Being that I'm borderline obsessed with Dr. Mike Eades' blog, I can't help but to troll around his blog archives and related links as I anxiously await the next post. While paroozing his site one day, I found a book he co-authored with Fredrick Hahn titled The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution: The Slow Motion Exercise That Will Change Your Body in 30 Minutes a Week. I got the book at the library the following weekend and began it immediately.
After 6 months of doing low-carb, I knew I needed to implement an exercise routine somehow in my life if I really wanted to change the shape of my body. With a new baby, it was difficult to find the time and ambition to do so. Had I thought of the idea myself, doing 30 minutes of exercise a week, I would have thought it was a waste of time. The mantra: "at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week ," echoed in my brain. The idea intrigued me and I was going to give it a shot. At the very least, it was a good step in the right direction.
The premise of the book focuses on 30 minutes of weight training with heavy weights. Cardio is not really part of the plan. Which is fine with me. I'd much prefer weight training than an embarrassingly exhausting cardio kickboxing class. In essence, you are advised to lift a weight that you think might be too heavy and do that for as many reps as you can. The trick is you have to perform this exercise very SLOOOOWLY. Five seconds up, hold one, two, and five seconds down. If you are doing it right, you should only be able to do 3-5 reps until your muscles reach failure, at which point you can't lift anymore. This is part of the reason why this exercise session should only take 30 minutes. You just aren't going to do a whole lot of lifting. It's the quality not the quantity of the exercise that makes this work.
I do not believe that paleo man engaged in daily "moderate-intensity" activities. Early man did not jog for 30 minutes every day. Our bodies have not adapted to that sort of strain and shock to our joints. Our bodies were designed for moderate walking (migrating and hunting/gathering) and short intense bursts of running to catch prey or flee a predator. This is why you see so many joggers and avid exercise enthusiasts with tennis elbow, bad knees, and torn ligaments. These overuse injuries make traditional exercises dangerous if performed every day like elite athletes (you here about athlete injuries all the time).
This book takes the idea of a "less is more" approach. Intense weight training should not be performed every day and this book limits it to once a week (possibly twice a week, at the most). Thus, reducing the chance of injury by allowing the body to fully recuperate from your workout. I can hear you now, "Paleo man didn't lift weights." Your right, he didn't, other than the pushing the occasional boulder off of a cliff (okay, maybe that was just from the Bugs Bunny cartoons but you get my drift). Biologically, weight training is very similar to short intense sprints, they are both anaerobic exercises. Anaerobic activities are extremely effective and provide benefits that cardio can't.
Aerobic cardio exercise is hailed for its ability to strengthen the heart and improve circulation, but look, anaerobic sprints are now being recognized for their heart-health promoting properties as well. So now, what can cardio give you that anaerobic can't?
Here are my results: I've been following this program since the end of January in addition to the continued low-carb lifestyle. I have lost almost 15 lbs (of pure fat since low-carb diet is muscle sparing plus I've gained muscle mass so I definitely lost more than just 15 lbs of flab) and have gone down 4% in body fat. My measurements (the true test) are as follows:
Waist: 2 inches gone
Bust: 1.5 inches gone (oh well)
Hips: 3 inches gone!!!
Arms: 0.5 inches gone
Calf: 0.5 inches gone
That's a total of 7.5 inches lost in 5 1/2 months! No bad.
I am starting to see some muscle definition as the weight comes off. I have developed just as much muscle tone and strength as I've had when I've gone to the gym several times per week. This routine is just as effective. I'm loving the fact that I can put such minimal time in and reap great rewards. I'm less inclined to skip a session, although I can't say I haven't, I'm just less likely to do it now. Since it's only 30 minutes per week, I feel guilty if I don't go. I have to admit that some days I put in an extra 15 minutes that I reserve for some sprints on the elliptical machine as well as some kicks on the punching bag. Since I don't go every day, I actually look forward to my gym time so I will occasionally stay a bit longer than 30 minutes.
I'm thrilled. This routine is fast and it works. But don't be fooled, the work is hard. You will not be chatting it up on your iPhone while you casually use the leg press. You should be breathing hard, sweating, and tired when you are through.
This plan is really a great option for those who hate to exercise, don't have time or are just plan too lazy to make it to the gym. This is a no-brainer. This program is not for gym rats. It's best for those who are looking for a way to implement exercise but have a laundry list of excuses why they won't.
Showing posts with label dr. eades. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dr. eades. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Roughing It
Warning: This post contains graphic detail about bowel movements. Read at your own risk.
Let's talk about poop. I'm fairly regular in this department. However, some days I don't poop at all, some days I poop more than once. Generally, as a rule, I poop once a day around 10am, 5 days a week. For the majority, my poops are what you'd expect to see from a carnivorous animal: dark, well-formed, thick, with some nooks and crannies. They slide out with ease and leave me feeling satisfied when I'm through. On days when I overindulge, feel sick, drink too much coffee, or am a bit nervous, the consistency and frequency change for the worse. They can be runny, cloud the toilet water, sometimes burn and usually require multiple wipes.
I have found that when I eat well (on a low-carb, whole foods diet), I feel well and that's reflected in my bowel movements. Interestingly, my poops have improve in texture, ease of elimination, and frequency as I have cut out grains, even the whole, fiber-intact, grains like 100% whole wheat bread. I am actually consuming LESS fiber now than I was while eating a "healthy" diet according to the food pyramid with lots of whole, minimally processed grains. I was a big proponent of high-fiber. I would seek out high fiber cereals, breads, and crackers. Now, my fiber comes from mainly fruits and veggies and some coconut flour when I'm in the mood to bake.
Back in college, I had a nutrition professor who posed the question to us students: "How much fiber would you really consume if you did not rely on high fiber, man-made products like cereals, breads and crackers?" The answer was surprisingly simple: not much. Looking back on it now, I think he was casually questioning the Recommended Daily Allowance, set forth by the USDA, for fiber which is between 25-35 grams per day. Unless you eat a lot of food, it is quite difficult to reach these numbers unless you eat a man-made, fiber-added, processed "health" food. If you do manage to eat all your fiber from whole, natural foods, you would probably exceed the recommended caloric intake of 2,000 calories a day. This makes following the food pyramid guidelines a bit of a headache.
Dr. Eades, author of Protein Power, posted on the mechanism of which fiber acts upon the intestines (click here to read it). Essentially, the high-fiber foods scrape against the intestinal walls thus inflaming the cells which then excrete mucous to lubricate and protect from further damage. This lubrication is what makes us go. Indeed it does. Unfortunately, I am not clear what kind of "high-fiber" foods were tested (soluble, insoluble, whole grain, fruit or veggies?). It is my experience that whole grain roughage is more irritating than fruits and veggies. When I was eating primarily fibrous man-made grains, I could go multiple times a day. My frequency wasn't so much an issue as was the consistency. Sometimes they were explosive and I barely had enough time to make it to the toilet. Sometimes I had to strain merely to produce a long skinny, Play-doh like substance.
Dr. Oz insists one's poop should make a "S" or "C" shape in the toilet bowl. Frankly, I don't remember my poops EVER making either of these shapes. Maybe once in a blue moon, like a day or so after Thanksgiving dinner. You really gotta have A LOT of poo to get a shape like that. I think only 300 lb. men can produce poos like that on a daily basis.
Everyone is so obsessed with the frequency at which one poos, but what I think is more important is the consistency. Poos made from fruits and vegetables are much more pleasant (if you can ever call poop "pleasant") than the Fiber One cereal poos. And your body will still eliminate via the #2 even if you don't eat fruits and veggies. Unless you have a tendency towards constipation, a diet with little to no fiber in it will still produce bowel movements if you are eating a healthy, whole food diet. During my meat & egg week, I still had regular poops. Albeit, they were a bit less voluminous and a tad on the slick side but still good enough to leave me satisfied.
Let's talk about poop. I'm fairly regular in this department. However, some days I don't poop at all, some days I poop more than once. Generally, as a rule, I poop once a day around 10am, 5 days a week. For the majority, my poops are what you'd expect to see from a carnivorous animal: dark, well-formed, thick, with some nooks and crannies. They slide out with ease and leave me feeling satisfied when I'm through. On days when I overindulge, feel sick, drink too much coffee, or am a bit nervous, the consistency and frequency change for the worse. They can be runny, cloud the toilet water, sometimes burn and usually require multiple wipes.
I have found that when I eat well (on a low-carb, whole foods diet), I feel well and that's reflected in my bowel movements. Interestingly, my poops have improve in texture, ease of elimination, and frequency as I have cut out grains, even the whole, fiber-intact, grains like 100% whole wheat bread. I am actually consuming LESS fiber now than I was while eating a "healthy" diet according to the food pyramid with lots of whole, minimally processed grains. I was a big proponent of high-fiber. I would seek out high fiber cereals, breads, and crackers. Now, my fiber comes from mainly fruits and veggies and some coconut flour when I'm in the mood to bake.
Back in college, I had a nutrition professor who posed the question to us students: "How much fiber would you really consume if you did not rely on high fiber, man-made products like cereals, breads and crackers?" The answer was surprisingly simple: not much. Looking back on it now, I think he was casually questioning the Recommended Daily Allowance, set forth by the USDA, for fiber which is between 25-35 grams per day. Unless you eat a lot of food, it is quite difficult to reach these numbers unless you eat a man-made, fiber-added, processed "health" food. If you do manage to eat all your fiber from whole, natural foods, you would probably exceed the recommended caloric intake of 2,000 calories a day. This makes following the food pyramid guidelines a bit of a headache.
Dr. Eades, author of Protein Power, posted on the mechanism of which fiber acts upon the intestines (click here to read it). Essentially, the high-fiber foods scrape against the intestinal walls thus inflaming the cells which then excrete mucous to lubricate and protect from further damage. This lubrication is what makes us go. Indeed it does. Unfortunately, I am not clear what kind of "high-fiber" foods were tested (soluble, insoluble, whole grain, fruit or veggies?). It is my experience that whole grain roughage is more irritating than fruits and veggies. When I was eating primarily fibrous man-made grains, I could go multiple times a day. My frequency wasn't so much an issue as was the consistency. Sometimes they were explosive and I barely had enough time to make it to the toilet. Sometimes I had to strain merely to produce a long skinny, Play-doh like substance.
Dr. Oz insists one's poop should make a "S" or "C" shape in the toilet bowl. Frankly, I don't remember my poops EVER making either of these shapes. Maybe once in a blue moon, like a day or so after Thanksgiving dinner. You really gotta have A LOT of poo to get a shape like that. I think only 300 lb. men can produce poos like that on a daily basis.
Everyone is so obsessed with the frequency at which one poos, but what I think is more important is the consistency. Poos made from fruits and vegetables are much more pleasant (if you can ever call poop "pleasant") than the Fiber One cereal poos. And your body will still eliminate via the #2 even if you don't eat fruits and veggies. Unless you have a tendency towards constipation, a diet with little to no fiber in it will still produce bowel movements if you are eating a healthy, whole food diet. During my meat & egg week, I still had regular poops. Albeit, they were a bit less voluminous and a tad on the slick side but still good enough to leave me satisfied.
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