Introducing Life On The Triad and Maximize Your Health

Today is a very exciting day for me.  I’m officially launching 2 new books!  I thought I’d use this post to tell you a little about them.

Life On The Triad

I published my first book, The Weight Loss Triad, almost 4 years ago. This book presented a comprehensive weight loss program divided into 3 key areas: Diet, Cardiovascular Exercise, and Resistance Training.  It has done far better than I ever would have imagined. 

Life On The Triad is a meal plan and recipe companion to The Weight Loss Triad.  It includes 28 days of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that comply 100% with The Triad principles.  For this project, I teamed up with my sister, Diana Halton, who is a graduate of New York City’s prestigious Institute of Culinary Education.  She is an absolutely awesome chef.  With her help, we created 28 recipes ranging from quick and easy to gourmet.  Again, all of these recipes comply 100% with the principles of The Weight Loss Triad to keep you moving steadily toward your weight loss goals.

Life On The Triad also includes chapters on eating out, traveling, sugar free living, and a shopper’s guide.  For those who have not read my first book, I’ve also included a brief summary of The Weight Loss Triad program.

To learn more about Life On The Triad or to pick up a copy, please click here.

Maximize Your Health

Maximize Your Health is a simple, yet powerful top 10 list of the most important things that you can do to reduce your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.

We are bombarded with health advice on a daily basis from newspapers, TV, our government, medical societies, doctors, and of course books on diet and fitness.  Much of this advice is conflicting.  It has become very difficult for people to separate the good information from the bad. The key to making the right decisions for your health is to separate sound research hypothesis from personal opinion.

There is a huge and remarkable body of research literature that has been published in the past 30 years that shows just how the right combination of diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits can promote robust health and dramatically reduce risk of chronic disease.  Sadly, most Americans don’t even know that this research exists or how to separate the good studies from the bad.

I have yet to see a simple, easy to read summary of this research. 

That is why I wrote Maximize Your Health.  The book lists out the 10 most important and modifiable lifestyle factors to improve your health and reduce your risk of chronic disease.  All of the claims are backed by the latest research.  The book also includes detailed action steps to help you improve your adherence to these health promoting strategies.

To learn more about Maximize Your Health or to pick up a copy, click here.

Research Update: Macronutrient Composition And Weight Maintenance

Effects of dietary composition on energy expenditure during weight loss. 
Journal of the American Medical Association 2012; 307(24):2627-34.

 

Objective

After weight loss, the human body fights hard to regain weight. One of the ways it does this is to decrease the amount of calories it burns on a day to day basis. This is known as a decrease in resting energy expenditure. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of 3 different diets varying in macronutrient content and glycemic load on resting energy expenditure following weight loss.

 

Methods

21 overweight young men and women completed a 12 week weight loss program that resulted in an average weight loss of 13.6% of body weight. Once the weight was lost, they each went on one of 3 diets for a period of 4 weeks. Each of these diets contained the same exact number of calories.

 

Diet #1: Low Fat: 60% carbohydrate, 20% protein, 20% fat

Diet #2: Low Glycemic Index: 40% carbohydrate, 20% protein, 40% fat

Diet #3: Low Carbohydrate: 10% carbohydrate, 30% protein, 60% fat

 

After each 4 week diet intervention, a variety of measures were taken, including resting energy expenditure, hormone levels, and components of the metabolic syndrome.

 

Results

The decrease in resting energy expenditure was greatest with the low fat diet (-205 calories per day). Next was the low glycemic index diet (-166 calories per day). The least was the low carbohydrate diet (-138 calories per day).

 

Comment

This is a ground breaking study that challenges the assertion that a calorie is a calorie. The 3 diets that were tested were isocaloric, in other words they had the same amount of calories. The fact that each had a different impact on resting energy expenditure means that something is going on hormonally that will impact your body’s reaction to weight loss. It would be easy to look at the results of this study and say that the low carb diet is the way to go.

 

Not so fast! The researchers measured a bunch of other things besides resting energy expenditure. During the low carb phase, subjects had a significantly higher cortisol level. This is a hormonal measure of stress and has been associated with a variety of negative health outcomes, such as insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. Subjects in the low carb phase also had a higher level of C-reactive protein.  This is a measure of body wide inflammation and has also been associated with a variety of chronic diseases.

 

The low fat diet showed the greatest decrease in resting energy expenditure and also showed some negative metabolic effects, including an increase in insulin resistance, a decrease in HDL cholesterol, and an increase in triglycerides.

 

The low glycemic index diet seemed to be the best of both worlds. You get a reduced decrease in resting energy expenditure without the metabolic changes that increase risk of chronic disease.

 

Take Home Message

The study provides more evidence that a low fat diet is not the way to go if you want to lose weight and keep it off. While the low carb diet had the most favorable impact on resting energy expenditure, it also resulted in some very unfavorable metabolic changes. The low glycemic approach seems to offer the best combination of blunting the reduction in resting energy expenditure that comes with weight loss while protecting you from chronic disease.

 

Brown Rice And Arsenic: What Is Going On?

Chances are, you have recently read in the papers the disturbing report of high levels of arsenic in rice products. Many of my clients have been asking me if they should alter their consumption of brown rice, which is a staple for many looking to include a lower glycemic, whole grain in their diet.

I figured I’d do a little research on the matter and update everyone with a Blog post on the subject, so here goes!

Where Did This Report Come From

The media attention on rice and arsenic stemmed from a Consumer Reports article that came out just a few weeks ago.

You can read the report here:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/11/arsenic-in-your-food/index.htm

Scientists tested over 200 samples of rice products for levels of arsenic.  Products tested included white rice, brown rice, hot and cold rice cereals, rice crackers, and rice pasta.  Many of the products tested positive for what Consumer Reports call “worrisome” levels of arsenic.

What is Arsenic And Why Is It Bad For You?

Arsenic is an element that can be found naturally in rocks and soil, water, and even the air we breathe.  It has also been introduced into the environment from agricultural and industrial sources.  Many years ago, arsenic was used as a pesticide in areas that grew cotton.  While it is no longer used in this way, much of the arsenic used for this purpose can still be found in the soil.

Arsenic comes in two forms.  Inorganic and organic.  Organic Arsenic is thought to be much less toxic to humans.  Inorganic arsenic is the form used in industry and has been linked to cancer in humans.

Both the National Toxicology Program and the Environmental Protection Agency classify inorganic arsenic as a “known human carcinogen”.  Studies have shown that high levels of arsenic exposure are associated with an increased risk of bladder, lung, and skin cancer.  It may cause other types of cancer as well. 

It is clear that high levels of arsenic are not good for us.  The question is how high is too high?

My Take On The Consumer Report Findings

Should we be concerned about the report of arsenic in our rice? Yes.  Should we freak out about it?  Absolutely not.  Here is why:

1) The EPA has known about the presence of arsenic in our foods for years and is not overly concerned with negative health outcomes at current levels of exposure. They do not recommend changing consumption patterns of brown rice, but suggest including a variety of other whole grains as part of a balanced diet.  They are currently investigating the matter in more detail.

2) According to the EPA, rice is actually the 3^rd biggest source of arsenic in our foods, accounting for 17% of dietary exposure.  The biggest source is vegetables at 24% and the second biggest is fruit at 18%.

3) The levels reported were not earth shattering.  For example, many of the brown rice samples tested reported an arsenic exposure of 6-7 micrograms of inorganic arsenic per serving.  The federal government standard for safe drinking water is 10 micrograms per liter.  In other words, if the same amount of arsenic found in a serving of brown rice was found in a liter of drinking water, it would be deemed safe for consumption.  Keep in mind you would be drinking several liters of this safe water per day.

4) The reality of our world is that most of our food is contaminated with something.  The question becomes is it contaminated enough to make us sick?  You need to consider the pros and cons of consuming the food.  For example, our fish supply contains small amounts of mercury.  However, the benefits of eating fish outweigh the increased risk of the mercury so that people who eat fish are actually healthier than people who do not.  The same goes for fruits and vegetables.  Most contain a small pesticide residue, but the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables far outweigh the risk so that people who eat a lot of fruits and vegetables are healthier than those who don’t.  This is actually explained very nicely in an article in U.S. News And World Report by Dr. David Katz, a respected nutrition researcher from Yale. You can find this article here.

What Do I Recommend?

If you are eating 5 servings of brown rice per day, you may want to cut back a bit.  If you are having it a few times per week, there is no reason to change this behavior.  Brown rice is a very good source of whole grain that has a research proven beneficial impact on our health.  

I would be cautious about eating a lot of rice products if you are pregnant and I wouldn’t feed a lot of it to young children.  This is because even smaller levels of arsenic appear to be more harmful to fetuses and young children.

Rice grown in the southern U.S. is higher in arsenic that that grown in California (cotton was grown in the South and not in California).  If you can find a brown rice that is grown in California, go with that one.

Another recommendation would be to change the way you cook your brown rice.  According to Consumer Reports, if you use 6 cups of water for each cup of brown rice, and drain off the excess water after the rice is cooked, you can reduce arsenic levels up to 30%.  It is a good idea to start doing this.

Questions And Answers: The Right Beverages If You Are Trying To Lose Weight

I’m always fielding questions from my clients on what they are allowed to drink given their goal of losing weight.  This is actually a very important topic, so I figured I’d use this blog post to answer some of these questions.  I’ll answer each question from both a weight loss and a general health perspective.

Can I Drink Coffee?

Yes!  In the literature, coffee has been shown to have a positive impact on risk of heart disease and stroke.  I’m not too crazy about caffeine, so I have my clients limit their consumption of regular coffee to 1 or 2 cups per day.  Decaf can be consumed in unlimited quantities.  One asterisk here, it is not good to load up on cream, sugar, or nonnutritive sweeteners.  I have my clients use a little milk or light cream and no sugar or nonnutritive sweeteners.   Sugar will spike your blood glucose while the nonnutritive sweeteners will increase cravings for refined carbs.

Can I Drink Orange Juice Or Other Juices

I have my clients eliminate all juices.  When you juice a fruit, you are separating the sugar from the fiber and the glycemic load starts to really increase.  This spikes blood sugar and insulin levels which will negatively impact both your weight and your overall health.  Fruits are unbelievably healthy when eaten in their whole form.  Eat your fruit the way nature intended.

Can I Ever Drink Regular Soda?

Absolutely not.  The large amount of sugar causes blood glucose and insulin to skyrocket. 

What About Diet Soda?

There are several problems with diet soda.  The non-nutritive sweeteners used in these products are well tested and generally safe when consumed in moderate amounts.  However, there are 2 major issues with diet soda:  1) When you strictly limit refined carbohydrate foods like sugar, white bread, and pasta, your craving for them virtually disappears.  Diet soda perpetuates your cravings for sugar and refined carbs so you’ll always be hungry.  2) Humans have the cephalic response.  If you were to put your favorite food on your kitchen table; your eyes see it, your nose smells it, and you release digestive enzymes before you put a bite into you mouth.  There is some evidence that this also happens with diet soda.  Your body senses the sweet taste and releases insulin anyway.  This is exactly what you are trying to limit.  Treat yourself to 1 or 2 diet sodas a week, but not more than that.

Can I Drink Alcohol?

When consumed in moderate amounts, alcohol has been associated with improved health.  The research literature shows that consuming about 1 drink per day reduces risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.  Keep in mind that this amount may also slightly increase risk of breast cancer in women.  I have my weight loss clients limit alcohol consumption to a total of 4 drinks per week.  More than that has the potential to impact their weight.

Well, Than What Can I Drink?

Feel free to drink:
1) Water: filtered tap or bottled.
2) Decaf coffee or tea, either hot or iced.
3) Naturally flavored club soda such as Polar or Poland Spring.  These come in a number of great flavors and have no sugar or non-nutritive sweeteners. 

I know that this isn’t the sexiest of lists, but these choices will keep you hydrated and moving toward the more fit, thin, and awesome version of yourself.

 

Book Review: Wheat Belly

Wheat Belly is next up for review.  The author, Dr. William Davis, is a medical doctor and preventive cardiologist in Wisconsin.

Introduction

The basic premise of Wheat Belly is that the elimination of wheat products is the key to weight loss and improved health.  The book is broken down into 3 sections.  The first is a detailed history of the evolution of wheat and how it has changed genetically over the years.  The second part explains all of the negative health effects of eating wheat.  The third part of the book deals with tips on eliminating wheat from your diet, including a 7 day meal plan and recipes.  Overall, the book is well researched and very well written.  I enjoyed reading it.

Five Things I Really Liked About Wheat Belly

1) The Concept Of Blood Sugar Stability.  A major concept in this book is that swings in blood sugar have a negative impact on weight control and health in general.  I couldn’t agree more.  Blood sugar control is at the very foundation of my nutritional recommendations.

2) Explanation Of How Wheat Has Changed Over The Years.  I found this part of the book absolutely fascinating.  Agricultural scientists have changed wheat dramatically over the past 50 years.  It has been altered genetically to make it resistant to environmental conditions and to increase yield.  Wheat used to grow 4 feet tall.  The new genetic, “dwarf” version grows only 1 foot tall, so it will yield quicker, requiring less fertilizer.  The author found a woman who grows the old fashion wheat and bought some flour from her.  After eating 2 slices of bread made with this flour, his blood sugar rose to 110.  He repeated the test with modern flour.  His blood sugar after eating 2 pieces of bread made with modern wheat rose to 167!  It is quite plausible that wheat used to be a healthy, lower glycemic grain years ago, but is now high glycemic due to genetic manipulation.

3) Great explanation of LDL particle size.  The size of your LDL is just as important as your number.  Large, buoyant LDL’s are far less atherogenic than small dense LDL’s.  He explains this nicely.

4) Good Recipes.  The wheat free recipes are very nicely put together.

5) Comprehensive List Of Wheat Containing Products And Ingredients.  The author puts together an interesting list of places where you’ll find wheat unexpectedly.  You’ll find wheat in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, modified food starch, textured vegetable protein, flavored coffees, beer, flavored teas, vodkas, blue cheese, and my 2 favorites; envelope glue and lipstick.  Wheat really is everywhere!

Five Things I Didn’t Agree With In Wheat Belly

1) Promises Unrealistic Weight Loss.  The author says you will lose 10 lbs in the first 14 days, or even a pound a day.  When expectations are this high, it is easy to get frustrated with more realistic weight loss, such as a pound a week.  Having realistic expectations for weight loss is vital to long term adherence. 

2) Very Little On Exercise.  If you want to lose weight and keep it off, exercise is a huge part of the equation.  Both experience and the research literature have taught me this. Wheat Belly doesn’t focus on it very much.

3) Restricts Several Foods That Are Healthy.  The following foods are strictly limited on the Wheat Belly plan: oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes, legumes, fruits, and polyunsaturated oils.  These have been shown in the literature to be health promoting, and I’m not quite sure why you wouldn’t want people to eat them.

4) Allows Several Foods That Are Not So Healthy.  The following foods are encouraged on the Wheat Belly plan and in the recipes: steak, pork, full fat cheeses, coconut oil, small amounts of fruit juice, daily use of non-nutritive sweeteners, dried fruit, full fat sour cream.  These are foods I have my clients limit due to their negative impact on health.

5) Fat, Protein, Carb Ratio.  This plan allows for unlimited protein intake, which typically amounts to no higher than 20-25% of calories, unlimited fat and 50-100 grams of carbohydrate per day.  On a 2000 calorie diet, this equates to 25% protein, 20% carbohydrate and 55% fat.  I think this is a bit too low on the carb and a bit too high on the fat.  I have my clients shoot for more like 20% protein, 35% fat and 45% carb.

Is Wheat Belly Worth Reading?

Absolutely.  Wheat Belly gets a lot right.  You’ll learn in great detail how the wrong types of carbohydrate can make you unhealthy and overweight.  For years, I have been recommending a lot of what is in this book to my clients.  There are just a few foods I would limit on this plan and a few foods I’d add in.  Oh yeah, one other thing I’d add in is a whole lot more exercise!

Research Update: Metabolic Hormones Changes After Weight Loss

Long Term Persistence of Hormonal Adaptations to Weight Loss

New England Journal of Medicine 2011: 365:1597-604.

Objective:  To examine the changes in metabolic hormones for up to a year after weight loss.  We need to learn more about why so many people who lose weight gain it right back.

Methods: 50 overweight subjects were enrolled in a 10 week weight loss program which included a very low calorie diet.  At baseline, after the 10 week weight loss intervention, and 62 weeks, the researchers measured leptin, ghrelin, peptide YY, gastric inhibitory peptide, glucagon-like peptide Y, amylin, pancreatic polypeptide, cholecystokinin, insulin, and subjective ratings of hunger.  Each of these hormones has been shown to have an impact on metabolism and/or energy intake.

Results: After the 10 week low calorie diet, subjects lost an average of 29.7 lbs.  Immediately after weight loss, levels of leptin, peptide YY, cholecystokinin, insulin, and amylin were significantly lower and levels of ghrelin, gastric inhibitory polypeptide, and pancreatic polypeptide were significantly higher.  There was also a significant increase in subjective measures of appetite.

One year after the weight loss, there were still significant differences from baseline in levels of leptin, peptide YY, cholecystokinin, insulin, ghrelin, gastric inhibitory polypeptide, pancreatic polypeptide, as well as hunger.

Discussion: It is not surprising that following weight loss, hormones were changed in a way that promoted weight regain.  We’ve known this for some time.  What is surprising is that they remained that way for a full year after the weight loss!

It is evident that our bodies have amazing defense mechanisms to weight loss.  We evolved in times of drought, famine, and food scarcity.  Those who survived to pass on their genes gained weight quickly, and lost it slowly.  This was most helpful during our early period, but this mechanism has really hurt us in the era of unlimited food availability.

It is becoming clear that the reason so many people regain lost weight is not because they become weak and unfocused with their diet and exercise, but because their body very strongly wants them to put the weight back on.  Weight relapse clearly has a physiological basis.

Take Home Message: After you lose weight, you need to realize that your body starts an all out war to put it back on.  Keep your foot on the gas with your diet, cardio, and resistance training programs.  Your weight loss plan is in no way a temporary thing.  In reality, you need to work just as hard to keep it off as you did to lose it.

Product Review: Bodylastics Resistance Bands

Getting to the gym can be a real challenge given our busy lives of work and family responsibilities.  When I was in college and even grad school, there seemed to be plenty of time to get to the gym and enjoy a leisurely workout.  Now that I’m a bit older, time is definitely more limited.  I’ve noticed the same thing with my clients over the years.  Once they hit a certain age, it becomes very hard for them to get to the gym on a consistent basis.   Therefore, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big advocate of working out at home. 

Most parts of the body are very easily exercised with a flat bench and some dumbbells.  However, the back can be a bit more challenging to workout at home.  There are several dumbbell exercises that focus on the back, but to really get the variety you want, you’ll need to bring in some other equipment.  I figured I’d use this post to introduce one such piece of equipment: Bodylastics Resistance Bands.  

Bodylastics Resistance Bands are a stackable and adjustable resistance system.  The kit I purchased has up to 96 pounds of resistance, but they also sell kits with more or less resistance.  The system comes with 4 different colored bands of varying thickness that you can combine to produce the exact resistance you need for any exercise.

In addition to the stackable resistance bands, the system comes with handles for both your hands and ankles as well as a door anchor.  The door anchor is the absolute key.  It allows you to attach the system to any door that closes in your home.  If you put it up high, you can simulate high pulley exercises like lat pulldowns.  If you keep the anchor a bit lower, you can simulate low pulley exercises like seated rows.  This adds a completely new element to how you can work your back at home.  Let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons of the Bodylastics system.

Pros

1) Extremely Well Made And Durable:  These will last you a lifetime.  I’ve had mine for 2 years and they are showing no signs of wear and tear.

2) Serious Resistance: I’ve historically been a bit down on resistance bands in general.  I never felt like I was getting the type of resistance that I needed.  Not so with the Bodylastics system.  These feel a lot tighter than other bands I’ve used.  I get a great workout with these.

3) Comes With A Door Anchor:  Great for working the back with simulated high and low pulley exercises.

4) Very Portable:  The system comes with a carrying case that can easily fit in your luggage for when you need to bring your workout on the road.

5) Very Secure Door Anchor: Door anchors tend to make me nervous.  Not this one.  It is solid and it’s going no where, so feel free to workout with confidence.

Cons

1) The only con that I can come up with is the price.  They are a bit more expensive than other resistance bands.  They retail for $54.95, but as of this writing, amazon.com has them on sale for $35.95.

Do I Recommend Bodylastics Resistance Bands?

Absolutely.  These are a great addition to any home gym and will allow you to be much more creative with your workouts.  While they cost a bit more than other bands on the market, the quality of the product easily makes it worth the extra investment.  To learn more about these bands or to pick them up, check out their amazon page (here).