Fit-Bullets Friday: November 4th, 2022
Fit-Bullets: Carbs and Obesity, Overnight Weight Gain, "Experts", and Good Food vs Bad Food
Happy Fit-Bullets Friday!
Here are 4 things I wanted to share with you this week...
—
Click here and sign up to get the next edition of Fit-Bullets Friday in your email next Friday.
—
Carbs and obesity
I opened up Instagram the other day and the first thing I saw was this video from the psychologist Jordan Peterson, in which he essentially blames the obesity epidemic on carbohydrates.
Here's the thing...
Obesity is an incredibly complex issue.
And, like any complex issue, there's no single cause.
Nor is there any single solution.
Yes, consuming too many calories in the form of carbs will lead to weight gain.
However...
The same thing can be said about fat.
And protein (although that would be extremely challenging).
But as long as you're in a calorie deficit, you can consume carbs and you will lose fat.
Sure, over-consuming "less nutritious" carbs in the form of things like donuts and pizza (both of which also contain fat, by the way) isn't a good idea. It ain't good for your health, and those foods are so calorie-dense that eating too many of them is going to take you over your calories real quick if you aren't paying attention.
Look: I don't have a dog in this fight.
I'm not on team low-carb.
I'm not on team low-fat.
I'm on team "whatever is sustainable for you as an individual".
The data is clear: when calories and protein are controlled, low-carb diets simply don't lead to more fat loss than low-fat diets.
And most of my clients seem to naturally gravitate to an approximate balance of protein, carbs, and fat.
Now, I acknowledge that certain health conditions require either a lower carb or a lower fat approach to nutrition. And some people might simply feel "better" following either a lower carb or a lower fat diet.
But this isn't what we're talking about.
We're talking about weight loss and weight gain, and what the science actually shows.
This video sums up nicely why carbs don't actually cause weight gain.
—
Overnight Weight Gain
If you've been following my Instagram Story you'll have seen me document my weight loss and watched my weight fluctuate day-to-day.
I made this video to explain those fluctuations.
Enjoy :)
—
Be wary of who you get you fitness and nutrition advice from
In the the first section of this email I referred to a video from the psychologist Jordan Peterson.
Not "the nutrition scientist" Jordan Peterson.
Or "the weight loss coach" Jordan Peterson.
The psychologist Jordan Peterson.
He's also famous.
He's intelligent - he was, after all, a professor at Harvard. I'm fully aware he's a controversial figure, but whether you love him or hate him, we should all be able to agree that he's no dummy.
And he's a charismatic speaker - he has, after all, built a huge online following and his videos have racked up millions and millions of views.
Here's the problem...
A famous, intelligent, charismatic person can say just about anything, even when discussing subjects outside their field of expertise, and people are going to unquestioningly believe them.
So we need to be careful not to blindly believe anyone without looking at what the data actually show us. And of course, this doesn't just apply to fitness and nutrition.
Yes, Dr Peterson lost a lot of weight following a meat-only diet (which he originally started to follow as a way of dealing with some health issues).
But that doesn't make him a nutrition expert. Just because it worked for him doesn't mean it will work for everyone else. My clients lose weight, and keep it off, while eating carbs. I don't make them eat carbs - it's just that most people enjoy eating them.
If you want to identify the people whom you should listen to for weight loss advice - the kind of advice that will lead to losing weight while being able to live your life, and keeping the weight off long-term - there are basically two criteria to look for:
1. They usually respond with "it depends" to yes/no questions.
2. They understand there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to fitness and nutrition.
Here are a few excellent evidence-based fitness and nutrition coaches to follow on IG:
- Layne Norton
- Sohee Lee
- Jordan Syatt
- Graeme Tomlinson
—
Good food vs bad food
This is your regular reminder that the language you use around food is important.
If you tell yourself that some food is "bad", you're going to feel bad while you eat it.
Or, at the very least, you'll feel guilty after eating it.
And eating good food doesn't make you better than anyone else. Eating a salad doesn't make you king of the f*cking castle.
Sure, a salad is a healthy option, and you should feel good about doing your body a service every time you make that choice, but it doesn't make you superior.
Here's how I like to think about food: some food is more nutritious, and some is less nutritious.
Yes, it's important to enjoy food. And it's possible to enjoy food throughout the spectrum of more nutritious to less nutritious.
I can enjoy the salad I had for lunch.
I can also enjoy the Wendy's I had for dinner last night.
I eat more of the former kind of food because I want to be healthy.
And I eat some of the latter kind of food because I enjoy it and I want to live my life while achieving my fitness goals.
If you can remove the phrases "good food" and "bad food" from your vocabulary - and while you're at it, throw out "cheat meal" and "treats" too - it really does make a difference to how you look at food.
And if you can follow the 80/20 guideline of getting 80% of your calories from nutritious food and 20% of your calories from less nutritious food, it's going to make you feel good about your choices and remove the guilt when you eat something "less nutritious".
Removing the morality of "good vs bad" and making less nutritious food part of the plan really can make this weight loss thing feel so much easier.
—
See you next time,
Daniel