"It is not the lie that passeth through the mind, but the lie that sinketh in, and settleth in it, that doth the hurt."-Francis Bacon
Let's have a discussion that we've had before-what exactly is the best way to eat for optimum human performance and/or weight-loss?
It really is amazing how often we are assaulted with this question in the 1st-World nations. On its surface the question is essentially harmless, but if we allow ourselves to ponder it a little deeper it smells highly of deep-rooted self-absorption.
After all, we in the WEIRD nations (Western Educated Industrialized Rich Democratic) have a veritable food bounty available to us, and to be frank that food bounty is available even to those a bit lower on the socioeconomic scale where poverty has been defined up-that is, what it means to be poor in the US is not at all the same thing as being poor in Somalia. In short, it's never fun to be poor, but if you're gonna be poor, the WEIRD nations are the place to do it.
We citizens of the WEIRD amidst all of this bounty, cast a solipsistic blind eye on the truly hungry each time we take seriously some nutritional or diet claim. We have pathologized being finicky eaters into a quasi-virtue where it is no longer fashionable or popular to discuss our good deeds or aims to build better character, but if the topic turns to weight loss the WEIRD world is all ears.
Lest you think I am taking the high ground while casting aspersions, no, I have been prey to the tune of some of these snake-oil charmers myself. It is not a mark of lack of intelligence to fall for some of these, even uber skeptic Penn Jillette (whom I often adore) recently lost 100 pounds all the while using a fad diet himself. I mention Mr. Jillette because he and his partner Teller have done not one, not two, not three, but four entire episodes of their skeptical TV show Bullshit on the topics of fad diets, obesity, exercise, and the like. These episodes de-bunk and slam false claims within these topics (and rightfully so).
But...
I'm betting some of you are asking, "Well, how did he do it? 100 pounds is nothing to sneeze at."
Zero animal products-1,000 calories per day-Zero exercise (probably because a caloric intake that low in a man his size would prohibit the energy-expenditure.)
Before you consider Mr. Jillette's course of action too seriously and see it as THE way let's also consider-
Tim McGraw & Chris Pratt made similar headlines over the last year with approximately 40 pound weight losses via Paleo diet and hard sessions of Crossfit/P90X style activities.
So which one is it? No animal products/no exercise or mostly animal products/lots of exercise?
4-time CrossFit "Fittest Man on Earth" Champ Rich Froning thinks fad diets, paleo in particular, are bogus and enjoys apple pie and peanut butter (both foods- Paleo no-nos.)
Again, which of the above is THE way.
Michael Phelps the most decorated Olympian of all time eats 12,000 calories per day while training. Check out a sample of his breakfast:
- three fried egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions, and mayo
- one five-egg omelet
- a bowl of grits
- three slices of French toast with powdered sugar
- three chocolate chip pancakes
- two cups of coffee
So, which one is it-1,000 calories or 12,000 calories?
Once you minus out all of the fake science (both established and blog science) and all the touted claims about diet and nutrition, real-weight loss seems to come down to two camps: Basically (and I know this is indelicate to say) The Concentration Camp and The Boot Camp.
Both camps are extremes but they are the only thing that have been proven to work.
Extreme Caloric Restriction
Extreme Exercise
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Tim McGraw, Chris Pratt, Rich Froning, Michael Phelps.
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Military Boot Camp recruits lose on average 18-22 pounds despite unlimited calories of "questionable" food in mess halls.
It seems to have nothing to do with what you eat but how much or the extreme work put in as the off-set, or some mixture of the two extremes.
It's not the magic foods that you emphasize or avoid.
It's how much you eat and how hard you work.
Extreme change requires extreme measures. The key to life seems to be if slimness is so all fired valuable we must trade food and/or the light to moderate activity we currently enjoy for either punishing restricted intake or HARD work-or a combination of the two. Or we say instead that we like our current meals, our current activities, and trust medical science to put a damper on any side-effect of our chosen lifestyle and simply enjoy life.
Again, we can't have it both ways.
---For even more background on the endless pursuit of "The Perfect Diet" see Alan Levinovitz's The Gluten Lie: and Other Myths About What You Eat. This book is written by a professor of religious studies, which seems apt as many folks approach their diet plans with fundamentalist zeal-I guarantee you I will be hearing from some folks who will tell me earnestly: "Good article Mark, but you know what I eat is [insert pseudo-scientific rationale here."]
If you read nothing else in Levinovitz's book read the two appendices. The 1st is The Unpacked Diet which makes an excellent scientific case for his espoused eating plan. The 2nd appendix is the same Unpacked Diet but here is has annotated his diet revealing it to be a fake and demonstrating the tricks, tactics, and self-delusions so many of us use to "justify" our magic foods. Do me a favor and read this before you tell me why what you put in your mouth is so special.
For a nice overall perspective on we humans chasing first this and then that super-smart way of eating and living read Rene Dubos' Mirage of Health: Utopias, Progress and Biological Change. Written in 1956, this legendary medical researcher shows a long fruitless history of man chasing magic foods from ancient Greece to the 1950s. Read it and learn that we have learned very little.
Mr. Bacon (which is a fine food by the way) again: "It is not the lie that passeth through the mind, but the lie that sinketh in, and settleth in it, that doth the hurt."
BOXING FOR MMA
