Revisit & Refresh for Dietary Sugar Changes

Many of you Metabolic Warriors stepped up to the plate to accept the Sugar Impact Challenge as outlined by JJ Virgin. We have been getting positive reports from those who started the program early. Congratulations to those who started and are completing, or have completed the program! The walk-away we are hearing is that it has caused you to make permanent changes in the way you eat, you feel better, and you feel more educated about what you put into your body. The rest of us start February 1st! The following article is a complete reprint from Nutritionist Johnny Bowden. We love this Nutritionist's candid and straight forward 'tell it how it is' approach. For many years he has been an advocate and spokesman for cutting through the quagmire of information and getting right to the truth. So here it is....

The Top Ten Ways to Cut Back on Sugar

Tattoo this under your eyelids: Sugar turns to fat.

Not only that, research in the past decade has implicated sugar in cancer, gout, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

Sugar is inflammatory, and inflammation is now believed (correctly) to be at the heart of every degenerative disease we know of.

And it’s no longer even possible to defend the idea that sugar isn’t a drug. It is—and an addictive one at that. (Maybe you’ve noticed.) A number of peer-reviewed studies have demonstrated the addictive nature of sugar—in one study, it was shown to be eight times more addictive than cocaine.

What to do, what to do?

Here’s a list of ten things you can do right now to cut back on sugar. It’s not a complete list, but it’s a good start. (If you’ve got your own favorite ways to cut back or eliminate, please share them with me!)

1. Don’t add it to foods. This is the easiest and most basic way to immediately reduce the amount of sugar you’re eating. Biggest targets: cereal, coffee, and tea
2. Don’t be fooled by “healthy sugar” disguises. Brown sugar, turbinado sugar, raw sugar, agave nectar, brown rice syrup—it’s all the same thing as far as your body is concerned. Don’t kid yourself.
3. Reduce or eliminate processed carbohydrates. Most processed carbs—breads, bagels, pastas, snacks, crackers, cereals—are loaded with flour and other ingredients that convert to sugar in the body in a New York minute. That sugar gets stored as triglycerides, a fancy way of saying “fat”.
4. Watch out for “fat-free” snacks. The whole “fat-free” concept is just stupid beyond words, but one of the many reasons it’s been so destructive to our health is that most fat-free snacks are loaded with sugar. Read the label. You’ll be disgusted.
5. Shop for color. The more your grocery basket looks like a cornucopia of color, the better. It usually means you’re getting more fresh vegetables and low-glycemic fruits such as berries, cherries and apples.
6. Become a food detective. My friend, nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman, says that “to reduce sugar, you have to know where it is”. She’s right. Start reading labels!
7. Beware of artificial sweeteners. Unfortunately, artificial sweeteners can increase cravings for sugar and carbohydrates. They can also deplete the body’s stores of chromium, a nutrient crucial for blood-sugar metabolism.
8. Do the math. Look at the label where it says “total sugars” and divide the by four, since there are four grams of sugar per teaspoon. The number you wind up with is the number of teaspoons of sugar you’re ingesting, and that’s just “per serving”! Want a laugh? Read the “serving size”—most “servings” have nothing to do with what normal people eat. This exercise alone should scare the pants off you.
9. Limit fruit and add more vegetables. (Notice I didn’t say ‘eliminate’ fruit, though those with the most amount of weight to lose might want to do just that—at least for a while.) Fruit has fiber and nutrients, but it’s also loaded with fructose. Don’t overdo it. For weight loss purposes, I’d keep fruit to two portions a day max, and make those low-glycemic (apples, cherries, berries, grapefruit).
10. Dump the fruit juice. Whoever sold parents on the idea that apple juice is a healthy drink for kids should be sentenced to a lifetime of community service, preferably hauling vending machines out of our schools. Pure juice is a pure sugar hit, and there’s no place for it in the diet of your kids. There are benefits to unsweetened juices like pomegranate and cranberry, but dilute them with water and use intelligently.

It may not be possible for you to completely eliminate sugar from your diet—and you may not even want to. But to the extent that you can, you’ll be doing yourself—and your health—a great service.

Author: Jonny Bowden

Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, (aka "The Nutrition Myth Buster") is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health. He is a board-certified nutritionist with a master’s degree in psychology and the author of fourteen books on health, healing, food and longevity including three best-sellers, “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth”, “Living Low Carb”, and "The Great Cholesterol Myth".

Find Your Reason...

I just finished reading an article in Runner's World titled "My Sister, the Runner?".  As the title implies, her older brother is somewhat puzzled when his sister announced that she was going to enter a running race.  He responded to her by saying, "I thought you hated organized events.  I thought you hated organized anything.  And I thought you had insisted , for many years, that yoga and African dance gave you all the exercise you needed.  Why run now?"

Her reply:

To overcome fear of hard things.
To beat my inner "I am a loser" demons.
To feel powerful in a new way as my beauty fades.
To prove to my ex-husband that I am not a fat, lazy slob.
To connect to my obsessive, power-hungry son.
To give the big F you to all the Durango crazed athletes... I would do it without spending five godzillion dollars on running s--t.
To connect with something bigger than myself.
To conquer middle-aged oblivion.
To set a good example for my 12-year-old daughter.

Wow! Some of those reasons lead me to believe she is a rather unsettled person, but they are bold and strong and make some of my reasons for running seem kind of mundane or weak. But they have kept me running for 25 years.  And that is the key, your reasons have to be yours.  And those reasons will change throughout the years.  I started running to lose weight.  I have run to cope with difficult times as when my mother twice battled cancer.  I ran to get in shape to get a job as a firefighter.  I have run to set personal bests and win races.  I keep running because heart disease runs in my family.  I run because my butt starts to get even bigger if I don't run.  I run with my best friend for fun and stress relief.  Life changes, and our reasons for staying committed to our fitness routine change with it.

So why do you keep fitness a priority in your life?  We have heard many different answers from our Warriors, including, "My kids aren't going to slow down for me so I have to keep up".  "My blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels are the best they have ever been and I want to keep them there".  "I have a stressful job and this is my outlet".

As January 1st and all those well intentioned  New Years Resolutions start to fade into the past, there has to be some lasting, intrinsic, reason to maintain your fitness program.  It has to be strong enough for you to believe the benefits and results are worth the daily effort and lifestyle changes.  As long as your reasons keep you motivated it doesn't matter if they may seem silly, insignificant, strange, or even outright vain to others, as long as they keep you moving!

Bad Weight Loss Advice Video

Metabolic Warriors,

In the last year I have said....I am done with nutrition advice. Now I will eat some of my words. The first step is admitting...I love food but not in the way you might think. I am an ordinary home cook with a love of experimenting in the kitchen, learning new techniques and trying a variety of foods. A garden is a beautiful sight that makes my palms sweaty with eager anticipation of what can be...and what it can be is a blend of subtle flavors leaving lingering finishes or bold flavor explosions that delight your palate. The beautiful aromas that can come from the kitchen really speak to the heart of the home (a few failures and burnt ones too). Food is good!

The frustration is that food seems to be public enemy No. 1 and yet it isn't. It is our mindset. It is our choices and the consequences of such that we want a quick fix too and guess what there isn't one! In the three years we have been in business we have had a fair number of people that have tried Metabolic Training and within 6 months have disappeared without explanation. We have also had a larger number that have stayed true to the program 1-3 years! Some of those that left were looking for the quick answer to losing the extra weight they have accrued over the years. They came and worked out and worked hard but they went home and ate and drank like they always had. Their bodies changed a little but they quit the training because they didn't get the results they wanted. Remember, you cannot out exercise a bad diet! What has to shift is your mindset. You have to shift out of bad habits into good ones.

If you are trying to lose weight or know someone that is then you will appreciate the candor of the video below. It will help you get the right mental outlook in your approach to weight loss through food. We will help you with the fitness part;) -Enjoy!



Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS, (aka "The Nutrition Myth Buster") is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health. He is a board-certified nutritionist with a master’s degree in psychology and the author of fourteen books on health, healing, food and longevity including three best-sellers, “The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth”, “Living Low Carb”, and "The Great Cholesterol Myth".

Oh YEAH! How much can YOU bench press?

Ever wonder why the person next to you in training seems to develop strength faster than you, or seems to magically develop those coveted shoulders or abs, when you are doing the exact same exercises and following the same training program?  While it is only natural to compare yourself to others, it is important to remember that there are many factors that affect your ability to achieve strength and muscle definition, and we have little or no control over most of them.

Since you know us well and have probably already identified differences in our fitness abilities and body types, I am going to use Katie and myself as examples to illustrate the factors that influence our ability to develop strength.  Katie is always whining like a little sister that I can do everything better than her.  NOT TRUE!  I am going to pick on Katie for her "whining" but I am going to give her kudos as well for where she excels, but of course she won't remember that.  :-)

One of the most influential factors is muscle fiber type.  We have two basic types of muscle fibers, slow twitch and fast twitch.  Everyone has a combination of both but one type is more prevalent for each of us.  Slow twitch muscle fibers are best suited for endurance activities that require small levels of force for long periods of time.  I have more slow twitch fibers and can seemingly run forever, or do endless reps with a moderate amount of weight.  So when Katie complains that she will never be able to run as fast as me she is half right.  She will never be able to run as fast as me over long distances. Fast twitch fibers, on the other hand, are best suited for anaerobic activities such as sprinting, jumping, or lifting large amounts of weight for one, or very few, repetitions.  Katie has more fast twitch fibers and can out sprint me any day.  She can also lift more weight for a one repetition max lift.  There, kudos for Katie :-)  The important difference to recognize here is that even though both fiber types respond positively to strength training, the fast twitch types will experience greater increases in muscle size and strength and will likely obtain greater and faster results from a strength training program.  Translation: I will always have "stick" arms no matter how much strength training I do.

A second factor over which we have no control is age.  Studies show that people of all ages, even into their nineties can increase muscle size and strength when they take up a strength training program, but as we age those improvements simply don't come as quickly.  Another point in Katie's column.  Yep, she's way younger than me.

Okay, finally a factor where we are equal, but instead of each of us being able to tally a point, we each lose a point on this factor.  Gender does not affect the quality of our muscle, but it does influence the quantity.   Men generally have more muscle tissue than women because muscle size is increased by the presence of the male sex hormone, testosterone.  The reason that most men are stronger than women comes down to the simple fact that the larger the muscles, the stronger the person.  HOWEVER, for any woman who still thinks that by lifting heavy weights, she will look like Arnold, it is not possible for the same reason.  It takes testosterone to build bulky muscles.

Another strength factor that we have no control over is limb length.  There are always exceptions to the rule, but in general, persons with short limbs tend to be able to lift more weight because of advantageous leverage factors.  Katie scores another point.  Actually, I wouldn't say that Katie has short arms and legs compared to the average woman but she is two inches shorter than me and her arms and legs are a bit shorter.  This is an advantage in an exercise such as the chest press, and she can definitely bench press more than I can.  For the physics explanation, work equals force multiplied by distance.  Therefore, if two lifters have different arm lengths, even if they are both lifting (or pushing in a bench press) the same amount of weight, the one with longer arms will have to move the bar further, thus increasing the distance and the amount of work needed to complete the lift.  Now before Katie squeals, or any of you Warriors who have shorter arms or legs, think I am saying you are not working as hard as everyone else, don't go there!  I see your effort and intensity.  What is fun and interesting to watch is each individual's mechanics, and the power and fluidity in some of you with shorter limbs.

Muscle strength is also influenced by the point of tendon insertion.  For example, let's say Katie and I do both have the same arm and muscle length, but Katie's biceps tendon attaches to her forearm farther down from her elbow than mine does.  This would give Katie a biomechanical advantage and she would be able to lift more weight than me in biceps curls.  Which she can.  But is it because of the tendon insertion point?  I don't know the answer to this one.  We talk about a lot of things but we don't sit around saying, "Well, where does YOUR biceps tendon attach to YOUR forearm?".

The above are all Olympic athletes.  Notice the wide range of body types.  Obviously, to compete at such a high level, each of the above individuals must have a high level of fitness/strength in their sport.  In spite of that, not a single athlete in that picture could transform him or herself to match the body of any other pictured athlete.  The point is that we are all unique individuals and there isn't much benefit to comparing your physique or strength to that of your best friend or the person working out next to you. Compare you to you and ask yourself if you are progressing. Genetics plays a very important role in our appearance but genetics does not determine how often or how well we train. You can influence many factors such as ensuring that you are following a varied and progressive program, training with intensity and then allowing recovery, and staying consistent with your training. In fact, the most limiting factor in a person's ability to gain strength and muscle definition is not a problem for you Warriors. It is the inability to get their rear end off the couch and work out! As those of you who have been strength training for months or years know, with consistency and a sound program you will increase your strength, you will notice muscle definition, and you will see positive body composition changes.