Your Doctor is an Idiot. Especially if he’s one of these guys. Or Dr. Oz.

OK, that wasn’t nice.  Or even accurate.  But it drives me nuts when people say “My doctor said _______” regarding diet and weight loss advice.  Fun fact:  Some medical schools provide as little as 2 hours of nutrition training to students, the average being less than 24 hours. (National Institute of Health paper here)  Well, at least they do teach med students to frequently repeat the phrase “make healthy diet choices and get some exercise.”  It’d just be nice if they also taught them to admit that they don’t know exactly what that means.

These Doctors admit they don’t really know anything about nutrition.

Case in point – These two doctors (identical twins) had a little contest to compare two extreme diets and see which was better.  What did they learn?  That neither extremely low fat or extremely low carb are sustainable.  What did I learn?  That neither twin can read, because there is ample data already available telling us that eliminating any of the 3 essential macronutrients is a bad idea. But the guy that cut out carbohydrates lost 9 pounds in a month?  Sweet!  Breaking news (if 40 year old data is breaking news) – Yes, ketosis works, but what these guys apparently still don’t know is that most of his initial weight loss was water that will come back as soon as he eats a granola and a bagel for breakfast.  You see, body composition management 101 tells us that every gram of carbohydrate stored in your body holds onto 3 grams of water.  Thus, if the average person depletes their normally stored (ballpark) 500 grams of carbohydrates (which weighs 1.1 pounds), you’ll lose not only that weight but also eliminate the 1500 grams (3.3 pounds) of water that goes with it.  That’s how I can literally pack on 6-8 pounds overnight if I have a carb-fest, and lose it over a few days with some hard work and discipline.  The point is these guys don’t have the most basic understanding of managing weight/body composition.  Perhaps worse, they don’t seems to be aware of the importance of differentiating between losing weight strictly watching numbers on the scale and losing fat while preserving muscle tissue and a strong skeleton. (let alone how to do that).

Why did I have to pick on Dr. Oz in the title?  Because my impression is that he is more interested in his ratings/popularity than in sharing the most completely accurate information, and too many people believe everything he says.  I recall his reaction/reporting on a one day diet experiment he did.  One frikkin day.  That’s not enough time to gather accurate data and his reported symptoms were unfairly attributed to the diet (which was a stupid way to try the diet anyway). He made all sorts of dramatic claims about the diet’s drawbacks, and I have to wholeheartedly disagree with the dietary advice he did give –  I’ll have to come back to that.  The parts of his TV show that I watched were like a bunch of mini-infomercials, where he ran from table to table showing products and telling us whatever the manufacturer claimed on the label.  That’s not even bad science – that’s just being a sellout.

I do want apologize here for calling names…none of these guys nor your doctor are really idiots.  I completely respect their training and skill in their specialties, I only wanted to illustrate that nutrition is not it.  One of the twins even admits: “He realized that while he and Chris were both doctors, they really didn’t know that much about nutrition and diet.”

So please take away from this is that your doctor is not the best source of diet/nutrition/fitness advice.  Learn from people that manage their bodies for a living or lifestyle.  Better yet, start with their advice but study how everything works for yourself.

I’m Not Special, and Neither Are You.

“You’re results aren’t typical…just because you have one-in a million genetics that allows you to thrive eating fast food doesn’t mean you should recommend others follow!” – Comment from about 100 haters.

I’ll tell you one thing I learned that makes me special…the one secret that makes all my progress possible – I’m NOT special and I know it.

Know what I hate?  That stupid phrase “Everybody is different.”  It’s used so frequently out of context that I want to run head first into a steel door.  It gives people the perfect excuse to avoid committing for the long haul…instead, it makes it easy for them to prematurely conclude that normal calorie cutting/workout program doesn’t work them.   Yes, we’re all different, but we’re all the same.  By that I mean that science applies to all of us the same way.  You can have two “different” cars, but in both cases you can learn exactly how much fuel they use, and then manipulate how long a fillup lasts by driving more or less, more or less aggressively, or by not completely topping off the tank.

My last girlfriend was convinced that she was doomed to sit at 132 pounds no matter how much she worked out or how little she ate..  She was an athletic, muscular girl and just wanted to trim down 4 pounds but thought it was impossible after numerous failed attempts.  A time came when she needed to trim those 4 pounds to make weight for a competition…. we sat down and I went over the science of managing body composition with her.  It was nothing she didn’t know (being a nurse and long-time student of sports and nutrition), but she had convinced herself that she was different and didn’t have faith that it would work for her.   She committed, but was frequently discouraged (daily and even weekly fluctuations) and afraid that it wasn’t working and needed my encouragement to stick with it and trust the science.  What it took was careful management of calories – mostly the reduction of carbohydrate calories, just a little increase in calories burned, and patience.  She made it to competition day and weighed in at 127.5.  Not.  Special.

You know what holds people back?  Excuses.  It’s human nature to find ways to justify our behavior, but that instinct to protect ourselves emotionally deceives us.  “Hey, I’m not such a bad person for being overweight if it’s _______’s fault. right?”  Guys…I don’t care if you lie to me, but don’t lie to yourself.  Sorry, but you don’t have a broken thyroid or other medical condition keeping you out of shape.  Actually, I’m not sorry.  And now that you know the truth, YOU can be in charge of your own destiny.

My special weight loss secret? I know that I’m not special.

So for everyone who says that I have a special gift that makes it all possible – I do but it’s only this:  I know that I’m not special.  My ability to manipulate my weight and body composition are because of how thoroughly I’ve studied the science of it.  I work my ass off and am very careful with what I eat.  I can increase or decrease not my weight and bodyfat percentage at will and so can you.  It’s not magic.  It’s not luck.  It’s science and it works for 100% of the people that commit to it.

Still Kickin’. Hate mail. Post-Ironman Progress. Crossfit.

Sooo, my mini-documentary has made it’s way back around the internet.  (Gizmodo published a blurb and a link to it.) Check it out!http://sploid.gizmodo.com/this-guy-lost-100-pounds-eating-mcdonalds-and-became-a-1497812278 )

I’ve since received a number of emails from fans and haters alike…wondering where I’ve been, why blog content is missing, if I’ve gotten fat again, etc.   Here’s a quick response and update, and a promise to try and be a slightly better blogger in the future.

My progress still on daily fast food. After a year of doing Crossfit to rebuild after I wasted away and got a bit chubbly during Ironman Triathlon Training. Taken 1/13/14

Nope – I’m not dead yet.  Nor am I fat again.  I’ll be honest, my body was pretty wiped out after Ironman Arizona – Strength and Energy levels were that of a mere mortal, and my bodyfat was way higher than I could be happy with.  I was a pretty unhappy with my self-image, and some changes had to happen.  Less endurance sports and more weights.  More careful attention to my diet…still plenty of fast food, just what I need instead of whatever I feel like.  At a friend’s urging, I tried Crossfit.  I was skeptical for a long time… but man, I’ve learned to LOVE me some Crossfit.

Some stats – I’m hovering around 192 pounds.  10 pounds greater than my low, but I’m far stronger and more muscular.  Bodyfat still around 13%.  My focus has been on strength gains.

Anyway, my apologies for the prolonged absence.  Life is still busy…work, working out, single dad stuff (though the kids are getting older), adventuring with my friends, and dating (Yes ladies, he’s single.  Click on the “Contact the author” button to submit your application) doesn’t leave a ton of time for writing.  Sorry, but until I get someone to pay me for it, fitness will always have to come before writing about fitness.  (Contrary to many of the accusations and Hate mail, I have no business relationship with McDonald’s except the drive thru)

Yeah, the site is missing some content.  I started to remodel then got busy.  I do have some new experiences and other things I’d like to get out there though, so look for some new stuff in the near future.