Matt Metzgar

Pine Island, FL

Food Fight

Travel and Diet

I'm on the road today, and unfortunately, I still haven't mastered how to prepare for and eat Paleo when traveling.  Last night's dinner went well: I brought some chicken and carrots to the airport, and had a good meal there.  This morning also went well, where at the hotel, I had a Paleo breakfast of an omelet with onions and peppers, and some fruit.

At lunch, I struck out.  My co-worker and I went to a cheap Mexican restaurant.  There was very little to choose from, so I ended having a few soft tacos.  A half hour later, my energy dropped like a stone, and stayed there.  For me, this was more empirical evidence that refined carbs can really cause metabolic havoc.  After all, food is supposed to make you feel better, not feel worse, right?

Tonight, we're heading to a steakhouse, where I can get some good meat and vegetables, and get back on track again. 

The Carbohydrate Connection

I think Gary Taubes comes so frustratingly close in his conclusions, but just misses the mark.  He believes that carbohydrates are the reason people are overweight, and that restricting carbohydrates may reverse this.

Howver, there are more than a few holes in this argument.  First, in many of the studies he cites in his book, he mentions that carbohydrate-restricted diets don't work for all the participants in the various studies.  If restricting carbs was the cure-all, then this wouldn't be happening.  Second, he seems to gloss over the high dropout rates in carb-restricted studies.  This should be a subject of concern.

Third, if carbs are the problem, then vegetarians (who consume mostly carbs) should be a physical train wreck.  But that isn't the case if you look at the studies, at least not for the vegetarians who consume mostly fruits and vegetables and not lots of other carb foods like bread, pasta, etc.

The latest Paleo diet study shows that a person can consume an unlimited amount of fruits and vegetables and still lose weight, lower insulin levels, improve glucose tolerance, etc.  So it's not that carbohydrates are bad, it's that any refined carbohydrate or further, any non-fruit, vegetable, or nut-carb should be restricted or eliminated.

Overweight and Tired?

I've been rereading Gary Taubes' new book, and there are some really good sections in it.  I think his best thinking might come on the subject of energy intake and energy expenditure.

Normally, if a person is overweight, it is thought that they have become this way because their energy intake has surpassed their energy expenditure.  This is true, but Taubes goes further to ask, why?  And why does this happen in some people and not others, and why does it start happening to cultures at certain time periods.

Taubes' theory is that carbohydrate (or refined carbohydrate) alters the hormonal landscape which in fact leads to less energy expenditure and more energy intake; in other words, a person eats more calories and becomes less active. 

Taking this line of thought further, Taubes thinks that the typical advice for a person trying to lose weight, eat less and exercise more, is fundamentally flawed.  Instead, he thinks that if the dietary component causing all the problems (carbohydrate) is removed, then calories consumed goes down and activity goes up, which will eventually cause the weight to balance out.

To me, this theory makes perfect sense.  I have seen countless studies where calories are restricted, and in the short term they lose weight.  But then as the body compensates (metabolism and activity slow), the weight comes right back.  These studies don't get at the essence of the problem: it is they type of food being consumed, not the calories per se, that is causing a person to become overweight.

Here's another way to think of it: body fat is thought of as energy storage, "extra" calories that are tucked away and can be used later.  So following this logic, a person who is very overweight should have tons of energy available and be very energetic.  But generally, that isn't the case.  Taubes believes that an overweight person can't access their fat stores for the same reason the calories turned to fat in the first place: the presence of carbohydrates in the diet.

However, I don't believe Taubes accurately analyzes carbohydrates as I will discuss in the next post.   

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Wheeling, WV

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Viva Viagra

It seems you can't make it through a sporting event on tv without being bombarded with ads for erectile dysfunction (ED) medicine.  The commercials seem to be happy and upbeat, and make it look like everything can be solved with a simple pill.

Here's the real deal: if you look at the research, you'll see that ED is usually a red flag for other health problems to come - most likely coronary artery disease.  When a person has coronary artery disease, their arteries are clogging with plaque.  This happens throughout the body, but the smaller arteries in the penis will tend to clog first.

Here's one new study that shows ED can predict coronary artery disease, and there are many other studies from the past few years that say the same thing.  I wonder why this isn't common knowledge.  Perhaps because if people knew ED was connected to heart disease, they may try something more comprehensive than just taking ED medicine (and this would cut into the drug companies' profit).  So while popping a pill can restore sexual function for older men, it will do nothing to halt the progression of their heart disease and further physical deterioration.

Robb Wolf Interview

I recently interviewed Robb Wolf, from NorCal Strength & Conditioning.  Robb has a lot of research and practical experience with Paleo eating and exercise.  Below is the text of the interview.

MM:  Hi Robb, thanks for taking the time for this interview.  Can you start by telling us a little bit about your background?

RW:  Hey Matt! Athletically I’ve competed in power lifting and Thai boxing. I’ve dabbled in Brasilian Jiu-jitsu and am working to finally get my blue belt. Professionally I worked for 6 years as a research biochemist on a variety of projects including lipid metabolism at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and interesting private gig developing a process to extract a colloid complex from seaweed! Since late 2001 I’ve been involved with CrossFit in some capacity or another but the past 4 years I’ve been Co-owner of NorCal Strength & Conditioning in the hot box of Chico, CA.

MM:  Generally, for a new client, what sort of exercise routine do you put them on?

RW:  Well, I have folks ranging from stay-at-home moms to MMA fighters training with me so it might look like I would do something very different from person to person but the training is not that dissimilar among these folks. In the first few sessions I assess each persons general fitness level, movement and orthopedic soundness. Folks who are broken in one way or another I start working on rehabbing say a lack of shoulder or hamstring mobility. After this the general programming is pure CrossFit. Mixed modal functional movements SCALED to meet the individuals fitness level. All of my clients need to squat, press, pull and dead lift, so they do! My 78 year old retired physician DL’s with 95 lbs while my MMA fighter is up near 400lbs. They all need the same stuff, more fitness, my job is to scale it appropriately and figure out ways of making progress as safely and efficiently as possible.

Everyone is encouraged to follow a paleo type diet and if the goal involves significant fat loss I will NOT work with the individual without a 1-month commitment by the individual to follow the nutrition plan I set up for them exactly.

MM:  What role does traditional low-intensity cardio play in your training routines?

RW:  Really no role at all. Many of our clients are recreational or competitive endurance athletes and I help them to structure those efforts to their best success but it is not an area of significant interest for me.

MM:  And what about the proper diet?

RW:  Paleo Diet! The best book on the market is Protein Power: Lifeplan by Dr.’s Eades. This will solve metabolic derangement, food allergies, gut irritation, improve recovery…everything you need from you food.

MM:  You've recently blogged about the role of diet versus exercise in altering body composition.  Care to expand on that?

RW:  I tackled that pretty thoroughly in the blog post. I guess it’s important to mention that if an individual desires to lose body fat it is vital to reduce the glycemic load of the diet. For some people this may mean virtually no dense carb sources such as fruit or yams while others may just need to reduce the amount of carbs and or alter the density a bit. SO many people attempt to lose fat by starting a program of long slow cardio and a low fat diet. It works for precious few people.

MM:  What are your thoughts on meal frequency, and the role of intermittent fasting?

RW:  I think intermittent fasting may be a potent tool for improving health, longevity and performance. Even if it does little in these areas it appears to dramatically streamline the feeding process. It is totally unrealistic to expect people to squirrel away 6 meals per day as the muscle mags recommend. A few dedicated (compulsive) individuals can pull this off and it is offered as the only way to do things. Tinkering with intermittent fasting can be as simple as waiting till lunch to have ones first meal or making dinner at 4 or 5 pm. It does not need to be extreme to be helpful.

MM:  Let's say a client wanted to run a 5k race.  What sort of training would you prescribe?

RW:  I really like the approach at Power Running: Get strong, run faster by focusing significant efforts on sprints, run you race distance, at your race pace. This is quick, efficient and effective. This is assuming an individual is in decent shape and is generally sound for this level of training however an approach like this can be tailored (scalability again) for virtually anyone.

MM:  What if a client wanted to build substantial muscle mass?

RW:  EAT. I wish it were more scientific than that. The growth stimulus of training is almost inconsequential. Calisthenics, weights…workout hard, try to move more load and then eat until you do not want to eat more…then eat more. It is tougher than dieting down in many ways.

MM:  Any final thoughts?

RW:  Thanks for the opportunity to jabber to your readers Matt!

MM:  Again, thanks for your time Robb.  For more excellent information, go to robbwolf.com.