of “healthy fats” (ugh).

Sorry to leave you hanging but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for the rest of this article (so make sure to come back!).

Fish Oil and Weight Loss

 Last week on T-Nation I had an article published that was all about fish oil and weight loss.  Fish oil and weight loss is starting to become a very popular topic.  In this article I cover all the relevant scientific studies that looks at fish oil and weight loss.  Enjoy!

 

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Fish Oil and Fat Loss

By Mike Roussell

You take fish oil everyday, right?No?Hellooo McFly!What’s your reason? You want to die from a heart attack? You enjoy joint pain? Maybe you’ve embraced your love handles and don’t want to get rid of them?

That’s right, fish oil can help with all those things (and a lot more). I promise you by the end of this article you’ll want to start using fish oil on a daily basis. If not, there’s no hope for you.

First, let me open your eyes to the myriad of health benefits. If that doesn’t impress you, we’ll move on to the latest research (some exclusive and unpublished) regarding fish oil and fat loss.

Fish Oil and Heart Health

Some of the most unreal data regarding fish oil consumption is in the area of heart disease. Around the turn of the latest century, one of the most incredible studies using fish oil was underway.

The researchers of the GISSI-Prevenzone study enrolled 11,323 people who had previously suffered from a heart attack. After 3.5 years, the ones who took 1 gram of fish oil each day had almost a 50% reduction in sudden death from heart attack. (1) That’s amazing.

In other words, let’s say there’s a 100% chance that you’re going to have a heart attack and die, instantly. If you take fish oil you have a 50% chance of living! Throw me a filet of salmon!

Click here to read the rest of the article

Green Tea and Caffeine for Weight Loss

With all the weight loss supplements available on the market there are only a few ingredients that have actually been shown to elicit an increased effect on fat loss. Does this mean that all the other herbal and compounds put into fat loss supplements don’t work? Not necessarily. They may work but for the most part the scientific evidence is lacking. The four compounds that have been shown to cause an increase in weight loss are fish oil, green tea, caffeine, and CLA. I have talked about CLA previously in this blog and on Max-Out Radio so I won’t cover that here. I have also recently written an article that discussed the research and efficacy of fish oil and weight loss so I won’t be discussing that today either. However, I have not written about the effects of green tea and caffeine.

If you have purchased and/or looked at any fat loss supplements lately you would know that green tea extract (e.g. EGCG) and caffeine are two staples in just about every product. Greet tea extract supplements are also sold independently for weight loss. However it is important to realize that the scientific information that has been published regarding green tea and weight loss always includes caffeine. They are like peas and carrots so to speak. While caffeine has potential weight loss boosting effects by itself, green tea extract seems to need its stimulating partner to really make a difference.

The effects of green tea and caffeine on weight loss are thought to occur through increased thermogenesis and fat oxidation. One additional potential mechanism in which caffeine and boost weight loss is increased satiety. A study published in the July 2005 issue of Obesity Research showed a dose-response relationship between mg/d of caffeine and satiety; in other words more caffeine, more satiety.

While many people will tell you that weight loss supplements are worthless, there are a select few compounds that have been shown to aid in weight loss. These products won’t take the pounds off if your diet is terrible and your aren’t exercising but once you have everything lined up then you can add these compounds to get the biggest bang for your fat loss buck.

Interview with Jen Heath

Last week or so I mentioned Jen Heath and a Fat Loss Audio Course that she had put together. Jen is a pretty busy lady as she has a bunch of kids (four I think), is a professional natural female bodybuilder, and trains a large number of people across the world. Despite her busy schedule I was able to get her to sit down and answer some questions regarding fat loss, women, weight training, and her new course (which I fully endorse). Here’s the interview:

Mike: Jen, tell us a little bit about yourself before you got into bodybuilding. What sparked your interest?

Jen: Whenever I have trained or worked out, I have had pretty good results in losing weight and achieving what someone would consider to be a decent figure. However, when someone I knew, who was a professional bodybuilder, told me that I could be very competitive…I felt challenged. It sounded fun and I knew it was not an easy thing to accomplish. Since I felt like I could shoot for something a little out of the norm, I was excited about it. I immediately started training and dieting the way he advised me to, and soon enough, I could tell I was well on my way. A little guidance and discipline was all that was needed to get going.

Mike: Fat loss is a huge topic and you just came out a collection of great fat loss interview but before we talk about that what do you think is holding women back from achieving their best bodies?

Jen: I think the two biggest things are not eating an appropriate amount calories and macronutrients for their individual needs, and the lack of weight training. For some reason, women have truly been turned off of weight lifting. They really believe it will make them too big and bulky, or that they will feel stupid, because they have no idea what they are doing. It couldn’t be further from the truth though!

Mike: You lift heavy weights, right? How can you convince other women that they need to lift heavy weights to get lean and look great?

Jen: Most women honestly look at the pictures on my website, and see that I am a normal woman. That I have the sort of lean shapely physique they have in mind for themselves. They want to know what I do, and are very much willing to do it once they correlate the two together. Furthermore, I do not compare myself to anyone. I see every woman for the potential they have and not a comparison of anyone, and my vision of what they can accomplish is motivational to them and all intimidation is left outside.

In addition to this, most women think they do not have time to incorporate it besides. When they learn about the busy nature of my life and see that it can be done, it is highly encouraging. Then they feel like they have someone to help them sort things out, and make the time they need to be taking for themselves. I am glad for this, because I love to see women realize what they ought to be doing, and go out and just do it.

Mike: What are some psychological differences that you have found between men and women when helping them achieve their ultimate physique?

Jen: I am not too sure that there is an ultimate answer on this one, but mostly if you put two men in a room together and they start comparing themselves to one another…for some reason that is motivating to them. The competitive nature gets them going. I have found that women feel intimidated by each other as each and every one is trying to look their best. We are so quick to questions ourselves and what we are doing when someone looks “better” than we do. I am pretty sure that men don’t go into this line of thinking as often as women do.

Another thing is that a lot of women have kids, and psychologically it is difficult not to eat what the kids are eating. Let’s face it, the kids just eat more stuff that adult women can if they want to be lean. Knowing how to get around this seems to help a lot of women keep their goals.

I have also found that women tend to need to create a support system and an environment at home in which they can succeed. I am actually glad to be a part of many women’s support systems. It truly makes a difference. In everyday life, men don’t typically need or desire someone to nudge them forward and give praises and compliments on a regular basis either. It is rewarding to a woman when someone they look up to or someone they love compliments and encourages them frequently, and acknowledges their questions and concerns as valid. That is a HUGE role that I fill with my clients (I do have couples that train with me as well, and the men are not exempt from this – but it is primarily a female need in getting where they want to be).

Mike: Let’s talk fat loss supplements real quick. What supplements do you recommend specifically for women looking to lean up?

Jen: Fish Oils, BCAA, Creatine, Multi Vitamins, and often a calcium magnesium supplement. I leave taking fat burners such as HOT Rox Extreme optional, and if they choose to take a supplement like that, I have them cycle off of it from time to time.

Mike: Finally, I wanted to talk about your Fat Loss Pros audio course. Could you talk a little about why you wanted to put this together? Personally, I’ve been wondering how on earth you got interviews with all those people! You got interviews with people who don’t give interviews.

 

Jen: I put this together to give people the chance to hear straight information from the best minds alive. The quality of information on this product is insanely good. It is the true nitty gritty of fat loss information. No fluff, just real stuff that really works. Everybody is different, but there are certain basic principles that get talked up so much that they get all skewed. People think that they can do this “one” thing that will get them lean, when really a combination of a few select behavioral, nutritional and training modifications are what is needed for any one person, and that combination is not the same for everyone. The point is, how is anyone going to figure out what thye nned to be doing as an individual if they don’t have ALL of the information they need in ONE place…rather than searching all over and finding only loose interpretations of numerous ideas and strategies.

As far as getting the people on my product to do interviews. I was actually surprised at how fast I received yes responses. They all wanted to contribute. I guess they saw the potential with what I was trying to create. It was actually funny…I couldn’t get a hold of Eric Serrano’s email address, so I called his doctors office and left a message with his receptionist. He thought that was the best thing anyone had ever done in trying to reach him. He called me back immediately, told me he was shocked that I had found a way to get a hold of him, how impressed he was. He got right onto my website, learned a little bit about me and what I was doing , and gave his full support for the product (it didn’t hurt that we both have a lot of kids…that was a common factor of excitement between he and I). It was just awesome! He is even the one who called his good friend Dr. Di Pasquale and told him he ought to contribute as well. I had planned on asking, but didn’t even have to as Dr. Serrano made the call for me! I almost didn’t even have to try with those two guys, and those are the two you would have thought would have been the most difficult to get! Bottom line is, these folks were all willing and very positive about contributing. For that I am glad!

Mike: Thanks Jen for taking the time to talk with me about your journey must have fat loss strategies for women and your new Fat Loss Pros.

To find out more about Jen’s Fat Loss Pros Audio course go to http://www.FatLossProAudio.com

That’s Too Much Damn Protein! (Or Is It?)

 

Yesterday I took the written portion of my candidacy exam (a big exam you have to take to get your PhD).  As a result I have been doing a lot of studying and research regarding dietary guidelines, dietary recommendations, etc.  I found out some very interesting things while scouring the literature.  Today I wanted to quickly share something with you that will come in handy next time someone (cough…a dietitian…cough) gives you a hard time about your protein intake and how it is “too high.” 

In Your Naked Nutrition Guide I recommend that people, on days that they train, consume 30% of calories from protein.  Many nutritionist/dietitians would be quick to tell you that this is – unnecessary, unsafe, a waste, stupid (pick your favorite response).  This is because in school they teach you that all you need to consume is 0.8g/kg of bodyweight per day.  This is the amount of protein needed to prevent deficiency in 97-98% of the population.  But we aren’t looking to prevent deficiency.  We are looking for optimal health and body composition.  These people usually aren’t impressed by body composition aspirations and will continue to badger you about how you are putting your health at risk.  Just ask them if they ever heard of a little study called OmniHeart or you can just say this:

 “Actually 30% of total calories from protein is a reasonable amount to consume and is well within the recommend consumption ranges set by the National Academy of Sciences as the AMDR (acceptable macronutrient distribution range) for protein is 10-35% of calories.”

That will shut them up instantly.

 

More tomorrow on low fat diets….

 

Technorati Tags: protein, dietary guidelines, diet,

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