Matt Metzgar

Charismatic Leaders

For some time, I have had a theory about why certain "motivational gurus" are successful.  The person that first comes to mind is Tony Robbins, of late-night infomercial fame.  This guy has made millions selling his products, yet it's unclear exactly what he's selling (and why he's successful).

This research paper answers my question.  The paper shows that leaders who are masters of positive emotional expression have the most impact on their followers.  When a leader expresses positive emotion, a process of "mood contagion" takes place that lifts followers' spirits.

All this makes sense to me and gets to the core of what Tony Robbins and others are selling: a psychological pump-up.  Robbins' advice is mostly common sense, dealing with focusing on your goals, modeling successful people, etc.  I fail to see how this advice alone has led him to riches.  It is more likely that his expressive style of communication lifts the moods of those listening to him, and this does indeed have value.

After all, we're all chasing positive moods, or what psychology calls "positive affect."  This explains why the average person would much rather listen to Bill Clinton give a speech than George W. Bush, even if the words were exactly the same.  One can arouse emotion fairly well and the other cannot.

Maybe Tony Robbins should run for office....

Care for the Human Animal

People often don't think about self-care in the same way as they do in caring for their pets.  For example, if a person wants their pet to have a shiny coat, proper nutrition is often recommended as the solution.  For example, this pet food manufacturer states that "nutrition is the key" for a shiny coat in dogs and cats.

But what if a person wants a "shiny coat" (skin and hair)?  For this, department stores have aisles and aisles with topical remedies.  Splash on some oil or antioxidants or what not to cure the problem.  Yet this thinking is outside-in, while the correct thinking should be inside-out.  Treating a symptom will not cure the problem; the root cause needs to be addressed.

Healthy-appearing hair and skin starts on the inside, and is largely dictated by nutrition.  If you have dry skin, dry hair, dry eyes, etc., then you are most likely not getting enough fat (that is, good fat) in your diet.  Science has proven some of this and will eventually prove the rest. 

If you want a "shiny coat", make sure to eat a lot of omega-3 and other healthy fats.

The Blood Sugar Hypothesis

I was flipping through the book, "Dr. Perricone's 7 Secrets," at the bookstore the other day.  Perricone's stuff is basically solid, as he acknowledges our hunter-gatherer ancestry.  His books often recommend a lot of supplements and his exercise recommendations are a bit lacking, but there are nuggets of useful information in his books.

There is one point I disagree with him on, and that is the role of blood sugar.  A number of authors say that balancing your blood sugar will solve your weight problems.  This is an oversimplification, as 1) people react to carbohydrates in very different ways, and 2) it doesn't mention the importance of exercise in controlling body composition.

The blood sugar hypothesis says that as you balance your blood sugar and insulin, you will lose fat.  If this were true, then I should be shredded beyond belief because I have low blood glucose and my fasting insulin level is less than 5.  The blood sugar hypothesis also can't explain why there are people who are obese, yet have low insulin levels. 

What's most likely happening is that blood sugar levels are the primary regulator of weight for a subset of the population.  There is probably a sizeable group out there who, once they balance their blood sugar, will lose weight.  The rest of the population is less affected by this mechanism.

Diet and Aging

Here is a paper worth reading, "Diet, Evolution, and Aging."  The paper deals with acid-alkaline balance in the human body and its effects on health.

Hunter-gatherers ate a great amount of plant food, which pushed the body's acid-alkaline balance towards an alkaline state.  Modern eating, with more emphasis on cereal grains and meat, may push individuals into "chronic acidosis."  The authors go on to speculate that this state of chronic acidosis may lead to a variety of health problems including kidney problems, loss of bone density, and lowered growth hormone production.

Abbreviated Routines

A few years back, Clarence Bass published a book entitled, "Challenge Yourself", which focused on abbreviated training for health and fitness.  Clarence utilized a routine which consisted of once-weekly resistance training and once-weekly aerobic training (along with walking) to get into peak shape.  Clarence's book was the original inspiration for a routine I often use.

Now scientists have tested the routine and found that it does indeed work.  This study compared subjects performing twice-weekly strength training, twice-weekly endurance training, or once-weekly strength and endurance training.

The endurance-only group exhibited no real changes.  The strength-only and strength-endurance groups both built lean mass and lost fat. 

One item of note is that there were not dramatic changes due to the routines.  The strength and strength-endurance groups gained a couple of pounds of muscle and lost 3-4 pounds of fat over the 16 week study.  This does show that these abbreviated routine are successful in altering body composition. 

For someone in a time crunch, abbreviated routines are a great way to hold onto gains and make gradual progress.  However, for someone who is markedly overweight, it would take a number of months to lose a lot of weight.  If larger or faster weight loss is desired, exercise volume must be increased.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!

Babe Ruth

I'm currently reading a very good about about Babe Ruth, "The Big Bam."  One thing from the book that's applicable to the blog is Babe Ruth's diet and exercise (or lack thereof).

Before 1926, Ruth had no constraints on his eating whatsoever.  He devoured hot dogs, tons of fatty meat, soda, and of course, copious amounts of alcohol.  Naturally, this took a toll on his health over time and in 1925 his body began to break down.  He went to see a trainer in New York who put him on an almost-Paleo diet (though of course, no one knew about the Paleo diet back then).  Ruth's diet consisted of eggs and one piece of toast for breakfast, salad for lunch, and chicken and vegetables for dinner.  His only drink was to be water.  The trainer also had Ruth perform a variety of exercise each day.

When Ruth started this regimen and stuck to it, he lost weight and his health steadily improved.  And what worked then still works now: a mostly Paleo diet plus daily exercise puts a person on the path to optimal health.

Rainy Days

As I mentioned in a previous post, when it rained hunter-gatherers stayed close to the base and were not as active as they were on sunny days.  I wonder if that over time, a physiological response to rain was built into the human body (and mind).  What this means is that the appearance of rain would put an "automatic" damper on one's mood and physical energy levels.

It would be easy for this to have evolved over time.  After all, if there's no game to be found when it's raining, the smart hunter-gatherers stayed in. 

So maybe rainy days leave people feeling blue for different reasons than they think.  Maybe it's not because your shoes will get wet and your hair will get messed up, but it's because your physiology is telling you that prospects aren't good today, and you shouldn't get your hopes too high.

Always Tired? Get Moving!

Here's a neat report that looks at the relationship between fatigue and exercise.  The study shows what some would consider to be a counter-intuitive result: regular exercise can reduce fatigue.

Regular exercise (energy expenditure) causes the body to adapt and produce more energy in the long run.  Researchers found this to be true as regular exercise helped reduce fatigue in people across the board, from the healthy to those with chronic diseases.  As I've blogged about before, movement keeps you alive - and it's never too late to start moving. 

Walking and Sleeping

Another benefit of frequent walking that I've found is better sleep.  I see all these ads for insomnia prescription drugs on tv, and I can't help but wonder if exercise would solve this problem for many people.  It seems the body needs a minimum amount of activity, say 30 minutes each day, to set up proper sleep.

Hunter-gatherers exercised every day.  We should to if we want our bodies to function optimally.