Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet Excess body fat is directly reflective of the amount of insulin you produce in your diet combined with your familial predisposition to store excess body fat. Insulin is considered the master hormone for its role in facilitating the transport of nutrients and hormones through the bloodstream to target cells and organs. Carbohydrate intake drives insulin production, which then drives fat storage. A low insulin-producing diet promotes the use of stored or ingested body fat as the primary source of fuel. Exercise is not as effective for weight management as commonly believed. The compensation theory suggests that the burning of calories through vigorous exercise triggers an increase in appetite, a decline in metabolic rate, and an increased propensity to store fat in the aftermath of the workout. These are genetically driven hormonal responses associated with survival, designed to protect the body against the fatigue and depletion of excess exercise. When exercise patterns are chronic, the severity of this compensation affects increases. Chronic exercise is also believed to promote laziness both consciously (relax and eat more as a reward), and subconsciously (inclined to take the elevator instead of the stairs). Summary 1. Insulin is the master hormone, presiding over all manner of metabolic and hormone function in its role transporting nutrients, including ingested carbs, proteins, and fats, through the bloodstream to target cells and organs. 2. Excess insulin production from a high-carbohydrate diet is believed to be the worst health problem in modern life; it promotes fat storage, systemic inflammation, and interferes with healthy immune and hormonal function. 3. Glucagon, the counterregulatory hormone of Insulin, accesses carbs, protein, and fat from your body's storage depots (muscle, liver, fat cells) and delivers them into the bloodstream for use as energy. The Spartan Method 1
Transcript
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet Excess body fat is directly reflective of the amount of insulin you produce in your diet combined with your familial predisposition to store excess body fat. Insulin is considered the master hormone for its role in facilitating the transport of nutrients and hormones through the bloodstream to target cells and organs. Carbohydrate intake drives insulin production, which then drives fat storage. A low insulin-producing diet promotes the use of stored or ingested body fat as the primary source of fuel. Exercise is not as effective for weight management as commonly believed. The compensation theory suggests that the burning of calories through vigorous exercise triggers an increase in appetite, a decline in metabolic rate, and an increased propensity to store fat in the aftermath of the workout. These are genetically driven hormonal responses associated with survival, designed to protect the body against the fatigue and depletion of excess exercise. When exercise patterns are chronic, the severity of this compensation affects increases. Chronic exercise is also believed to promote laziness both consciously (relax and eat more as a reward), and subconsciously (inclined to take the elevator instead of the stairs).
Summary 1. Insulin is the master hormone, presiding over all manner of metabolic and
hormone function in its role transporting nutrients, including ingested carbs, proteins, and fats, through the bloodstream to target cells and organs.
2. Excess insulin production from a high-carbohydrate diet is believed to be the worst health problem in modern life; it promotes fat storage, systemic inflammation, and interferes with healthy immune and hormonal function.
3. Glucagon, the counterregulatory hormone of Insulin, accesses carbs, protein, and fat from your body's storage depots (muscle, liver, fat cells) and delivers them into the bloodstream for use as energy.
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet 4. Insulin resistance occurs when liver and muscle cells become desensitized to the
storage signals of insulin, due to chronic overproduction of insulin. With liver and muscle cells resistant, ingested nutrients are fast-tracked into the fat cells, and the body is locked in a chronic fat-storage pattern.
5. Those with "skinny genes" who are not predisposed to storing excess body fat nevertheless suffer from the oxidative, pro-inflammatory, health-compromising effects of a high insulin-producing diet.
6. Insulin resistance and other disease risk factors can be reversed in 21 days by restricting carbohydrate intake and allowing insulin production to moderate. The rate of progress and level of success with primal eating and living varies based on the level of metabolic damage sustained from decades of high-carbohydrate eating, level of compliance, and familial genetics.
7. While moderating dietary carbohydrate intake and insulin production represents 80 percent of success with body composition goals, exercise, sleep and a stress-balanced lifestyle can contribute the other 20 percent toward achieving your ideal body composition.
8. The Primal Carbohydrate Curve correlates body composition success with various levels of carbohydrate intake. An average daily intake of 100 grams or less assists with fat loss. One hundred fifty grams or less promotes long-term weight management. Over 150 grams promotes insidious lifelong weight gain. Over 300 grams of average daily intake promotes the development of disease risk factors.
Facts
Insulin: Considered the "master hormone" for its role in facilitating the transport of nutrients and hormones to target organs and storage depots in the body. A healthy level of insulin production allows liver, muscle, and fat cells to repair, regenerate, and store energy for future use. Insulin has growth-promoting properties such as Insulin Growth Factor and Epithelial Growth Factors. Growth factors play a critical role in health when present in proper balance or during specific circumstances when they are especially important. For example, throughout puberty and pregnancy, insulin levels and growth factors are elevated to promote success with maturation during these relatively brief, growth-critical time periods.
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet Insulin has many beneficial effects on muscle growth and regeneration, and on the delivery of hormones to target organs in the bloodstream. The Spartan Method commentary on insulin's role in disease and on excess body fat is centered upon the idea that the Standard American Diet results in wildly excessive insulin production. A high insulin-producing diet results in an excess of growth factors in the bloodstream. This leads to accelerated cell division (accelerated aging) and a deregulation of healthy cell division (increased cancer risk). A high insulin-producing diet results in an undesirable feedback loop whereby the individual experiences increased appetite and increased reliance on dietary carbohydrates to perpetuate the cycle of high carb intake/high insulin production. This occurs because high blood insulin levels deplete the bloodstream of energy by driving nutrients into their cellular storage depots. This causes an increase in appetite, particularly for quick energy carbohydrates, and a consequent additional surge of insulin. Instead of supplying a readily available reservoir of fat (and ketones, as we learned in Module #3) circulating in the bloodstream, a high insulin-producing diet results in an energy roller coaster. Here, one quickly burns through ingested carbohydrates, with the excess ushered out of the bloodstream and into storage. Chronically elevated insulin also suppresses immune function, since glucose and vitamin C compete along the same pathways for entry into cells. Some studies suggest that immune function is suppressed for several hours after a high-carbohydrate meal.
Insulin production mechanisms : Even before you take your first bite, your genes trigger the secretion of insulin from the pancreas into the bloodstream in preparation for digestion. That's right, holding a menu triggers an insulin response! Once the first bite is taken, the salivary enzyme amylase stimulates more insulin release. Insulin takes ingested amino acids and fatty acids and sets them aside, allowing glucose to be burned first. Excess glucose beyond the immediate metabolic needs is converted into glycogen for storage in the liver and muscle tissue. When liver and muscle glycogen stores are full, remaining glucose is converted to triglyceride and transported to fat cells for storage.
Insulin and fat storage : High insulin levels lock triglycerides into the fat cells, lock amino acids into the muscle cells, and lock glycogen into muscle and liver cells. This inhibits the burning of these
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet ample internal energy stores. Instead, ingested glucose is burned through until blood glucose levels diminish. Then, low blood glucose results in fatigue and hunger for quick energy in the form of carbohydrates. With low blood glucose levels, your brain thinks you are starving and energy deprived, even though you have plenty of calories available for energy stored in fat, muscle, and liver cells. Organs and cells need this stored energy, but they cannot burn it due to elevated insulin levels. This means you experience diminished energy levels in general, likely lack the energy/motivation to conduct regular workouts, and have elevated hunger levels. Understanding the hormonal dysfunction caused by a high-carbohydrate/high-insulin eating pattern allows a new paradigm to be embraced. Instead of rolling the dice with your familial genetic predisposition to store body fat and fighting a losing battle trying to balance caloric intake with caloric expenditure, you can view weight loss and maintaining optimal body composition primarily as a function of hormone optimization (in particular, moderating the wildly excessive insulin production caused by a grain-based diet). While the notion that "80 percent of your body composition is determined by how you eat" is impossible to validate scientifically, it is clear from the escalating obesity rates in the Western world that traditional efforts to manage body fat accumulation while consuming a high insulin-producing diet have failed. Your browser does not support the audio element.
Calories in/calories out : Focusing on the balance of calories ingested to calories burned as the end-all to weight management proves illogical because this balance is impossible to achieve outside of a controlled laboratory setting. For example, eating only 20 "excess" calories per day (about one macadamia nut) would theoretically lead to an accumulation of two pounds of body fat per year. It's likely that one's daily caloric intake and daily energy expenditure are far more disparate than commonly considered, and that the body regulates energy expenditure and energy storage hormonally in a manner that promotes homeostasis. While the calories in-calories out equation remains true in a literal sense, there are numerous variables that influence the end result in terms of body composition, notably whether your body burns or stores the caloric energy you ingest and the caloric energy
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet you hold in storage. The average level of insulin you produce strongly influences whether you are predominantly in a fat-storage or fat-burning pattern.
Insulin and the fight-or-flight response : A pattern of high carbohydrate intake/high insulin production and the corresponding blood glucose fluctuations triggers the fight-or-flight response, since your body perceives low blood glucose (and the sluggish feeling that accompanies it) as a stressful event. When blood glucose drops and is not replenished immediately, the preeminent stress hormone cortisol is released into the bloodstream. Cortisol promotes the catabolization of amino acids into glucose for quick energy in a process known as gluconeogenesis (Latin for "sugar+new+make"). The ensuing blood glucose rush gives you the boost your brain thinks you need commonly at the expense of your muscle tissue. Depending on one's individual sensitivity to glucose and insulin, activating the stress response may result in feeling amped, jittery, edgy, or hyper. One may even experience a racing heartbeat. Others may not experience any stress hormone buzz, likely because years of abusing this delicate life-or-death energy-boosting mechanism (high-carbohydrate eating, excessive artificial light/insufficient sleep, and high-stress lifestyle) have exhausted the adrenal glands and pancreas. Instead, one may just feel like taking a nap after high-carb meals. Consequently, the complete roller coaster ride of the high-carbohydrate diet consists of: a brief glucose spike from a high-carbohydrate meal, snack, or beverage; an insulin-generated energy lull or crash; and a consequent craving for more carbohydrate. The cycle either repeats with the ingestion of more carbs or, if carbs are not obtained promptly, the stress response kicks in to convert amino acids into glucose. However the particulars of daily energy level and appetite fluctuations play out, all roads in this saga lead to burnout and an elevated risk of disease and dysfunction.
Insulin and gluconeogenesis : While gluconeogenesis is characterized negatively in this example, a fat- and keto-adapted eater can utilize gluconeogenesis in a mild, non-emergency manner to elegantly meet the brain and body's glucose needs without relying on dietary carbohydrates. As we learned in the previous key concept, eating primally down-regulates our glucose requirements as the body learns to burn ketones as an alternative. For a primal-aligned eater, minimal baseline glucose requirements of
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet perhaps 150 grams per day can be met through the sensible intake of vegetables and other incidental dietary carbohydrates (e.g., nuts, seasonal fruits, dark chocolate), along with gluconeogenesis occurring on a mild, "on demand" basis, making just what is required for homeostasis at a particular date and time. In this on-demand example, amino acids to make glucose are typically taken from ingested protein rather than from lean muscle tissue. Since excess glucose is toxic in the bloodstream, and a pattern of excess carbohydrate intake/excess insulin production is pro-inflammatory and immune suppressing, relying on internal mechanisms to meet glucose requirements is a far superior method to the modern day strategies of complex meal timing and portion control, calorie counting, macronutrient balancing (e.g., "Zone" eating), or any other attempts to balance blood glucose levels primarily by dietary means.
Insulin resistance : If excess insulin production is a chronic pattern, cells become overwhelmed and desensitized to insulin's signals at the molecular level. Instead of accepting the nutrients transported by insulin into the cell for use as energy and raw "building block" material, cells reject insulin's overtures, preventing nutrients from entering the cell. This becomes problematic because the brain perceives that the bloodstream is starved for nutrients (despite plentiful amounts in storage in the form of triglyceride and glycogen), and appetite-influencing hormones such as leptin and ghrelin promote increased calorie intake. Insulin resistance is particularly troublesome in the liver. An insulin-resistant liver believes the bloodstream is starved for glucose. This causes certain specialized cells in the liver to manufacture more glucose (via gluconeogenesis) and dump it into the bloodstream. This exacerbates the problem of excess glucose in the bloodstream and the need for insulin to process it. As too much glucose lingers in the bloodstream, pancreatic beta cells work overtime to pump out more insulin to deal with this problem. Eventually, this mechanism becomes exhausted and type 2 diabetes ensues. In summary, we have a disastrous metabolic catch-22 in which excess carbohydrate consumption delivers excess glucose into the bloodstream, which causes excess insulin production, which eventually causes insulin resistance, which then causes the insulin-resistant liver to dump more glucose into the
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet bloodstream, which causes an acute disease state of oxidation, inflammation, glucose toxicity, and type 2 diabetes.
Insulin and hormone balance : Since insulin is the major transport and storage hormone in the bloodstream, the function of many other hormones are affected by insulin. Chronically excessive insulin production can interfere with the optimal function of appetite hormones, sleep hormones, thyroid hormones, sex hormones, and stress hormones. The pituitary gland makes growth hormone, which is then sent to the liver to signal the production of insulin-like growth factors (IGFs). Many of our cells have surface receptors for IGFs. Because of its similar structure, insulin binds to IGF receptors and prevents growth hormone-stimulated IGFs from doing their job. Excess insulin also interferes with thyroid function. The thyroid gland produces a hormone called T4, which is converted in the liver to T3, the primary hormone that controls energy metabolism. When your liver becomes insulin resistant, conversion of T4 to T3 declines drastically. This leads to a decrease in metabolic rate, increased fat storage, diminished energy levels, compromised brain function, and other symptoms of thyroid irregularity. Chronically high insulin and cortisol suppress testosterone, DHEA, and other adaptive hormones, leading to the formation of stubborn abdominal fat and an acceleration of the aging process marked by declining hormone levels. While sex hormone production declines naturally with age, this particular decline is accelerated by the high-carb, high-insulin, high-stress eating pattern described. When insulin production is moderated, levels of assorted hormones (leptin, LPL, and HSL) that affect appetite and fat metabolism are optimized. These hormones, as well as insulin's counterregulatory, energy mobilization hormone glucagon, help partition fuel to organs and tissues that require energy. With insulin (energy storage hormone) and glucagon (energy mobilization hormone) in optimal balance, there is a continual energy supply in the bloodstream, helping one feel naturally active and energetic throughout the day. Appetite and energy levels are regulated due to the efficient mobilization of internal energy stores, even without needing to consume "regular" meals. Clearly, the ideal strategy for peak performance, weight management, and longevity is to use only the insulin you need to restock muscle and liver glycogen stores, rebuild
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet muscle and other tissue with amino acids, and, finally, to transport fatty acids and other hormones and nutrients for a variety of essential metabolic functions (yes, including energy storage). By maintaining an optimal balance between insulin and glucagon, you become like an ATM machine, always open for deposits and withdrawals based on your daily energy needs.
Insulin and fat loss : Losing excess body fat involves deriving a certain portion of daily energy requirements from stored body fat. This is easily enabled when eating primally because the body can readily access sources of energy stored internally: fatty acids from the fat cells, glycogen from liver and muscle tissue, and ketone bodies produced in the liver as by-products of fat metabolism. When insulin levels are moderated, it is difficult to add body fat, even if an excess of protein and fat calories are consumed. In this case, several mechanisms are at work to promote optimal body composition.
1. First, ingested calories are easily burned for energy instead of stored as fat. 2. Second, the body will simply ramp up metabolism to burn off extra
non-carbohydrate fuel in numerous ways. 3. The brain, enjoying stable energy levels (through ketone burning and internally
manufactured glucose) and optimal hormone balance, will be inclined to prompt the body to be more active, both consciously (through more spirited workouts, for example) and subconsciously (with a generally more energetic pace throughout the day).
4. Your core temperature will rise slightly (through increased internal cellular activity), and you will even experience increased energy dissipation in the mitochondria within each of your cells.
You may not lose any excess body fat when your ingestion of protein and fat calories is equal to or greater than daily caloric energy expenditure, but you simply will not add excess body fat when insulin levels are moderated.
● Hence, losing body fat is a matter of first becoming fat- and keto-adapted, and thus less reliant on ingested carbohydrates and external sources of energy in general.
● Next, the familiar deficit between energy that is consumed and energy that is expended must be achieved. For example, eating a primal-approved breakfast of
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet bacon and eggs provides readily available fat calories that can be used as energy (in the absence of insulin-producing foods at the meal), while skipping breakfast will compel the body to derive those fat calories from storage depots for use as energy.
● Being insulin sensitive and insulin balanced means you can easily burn fat for energy
Insulin sensitivity : If you frequently empty your liver and muscle cells of glycogen through vigorous exercise, and/or you adhere to a low insulin-producing diet, you enhance the sensitivity of your liver and muscle cells to respond to insulin's storage signals. When liver and muscle glycogen levels are depleted through exercise, your genes prompt the restocking of energy into these storage depots to recover from and be prepared for the next bout of intense activity. Exercise helps you become adept at not only burning calories, but also replenishing liver and muscle cells with glycogen and amino acids. If you eat a low insulin-producing diet in line with your hard-wired genetic expectations, your body similarly improves insulin sensitivity, and ingested nutrients are burned in the bloodstream or delivered to storage depots efficiently. However, if you are sedentary and/or eat a moderate- to high-carbohydrate diet, insulin sensitivity is compromised. When the liver and muscle storage depots are constantly at or near full capacity with glycogen storage (due to lack of sufficient exercise), cell receptors become desensitized to the signals of insulin, because the delicate hormonal balance that our genes evolved to expect is overwhelmed by wildly excessive carb intake and consequent insulin production in comparison with our genetic expectations. When insulin production is chronically excessive, the body is locked into a fat-storage pattern and the dangerous condition of insulin resistance ensues. Being insulin sensitive does not necessarily correlate with being fat-adapted or being able to reduce excess body fat. In the case of a chronic exerciser locked in a carbohydrate dependency eating pattern, insulin works efficiently every day to restock depleted muscle glycogen with ingested carbohydrate calories. However, this cycle of glycogen depletion from medium-to-difficult intensity workouts and reloading with predominantly carbohydrates can occur without recruiting any stored body fat for use as energy. First, workout intensity is such that mostly glucose is burned, and second,
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet the high-carbohydrate eating pattern keeps insulin levels elevated and inhibits the mobilization of stored body fat for use as energy. This is why many devoted exercisers who carefully regulate caloric intake (but exercise chronically and favor carbs) struggle to reduce excess body fat. Thanks to emptying the tank and refueling it daily, these folks avoid the perils of more traditional insulin resistance that is linked to obesity, but they are not free from the dangers and adverse health consequences of overstressing their hormonal systems with excess carb intake and excess insulin production. Indeed, chronic exercise has a pro-inflammatory effect, as does excess insulin production: both prominent risk factors for cancer and heart disease.
Alcohol: As a source of "empty calories" (seven calories per gram) and a potential contributor to insulin resistance, alcohol has a negative effect on body composition goals. However, contrary to popular belief, alcohol does not convert into fat upon ingestion. Rather, alcohol is absorbed directly into the bloodstream and has an immediate effect on the brain and other tissues; hence the resulting "buzz." Since alcohol is a toxin, the body works quickly to metabolize the alcohol through oxidation. This detoxifies and removes the alcohol from the bloodstream before it damages organs and tissues. In the liver, enzymes convert alcohol into acetaldehyde and then acetate. This is what happens to most of the alcohol consumed, but some alcohol escapes metabolic process and is excreted unchanged through the breath or urine.
While alcohol is being burned or converted into acetate, metabolism of other fuels is put on hold. That's why alcohol calories are known as the "first to burn." Not only is fat burning put on hold while the alcohol calories are burned through, but any carbohydrate calories consumed with alcohol are more likely to be converted into fat and stored instead of burned. Similarly, fat calories consumed with alcohol will more likely be stored as fat instead of burned (if they are consumed without insulin-stimulating carbohydrates). Alcohol inhibits lipolysis (fat burning) and glycolysis (glucose burning) because it is the first to burn. Not surprisingly, studies correlate frequent consumption with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). In fact, according to Enoch Gordis, MD, Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the stupor commonly
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet associated with drunks could often be more due to hypoglycemia than to the effects of alcohol. A pattern of frequent alcohol consumption can also result in decreased insulin sensitivity and elevated levels of the key appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin. Yep, getting the munchies in correlation with alcohol intake is validated by science! And when you do eat, those calories are more likely to be stored as fat. Alcohol ingestion thus detracts from fat loss goals by contributing empty calories (that you will burn before tapping into stored body fat), interfering with other ingested calories (promoting the conversion of ingested carbs into fat), and increasing appetite. Along those lines, if alcohol is to be consumed, it is best consumed alone to mitigate fat storage concerns, and, of course, in a sensible and moderate manner. Alcohol can also affect body composition by altering the healthy balance of sex hormones in both males and females. Alcohol is known to be directly toxic to the testes, lowering testosterone levels in males. Frequent consumption can disturb hormone functions in the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, damage sperm, and compromise fertility. In premenopausal females, frequent alcohol consumption can cause an assortment of reproductive problems, including abnormal menstrual cycles, delayed ovulation, and infertility. These negative effects are well associated with alcoholics, but reproductive issues can also occur in "social" drinkers. Alcohol can also compromise athlete peak performance and recovery in assorted ways. It can mess with your deep sleep cycles and the critical hormonal processes (especially the release of Human Growth Hormone during deep sleep) that repair and rejuvenate your body for the next day. In postmenopausal women, alcohol has been found to promote elevated levels of estradiol (estrogen), which commonly falls dramatically after menopause. The elevated blood estrogen levels from moderate alcohol consumption can actually deliver some health benefits by helping to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease without increasing the risk of bone loss, liver disease, or breast cancer. Due to the toxic effects of alcohol and its negative influence on the healthy metabolism of other calories, anything beyond occasional, casual drinking will have a negative effect on healthy metabolic and hormonal function.
CCK (Cholecystokinin): A peptide hormone produced in the small intestine that regulates the rate of fat and protein digestion. CCK tells the stomach to slow down the speed of digestion so that the small intestine can effectively digest fats from a meal, which helps promote satiety in consequence with meals with significant fat and protein content.
Cortisol: A hormone belonging to the glucocorticoid family that plays a prominent role in the fight-or-flight response, as well as the functioning of nearly every organ and tissue in the body. Cortisol is produced in the pituitary gland and released by the adrenal glands in response to all manner of stimulation. Stimulation would be the literal definition of "stress" in this context, since the fight-or-flight response can occur irrespective of whether the stimulation is judged to be negative or positive by the individual (e.g., a hectic workday or a wedding day are both high-stimulation / high-stress experiences). Healthy levels of cortisol support the regulation of energy levels and metabolic function in the body. Cortisol is critical to the mobilization of fatty acids, glucose, and amino acids for use as energy. A critical component of the fight-or-flight response is cortisol triggering the process of gluconeogenesis: the conversion of amino acids (either ingested or stored in lean tissue) into glucose for quick energy. In essence, cortisol is a catalyst for peak performance as it increases alertness, heart rate, blood pressure, and fuel mobilization. While cortisol makes a critical contribution to peak performance, it is often discussed in the context of excess or chronic production and its destructive effects on the body. Chronically elevated cortisol tapping into a fight-or-flight peak performance state too often, for too long, and with insufficient rest and recovery, suppresses immune function, has a catabolic effect on lean tissue, and accelerates the storage of fat, particularly in the abdomen (where cortisol receptors that promote fat storage are more concentrated). Chronically high levels of cortisol are believed to increase appetite, particularly for sugar, by influencing levels of appetite hormones such as leptin, corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), and neuropeptide Y (NPY).Chronically high cortisol can also result in high blood pressure and, due to sugar cravings and gluconeogenesis, a state of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet Cortisol levels peak in the early morning, influenced by sunlight in the human circadian rhythm, to help prepare for the stress/stimulation of a busy day. Cortisol levels diminish in the evening, allowing the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin to rise to prominence in the bloodstream and facilitate a smooth, relaxing transition from an alert state into a deep, restful sleep.
Cortisol and stress : Since neither burnout nor hyper-arousal is desired, it's essential to understand the mechanisms of the fight-or-flight response and manage it according to genetic expectations, that is, to avoid chronic stressors that trigger prolonged and excessive cortisol production. Instead, life should feature occasional brief, high intensity, intermittent stressors that serve to make us stronger and more resilient to future stress. This includes not only the obvious athletic example of conducting brief, intense workouts, but also challenging the mind with peak performance tasks (speaking in public, excelling in studies or in the workplace, pursuing challenging creative hobbies such as learning a musical instrument or foreign language), and balancing all manner of stress and stimulation with sufficient rest and cognitive downtime. While it seems like we have little or no control over our nervous systems when the stress response kicks in (e.g., hard to relax when a bear is chasing you), the truth is that we do have a certain level of control over how and when the stress response is activated during non-life-threatening circumstances. The scientific components of the stress response are three-fold.
1. First, we have the Stimulus , or stressor, from the environment. This could be encountering a bear in the woods, lowering into the starting blocks for a sprint race, getting into an argument with a hostile driver after a fender bender, or hearing your name called to come to the front of a packed theater for a public speaking engagement.
2. Second, we have the individual's Perception of the stimulus. For example, a seasoned public speaker called to deliver yet another speech will have a different perception of the event than will a novice who has felt nervous and anxious about the occasion for weeks in advance.
3. The final component is the individual's Response to the stimulus on a biochemical level the flood of stress hormones into the bloodstream that characterizes the fight-or-flight response.
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet In our example, the novice public speaker might experience a massive flood of stress hormones into the bloodstream as soon as his name is called, causing a quick spike in heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration. Meanwhile, the seasoned pro might have little or no change in biochemistry--perhaps just a slight uptick in cortisol, adrenaline, and glucose to promote optimal cognitive performance. Here, we have the exact same environmental stimulus but a different perception among individuals, and a different biochemical response. It follows that you have a choice in how you perceive stimulus, which will then directly impact your physiological response to this stress. Encountering a hostile driver can either send you into a tailspin of anger and anxiety that ruins your day for hours afterward, or it can be perceived as an opportunity to hone your skills of patience, empathetic communication, and problem solving by remaining calm in the face of this particular environmental stimulus. When you are able to reframe your perception of an environmental stimulus, more control is gained over the involuntary chemical/hormonal elements of the stress response. This is especially apparent when we realize that even one's thoughts can serve as stressful stimuli and elicit a corresponding hormonal response. Walking alone down a perfectly benign dark alley can quickly become frightening should one's mind wander into a fearful scenario. Ideally, you would harness and protect the powerful fight-or-flight response system for brief, intense stressful situations that call for peak physical and cognitive performance, such as a true life-threatening event or a peak athletic performance. Arguments, running late for an airplane flight, or other common stress-provoking elements of modern life should be perceived differently in order to mute the fight-or-flight response. After engaging the fight-or-flight response during times when it is desired, you should engage in any number of relaxation techniques (deep breathing, meditation, laying in the sun after an intense physical workout, or simply cultivating a positive attitude regardless of the outcome of one's peak performance effort), to quickly return to a calm, balanced state without generating an undesirable prolonged production of stress hormones.
General Adaptation Syndrome : The late Hans Seyle, a Hungarian endocrinologist widely regarded as the father of modern stress research, explains the physiological implications of the stress response as a three-phase process called the General Adaptation Syndrome .
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet 1. The first phase is Alarm , and occurs when stress hormones flood the
bloodstream in the familiar characterization of the fight-or-flight response. 2. The second stage is Resistance . Here, the immediate and extreme elements of
the fight-or-flight response subside, but stress hormones still circulate in the bloodstream at an elevated level to afford heightened physical and cognitive performance. A person can remain in the resistance state for days or weeks, as in the case of final exams week, a high pressure deadline at work, or a chronic phase of physical training.
3. The final stage is called Exhaustion . Because the resistance stage continued for too long, the body's stress coping mechanisms are exhausted. Instead of elevated cortisol in the bloodstream, cortisol levels drop well below normal, causing an interference in healthy, normal function. The immune system becomes vulnerable to infection, brain performance declines (often described as feeling "foggy" or "spaced"), and physical fatigue is prolonged as the body bottoms out from an exhaustive period of chronic stress.
Glucagon: The counterregulatory hormone to insulin, glucagon, is responsible for mobilizing stored fuel into the bloodstream for use as energy, including fatty acids, glycogen (storage form of glucose), amino acids (protein), and ketone bodies. Glucagon is secreted by the pancreas, as is insulin. When blood glucose levels are low, glucagon causes the liver and muscle cells to convert stored glycogen into glucose. If glycogen stores are depleted, glucagon will stimulate the conversion of amino acids into glucose via gluconeogenesis. Glucagon also releases fat from fat cells into the bloodstream in the form of free fatty acids that can be burned as energy. Ingestion of carbohydrates raises insulin and suppresses glucagon. Ingestion of protein causes a slight elevation in both insulin and glucagon, so protein technically will not spike blood sugar like carbohydrates do. The ingestion of fat has no effect on either hormone. Glucagon also facilitates the production of ketone bodies from fat metabolism in the liver.
Glutathione: Glutathione is a potent antioxidant present inside every cell in the body and manufactured mainly in the liver. Glutathione is the primary antioxidant agent in our cells, acting to neutralize free radicals and other toxins in the body (mercury,
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet peroxides) as well as to maintain other antioxidants (vitamin C, E, selenium) in their active form. Glutathione also helps speed muscle recovery, improve mental and immune function, and boost fat metabolism. This master antioxidant helps your body recover from all manner of infection, trauma, and illness. Glutathione is continually manufactured and recycled within your cells unless circumstances suppress it, such as oxidative stress from excess insulin, excess glucose, excess cortisol, smoking, environmental toxins, certain medications, radiation, and other elements that disturb healthy cellular function. Glutathione is comprised of the amino acids cysteine, glycine, and glutamine. Glutathione acts as an electron donor to reactive oxygen species, which renders glutathione itself reactive, but it readily reacts with another type of glutathione to regenerate into a reduced (harmless) state.
Gut Health: Gut health has become a hot topic lately, with mounting research indicating that the state of the bacteria in the intestinal tract influences many elements of health. The immune system in particular depends upon a healthy balance of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, a state characterized by a predominance of "friendly" bacteria over the "bad" bacteria that can cause illness. Contrary to the oversimplified layman's view of germs and bacteria as universally bad and dangerous, our bodies are constantly covered and populated by all manner of germs and bacteria, both good and bad no matter how hard we try to scrub and cleanse everything we eat and touch! The bad bacteria that has taken residence is usually rendered benign by healthy bacteria, but can indeed cause assorted disease and disruption to health if they are able to crowd out healthy bacteria and gain a foothold in the bloodstream and digestive tract. It is unfortunately a common occurrence for harmful bacteria to compromise gut health and promote a variety of digestive and immune system irregularities. This state occurs when poor dietary habits, environmental stressors, and adverse lifestyle practices (too much stress, not enough sleep, etc.) cause harmful bacteria to override the delicate balance of microorganisms in the GI tract. Poor gut health is revealed by digestive conditions such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, and acid reflux. Conditions outside the intestinal tract are also strongly associated with poor gut health, including allergies, asthma, acne, migraines, psoriasis, heart disease, diabetes,
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet obesity, autoimmune disorders, and systemic inflammation and its associated health complications. Research has even linked disturbed gut flora to an increased likelihood of mental disorders, including autism, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety and panic attacks. The gut is home to 100 trillion microorganisms in the form of bacteria and yeast, also called flora. The body depends on this flora to help regulate immune function, digestion, and intestinal mechanisms, and to help defend against infection and inflammation. These beneficial microorganisms even produce nutrients and vitamins. Gut bacteria set up shop during our evolutionary development as Homo sapiens . Primal humans ingested dirt and soil with every meal, along with billions of beneficial microorganisms in the form of bacteria and yeast. To optimize our health, our genes developed a reliance on a regular and consistent supply of these soil-based organisms. So with every bit of dirt ingested, our ancestors were strengthening their immune and digestive systems, and improving their health. Unfortunately, modern life has challenged our gut health in ways unimaginable to our ancestors. We consume an abundance of nutrient-deficient, chemical-laden processed foods. We scrub and sanitize our foods and our living environments to the extent that our bodies are not exposed sufficiently to germs, and our defenses are weakened accordingly. The GI tract is a highly evolved microbiome that acts as your body's "second brain." The blend of organisms in your gut determines how your body responds to the food you eat: will it store it or burn it? Will it exacerbate metabolic issues or encourage optimal health and well-being? Gut health exerts a similarly strong impact on immune health. Gut flora account for approximately 80 percent of the immune system, plugging up holes in the gut lining so that pathogens can't enter and spread infection.
Probiotics and prebiotics : Besides the big picture of healthy lifestyle habits (adequate sleep and sunlight, good stress management, nutrient-dense diet, etc.), healthy intestinal flora is promoted by the consumption of probiotics, which are healthful living organisms present in certain foods that, when consumed, take up residence in your digestive tract. Fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, fermented soy products (miso, tempeh), kombucha drinks, and even dark chocolate are rich in health-promoting
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet probiotics. Probiotics are also popular in liquid or capsule supplement form. So, probiotics can be considered agents in certain foods that help populate your digestive tract with healthy bacteria. Probiotics, however, need their own type of food to survive in the form of prebiotics . Prebiotics are indigestible agents present in certain foods (or supplements) that nourish the healthy bacteria already living in your digestive tract. Resistant starch is the best dietary source of prebiotics. Unlike regular starch in complex carbohydrate form, resistant starch is indigestible when consumed. It can't be digested by enzymes and it can't be absorbed as glucose. So, instead of being processed like regular food calories, resistant starch travels through the small intestine unscathed and into the colon where gut flora metabolize it into short chain fatty acids. As top-shelf food for your gut bacteria, resistant starch fuels the production of a fatty acid called butyrate, which is the prime energy source for your colonic cells. Butyrate communicates with your immune system, telling it to ease off on the inflammation response. And because resistant starch doesn't spike blood sugar, it actually lowers the insulin response to a meal you consume. Resistant starch boosts the integrity and function of your gut, flushes away harmful microbes, and even contributes to satiety. Recent research from the University of Toronto showed that supplementation with resistant starch decreased hunger and reduced subsequent food intake. Empirical evidence tells a similar tale: resistant starch helps promote lowered body fat and increased lean mass, as well as improved thyroid function, better sleep, and more mental calm. Prebiotics are present in an assortment of foods, such as asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, bananas, plantains, onions, garlic, leeks, red wine, honey, and even whole grains and legumes. However, to pursue maximum health benefits, a strategic approach of taking concentrated sources of resistant starch such as potato starch, tapioca starch, or plantain flour, or emphasizing foods that are very high in resistant starch, such as green bananas, is recommended. Many experts agree that raw, unmodified potato starch is the fastest and most reliable way to up your resistant starch intake. However, some people (especially those with compromised gut health) may want to proceed with caution, as it's possible to succumb to gastrointestinal distress (gas, bloating, constipation) from the sudden alteration in
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet typical dietary habits. If you experience any digestive distress as you attempt to add potato starch or other resistant starches to your diet, reduce intake for a while. And, consider emphasizing whole food sources over supplements or powders like potato starch. Some of the best whole food sources of resistant starch include:
1. Green bananas and plantains : That's right, going green is key. Ripe bananas and plantains provide mostly carbohydrates and minimal resistant starch, but the nutrient composition is quite different when you consume these tropical fruits unripe. A typical green banana contains only 6 grams of carbs, while a ripe banana contains around 25 grams. Alternatively, these plants in unripe form provide an abundance of resistant starch and fewer carbohydrate calories, making them particularly appealing to carb-conscious primal eaters.
2. Cooked-and-cooled potatoes, rice, or legumes : Yes, the "cooked-and-cooled" qualifier is critical here, because cooking followed by cooling alters the structure of the carbohydrates in these foods to render them resistant. If you eat a baked potato warm or a steaming bowl of rice, these carbohydrates will be in digestible form with little to no resistant starch. Instead, consume them cold after they have been cooked to get a good dose of resistant starch.
3. Flours : You can also obtain resistant starch by supplementing smoothies or soups with isolated starch sources such as raw potato starch, plantain flour, green banana flour, and cassava/tapioca starch. There are around eight grams of resistant starch in a single tablespoon of raw potato starch, which is believed to be the most reliable form of supplementary starch.
Hormones: These chemical messengers are released by cells or glands to take effect on other cells. For example, endocrine hormones are released into the bloodstream to influence heart rate, respiration, and metabolism as components of the stress response. Hormones can be viewed as the vehicles with which our genes carry out their messaging in the body. For example, genes direct the pulsing of growth hormone into the bloodstream in response to assorted factors such as food, exercise, and sleep. Growth hormone messages the liver to release insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) into the bloodstream, which influence a variety of metabolic functions, including building muscle after a workout.
Intermittent Fasting: Intermittent Fasting, whether planned (e.g., a 12-hour or 24-hour fast) or spontaneous (skipping meals when busy or otherwise inclined to), offers numerous health and weight management benefits when one is primal-adapted. Fasting off a primal-eating pattern simply enables stored body fat to come to the forefront as the preferred energy source. Gluconeogenesis and ketone burning fulfill the body's glucose requirements during the fast. Regarding daily protein requirements, muscle catabolism is of minimal concern during brief fasts, since there are plenty of amino acids circulating in the bloodstream to address essential metabolic functions involving amino acids, such as the repair and maintenance of lean tissue.
Fasting promotes caloric efficiency , whereby the body's metabolic needs are fulfilled successfully with fewer ingested calories. This is achieved by the slowing of the rate of cell division, a genetically programmed response to calorie restriction. With a continually abundant (or excessive) supply of caloric energy, cells divide and multiply freely, accelerating the aging process and compressing lifespan.
When caloric intake and metabolic function become more efficient , cellular repair is enhanced and cell division is slowed. Hormones responsible for growth, repair, and immune function are optimized during fasts, since insulin levels are low in the absence of dietary calories. Low insulin levels allow these adaptive hormones to circulate in the bloodstream without being whisked away into fat storage, as is often the case with a high insulin-producing diet. One study revealed that a 24-hour fast increased growth hormone levels 1,300 percent in females and 2,000 percent in males. Improved caloric efficiency is a genetically programmed response to preserve health and energy during sustained periods when dietary calories were scarce, such as the winter season for hunter-gatherers. The rate of cell division represents the essence of aging in the body, making the practice of Intermittent Fasting of great interest to those interested in longevity, health, and disease protection. Only those who have programmed their genes to become fat adapted through a low-carbohydrate / low-insulin eating pattern can experience the most benefits from Intermittent Fasting and avoid the drawbacks associated with fasting with a carb-dependent metabolism.
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet The benefits of becoming more calorically efficient (being able to support healthy metabolic processes and meet energy and satisfaction needs on fewer calories) contrasts with the commonly-held notion that a faster metabolism is a desirable byproduct of eating and exercising in a healthy manner. While a vigorous exercise program that promotes a faster metabolism might assist slightly with maintaining ideal body composition levels, burning and consuming calories at an elevated rate over a lifetime literally accelerates the aging process. Of course, this statement doesn't take into consideration the assorted benefits of exercise versus being sedentary. However, the notion that vigorous exercise requires obsessive re-feeding sessions immediately afterward, and gives free-license for abundant caloric consumption in general while still promoting health and longevity, is flawed. It fails to account for the benefits of being calorically efficient while leading an active lifestyle. Together, the Spartan Method diet and exercise strategies promote functional, full-body fitness along with caloric efficiency. Primal athletes can perform with lower caloric needs than athletes immersed in high-carbohydrate diets and chronic exercise patterns.
Fasting and exercise : A popular practice in evolutionary health circles is to pair Intermittent Fasting with intense exercise. This practice is believed to offer numerous benefits. Extensive literature supports the contention that fasting or calorie restriction in general can improve immune function, improve the rate of cellular repair, and slow the rate of cell division. A body deprived of calories necessarily becomes more efficient at repairing and regenerating cells and slowing the rate of cell division. The Standard American Diet characterized by a regimented pattern of high-carbohydrate meals that provide a steady and often excessive supply of fuel, affords an accelerated rate of cell division. Since cancer is marked by unregulated cell division, the mere act of eating regular meals and being overfed in general can arguably increase cancer risk, not to mention excess body fat storage.
In contrast, fasting has been shown to have a profound effect on autophagy , the process by which cells eliminate damaged cellular matter from the body and thereby protect the body against oxidative stress that occurs when free radicals attach to cells and inflict irreparable damage. Extensive literature supports a connection between
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet fasting and fat loss, reduced cancer risk, improved cancer survival, improved tumor response to chemotherapy, and extended life span. Pairing fasting with intense exercise can deliver a performance-enhancing, anti-aging effect by up-regulating the release of adaptive hormones into the bloodstream. During a fast, adrenal hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine are elevated, and intense exercise stimulates a further elevation of these hormones. These desirable, short-term stress hormone spikes serve to improve performance and recovery. Energy mobilization (fatty acids and glucose released into the bloodstream) is enhanced due to this hormonal response, and mental focus is improved as another component of the stress response. After exercise (in the absence of calories) the re-activation of muscle protein translation is optimized, something that is compromised when calories are consumed in conjunction with endurance exercise. In one study, subjects who lifted weights in a fasted state enjoyed greater intramyocellular anabolic response to their post-workout meal. This means their post-workout muscle growth rate was improved, and at a significant level.
Conversely, "carbo-loading" before exercise, and immediate re-feeding afterward is an approach advocated by conventional wisdom to ensure athletes perform and recover optimally from intense exercise. Often an ideal ratio of several units carbohydrate per unit of protein is recommended to ensure glycogen reloading and sufficient amino acids for muscle repair. This message is mostly applicable to an athlete entrenched in the carb paradigm (which most are) rather than a universal truth. Those who have created a dependency on carbs due to dietary habits and chronic exercise patterns may indeed experience difficulty performing at peak and recovering optimally when they attempt an abrupt transition from their typical eating pattern to exercising intensely in a fasted state. When one is primal-adapted, pairing fasting with intense exercise improves insulin sensitivity, a process that has a beneficial effect on recovery, immune function, reduced disease risk, and general health. Depleting muscles of stored energy and then waiting until WHEN (When Hunger Ensues Naturally) to eat, makes the muscles very receptive to what insulin has to offer nutrients to replenish and recover.
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet Someone who rarely depletes stored energy, rarely skips meals, and/or eats a high insulin-producing diet will be less sensitive to insulin's signals because there is no demand for sensitivity. This person will trend toward insulin resistance, which is widely regarded as the number one health risk of eating the Standard American Diet. While regular exercise helps to improve insulin sensitivity and prevent insulin resistance, even devoted fitness enthusiasts can experience negative effects from chronic calorie burning combined with obsessive re-feeding. Most noticeable is a failure to attain and maintain ideal body composition levels despite a high devotion to vigorous workouts and sensible eating. This is the case with many amateur level marathon runners and ironman triathletes who struggle with excess body fat despite burning massive amounts of calories in weekly training regimens of 10, 15, or even 20 total hours of exercise. Less noticeable is the pro-inflammatory state that this type of exercise and eating pattern promotes, which increases the risk of assorted health problems and diseases, including heart disease. Yes, even among extremely fit specimens, heart disease is common. Another profound benefit of exercising in a fasted state, particularly for endurance athletes, is improved glycogen repletion and retention. The body adapts to exercising in a fasted state by utilizing less glycogen to perform a certain amount of work. This happens to be the essence of succeeding in endurance sports: being able to preserve glycogen while performing at higher and higher intensities over longer and longer periods in a competitive setting. Consider the example of an elite marathoner running at sub-five minutes per mile pace for 26 miles (finishing in a world-class time of 2 hours, 10 minutes), whereas an ordinary fit person would only last a few minutes (if that!) at sub-five-minute pace. The elite marathoner is able to burn a mixture of fat and glycogen to sustain an exceptional pace for 26 miles, while the less trained individual will burn glucose at a high rate and quickly become exhausted. This concept is presented in the framework of long-term primal-adapted eating, training at sensible, predominantly aerobic heart rates, and thereby teaching the body to prefer fat and spare glycogen, both at rest and during exercise. In the context of a single endurance event, someone who is not primal-adapted is best served following the conventional approach of consuming all the carbohydrate calories he or she needs to ensure full glycogen stores beforehand, and supplementing during exercise with quick burning sources of glucose, such as energy drinks or gels.
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet However, once an athlete is primal-adapted (from 21 days of primal eating without chronic exercise patterns), the need for an immediate restocking of muscle glycogen after a workout is minimized. This is because fat and ketones are burned more efficiently both during and after the workout. Second, workouts will either be brief and intense or, if prolonged, will be performed at a comfortable heart rate that promotes fat as the preferred fuel so that glycogen is spared. Workouts that are prolonged at medium-to-difficult intensity, such as a race, will be conducted infrequently and thus easily handled by the body thanks to the peak performance afforded by a healthy, fresh adrenal system and fine-tuned fight-or-flight mechanism. Achieving a proper balance of stress and rest ensures that ample time for recovery is allowed before further challenging workouts are attempted in a potentially depleted or not fully recovered state.
Leptin: Produced by fat tissue, leptin is a key hormone that regulates appetite, satiety, fat metabolism, and reproductive functions. Leptin messages the brain about how much fat to eat and what to do with it. Throughout evolution, optimal fat stores indicated the organism was fit for reproduction, which is the ultimate goal of any species under selection pressure. Having high leptin sensitivity, aka optimal leptin signaling, results in efficient control of appetite and body fat levels. These are efforts by your genes to prime the body for reproduction. While it might seem paradoxical, high leptin sensitivity and optimal signaling is associated with low levels of leptin in the blood. When delicate hormonal processes are in balance, the volume of leptin is less relevant than the sensitivity that other hormones, fat cells, and the brain have toward leptin's messaging.
Conversely, elevated fasting blood leptin levels can suppress leptin sensitivity, stimulate the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) nervous system, and instigate systemic inflammation. In this scenario of leptin resistance, both appetite and body fat storage can increase because fat cells are producing ample or excessive amounts of leptin, but the hypothalamus is not getting the message to curb appetite. In his book, Why We Get Fat , Gary Taubes explains, "We don't get fat because we overeat; we overeat because we are getting fat." As with insulin resistance, leptin resistance results in a vicious cycle of overeating and excessive fat storage, a futile attempt by your genes to prime a body (that your brain believes is starved and lacking fat) for reproduction while remaining deaf to leptin's attempt to signal otherwise that you have plenty of fat in storage.
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet Leptin is a prominent factor in influencing the oft-mentioned "metabolic set point," which conventional wisdom erroneously characterizes as a mostly fixed heritable trait. That is, we each have a set point that strongly influences our body composition, and attempting to lower body fat percentage through calorie restriction and increased caloric expenditure may generate short-term results, but eventually causes one to drift back to the body fat percentage dictated by their unique, familial genetically influenced, set point. The set point theory is refuted when you consider how implausible it is that we can balance calories eaten with calories burned over the long term. As Taubes details in Why We Get Fat , it's virtually impossible to balance these independent variables outside of a clinical environment. Hence, we should theoretically yo-yo up or down 20, or even 50 pounds, in a year's time if we went merely by the raw numbers of annual ingestion and caloric expenditure. Instead, leptin and other hormones influence appetite and metabolic rate to try and keep us in balance, with the ultimate evolutionary goal of getting and keeping us fit for reproduction. Here, we either succeed by optimizing leptin sensitivity through primal-aligned eating, or we fail miserably by becoming leptin and/or insulin resistant.
Losing excess body fat when leptin signaling is poor will be difficult to impossible, as efforts to moderate caloric intake or burn extra calories will be overpowered by hormonal influences that stimulate appetite or promote fat storage instead of fat burning. Leptin sensitivity/signaling can be improved by:
1. moderating carbohydrate intake / insulin production (hyperinsulinemia: chronically high insulin production can suppress leptin signaling)
2. increasing fat intake (high fat intake delivers a high satiety factor; leptin signals the brain to curb appetite)
3. Intermittent Fasting (blood leptin levels fall while fasting; appetite and satiety are more attuned at ensuing meals)
4. primal-aligned workouts (in contrast with chronic exercise, which can suppress leptin signaling)
5. and optimal sleep habits (sleep deprivation suppresses leptin signaling).
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet Simply altering food choices to emphasize fat and moderate carbohydrate intake can improve leptin signaling exponentially, resulting in immediate improvements in appetite control and fat metabolism.
Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL): These are receptors on fat cells that pull fatty acids from the bloodstream into the cell for storage as triglycerides. LPL activity can be elevated or suppressed by exercise, dietary, and sex hormone factors. High insulin levels increase LPL activity, as do high estrogen levels. Females tend to have a high concentration of LPL in the hips and buttocks areas in order to promote reproductive fitness.
Males who experience a decline in testosterone due to a high insulin-producing diet, insufficient sleep, chronically excessive stress hormone production, and the natural aging process will experience elevated LPL levels in the midsection, causing a "beer belly." Efforts to slim down "trouble areas" of the body can be frustrating and ineffective until one realizes the influence that LPL, HSL, and leptin have on appetite and metabolism.
Exercise and LPL : LPL is suppressed during exercise and elevated after exercise. During exercise, fat and glucose metabolism are enhanced, but the body reverts into fat storage mode after exercise in an effort to recover and replenish. For this reason, it is particularly important to avoid a chronic exercise pattern that frequently stresses the body with vigorous exercise and activates a recovery/replenishment/fat storage mode (characterized by elevated LPL) too often. An overly sedentary lifestyle can also cause problems by suppressing LPL function for prolonged periods. This presents a different perspective than that of the previously discussed short-term examples of LPL responses to environmental signals. Decreased LPL activity indicates inhibited processing of energy in the bloodstream, which can increase risk of certain health problems and diseases. For example, low LPL due to inactivity revealed a 20-percent reduction in blood HDL levels, increasing risk and severity of heart disease and exacerbating problems associated with diabetes, aging, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome.
Hormone Sensitive Lipase (HSL): HSL is an enzyme that works inside of fat cells to mobilize stored fat (in the form of triglyceride) into the bloodstream (in the form of free fatty acids) for use as energy. High insulin levels suppress HSL activity, as do high estrogen levels. HSL and LPL are also influenced by cortisol. As the central component of the fight-or-flight response, cortisol can override the normal metabolic processes and mobilize fat from storage for quick energy by stimulating HSL activity. However, if insulin levels are high when cortisol is released into the bloodstream, cortisol will stimulate LPL activity, further exacerbating a fat-storage pattern.
Protein: The building blocks for all living tissue in the body, protein is comprised of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen molecules. By comparison, carbohydrate is comprised of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, the derivative of the "CHO" abbreviation for carbohydrates. Optimal dietary protein intake is an item of some dispute among health and medical experts, but it's generally agreed that a certain amount of diet should be allocated to protein to provide for daily metabolic needs while preserving lean muscle mass.
The Spartan Method's recommendation is to consume .5 grams per pound of lean body mass per day on average. This recommendation accounts for the basal metabolic needs of .5 grams per pound per day to sustain lean mass, repair and rebuild cells or enzymes, and sustain healthy organ function, recognizes that the escalating protein needs based on activity level might be overstated, and that there are health risks to consuming excess protein. The body can handle substantially more, or substantially less, protein intake than the recommended range on occasion and without problem, but a pattern of protein consumption far in excess of the body's requirements to maintain normal metabolic function can become troublesome. Unfortunately, high-protein, low-fat, low-carb diets have become more common, by design and also by default. As awareness increases about carbohydrates causing fat gain, while at the same time conventional wisdom holds about fat being fattening and unhealthy, people are cutting both carbs and fat and defaulting to excessive protein consumption. This type of eating pattern is discouraged because excessive protein intake can stress the liver and other organs
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet due to a toxic buildup of urea, uric acid, nitrogen, and ammonia. Furthermore, since the body cannot store significant amounts of protein like it can fat or carbohydrates (which are converted into fats when consumed in excess of energy requirements), gluconeogenesis (technically, the removal of nitrogen from the amino acid molecule to form a carbohydrate) kicks in to deal with protein intake beyond basic metabolic needs. Whether you ingest carbohydrate directly, or make glucose internally to address the body's glucose needs and mitigate the risks of excessive protein intake, you end up with the same undesirable circumstance of hyperinsulinemia and excess body fat storage. We can now add a clause to the maxim that all carbs are converted into glucose in the body, and that all excess glucose not burned or stored as glycogen is converted into fat: excess protein is converted into glucose (via gluconeogenesis) and, as a consequence, excess protein intake can lead, indirectly, to excess body fat.
While consuming insufficient protein over a prolonged period will compromise basic metabolic function, a pattern of excess protein intake can accelerate glycation, oxidation, insulin resistance, and leptin resistance. In simplified terms, consuming excess protein unnecessarily accelerates natural cellular functions. Consumption of fat does not stimulate the release of insulin and improves leptin sensitivity/signaling, which is one reason why the Spartan Method recommends that fat be the predominant source of calories in the diet. Fat is the variable macronutrient that can be used to meet satiety goals when protein is regulated at .5 grams per pound of lean mass, and carbohydrate intake is regulated at 150 grams or less on average per day.
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet Primal Carbohydrate Curve
The Primal Carbohydrate Curve illustrates how carbohydrates impact the human body and the degree to which we need them, or don't need them, in our diet. Carb intake is the decisive factor in your weight management success or failure, and excessive carb consumption is arguably the most destructive modern lifestyle behavior. Eliminating grains and sugars from your diet could be the number one most beneficial thing you ever do for your health!
0 to 50 grams per day - Ketosis and Accelerated Fat Burning : Acceptable for occasional one to two day Intermittent Fasting efforts toward aggressive weight loss (or longer term, for medically supervised weight-loss programs for the obese and/or type 2 diabetics), provided adequate protein, fat, and supplements are consumed. Excellent catalyst for quick, relatively comfortable weight loss and not at all dangerous. Not recommended as a long-term practice for most people due to likely deprivation of high nutrient value vegetables and fruits.
50 to 100 grams per day - Primal Sweet Spot for Effortless Weight Loss : Minimizes insulin production and accelerates fat metabolism. By meeting average daily protein requirements, eating nutritious vegetables and fruits, and staying satisfied with delicious high-fat foods (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds), you can lose one to two pounds of body fat per week in the "sweet spot."
100 to 150 grams per day - Primal Maintenance Range : Allows for genetically optimal fat burning, muscle development, and effortless weight maintenance. Rationale supported by humans eating and evolving in this range or below for millions of years. Dietary emphasis on vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and animal foods, with grains and processed sugars eliminated.
150 to 300 grams per day - Insidious Weight Gain : Continuous insulin-stimulating effects prevent efficient fat metabolism and contribute to widespread health conditions. This zone is de facto recommendation of many popular diets and health authorities (including the USDA Food Pyramid!) despite clear danger of developing Metabolic Syndrome. Chronic exercisers, active, growing youth, and those with physically strenuous jobs may eat at this level for an extended period without gaining fat, but eventually fat storage and/or metabolic problems are highly probable. This "insidious" zone is easy to drift into, even by health-conscious eaters, when grains are a dietary centerpiece, sweetened beverages or snacks leak into the picture here and there, and obligatory fruits and vegetables are added to the total.
300 or more grams per day - Danger Zone! : Zone of the average American's diet, and in excess of official USDA dietary guidelines (which suggest you eat 45 percent to 65 percent of calories from carbs), thanks to stuff like soda tipping the scales over. Extended time in the danger zone results in almost
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet certain weight gain and Metabolic Syndrome. The danger zone is the primary catalyst for the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemics, as well as numerous other significant health problems. Immediate and dramatic reduction of grains and other processed carbs is critical.
Carb Curve Variables : The 50-gram/200-calorie variation within each range on the curve attempts to account for individual energy disparities: a light, moderately active female will observe the low end of the range, while a heavy, active male will subscribe to the high end. If you insist upon doing chronic cardio, you will likely have to increase carb intake to account for regular depletion of stored liver and muscle glycogen and an elevated metabolic rate. You can experiment with consuming 100 additional grams of high nutrient value carbs for every hour of vigorous exercise, and notice how your body responds.
The Other Twenty Percent: Moderating dietary carbohydrate intake and insulin production represents 80 percent of success with body composition goals, while exercise, sleep, and a stress-balanced lifestyle contribute the other 20 percent. The Spartan Method contends that the distribution is 80 percent diet, 10 percent sensible, primal-aligned exercise, 5 percent optimal sleeping habits, and the final 5 percent the effective management/mitigation of all forms of life stress.
Exercise: 10 percent : A sensible, primal-aligned exercise program features extensive, comfortably paced movement, regular brief, intense strength training sessions, and occasional all-out sprints. Regarding body composition goals and exercise, a major benefit of a primal-aligned exercise pattern is that it improves insulin sensitivity: the ability of the liver and muscles to assimilate nutrients delivered by insulin (such as amino acids and glucose) effectively. Mobilizing and burning liver and muscle glycogen stores during workouts helps the body become more receptive to replenishing glycogen when carbohydrate calories are ingested at ensuing meals. In contrast, a sedentary person who rarely or never depletes stored glycogen will have less insulin sensitivity. Consequently, ingested calories will pass by insulin-resistant liver and muscle cells and be transported directly into storage as fat.
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet Emphasizing comfortably paced cardiovascular exercise (having plenty of oxygen to breathe and feeling refreshed afterward instead of fatigued and hungry) instead of more stressful medium-to-difficult intensity cardiovascular sessions will also contribute to fat adaptation, since fat is the preferred energy source at low intensities. As intensity escalates and oxygen (required for fat metabolism) becomes scarce, an ever-greater percentage of glucose is burned as fuel. This is because glucose can be burned easily even when oxygen supply is limited or absent, as in the case of increasing exercise intensity.
Engaging in a chronic pattern of stressful, predominantly glucose-burning workouts teaches the body to prefer glucose as a fuel even at rest. Glucose is burned at a high rate during workouts, causing an elevated appetite for carbohydrate in the aftermath of workouts, causing high insulin production, and causing an eventual sugar crash and a consequent craving for more carbohydrate. Reprogramming your genes to prefer fat as the primary energy source is supported through a low insulin-producing diet as well as through comfortable "fat-burning" workouts. The challenge of even a low-intensity workout that metabolizes fuel and processes oxygen at double or beyond the rate you would at rest, sends a strong signal to your genes to optimize fat metabolism and preserve glycogen.
Sleep and Stress Management: 5+5 = 10 percent : Optimal sleep habits, indicated by evenings of minimal artificial light and digital stimulation, a quiet, dark sleeping environment, and a natural awakening near sunrise that leaves you feeling alert and energetic, also heavily contribute to body composition goals and overall health. While sleep is one of the most important ways to combat stress, there are numerous other elements involved, including emotional health and intelligence that assist the physical body in coping with life stress of all forms. Cycling optimally through all phases of sleep and staying in close alignment with circadian rhythm helps regulate numerous hormones that affect appetite, satiety, and metabolism, such as the aforementioned leptin, ghrelin, CCK, insulin, and cortisol. In contrast, poor sleep habits or insufficient sleep can disturb the function of hormones and neurotransmitters in a manner that promotes a pattern of excess caloric consumption and fat storage. It should be noted that the "five percent" estimate here is speaking to what percentage your body composition success can be attributed to good
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet sleeping habits. If you are sleep deficient, this can be a huge detriment to your goals to the extent that your diligent efforts to eat and exercise primally are largely negated due to a pattern of insufficient sleep. If you are stuck in a pattern of failure in pursuit of weight loss or fitness gains, poor sleep habits could arguably be blamed at fifty percent for your failure!
As detailed in the book, Lights Out, Sleep, Sugar, and Survival , by T.S. Wiley and Bent Formby, exposure to excessive artificial light after the sun sets tricks the body into thinking it's summertime, year round. A body composition problem results, because the human evolutionary pattern in summertime is to consume abundant amounts of carbohydrate (i.e., fresh seasonal fruit), produce higher levels of insulin than normal, and store extra body fat in preparation for the winter season, which often involved bouts of famine and less activity. Furthermore, the human circadian rhythm is accustomed to sleeping less during the longer, brighter, warmer, more active days of summer than during the shorter, colder, darker days of winter. Hence, Sleep, Sugar, and Survival recommends fluctuating sleep habits to the tune of getting around 8 hours in the summer months and 9.5 hours per night in the winter months. This recommendation promotes closer circadian rhythm alignment with the rising and setting of the sun at different times of the year. This estimated summer to winter fluctuation in sleeping hours is perhaps applicable to those living in the latitudes of the contiguous 48 states, between 30 degrees (Florida, Texas) and 49 degrees (US/Canadian border), or in the major European cities below Scandinavia (40-55 degrees). The further your distance from the equator, the more you might fluctuate your sleeping hours between summer and winter. Exposing yourself to artificial light after it gets dark stimulates the release of cortisol into the bloodstream, which suppresses melatonin (the hormone that promotes sleepiness) in order to keep you alert to the stimulation. Think how you can remain alert while staying up late to watch a good movie, yet if you were at a dark campsite, you might easily fall asleep much earlier in the evening. Excess artificial light and chronically elevated cortisol also promote carbohydrate cravings in an effort to boost energy at a time when the body really wishes to get primed for sleep. As we have learned, consuming carbohydrates provides a quick energy spike, followed by the release of insulin. The insulin release suppresses melatonin and prompts the
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet release of more stress hormones into the bloodstream upon the insulin-triggered decline of blood glucose. While this crash and burn cycle is unpleasant enough during the day, it is particularly troubling to disturb optimal hormone balance before bedtime. With stress hormones elevated before bedtime, you may experience difficulty falling asleep because melatonin is suppressed. Furthermore, you may experience a "suppression" of the adaptive hormones (human growth hormone and others) that typically peak during sleep to promote optimal restoration and recovery from stress, and a suppression of immune function, since the routine overnight rebuilding and restoration of the immune system is also compromised. Primal enthusiasts and clients eager to reduce excess body fat through primal-aligned eating should maintain awareness of the importance of optimal sleep and stress management techniques--falling short in these areas can reduce the effectiveness of an excellent eating and exercise pattern.
Diet is the gateway, but once you nail that, sleep and exercise become more important.
Testosterone: The primary male sex hormone that presides over muscle growth and recovery, and promotes traits such as physical strength, body and facial hair, sex drive, and competitive drive. Males produce testosterone (mostly from the testes) at levels about 20 times higher than the levels females produce, but the hormone is essential to female health as well. In particular, women need optimal testosterone to maintain bone density and prevent the common condition of osteoporosis. Females produce testosterone mostly in the ovaries, and maintain an estrogen-to-testosterone ratio of around 2:1. A gradual decline in testosterone, for both sexes, is believed to be a major marker of aging. While a gradual decline in reproductive hormone levels is a natural consequence of chronological aging, the normal age-related decline is believed to be accelerated by a high insulin-producing diet, as well as by an excessively stressful lifestyle resulting in chronically elevated cortisol levels.
An increase in abdominal body fat in males is strongly associated with declining testosterone and/or elevated cortisol. Here, the high insulin-producing, fat-storage-promoting diet creates a negative feedback loop as follows:
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet 1. The abundant abdominal fat cells produce more estrogen than is optimal for
males. 2. Luteinizing hormone (LH), released from the pituitary gland to regulate
testosterone production, is disturbed by excessive estrogen levels. 3. In females, this can throw off normal ovulation cycles. In males, the interference
with LH signaling can cause the testes to produce less testosterone. Dr. Cate Shanahan, author of Deep Nutrition and Food Rules and a family medicine physician who promotes evolutionary health principles, recommends "acting like a teen" to improve sex hormone balance in the body.
● First, improve sleep habits, for it is during sleep that testosterone and growth hormone production are elevated.
● Second, conduct brief, intense exercise sessions, which promote a genetically optimal acute elevation of adaptive hormones into the bloodstream.
● It is also critical to eat a low insulin-producing diet (perhaps not like your average teen!) to improve insulin sensitivity and normal delivery of testosterone and human growth hormone to target hormones.
Some other factors that help optimize testosterone are: 1. maintaining optimal vitamin D levels, primarily through sun exposure 2. eating pasture-raised animal products and dairy products that are free from
sex-hormone-disturbing dioxins commonly found in conventional feedlot animal and dairy products
3. eating ample levels of saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and cholesterol, as is characteristic of the primal approach
4. avoiding sugary foods that cause rapid glucose spikes and insulin responses 5. and obtaining adequate zinc from dietary sources such as shellfish.
Breaking the cycle of carb dependency, chronic cardio, inadequate sleep, and excessive life stress can optimize testosterone levels in both males and females. In particular, cortisol should be acknowledged as the chief antagonist to testosterone. Cortisol has strong catabolic properties in its gluconeogenesis role, while testosterone is the leading hormone to promote muscle growth and recovery and peak physical performance.
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet Moderating cortisol production, moderating insulin production, and following teen-like exercise and sleeping habits can deliver a "fountain of youth" effect: a reduction of excess body fat, particularly in the abdominal area, improved daily energy levels, improved mood, improved sleep habits, and improved recovery from exercise and other forms of life stress. While the prevailing issue for the population at large is accelerated aging and excess body fat from a diet egregiously high in insulin, once primal alignment occurs it can be useful for individuals to "tweak" factors such as carbohydrate intake to personal satisfaction. For example, there is significant anecdotal discussion in the evolutionary health community that females may experience better results from primal living by consuming more carbohydrates (provided they are of the high nutrient value variety, such as vegetables, fruits, starchy tubers, or wild rice) than their male counterparts do. This may be due to difficulties with hormone balancing when carbohydrate intake is too low, or other personal factors that are best addressed through experimentation with different carb intake levels. Similarly, high performing athletes with no concerns about excess body fat can experiment with different levels of high nutrient value carbohydrate intake to optimize peak performance and recovery.
Fruit/Fructose: Fruit is seen as an improvement over processed sugar foods and drinks, as well as grain foods, due to the high levels of antioxidants and other nutrients provided. Fruit also generates a more moderate insulin response than other forms of carbohydrates do. This is because fructose, the carbohydrate form in fruit, must first be metabolized in the liver before being utilized in the bloodstream. Furthermore, whole fruits have a high water and fiber content that mutes the blood glucose spike and insulin response. However, since the conversion of excess dietary carbohydrate into triglyceride occurs in the liver, fructose can be more easily converted into fat than can other carbs when overall dietary carbs are in excess (because the fruit must be processed in the liver, where fat conversion occurs). Conversely, in a high-calorie-burning athlete, fruit can be easily converted into muscle glycogen (which also happens in the liver), making it a favorable carbohydrate choice to restock muscles.
Dr. Robert Lustig, UC San Francisco endocrinologist, author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed food, Obesity, and Disease , and one of the world's leading experts on the destructive effects of sugar on the body, says that fructose is
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet "isocaloric but not isometabolic." This means that a similar amount of calories from fructose are metabolized differently than calories from another type of carbohydrate (glucose, sucrose, etc.), because fructose triggers a different hormonal response in the body upon ingestion. In particular, fructose is more likely to be converted into fat due to the aforementioned description of how it must be first processed in the liver.
Furthermore, because fructose does not stimulate insulin at the same rate as other carbohydrates that immediately spike blood glucose, fructose can have a detrimental effect on the appetite and satiety hormones ghrelin and leptin. Dr. Lustig's research suggests that fructose consumption fails to satisfy, and promotes overeating, fat storage, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome. This conundrum is particularly relevant to dieters who consume large amounts of fruit along with fruit juice and fructose-containing processed foods in the interest of restricting fat calories and total calories, or adhering to a point system that gives fruit a favorable rating. Dr. Lustig points out that fructose is particularly dangerous when it's been extracted from its natural state inside of fruit. The reason is that the water and fiber in fruit help mitigate the lipogenic (fat forming) effects of fructose ingestion. This is particularly relevant in the Standard American Diet because extracted forms of fructose (and the particularly offensive chemically altered form of extracted fructose, high fructose corn syrup) are included in many other processed and packaged foods besides fruit, leading to overconsumption. Dr. Joseph Mercola reports that fructose is the number one source of calories in the American diet. Lustig and other experts estimate that today's typical fructose consumption is seven times greater than the typical consumption of our hunter-gatherer ancestors.
Body Composition: Body composition refers to what percentage of your total body weight is represented by fat, muscle, and skeletal mass. For health, fitness, and appearance goals, the main concern is optimizing what percentage of body fat comprises your total weight. There are many methods of measuring body fat percentage, including skinfold calipers, bioelectrical impedance scales, underwater weighing, air displacement chambers, and, currently believed to be the most accurate, Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA), which uses sophisticated machinery to scan the body and determine assorted other composition measurements besides body fat percentage, including muscle and bone density. Another excellent method of tracking body composition is to stand in front of a
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet mirror minimally clothed to observe progress, or even compare photographs at regular intervals.
The oft-mentioned averages and health recommendations for males and females are as follows:
1. Male healthy range: 10-25% 2. Male essential minimum: 3-5% 3. Female healthy range: 18-30% 4. Female essential minimum: 10-16%
The essential minimum levels reflect the distinction between structural fat and adipose fat. Structural fat protects internal organs, is involved in cellular and hormonal functions, comprises part of the human brain, and is in a complex chemical form not intended for use as energy. Adipose fat is deposited beneath the skin, and is more concentrated in certain areas depending on gender and genetics. It is comprised of simple structures such as triglycerides that can be mobilized into the bloodstream and burned as energy.
Since these healthy ranges are extremely broad, optimal body composition level becomes a highly personalized calculation depending on your genetic particulars, fitness goals and exercise regimen, and lifestyle patterns. Elite male athletes in most sports are commonly under 10 percent, while elite female athletes in sports that place a premium on power-to-weight ratio (i.e., most every highly physical sport) are commonly under 15 percent. Typically cited "ideal" figures are 15 percent for males and 22 percent for females, percentages that correlate with minimal to no visible excess body fat. A "ripped" physique in which the abdominals and other muscle groups are clearly distinguished would be perhaps half of those percentages for males and females.
Generally speaking, optimal body composition is perhaps best represented by an absence of health or disease risk factors related to excess body fat and the five markers of Metabolic Syndrome:
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet 4. high triglycerides 5. and low HDL.
Following the Spartan Method eating, exercise, and lifestyle protocol should enable virtually anyone to land in the healthy range of body fat levels.
Review The amount of excess body fat you carry is a combination of the amount of insulin production in your diet combined with your genetic predisposition to store excess body fat. Carbohydrate ingestion drives insulin drives fat storage. Hence, moderating the insulin production in your diet is the gateway to reducing excess body fat. Moderating insulin production is more significant than reducing caloric intake or burning more calories, because optimizing body composition is more about hormone optimization than a literal calories in-calories out equation that disrespects other variables. In fact, the equation is more accurately stated as calories burned versus calories stored . Lowering insulin allows its counter regulatory hormone glucagon to free energy from storage depots (triglycerides in your fat cells, or glycogen in your muscle and liver cells) and be burned in the bloodstream for energy.
Besides body fat storage concerns, excess insulin production promotes oxidation and inflammation in the bloodstream, setting the stage for all manner of health problems, cancer, and heart disease. Excess insulin also accelerates the rate of cell division, leading to accelerated aging. A dietary pattern of high-carb intake/excess insulin production leads to a roller coaster of sugar highs and insulin crashes. This triggers the fight-or-flight response too frequently and eventually leads to burnout and catabolization of lean muscle tissue for emergency glucose via gluconeogenesis.
A prolonged pattern of excess insulin production de-sensitizes cell receptor sites to insulin's signals and creates a dangerous condition of insulin resistance . An insulin-resistant liver is tricked into pumping out more insulin in the bloodstream, exacerbating conditions of oxidation and inflammation, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Excess insulin also disturbs the healthy function of numerous other hormones, including thyroid hormones, sex hormones, and the aforementioned adrenal hormone cortisol. In contrast, a primal-aligned eating pattern and a sensible exercise program
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet promotes insulin sensitivity, where minimal insulin gets the job done and longevity and effortless weight management result. Alcohol calories interfere with weight loss since they put fat metabolism on hold as the "first to burn" calories. Furthermore, alcohol lowers blood glucose levels (leading to appetite increases), and also makes any calories ingested along with the alcohol more likely to be converted into fat. Frequent alcohol consumption can also interfere with healthy sex hormone and reproductive system function.
Cortisol is the primary stress hormone that promotes enhanced physical and cognitive performance as a component of the fight-or-flight response. Cortisol is best utilized in the face of occasional brief peak performance stress, a hardwired genetic attribute that supported survival in life or death circumstances. Today, chronic stressors result in prolonged fight-or-flight responses followed by periods of burnout when stress hormone production can't keep up with unreasonable demand in the absence of downtime and restoration. The stress response has three components: Stimulus, Perception, and Response . Hence, our biochemical response depends upon our unique perception of the stressors (public speaking, etc.). Hans Seyle's General Adaptation Syndrome consists of Alarm (stress hormones flood bloodstream in fight-or-flight), Resistance (hormones remain in bloodstream to allow for adaption to the stressors), and finally Exhaustion if the stress is unrelenting. Compromised digestive, cognitive, and immune function are indicative of the burnout or exhaustion state. Gut health is getting more attention as a critical component of immune function and general health of many systems in the body. Our microbiome exists independent of our cellular makeup and is considered a "second brain." You can help gut health thrive by consuming prebiotics (resistant starch) and probiotic foods (fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and probiotic supplements, etc.). Probiotics populate your intestinal tract with healthy bacteria, while prebiotics (indigestible agents found in certain foods) are nourishing to the probiotics that live in your gut. Good health is dependent upon maintaining a healthy balance in the gut between good bacteria and bad bacteria. Antibiotics kill all forms of bacteria, making them life-savers, but in the aftermath of a course of antibiotics, good bacteria must be nourished and rebuilt to prevail over the bugs we are constantly exposed to. Our immune system becomes
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet resilient from constant exposure to germs, which means we should second guess the obsession modern culture has with cleanliness. Intermittent Fasting promotes caloric efficiency, enhanced cell repair, and accelerated fat metabolism. Pairing fasting with intense exercise can enhance the anti-aging effects of the adaptive hormones that spike in the bloodstream in response to intense workouts. An intuitive approach to fasting should be practiced, such that fasting efforts can be spontaneous or structured, and never have to involve struggling or suffering.
Leptin is a critical hormone involved in the regulation of appetite and fat metabolism. Leptin's primary evolutionary role is to prime the body for reproductive success: stimulating appetite and/or fat storage when signals that more fat is necessary for reproduction are received. Leptin sensitivity is critical to health so the proper signals are observed and acted upon. Unfortunately, a high-carbohydrate, high insulin-producing eating pattern disturbs leptin sensitivity, leading to excess appetite and excess body fat storage despite the presence of ample stored energy. Fasting, eating more fat, exercising sensibly, and getting adequate sleep can all help with leptin sensitivity. LPL (lipoprotein lipase) is a hormone that generally pulls energy from the bloodstream and into storage. HSL (hormone sensitive lipase) generally causes cells to free up stored energy into the bloodstream for burning as energy. Levels of these hormones are altered by puberty, pregnancy, cortisol, and insulin.
The Primal Carbohydrate Curve ranges suggest how body composition goals are affected by average daily carbohydrate intake. Staying under 150 grams per day promotes lifelong health and effortless weight management, while still affording abundant intake of vegetables and other sensibly chosen carbohydrate foods. The "other 20 percent" of the body composition equation involves 10 percent sensible, primal-aligned exercise, adequate sleep 5 percent, and good stress management 5 percent. However, if one is terribly deficient in sleep or stress management, these shortcomings can sabotage the success of someone with excellent dietary habits.
Testosterone is a critical anti-aging hormone for both males and females. The natural, age-related decline is often exacerbated by a high insulin-producing diet and overly
Fat Loss Success is 80% Diet stressful lifestyle patterns that spike cortisol. Obtaining ample vitamin D from sun exposure, moderating life stress, eating various forms of healthy fat and cholesterol, and minimizing sugar intake support healthy testosterone levels.
Fruit is commonly consumed in excess, with our year-round access to overly cultivated, high glycemic modern fruits. Best to moderate intake according to seasonal availability of local fruits. The fructose in fruit must be processed in the liver, making fruit great for reloading muscle glycogen in high calorie burners, or more prone to fat conversion if your glycogen stores are already full. Excess consumption of fructose, especially processed/isolated forms of fructose (e.g., high fructose corn syrup beverages) can alter appetite hormones and promote overeating, insulin resistance, and Metabolic Syndrome.
Healthy male body composition ranges from 10-25 percent body fat, and 18-30 percent for females. Ideal is commonly cited as 15 percent for males and 22 percent for females. Elite athletes and extremely fit specimens will reveal values much lower than these ideals, due to a combination of genetics, extreme training methods, and highly regulated dietary patterns.
Acknowledgement This material was developed by Mark Sisson (Mark’s Daily Apple) in whole or in part as a component of the Primal Health Coach certification process of which Mark Fickler (dba Old Spartan Fitness) is a certified coach.
Disclaimer This educational course is presented with the understanding that the publisher is not rendering medical advice of any kind, nor is this course intended to replace medical advice, nor to diagnose, prescribe or treat any disease, condition, illness, or injury. It is imperative that before beginning any diet or exercise program, including any aspect of the Spartan Method program, you receive full medical clearance from a licensed physician.
