There are many ways you can be defined, some of them you can’t control like your height, age, race, where you were born. But there are many other things that you CAN control, like your career, education, how you conduct yourself in your relationships and your body shape.
When it comes to influencing the look of your body things like your workout and your eating pattern are simply tools and not a definition of who you are, but the health diet/fitness industry try to convince you to define yourself in these terms.
With a closer look you will realize that terms like “health” “nutrition” and “fitness” have no meaning without the specific meaning you give to them. Each one is a personal definition that you alone should make.
In this podcast we’ll discuss:
1. The definition of Health
2. The definition of Fitness
3. What defines you
4. How the ‘health and fitness’ industry uses ambiguity to sell you things you don’t understand
As long as you allow someone else to define each of these terms for you, you’ll always be susceptible to another new diet or fitness marketing fad.
Define yourself.
John
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{ 15 comments }
I love mondays. Podcast day! Wake up early to listen to these (Australia time). Keep up the great work.
Very interesting to hear your views of calories and weight loss, what are your views on insulin responce with carbs and how it locks in body fat based on genetics of the individual?
Kevin,
Are you talking about a genetic disorder? If so which are you referring to?
JB
Hi JB,
No what I am referring to is every person has different genetics and based on this makeup if we all eat the same foods, same calories and burnt the same calories via the same exercise we would still not all look the same due to our genetic make up and how we build muscle and store body fat.
I have recently been reading about insulin responce after certain carb consumption and how this effects body fat to be stored.
Now my interpritation of your audio above is your are saying it’s mainly down to calories in and calories out, regardless of if these calories are protein, fat or carbs.
So I wanted to know your views on carbs and insulin effects and even liquid foods like protein shakes etc and how they effect insulin too.
Regards
Kevin
Kevin,
Can I ask you to point out the research that supports the points you are making about genetic variation with insulin and fat loss/storage.
I seem to be missing something here.
JB
At JB and Kevin,
I think kevin missed the whole point when it comes to the whole calories in calories out thing. The question I would ask is if he’s worried about insulin and how certain foods stimulate an insulin response, how does the raw physics of it compare? A lot of people seem to be asking this question, for obvious reasons, and it seems to me that it’s jut because they dont understand the very basic elements of it. If what kevin is worried about is eating something under a caloric deficit and still storing fat, he obviously hasn’t really commited to this style of wieght loss yet. To say that because of genetics, if you’re eating under your bmr, and somehow are still gaining fat mass is pure crock. If you’re eating less calories that you need in a day and for some reason you’re still putting on fat I would seek immediate medical attention because something is seriously wrong with your biology, and eventually, if you’re body continues to ignore your daily energy intake and just keeps storing it all as fat because of an insulin repsonse, your body is going to find the energy somewhere. First your body will oxidize the protein in your muscles and then it will eat your brain! My point? If you really believe that in a calorically reduced eating state that you’re still storing it all as fat, you obviously don’t have long to live. However; the more likely scenario is that you haven’t any experince with this style of weight loss, and you obviously haven’t been listening to the podcasts.
Yours,
Andrew
Andrew,
Point taken but lets play fair on here.
I don’t think Kevin is attacking the concept, he is just really trying to get to an answer that is confusing many other people as well. Almost everyone falls for this rhetoric until they really start to examine it. So again lets play nice here.
JB
JB, I guess what I am asking but not very successfully is simply, is weight loss basic calories in and calories out end of?
Regardless of the calories being from chocolate, low GI carbs, protein or fats. Being from nut’s, veg or MRP powders a calorie is a calorie and thats how it is.
Loren Cordain PhD, Robb Wolf, Tom Venuto and Michael R. Eades M.D claim certain carbs, grains, dairy and shakes (liquid food) have a insulin responce that can have an adverse effect on fat loss.
What I meant by genetic difference was that I believe each human being stores fat and water in different areas of the body as part of their genetic marker.
I amhappy to stand corrected on any of the above this is why I asked your opinion after the audio.
Kevin,
It is well documented in the scientific literature that protein has a similar insulin response as carbohydrates. The main thing that affects the insulin response is the total amount of food eaten and not the chemical make up of the food per se. So if you ate 1000 calories in a mixed meal of protein carbs and fat…and then tomorrow at the same food but only 500 calories, you would have approximately half the insulin secreted.
The difference that specific foods might have on insulin given an equal amount of food consumed might add up to some small difference…but it’s a moot point…after all, are you really going to eat all of your daily calories from sugar by itself, or fat by itself or protein by itself?
Think of it this way: if you eat 5000 calories today, do you think it really matters if all of it was from low Glycemic foods? You are still overeating.
On the flip side, if you only at 1000 calories today, do you think it would really matter if most of it was high glycemic foods? You are still in a big caloric deficit.
This is why the answer for weight loss is just calories in vs out.
Do you see why the argument about specific foods and their GI and all of that is basically irrelevant?
JB
At JB,
I’m sorry I guess that could come across as disrespectful and I don’t mean to be. My apologies to you Kevin. I guess it’s just that I became very passionate about all of this coming into it from the bodybuidling culture. Also I have a question for you John. I started listening to and following your nutritional adivce from the podcasts about a month and a half ago, and now I’m starting the AI workouts as well. My weight so far is 218 down from 230+ so the whole weight loss thing is workin well for me. My question is this, I’m 5’9 218 with quite a bit of base muscle already, and skeletally im just a really thick guy, my shoulders are already 53 inches and so far my waist is at 38 inches which puts my AI around 1.4, but one of my goals is to eventually have a nice set of abs, I definitely still have a lot of fat to lose, and with my shoulders already being as big as they are what’s your oppinion on goin past the AI of 1.6 in the name of abs? Will it spoil the effect if I go too far with my ideal waist measurement?
Andrew
Andrew,
It’s always tuff to guess at ‘tone of voice’ on a blog comment, I’m sure you didn’t mean any disrespect and it’s very nice of you to respond so quickly.
As for your shoulders, yes you’re a big guy for sure with a 53 inch measurement. My guess is that measurement will come much closer to the “ideal” shoulder size we estimate as you lose more fat.
If you’re naturally and endomorph so to speak then perhaps you may be slightly larger in both waist and shoulder than our calculations suggest, but my guess is you will still be very close (within an inch or so) in which case you’ll for sure have the full “effect”
Keep in mind that our calculations and estimates are for most average people. You seem to have the advantage of bigger muscles to begin with so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Just be diligent with your cut down, take your measurements and let us know what your measurements are when you’ve got the definition that you like in your abs. My guess is you’ll be very close to the numbers we’re predicting, but I’m very curious to see where you end up.
JB
JB,
Thank you for the advice and for the swift response. I will for sure post pictures in my account (tenore1921) when all is said and done, after all I have to do my part to advertise for this program since it works so well.
Andrew
Hi JB, Andrew,
I’m in the UK so missed your replies as I was building snowmen with my boy
JB thanks for the clarity and the reply was exactly what I was after.
Andrew no need to apologise as I took no offense from your reply, as JB said it’s very difficult to judge someones tone in a txt reply this is why so many people fall out in forums
Best of luck with your goals Andrew I hope those abs show their face soon.
Regards
Kevin
Hi John,
This information is so freeing!
Let me explain….I recently joined a Crossfit gym and all of the trainers are pushing the Paleo diet. They fear insulin is the main reason behind fat gain. I have had my fair share of diets and know like you that calories are king. It’s just so hard when I see many other members soo frustrated that they aren’t seeing results when they are eating Paleo. I asked the one girl why she likes the idea of the diet and she said, “because I don’t have to count,weigh or measure anything.” Needless to say she is still over eating! Sorry for the rant,it’s just nice to see a little back up on this site..THANK YOU!
An endless number of people who were having obesity problems have benefited after they have started consuming foods that are on the low glycemic index food list. All the foods that release sugar in a slow and gradual manner into our bloodstream are given different index values in the low glycemic food group. But any food item that releases sugar quickly into the bloodstream will have a high glycemic index value.
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