Thag Lift Stuff!

So I went to the gym yesterday, as I do when the weather is bad. As I was working out, I became aware of a big problem: there were scads of people using the cardio machines. Now don't get me wrong, I think it is a great idea for people to exercise and become fitter, but most of us go about it in totally the wrong way.

It's not the fault of the general public. "Experts" have been leading us astray for decades. Go back to the 80's, and most people, especially women, were told to avoid weights in favor of aerobic or cardio training. "Experts" noted two reasons for this:

1. It burned more calories in the allotted time for exercise
2. It made your heart stronger and reduced your chances of heart attack

not to mention, they would say, lifting weights would make you bulky and muscular, like one of those body builders, and what normal person wants to look like that (because body builders totally use NO performance enhancing steroids whatsoever ;) )

As usual, the "experts" did not know what they were talking about. Recent studies have shown that weight training burns as many calories as cardio training, as well as adds lean muscle mass, which increases your basal metabolic rate, so that you burn more calories just sitting and reading the paper. There is also evidence to show that weight training increases your resistance to injury. Finally, resistance training increases bone density. Since osteoporosis is such a big problem in America, particularly among women, the "experts" should not be telling women to avoid weight training.

Now hear me right: I am NOT telling you to avoid doing cardio! Cardiovascular exercise has many benefits, some of which weight training does not confer, such as the aforementioned lowering of heart attack risk. There is still plenty of reason to run, row, or swim. I merely want to encourage you to add resistance training to your usual regimen to gain those additional benefits.

My next post will have a few sample workouts, or consult your personal trainer for ideas on how to add resistance training to your exercise routine.

M. Jacob Ott, MD

Stress and Weight Loss

For many people, yesterday was one of the most stressful days of the year. Tax time can be very difficult. For that reason, I thought I'd address the effect of stress on weight loss.

Let's face it. We live in a stressful world. We have jobs, conflict, deadlines, and many other stressors that affect us directly. As if that wasn't enough, we can also worry about wars, terrorists, earthquakes, radiation, and a variety of other natural and man made disasters.

Of course, cavemen had their stressors too, but their stress came from a different type of danger, one that our bodies are more capable of processing. Most of the stress for cavemen came from one of two sources: lack of food or direct physical peril. In response, our bodies produce two distinct stress hormones:

Epinepherine (Adrenaline): comes from the adrenal gland, and is the one which predominates in situations involving physical peril. When the bear is chasing you, it is epinepherine that helps you escape. It raises your heart rate and blood pressure, dilates the pupils, reduces fatigue, and primes the muscles for action. In short, it amps you up to deal with the physical danger, whether that means fighting it or running away from it.

Cortisol: is a steroid (cholesterol based) hormone, which predominates in times of famine. Your body releases cortisol when it feels like it is not getting enough nourishment, as well as in times of physical danger. Cortisol is the conservation hormone. It tells the body to save and store. The body stops breaking down fat stores, and begins converting as much of the ingested food it can into fat stores, to prepare for the famine ahead. It also stimulates the appetite, prompting you to eat as much as you can, to maximize the storage.

That is all well and good, if you live in a world where you can be attacked by saber tooth tigers, and food is very hard to come by. Fast forward to today, when the stress comes from traffic on the interstate, your jerky boss, or the low balance on your bank account.

Fighting or running can do little to reduce these dangers, so the epinepherine just leads to feelings of anxiety, and high blood pressure. Since we are practically drowning in calories, when the cortisol is released due to the stress, you follow your biologic imperative, and eat. Your body then stores, thinking that you are being chased by a predator, and about to run out of food. The result: you are overweight, and chronically anxious and stressed out. Know anyone like that?

The good news: There is a solution! Your body has a natural way to dissipate the stress and block the effects of cortisol. That way is exercise. Look at our caveman. When the tiger pounced at him, what did he do: fight or run. Either way, he exerted himself. The exertion releases endorphins, which relax you, as well as a cascade of other hormones and chemicals which increase the metabolism and promote fat breakdown to liberate energy for activity. It is no coincidence that people who have a high level of activity also have lower stress levels. They are merely following their inner caveman. Follow yours, and the middle of April might go a bit easier next year.

Caveman Children and Pregnant Women

I get asked many questions about being a vegan. Hands down, the most frequent is "where do you get your protein?" Due to many repeated inquiries, I have a response for that question. If you want to read about it, click here.

Other than the protein question, the next most frequent question is about children and pregnant women. It usually goes something like this: "I want my family to become vegetarian, but I am afraid it will hurt my children [or fetus]. Is it safe for them?"

In a word, yes. All of the nutrients required for growth and development of body tissues can be obtained from plant matter. It is true that there is not one single plant source of all eight essential amino acids required for life (an essential amino acid is one that our bodies cannot manufacture from raw materials). This would be a big problem if you intended to feed your children only one type of food day in and day out. Fortunately, if you follow caveman rule #2:

Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and very little if any meat, eggs, or dairy

then you will not have a problem. The variety will ensure that you get enough amino acids, as well as a full compliment of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. If you also follow caveman rule #1:

Eat foods like they grow in nature

your kids will not be exposed to the processed crap that fills most vending machines, school cafeterias, and restaurants. On the whole, they will be much better off than the rest of the population, eating genetically modified, hormone and antibiotic laden meat. Not only will they develop just fine, they will probably avoid early onset puberty, and the behavioral problems associated with a diet high in meat and processed foods.

Really the only nutrient you need to worry about is vitamin B12. Since we clean our food thoroughly, and B12 comes from the bacteria in the dirt, there is no good vegetable source of B12, except for nutritional yeast. Fortunately, you don't need very much B12. Adding nutritional yeast to one of your meals a couple of times a week, or a weekly B12 supplement will provide more than enough of this vital nutrient.

You may be wondering if I walk my talk. What do I do with my kids. They are not vegan, nor are they completely vegetarian, but we do follow caveman rules 1 and 2. They eat about 90% vegetable matter, and very little processed food. Most importantly, they are learning lessons about good nutrition and healthy eating that they will hopefully carry for the rest of their lives.

M. Jacob Ott, MD

Multitask the Burn

OK. So cavemen did not mow lawns. They didn't even have lawns. If they did, they would probably try to mow it with something like this:

In the modern era, most of us do have lawns, however. Mowing the lawn is a task that large numbers of people have to deal with weekly during the spring, summer, and fall. Since that is the case, why not get the most out of it you can?

Most people mow their lawns with fancy riding mowers, or self-propelled push mowers. These devices make quick work of the grass, but they do nothing to help us mow down our own fat tissue. This is my lawnmower:

Since you have to mow the lawn anyway, why not get in a bit of a workout while doing it? Foregoing convenience devices can help you build additional effort and calorie burning into daily activities. I have to work much harder to mow the lawn with my dinosaur of a mower, but that is the point. I also don't use any gasoline, or have to maintain any sort of engine. I AM the engine.

You can use this principle in many areas of daily living. Take the stairs, rather than the elevator. Park as far away from the store as you can, rather than following people around the lot to find the closest spot. Use one of the carry baskets at the grocery store, rather than a cart. Carry the grocery bags out to the car yourself, rather than having the bag clerk do it. Walk the half-mile to the office, rather than driving or taking a taxi. By multitasking your burn, and building additional effort intentionally into daily activities, you will see more success with weight loss more quickly, and perhaps save some money and the environment as well.

M. Jacob Ott

Exercise Should be Fun!

I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, I used to exercise all the time. I exercised before school, after school, before bedtime, and nearly every day all summer and winter break. I just didn't call it exercise.

I called it playing, and it was fun. I played tag, hide and seek, football, baseball, basketball (basically anything that was played with a ball), and rode my bike. The bike was my main and only form of transportation, so I rode it everywhere.

Of course, it wasn't just fun, it was hard too. I remember sprinting until my lungs were on fire and felt like they were going to explode. Then I remember catching my breath, laughing, and doing it all over again. As kids, that is what most of us did.

Fast forward to adulthood, and it is a different story. At the gym, I watch a stream of adults trudge in, heads down, body language saying that they would like to be anywhere else. I know what they are thinking, because I am telepathic. Well, maybe not, but because I have thought the same thing at times: "I have to get in my 20 minutes on the treadmill so that I won't gain weight." They then make a halfhearted attempt at exercise, barely breaking a sweat, and trudge out of the gym, headed to the next thing that they don't want to do.

How did we get from being a kid who likes to play exercise, to an adult, who finds it to be a chore? Does this change in attitude affect the results we get? You bet it does! Like with most things in life, it is not just what we do, but how and why we do it that is important. Exercising with a poor attitude will steal most of the benefit away, for two reasons:

First, you will not put in the effort you would if you were having fun. Second, the high cortisol (stress hormone) levels that come with doing something you dread actually increase the storage of fat, and promote muscle breakdown.

The cure? Do something that you like to do! Whether that is walking, running, swimming, climbing, weights, or a sport, it is very important that you enjoy it and look forward to doing it. Gradually, as you get into the habit of exerting yourself again, you will look forward to the feeling of pushing your body. Then you will be ready to take on the kind of harder training that you would not have liked or wanted to do before.