S3 E5 - Debunking Weight Loss Myths: Hormones, Carbs, and Sustainable Strategies for Long-Term Health
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S3 E5 - Debunking Weight Loss Myths: Hormones, Carbs, and Sustainable Strategies for Long-Term Health

In this episode, Dr. Alfred Alessi and Matt Tack debunk weight loss myths, starting with the "calories in vs. calories out" concept. They highlight hormones' role in weight management and stress food quality over calorie counting, comparing processed and whole foods. The discussion covers nutrition's impact on performance and longevity, clarifying misconceptions about carbs. They critique low-carb diets, emphasizing balanced exercise and diet. Insights on metabolism, hormonal health, and effective weight loss strategies are shared, including the importance of sleep, stress management, and consistency. The episode wraps up with key takeaways and a teaser on gut health for next week.

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(0:00) Introduction and weight loss myth overview (1:17) Personal updates from Dr. Alessi and Matt (2:47) Debunking the calories in vs calories out myth (4:12) Hormones and weight loss (5:12) Food quality over calorie counting (6:21) Processed foods vs. whole foods (8:01) Linking nutrition with performance and longevity (9:42) Personal health and nutrition stories (12:25) Carbs are not the enemy (13:05) Refined vs. complex carbohydrates (15:05) The problem with low-carb diets (18:29) Carbs and athletic performance (21:58) Exercise and diet balance in weight management (23:09) Understanding calorie burn and BMR (31:33) Sponsor: Authentic Nutrition (31:52) Effective weight loss strategies (34:13) Hormonal health and its role in weight loss (40:12) Metabolism boosting through strength training (43:06) Sleep, stress, and metabolic health (45:56) The importance of consistency in health routines (49:27) Sustainable practices for long-term health (50:12) Episode key takeaways (50:19) Call to action: Subscribe and share (50:57) Next week's teaser: Gut health (51:08) Staying connected with the hosts (51:35) Closing remarks

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You cannot even begin to say that those are the same.

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Right?

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And that calories in versus calories out makes sense.

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Obviously, high in refined sugar, it leads to a rapid blood sugar spike because it's absorbed

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as liquid.

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Right?

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And it's gonna trigger you to be hungry very quickly after.

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Whereas chicken breast is rich in protein, provides sustained energy, supports building

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muscle, and it keeps you fuller longer.

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Welcome to Health decode, your number one source for real health information host, doctor

00:00:29
Alessi and Matt Tack.

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Alright.

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Welcome back to Health Decoded where we unravel the complexities of health and wellness with

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science backed insights.

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Today's episode is all about weight loss myths, the falsehoods that keep people stuck, and the

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strategies that actually work.

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I'm your host, doctor Alfred Alessi, with my cohost.

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The cohost, Matt Tack.

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After a week off, I'm glad to be back on, but Yes, sir.

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We're gonna be highlighting the importance of cutting through misinformation to achieve real

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sustainable health and weight loss goals.

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So I'm excited to talk about that.

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Here's a quick teaser.

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Stay tuned as we address the miss and overcome strategies that you can start implementing

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today.

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Good stuff, man.

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Looking forward to this episode, man.

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How's everything been with you, man?

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I know we had a week off, with the podcast, but been busy in the clinic for sure.

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Yeah, man.

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It's been busy.

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The life's been busy.

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I think it always, you know, you always have to expect curve balls.

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And these are one of the ways that we're gonna be talking about today, how you can still be

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proactive during that time when life throws you a curve ball, how you can stay proactive about,

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sustainable health.

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I love that, man.

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I love that.

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And we've definitely been, you know, kind of focusing towards in the clinic as well, like,

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on the weight loss loss side of things.

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We've got Zeke, piloting and and really leading the Genesys protocol in the office and in the

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clinic and getting some amazing results.

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Patient of ours who came in, and I'll just I'll just use the name Scott.

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His name is Scott.

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I'm sure he'd be okay with me saying that.

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He, signed off.

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But, he was down £30 in a month, which is just awesome.

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I mean, insane results.

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So he's doing amazing and just and just kicking butt with it.

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So the kind of the big point here, man, is we wanna first debunk some of the myths around

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weight loss and and what people hear on online and what we've kind of been, I think,

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programmed to think over time and just throughout our lives, which really just is not

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true.

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And then on the backside of that, share some action items for people and some real things

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that they can implement today to start pushing themselves towards a healthier way and,

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obviously, a better state of health in general.

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So let's let's get right into it.

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Let's start with the myths.

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So, the first one we're gonna talk about is what I'm sure everybody has heard that weight

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loss is all about calories in versus calories out.

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Right?

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And this is just really an oversimplification and kind of ignores a lot of things.

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For 1, the role of your hormones, metabolism, and the quality of food.

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Right?

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About a 100 calories of a McDonald's burger and a 100 calories of grass fed, grass finished

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meat are very different as far as the nutrient profile and the amount of micronutrients and

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vitamins and minerals that come with that.

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So, you know, the idea that weight loss is simply calories in calories out is kind of been

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the dominant narrative for decades.

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While calorie balance is important, this oversimplification really ignores those key

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factors we just talked about.

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So, you know, the first one being hormones.

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Your hormones play a significant role in how our bodies process and store calories.

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For example, insulin, which is known as the fat storage hormone, it regulates your blood sugar

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levels, promotes fat storage when it's elevated.

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And so diets high in refined carbohydrates and sugar, which lead to frequent insulin spikes,

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can result in insulin resistance over time.

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Now this condition is obviously linked to weight gain, difficulty losing weight.

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The other hormones that are a little less known than insulin are leptin and ghrelin.

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These hormones control your hunger and satiety.

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So leptin basically tells your brain when you're full, where ghrelin is this the hunger

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signaling hormone.

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So chronic overeating, poor sleep, these can disrupt the balance between leptin and ghrelin,

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which then lead to you constantly being hungry and overeating.

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And so it's basically, kind of a dangerous snowball effect with those hormones.

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And then the last one on this list that we have here is is cortisol.

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So high stress levels elevate cortisol, which has been shown to increase fat accumulation,

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particularly around the abdomen.

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So these are all really external factors that have nothing to do with calories in calories

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out.

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These are things processes going on within the body that are very important.

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And so, you know, it's it's really important to obviously take in mind what hormones are doing,

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but also that your metabolism is a factor as well.

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And your metabolism isn't static.

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It adjusts based on various factors, including muscle mass on your body, your age, and even

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the type of food that you eat.

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So for example, a high protein diet has what we call a thermic effect, meaning it requires more

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energy to digest compared to fats or carbs, which then can slightly boost your calorie

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expenditure.

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And so the the food quality over quantity is very important.

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Not all calories are created equal.

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Obviously, we know that.

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So 200 calories of soda versus 200 calories of chicken breast.

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You cannot even begin to say that those are the same.

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Right?

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And that calories in versus calories out makes sense.

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So it is obviously high in refined sugar.

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It leads to a rapid blood sugar spike because it's absorbed as liquid.

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Right?

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And it's gonna trigger you to be hungry very quickly after.

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Whereas chicken breast is rich in protein, provides sustained energy, supports building

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muscle, and it keeps you fuller longer.

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So real quick, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found

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that diets high in processed foods lead to more overeating compared to whole food based diets

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even when the calorie intake was controlled in that study.

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So this, I mean, this basically proves the fact of what we're talking about right now.

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This highlights that food quality impacts both metabolism and appetite regulation.

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Yeah.

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What's cool about that too, if we think about it in comparison, right, You're looking at

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things, directly correlated to, performance.

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Right?

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And so when you bring all those factors in, right, even if you were in a, in a controllable

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scenario where you had 2 individuals, this is the thing, right?

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You can eat garbage and produce energy from that, like processed foods.

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Now the utilization of that, like, let's say I'm a high active driven person and I can burn

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through I can burn through calories like crazy.

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It's because I run all the time, but then it becomes like how optimally efficient you are

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while you're burning those calories.

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Right?

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And so if you're getting quality food, you're probably gonna be progressing in maybe if

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you're if long distance running is your thing or weight lifting.

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Right?

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If you're taking a quality calories, your performance typically becomes a little bit

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higher.

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So you can be an active person.

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And, there's a guy, DJ Metcalfe.

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Right?

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He's been a known guy in the NFL t handy and just garbage all the time.

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Yet you look at him and you're like, wow, man.

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He's a specimen.

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But the reality to that is there's gonna be a demise to that.

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It hands down.

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His his career, and I don't wanna put this demise on him, but his career is gonna be

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lightly shortened because he's not putting the quality in that creates the longevity component

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of that career.

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Right?

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Whereas you look somebody else that has maybe because I take for instance a storyline, and I

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take the NFL just because you take such a pounding.

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Whereas a guy like Derrick Henry, for the Ravens likely has you know, he's in his 30 now

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and is pushing towards, like, way longer than what a normal standard, like, running back can

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because he takes hit over hit.

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But the quality of nutrition and the performance that he gets on the training, it

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brings directly on the field and gives him longevity.

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Right?

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So in a time and age, like, where you're young, yeah, you can battle through to some things,

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but, I wanna bring it back home just for a second too, and just to, like, nurture the

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point of what it looks like.

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Because this is a scenario directly in our family where my mother-in-law has stage 4

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cancer.

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Right.

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And she's never been one to really put like quality ingredients.

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Like she just loves snacks and various things.

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And so that habit structure has formed and she's never really created the discipline to

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put quality stuff in her body.

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So now at stage 4 cancer, we saw her like she's losing energy at more of a rapid pace than

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somebody putting quality foods in there with quality movement, right.

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Where they can really maintain that momentum even through disease.

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Right.

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And so it's not, that's where I go back to what I said in the beginning of, you know, life's

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gonna throw you a curve ball.

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It's not the reality of like, maybe you won't get cancer.

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It's like, but how efficiently can you battle through it?

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Right.

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And so these things come in play of the quality that you're putting into your body for the

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times that like a curve ball might hit you.

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Right.

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Yeah.

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And I know we had, I know we have some really good examples and one that you wanted to share,

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share that with with the audience, man.

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Yeah.

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You know, for tracking calories, and hitting your like daily targets.

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One thing that we do is, you know, we're specifically focusing on protein, right?

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Protein intake.

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And so that's one of the daily targets that I tend to not focus nearly as much as I am on my

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carbohydrate intake, even though I do.

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So I'm pretty regimented about like understanding when I'm going to be utilizing, a

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vast amount of carbohydrates, because you want to be very granular in approach.

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Right?

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Because if you're thinking in terms of longevity, you need to get movement in play.

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Right?

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So resistance training is a big thing, but I need carbs during a resistance type exercise.

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So that's when you want to track those and you want to load up before you go into a resistance

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or a long distance endeavor.

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But protein is that structure that aids in both.

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Right.

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It aids in resistance training while I'm like, while I'm actually training and then it's post

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recovery.

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And so I would use really any app out there.

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We use to we use trainer eyes for us to actually track our calories, track, hey, where

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do we wanna be?

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But really it's a threshold of where, where is your ideal weight target?

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And can I hit that on a daily basis and protein intake?

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And that's going to be ideally majority whole foods and then supplementary with, who we get.

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We're a big believer in just supplementing your protein because it is a lot of like, if you're

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going to be chicken, which we are, we are definitely carnivores.

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Right?

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We push that.

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We think you get a lot of the micronutrients, as well as the macronutrients.

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When you do build a, like a meat type of red meat and blended with a, with like chicken in

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there too, and that structure for protein balance.

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So, but any app that you can physically track is, is really good for tracking your protein

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intake, and that's going to be paramount to your day to day activities.

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So you definitely want to get more lean based meats.

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So when you're going to the grocery store, these are all things that we always talk about

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of getting maybe a little bit meaner leaner.

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Now, there are instances, like if you want to get some healthy fats in there and 80, 20 into

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a red meat, I wouldn't say is the end of the world.

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If you get an organic grass fed 80, 20, it's still a solid way to get like really good

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protected fats, in your diet.

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But you know, if you can get a 90, 10, like that, that's just going to be a little, a

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little bit leaner meat where you're absorbing more of that protein.

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Yep.

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Yep.

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That's great.

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And so on you know, just to summarize that myth, calories versus calories out is proven to

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not be true, and the the quality of the food that you put in your body makes a dramatic

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impact on performance, longevity, and how your body's gonna then manage its weight.

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And that honestly, good segue right into myth number 2.

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Carbs are not the enemy.

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Right?

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Car everyone thinks, oh, carbs carbs are why I'm I'm gaining weight.

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Carbs are good, and it just again, it's a quality versus a quantity thing.

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So, you know, the difference between, refined carbohydrates, like sugars and breads and

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pastas versus complex carbs and and more starchy carbs, that your body utilizes the

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fibrous component of.

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So, you know, carbohydrates have really been demonized in many popular diets, which leads

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people to believe that avoiding them is the secret to weight loss.

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However, not all carbs are created equal, and eliminating them can entirely can result in

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nutrient deficiencies.

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So this can also lead to things like unsustainable eating habits and, even negative

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health effects down the line.

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So real quickly, let me explain the difference between refined carbs and complex carbs for

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people who are unaware or unsure.

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So refined carbs, what we would consider, like, the the unhealthy kind of carbs, These are

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highly processed and often stripped of fiber and nutrients.

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Examples would be like white bread, pastas, pastries, sugary cereals is a big one, sodas.

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These things are all quickly broken down into glucose, which causes a rapid rise in blood

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sugar, then followed by a rapid decline and crash.

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And so this cycle can lead to hunger, cravings, and then obviously overeating.

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So what we wanna focus on is complex carbs.

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These are found in whole foods, unprocessed things like sweet potatoes, quinoa, legumes,

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and fruit.

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Right?

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Complex carbs contain fiber, which will slow the digestion, stabilizing the blood sugar, and

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it keeps you feeling fuller longer.

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So they also provide essential nutrients, like vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, that are

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gonna support your overall health.

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For example, a study published in The Lancet Public Health in 2018 found that moderate

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carbohydrate consumption, particularly from whole food sources, was associated with the

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lowest risk of mortality, while diets extremely low or high in carbs increase the risk.

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So this underscores the importance of balance, not avoidance.

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So you don't want too many carbs, but you also don't want no carbs.

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It's definitely a balance.

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So, you know, you know, why why would, like, demonizing carbs be problematic?

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Yeah.

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It comes back down to the performance of longevity.

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So when we're talking about, carbs in general, you hit it, you hit the nail on the head.

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It's like, how efficiently are you breaking down those carbs?

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And then what is the utilization rate, of what you're eating right.

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Of the carbohydrate.

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And so typically in processed foods, which like a misnomer is you need to get like, cereals in

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your kids in the morning.

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Right.

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Which is like the worst thing that you want to give your kids in the morning.

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You want to give a high protein diet.

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So it's sustainable throughout the day, but you know, from carbs at general, what I like doing

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is rice, right?

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A lot of rice.

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It's, you can get it's, it's minimally broken down.

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It's a utilization rate is a lot higher and you can be more efficient when you use it in terms

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of how close you are in your proximity to.

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To a, a an activity, right?

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Because I'm sure we're, you know, our demographic and who we're speaking to is people

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that want to get better.

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Right.

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This is an educational podcast in terms of like how we're divulging.

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And really decoding what health looks like.

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And so when we look at carbs, we always want to look at food as fuel and then the utilization

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of that fuel to make us live longer, feel better.

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Right.

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It's all a feeling that's associated to that.

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And so you can make carbs taste good and utilize them at a higher level of efficiency.

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So one of the big ways, you know, for me is to incorporate rice, but then, you know, what are

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also other complex carbohydrates that you can get in that people are like, wait, that's a,

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that's a complex carbohydrate is fruits and vegetables.

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So blue fruits and vegetables are your complex carbohydrate source.

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And what I like doing is staying really green and staying really Berry.

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Right.

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And so raspberries, blueberries, high in antioxidants, one little hack that I'll direct

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that I want to aid somebody in is whenever you buy berries from the grocery store.

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Number 1, you organic is obviously always the best, but, I always like putting vinegar,

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right.

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Wash them with vinegar because there's a lot of things, a lot of handling that's associated to

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it.

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There might be some few pesticides that are on it.

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So what I do is either put a red wine or a vinegar on actually my berries or my vegetables

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before I cook them or eat them.

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And then when you cook your vegetables, cook your vegetables at a low heat.

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You know, set it at, like, a 3 or a 4.

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Give it a little bit more time to actually cook because you don't wanna cook all those

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micronutrients out of the vegetables that you're gonna be eating.

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Right?

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When you put it back high, high heat thresholds, you're losing some of those

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micronutrients that you you can need.

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Right?

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That you need for optimal performance.

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So, but some of the ones that I just love, I I love artichokes.

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You know, not a lot of people love, like, but brussels sprouts are a great one to cook up and

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eat.

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So just giving you a couple of ideas of, of that side asparagus is another one that you're

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great green complex carbohydrate that you can eat.

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So those are some of the things that you can add in as well as rice that then give you that

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energy and that performance, for the utilization inactivity.

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So a couple of things I don't want to hit on here.

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Why demonizing carbs is a problem.

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So unsustainable diets cutting out an entire macronutrient can lead to restrictive eating

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patterns and feelings of deprivation.

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This often results in that yo yo dieting where people lose weight temporarily, but regain it

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when they introduce carbs.

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And then what are, what are the health negative health effects associated to this?

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Right.

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So low carb diets can lead to lack of essential, essential, like fiber nutrients,

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like fiber.

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So which is critical for gut health and digest digestion.

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One thing you want to note on that is the reason why gut health and digestion are so

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imperative is because of the enzymes that are located with the stomach.

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Right?

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You wanna make sure that it's naturally getting through your largest small intestine to your

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gut.

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So that you're absorbing those macro micronutrients into you, into your bloodstream.

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So inadequate fiber intake has been linked to constipation.

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A lot of people have constipation, poor gut microbiome and diversity, which is I just

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aforementioned.

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Right.

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And increased chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

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Now we get to energy and performance was to something I spoke of.

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Right.

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And how the utilization of carbs.

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So carbs are the body's preferred source of energy.

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That's why we need these, right.

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Especially for physical activity without sufficient carbs.

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People may experience fatigue, brain fog, reduced athletic performance.

00:20:00
And that's what we're about.

00:20:01
Right.

00:20:01
Maintaining that forever athlete and a journey, to know a journal, of the international society

00:20:09
of sports nutrition in 2018, studied high, low carb diets, right?

00:20:14
How low carb diets can negatively impact endurance and training, strength, training

00:20:19
outcomes.

00:20:20
So that's one thing, just to note that if you're looking to perform with a high level of

00:20:26
efficiency, whether it be in resistance training, whether it be at the gym, CrossFit,

00:20:30
whatever you may do, to maintain that level of activity, carbs are essential for that.

00:20:39
An actionable tip is focused on whole foods sources like sweet potatoes, quinoa fruits,

00:20:44
something that is incorporated in your day to day.

00:20:49
And that, that starts with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

00:20:52
Right?

00:20:52
One of the misnomers that we have is that our breakfast needs to be associated to just

00:20:59
carbohydrates.

00:21:00
Maybe it's a piece of bread with some butter on it or things like that.

00:21:04
Where in reality, you wanna make sure that you're incorporating maybe some nuts and fruits

00:21:09
and vegetables and a yogurt, in that to incorporate that, to make that sustainable

00:21:14
throughout the day.

00:21:14
So making sure that you're focused on getting solid solid, quality sources of carbohydrates,

00:21:21
and incorporating them almost to into every major meal group that you're gonna be eating

00:21:25
throughout the day.

00:21:27
Yeah.

00:21:27
But we've seen this play out with so many different clients that, hey.

00:21:30
I just wanna go on this one type.

00:21:33
Yeah.

00:21:33
It could be good for a season, but the reality is is, like, what is sustainable for the long

00:21:38
term?

00:21:39
Yeah.

00:21:39
Low carb tends to not be very sustainable.

00:21:42
And, the whole the whole, like, breakfast cereal thing was very much like breakfast is

00:21:47
the most important meal of the day was to sell cereal.

00:21:50
That's, I think, essentially what it was.

00:21:52
And it created very much an issue with, like, diabetes and obesity in this country.

00:21:58
So, you know, choosing nutrient dense carbs, you're gonna fuel your body better, maintain

00:22:02
energy rather than spike up and down, and enjoying, you know, a balanced diet.

00:22:07
Cutting out carbs is carbs are good, man.

00:22:09
Everybody likes carbs.

00:22:10
So, just doing it the right way, obviously.

00:22:13
So that brings us to let's talk about myth number 3 here.

00:22:18
The myth is that you can out exercise a poor diet.

00:22:21
So, you know, exercise is obviously vital.

00:22:25
Moving your body, lifting weights, like, we preach that like no other.

00:22:29
But it's not the end all be all if you're fueling your body with, with trash.

00:22:35
Right?

00:22:35
And so this is definitely one of the most common misconceptions in fitness and weight

00:22:39
loss.

00:22:39
The idea that you can just eat whatever you want as long as you work out hard enough.

00:22:44
It sounds good.

00:22:45
Right?

00:22:45
Sounds appealing, but it just doesn't hold up.

00:22:47
And that's kind of that DK Metcalfe example you talked about.

00:22:50
So, you know, while exercise is essential, it can't be compensated by, for by a poor diet

00:22:57
when it comes to sustainability.

00:22:58
And that's what we're all about is longevity and sustainability.

00:23:02
So real quick, let's break this down a little bit.

00:23:04
Exercise contributes to weight loss, but its effects are often overestimated.

00:23:09
So this is very interesting.

00:23:10
According to the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness in 2020, physical activity

00:23:15
alone accounts for only about 10 to 30% of the calorie calories your body burns daily with the

00:23:22
majority coming from your basal metabolic rate and thermic effect of food.

00:23:28
So, I mean, this is imperative.

00:23:30
Right?

00:23:30
That's only 10 to 30% comes from your your exercise, then the rest has to be on point.

00:23:35
So exercise does play a critical role in improving your cardiovascular, building and

00:23:39
preserving muscle, which can boost metabolism, enhancing mood, and reducing stress, which

00:23:44
obviously supports a healthier food choices as well as reducing the risk of chronic disease

00:23:49
like diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

00:23:52
But here's the catch.

00:23:53
If your diet consists of excessive calories, processed foods, and poor macronutrient

00:23:58
balance, no amount of exercise can counteract the resulting weight gain or health issues.

00:24:04
And so, you know, why relax why relying on exercise alone is a mistake, is really the

00:24:10
caloric burn versus intake imbalance.

00:24:12
Right?

00:24:12
Kind of what we just we just touched on.

00:24:15
So exercise burns calories, but not as nearly as many as people may think.

00:24:20
For instance, a 30 minute high intensity workout might burn 3 100, 400 calories.

00:24:26
Meanwhile, a single fast food meal can easily exceed about a 1000 calories.

00:24:30
So this creates a mismatch where people overeat believing the workouts just earned them.

00:24:35
Right?

00:24:35
How many times have you heard that?

00:24:37
I just earned this doughnut.

00:24:38
Right?

00:24:39
These indulgent foods.

00:24:40
So that's where nutrient quality really matters.

00:24:43
Weight loss isn't just about calorie balance, but it's about the quality of those calories.

00:24:47
So the diets high in refined sugar and processed foods can disrupt the hormones like

00:24:52
insulin and leptin, leading to increased fat storage and then cravings.

00:24:56
The poor diet also limits your body's ability to recover and perform optimally optimally

00:25:01
during exercise.

00:25:03
So if you're eating these high processed sugary foods, but then you're thinking your workout's

00:25:07
gonna earn you those foods, you're not gonna recover well, and eventually, you're gonna

00:25:11
start breaking down your body.

00:25:12
Your body's not gonna heal.

00:25:13
So stress also plays a role.

00:25:16
So overeating while under fueling can increase stress hormones like cortisol, which promotes

00:25:21
fat storage, particularly around the abdomen.

00:25:24
And so this was from a journal of obesity 2019.

00:25:27
Chronic stress from poor nutrition and excessive exercise can derail weight loss

00:25:32
almost entirely.

00:25:34
So that's where that balance is just I mean, it's it's essential for you to be over

00:25:39
exercising because eventually, you get to a point where you have to exercise more.

00:25:42
You have to exercise more.

00:25:43
You have to exercise more.

00:25:44
Eat less, eat less, eat less.

00:25:46
That's not sustainable at all.

00:25:47
So balance is is important, and quality does matter.

00:25:53
Yeah.

00:25:53
There was a just to give an example of a client that we worked with, which I won't say any

00:25:59
names, but one of the things, as far as dialing in, he thought he could outwork his nutrition.

00:26:06
And the reality is he just, it was holding on.

00:26:08
Right.

00:26:09
He just wasn't able to burn.

00:26:10
And there's a number of different things that go into that.

00:26:12
But the the main thing was that he wasn't putting quality nutrition in his body to get

00:26:18
optimal performance at the gym.

00:26:19
So we go back to that analogy that I aforementioned was just getting the quality

00:26:24
ingredients so you can have optimal performance so that you can reduce, the amount of really we

00:26:30
go back to the BMR, which is your basal metabolic rate.

00:26:33
So breaking, breaking that down just in a very easy way to understand your basal metabolic

00:26:39
rate is just like your caloric heat, right?

00:26:42
That you need to understand that I can't overeat this on a given day because the reality

00:26:47
of where I'm at and my activity levels will then increase that, that weight gain will go

00:26:54
up.

00:26:54
Right.

00:26:54
Anytime I, my, I hit my ceiling and I eat above that.

00:26:58
Right.

00:26:58
That's when you, you have your over a year, you're, inflaming yourself and you're packing

00:27:05
on that additional weight.

00:27:07
So when you're incorporating these energy drinks, which a lot of people drink their

00:27:10
calories and they don't even realize it, right.

00:27:13
They drink majority of their calories throughout the day because they're like, I

00:27:16
don't like water.

00:27:17
I want a soda.

00:27:18
I want a energy drink or I want these other things.

00:27:21
Well, those things add up.

00:27:22
Right.

00:27:23
And there's plenty of things in there that are going to be a constraint against your

00:27:27
performance.

00:27:28
And so we just have had a client that was like, Hey, I just want to eat the way I want to eat.

00:27:36
And then, you know, hopefully, you know, you guys can guide me to outworking it when in

00:27:41
reality you need both.

00:27:43
So you need to be making those decisions, on a daily basis that, Hey, I am going to eat

00:27:50
optimally, so that I can get that performance in the gym or in my workouts or whatever,

00:27:56
however you choose to work out.

00:27:58
That's how that needs to really play out.

00:28:00
But when you're constantly bringing in sugary drinks, you're, you know, you might add in a.

00:28:07
A fast food, you know, where you you're, you don't even know how many calories it is, but

00:28:12
it's likely between 2 to 3000 calories in one sitting.

00:28:15
Right?

00:28:16
Because this is also just a side note that I want to people to understand is that there's a

00:28:23
30% threshold, in actually all of food criteria.

00:28:28
So even when you go to McDonald's, when you go to the stores, they have a Delta that is at 30%

00:28:35
over under, on all of your, all of their, their claim calories.

00:28:40
Right.

00:28:41
And so when you choose to go to a McDonald's or a burger king, it might say it's 1200 calories,

00:28:48
but in reality, especially later in the day when maybe some fats really have more fats have

00:28:54
soaked up on that burger because it's on that grill.

00:28:57
Right.

00:28:58
You're adding in 4 to 5 to 600 more calories pieces.

00:29:01
There's so much fat that was involved in that piece of meat.

00:29:06
Then that puts you way over that target.

00:29:09
So setting your BMR, which is a simple calculator, you can actually go to Google and

00:29:14
you can look, Hey, what's my daily activity levels.

00:29:17
How tall am I?

00:29:19
How much do I currently weigh?

00:29:20
And it'll actually set your BMR for you, where you can kind of have an understanding.

00:29:25
Okay.

00:29:25
Well, if I increase my activity levels and I know this is my BMR, that then I'll be at a

00:29:30
core deficit.

00:29:31
And if I'm putting healthier, healthier ingredients into my body, leveling out my pH

00:29:36
levels with maybe a little bit more better water throughout the day, well, then I will see

00:29:40
that reduction in weight.

00:29:42
So those are just some helpful tips that you can look at things with more of a myopic,

00:29:49
viewpoint of how it can, number 1, help me, but how those things really do hurt me a lot of

00:29:55
times when I make those decisions.

00:29:58
Nice.

00:29:58
Yeah.

00:29:58
And so, you know, by pairing the nutritious diet with regular intentional exercise, you're

00:30:03
gonna create this synergy that not only sports weight loss, but is gonna improve your overall

00:30:07
health and well-being long term.

00:30:09
Now real quick, we wanna pause and take a word from one of our sponsors.

00:30:15
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00:31:33
Now back to the episode.

00:31:37
Alright.

00:31:38
Welcome back to the show.

00:31:39
So now that we've discussed these myths and we've really kind of, like, got these out there

00:31:42
for people to kind of understand and have a little bit more, of an idea of of the truth

00:31:47
around, you know, how how weight loss works in the body, let's get into some, like, nuts and

00:31:51
bolts.

00:31:52
Right?

00:31:52
Let's get some action items and some strategies.

00:31:55
So these strategies we're gonna share with you, they're based on science.

00:31:59
These are real, and this is effective.

00:32:01
And this is how we operate and how we've gotten a lot of people to get amazing results, not

00:32:05
only to lose weight, but to maintain that for long term and for life.

00:32:09
So, you know, number 1, focusing on nutrient density.

00:32:13
I know we've already talked about this multiple times, but let's get a little bit more detail.

00:32:17
So when it when it comes to weight loss and overall health, calories are not created equal

00:32:22
as we've discussed.

00:32:23
The foods with the high nutrient density probe provide essential vitamins, minerals, and other

00:32:28
beneficial compounds per calorie.

00:32:31
Right?

00:32:31
So fueling your body while keeping you satisfied.

00:32:34
Some examples are leafy greens, lean proteins as we discussed, and then healthy fats like

00:32:39
avocado and olive oil.

00:32:42
Nutrient density and satiety is important.

00:32:44
So according to research published in nutrients 2019, this is a journal of nutrients, nutrient

00:32:50
dense foods help to regulate hunger hormones like ghrelin and leptin, reducing the

00:32:54
likelihood of overeating.

00:32:56
For example, a salad packed with spinach, chicken, and avocado is far more satiating than

00:33:01
a slice of pizza even if they contain the similar amount of calories.

00:33:05
And so that's that quality over quantity.

00:33:09
So how do we balance?

00:33:10
Right?

00:33:10
Bal balancing your macronutrients.

00:33:12
So a diet that balances proteins, fats, and complex carbs as opposed to those highly

00:33:18
refined sugars is gonna prevent those high spikes and crashes in blood sugar, which lead

00:33:24
to you feeling hungry and craving and overeating.

00:33:27
Studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition show that diets rich in protein,

00:33:32
which is what we preach, can enhance satiety and boost your BMR or basal metabolic rate,

00:33:38
while complex carbs like quinoa and sweet potatoes provide steady energy to support that.

00:33:44
So here's an actionable tip.

00:33:45
Build your meals with a balance of macronutrients.

00:33:49
You know, for the average person who is relatively active and wants to support weight

00:33:54
loss, going at about, like, a 40% carb, obviously, preferably those complex

00:33:59
carbohydrates, 30% or more protein, and then 30% of healthy fats.

00:34:05
So this approach is gonna stabilize your blood sugar and keep your energy levels consistent

00:34:10
over time.

00:34:13
Yeah.

00:34:13
And then one of the big key factors beyond that, right, is managing hormonal hormonal

00:34:18
health.

00:34:19
That's one of the big things that we'll talk about, and we'll direct you in, ways from

00:34:24
whether you're a man or a woman, how important really understanding your hormonal health is as

00:34:29
you age.

00:34:30
It's one of the most primary things that you can understand because they definitely have a

00:34:36
lot of precursors, to how you're going to evolve in your forties, fifties, and even

00:34:40
sixties.

00:34:41
Right.

00:34:42
So weight loss, isn't about just eating less.

00:34:45
It's really not right.

00:34:47
So it's about how foods impact your hormones, insulin, cortisol, and leptin are 3 key

00:34:55
hormones that play significant roles.

00:34:57
Insulin, as I'm gonna explain it to you here is this hormone regulates blood sugar levels and

00:35:02
fat storage.

00:35:03
So diets high and refined carbs and sugar can lead to insulin resistance, a condition where

00:35:10
cells don't respond effectively to insulin causing weight gain.

00:35:15
The journal of endocrinology highlights in, highlights how low glycemic diets reduce

00:35:22
insulin spikes and fat metabolism.

00:35:25
Now as we go on to cortisol to give you a little bit more information on how cortisol

00:35:29
works, and this is our body's stress hormone.

00:35:31
So cortisol promotes fat storage, especially in the abdomen area.

00:35:37
That's where a lot of people, we focus on this specifically as far as it's not all, it is cool

00:35:45
to have a 6 pack, but there's a reason for a 6 pack.

00:35:48
There's a reason why you build those core muscle groups.

00:35:52
If your back to your front.

00:35:54
So, when levels of chronically elevated stress from poor diet, lack of sleep or over training

00:36:00
exacerbates this.

00:36:03
So just think of that and how important core health is.

00:36:06
This is something I just actually talked about in a prior podcast that I was on leptin, this

00:36:11
hormone signals satiety satiety to the brain.

00:36:15
So overeating or consuming a high fat, high sugar diet can lead to leptin resistance,

00:36:21
making it harder to recognize when you're full.

00:36:25
We, I see this in kids all the time is that daddy, I'm not hungry yet.

00:36:29
We'll have you allowed yourself to get hungry.

00:36:32
Right.

00:36:32
And so there's this, cognitive association that we need to bring back home as far as allowing

00:36:39
our bodies leptin response to a, am I truly satiated?

00:36:44
And here's an actionable tip, right?

00:36:46
Avoid spikes and sugar, by pairing protein.

00:36:50
We focus on protein a lot and one of the big ways that you can do this, there's really cool

00:36:56
additives where you can put protein in your water, right?

00:36:59
There's actually protein to a water out now that, that is really good.

00:37:03
And it has quality ingredients into it.

00:37:05
It's something that you can pick up at, Aldi or online.

00:37:09
There's also another way where you can put, protein powders and, you know, we, we use, I

00:37:16
use a hydrolyzed type protein.

00:37:19
It's better for the gut that can break down.

00:37:21
And we talked about this quite a bit at prior podcasts, but, by pairing protein, fat, and

00:37:26
fiber with every meal, for example, combining avocado eggs and sauteed greens for breakfast.

00:37:33
Right.

00:37:34
So that's something that we said as far as tips on how you can incorporate more satiating type

00:37:39
meals earlier, even earlier in the day, we don't have to think breakfast as like a piece

00:37:44
of bread or some, some sugary drink and a or sugary coffee is what a lot of people go to.

00:37:51
But really getting something satiating that provides different elements of, that protein,

00:37:57
that fiber, and those healthy fats, that can be sustainable throughout the rest of the day.

00:38:02
Yeah.

00:38:02
And real real quick before you

00:38:03
get into the next one.

00:38:04
That's what I was drinking here was my coffee had, a collagen bone broth protein powder in

00:38:10
it.

00:38:10
So it's about 20 grams of protein in my coffee, but it dissolved in there, and it was like a

00:38:14
vanilla creamer, essentially.

00:38:16
Coffee tasted delicious, but I just got 20 grams of protein.

00:38:19
So simple things like that, man.

00:38:22
Simple hacks that you can incorporate in.

00:38:24
That's a great way.

00:38:25
So who's, what's the company that actually makes that

00:38:27
that one's paleo valley.

00:38:29
They have a pretty good product.

00:38:30
I like

00:38:30
paleo valley.

00:38:31
Yeah.

00:38:32
So we're going to be sourcing a lot of ingredients.

00:38:34
That's what we love doing is actually sourcing a lot of stuff that we believe in, that we've

00:38:39
actually utilized ourselves.

00:38:42
Right?

00:38:42
And if we don't like it, we don't recommend it.

00:38:44
But if we do Yeah.

00:38:45
We'll recommend it.

00:38:46
And you can always go go to Alessi functional health dot com.

00:38:49
And if you click on our resources tab, we have a ton of resources there.

00:38:52
You can click on our partners and see some of the brands that we recommend.

00:38:57
Another one that's really cool is called Meal Boosters, and they basically created these cool

00:39:01
protein powders that are collagen, protein based.

00:39:05
1 is a collagen for your coffee.

00:39:06
1 is a collagen, like, cheesy flavored protein you can throw into some some ground beef or

00:39:11
eggs, and it gives it obviously enhanced flavor, but if you're boosting the protein,

00:39:15
profile of that meal as well.

00:39:17
So that's a really good hack to obviously focus on balancing blood sugar and not causing those

00:39:22
those dramatic spikes as well.

00:39:23
So Yeah.

00:39:25
Yeah.

00:39:25
Yeah.

00:39:26
For sure.

00:39:27
And one thing that is obviously close to our heart and something that we do, every single

00:39:31
day, but build muscle to boost the metabolism.

00:39:35
We believe that, you know, muscles that would, that's your biggest organ, right?

00:39:38
That's going to produce that longevity, fact.

00:39:41
And so how are you efficiently producing more muscle mass, as you age and as you progress?

00:39:47
So the role of strength training, increasing muscle mass and your resting mela metabolic

00:39:51
rate, the strength training, isn't just for athletes.

00:39:56
That's been a misnomer.

00:39:57
A lot of people just want to hop on the treadmill or do something, but resistance

00:40:02
training is actually that component that is probably going to do 10 times of what walking

00:40:10
on a treadmill can for an hour.

00:40:12
So that's not the most efficient way to burn calories.

00:40:15
It's one of the most effective ways to support long term weight loss.

00:40:21
And muscle tissue burns more calories than fat, even at rest.

00:40:25
Meaning the more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate will be.

00:40:29
So that's, and an RMR.

00:40:32
So you're resting metabolic rate.

00:40:34
And that means when you're post exercise, your body's going to continually burn calories,

00:40:40
right?

00:40:41
Where as if you're in a static state and you're, you're not walking anymore.

00:40:44
There's no sort of resistance training where you're on the treadmill for an hour.

00:40:48
It's not going to burn as high rate because what you're doing is you're, you're actually

00:40:52
targeting more muscle loss than you are maximum muscle gain.

00:40:57
So you want to make sure that you're, you're, you're going through a proper RMR, when you're

00:41:04
utilizing resistance type training.

00:41:06
So we've applied some of these things, but I want to notate that a study in the journal of

00:41:11
applied physiology found that every pound of muscle gained, right?

00:41:15
Get this, your body burns an additional 6 to 10 calories per day at rest.

00:41:21
When you're sitting on the couch, you're still burning.

00:41:23
Right.

00:41:24
So you want to make note of that while this may seem small, it adds up over time.

00:41:28
That's the compounding effect of you do this every day.

00:41:33
Your body's going to continually burn, right?

00:41:35
It's going to burn calories and it's going to be a burn associated to fat.

00:41:39
Right?

00:41:39
It's not going to be burned muscle because you're getting that protein in your diet and

00:41:43
it's then going to be burning the unwanted calories that are retained.

00:41:47
So that's what it targets first.

00:41:49
Your body's always going to be targeted targeting the fats and the carbohydrates first,

00:41:53
before it then gets the proteins, which then inhibit the growth in, your muscular structure.

00:42:00
So you want to make note of that.

00:42:01
Right.

00:42:03
And one thing that we recommend, if you can do more by all means, but resistance training 2 to

00:42:08
3 times a week.

00:42:09
So you want to do some level of resistance training 2 to 3 times a week.

00:42:13
And when we say resistance training, it's where your body's working against itself, right?

00:42:18
It can be pushing and pulling.

00:42:20
It doesn't have to go in there where you're picking up dumbbells, slam them down.

00:42:23
I love doing that.

00:42:24
Right?

00:42:24
That's what I love doing.

00:42:26
I love picking up heavy heavy weights and putting down, but the reality is there's a lot

00:42:30
of resistance bands, right?

00:42:31
Stuff that you can do throughout the day.

00:42:34
Functional kettlebell workouts that you can incorporate in from a resistance, component

00:42:39
that does the exact have it has the exact same effects.

00:42:42
So you just wanna make sure it's a heavier weight working against you when you're pushing

00:42:46
a bowling.

00:42:46
That's the resistance training that's incorporated in.

00:42:49
So focusing on that 2 to 3 times a week, compounding over time, over a complete year,

00:42:56
you will see rapid results.

00:42:58
Yeah, that's right.

00:42:59
And then stuff you can do at home, get some bands and kettlebells.

00:43:01
You did that for a long time.

00:43:02
When you had your kids were young, You know, the the kids can't be an excuse.

00:43:06
Right?

00:43:06
So you basically incorporated the kettlebells and the bands at home, and you still got

00:43:11
amazing results and maintain muscles.

00:43:12
So the next, you know, the next big thing we gotta talk about is sleep and stress, man.

00:43:17
This can wreak havoc on somebody's metabolism.

00:43:20
So, you know, sleep and stress are often overlooked in weight management, but it's a

00:43:24
they're critical for regulating your hormones and your metabolism.

00:43:27
According to the journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, sleep deprivation

00:43:32
disrupts your hormones like ghrelin, which then increases hunger and leptin, which obviously is

00:43:37
supposed to signal fullness.

00:43:39
So chronic sleep loss can lead to increased appetite and a preference for calorie dense

00:43:44
high sugar foods.

00:43:46
So you ever wonder why you're burning it at both ends and all as you want is donuts and,

00:43:50
you know, junk food is is that that study proved it.

00:43:55
So, you know, and and along with stress and cortisol, prolonged stress elevates cortisol.

00:43:59
So that high cortisol all the time is gonna promote your body to store fat because your

00:44:04
body your your body is as very smart, and it thinks I need energy when it's when I'm

00:44:09
stressed.

00:44:09
So it's gonna store fat, especially around the abdominal area.

00:44:13
And this is because cortisol increases your cravings for those energy dense foods as a part

00:44:17
of the fight or flight response.

00:44:18
Right?

00:44:19
So really important for focusing on the brain health as well.

00:44:22
Chronic stress and poor sleep will impair the brain's prefrontal cortex, making it harder to

00:44:27
make those disciplined food choices and stick to healthy habits.

00:44:31
So, again, it's all it's all related to how these things can then snowball effect over

00:44:35
time.

00:44:35
Next thing you know, you're £40 overweight and you're miserable and tired, and it's because

00:44:40
your body was just doing what it's supposed to do, but it got let down this path.

00:44:44
Right?

00:44:45
So easy actionable tip is aiming for 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep per night.

00:44:51
And, you know, the quality is is again more important than quantity.

00:44:54
If you're more on that 7 hour range, but you're getting a lot of deep sleep and restorative

00:44:58
sleep, your body's gonna repair, your body's gonna be better set up for the next day.

00:45:02
So establishing a bedtime routine, that includes shutting off the screens an hour

00:45:05
before bed, and then using some type of, like, a relaxation or meditation practice before bed

00:45:11
as well, doing things like deep breathing, you know, box breathing, diaphragmatic breathing,

00:45:17
meditation.

00:45:18
I always recommend the app called Happy.

00:45:21
It's or Happier, I believe.

00:45:22
It's a guided meditation app that they have specific bedtime meditations for you to help

00:45:28
you get into that that sleepy state.

00:45:30
So, huge stress and and sleep are huge,

00:45:34
man.

00:45:35
So massive, that that's the correlator to pretty much everything of how you're gonna be

00:45:40
making decisions throughout the day.

00:45:43
So getting quality sleep is going to be exacerbate everything, right.

00:45:48
In terms of like a positive effect or a negative effect, if you don't get enough of it.

00:45:52
So, that's in, it's also how you treat people, right?

00:45:56
If you get better sleep, there's just, it exacerbates on both ends of the spectrum.

00:46:02
And one thing we just want to know as we encompass and kind of take away all these

00:46:06
things is consistency over perfection.

00:46:10
You know, one of the things that I've kind of aligned with as far as I gotta be perfect at

00:46:14
this, I gotta be perfect.

00:46:16
And we live in this like social world where, dang, like we gotta be perfect.

00:46:20
Right.

00:46:20
We realize we're not perfect.

00:46:21
We're not even perfect doing this podcast.

00:46:24
Right.

00:46:25
It's, we we just wanna do good and and put out the best information possible and get a little

00:46:30
bit better every day.

00:46:32
And so that's the compounding and the consistency of time is where when, we wanna go

00:46:37
in with an all or nothing.

00:46:38
Right?

00:46:39
And this is why we're actually explaining this in January is because people are like going the

00:46:44
whole, maybe right now they've got through 3 weeks in, but this is really the determiner

00:46:49
whether what's gonna set the tone for the rest of the year is if you could push through this

00:46:52
next week, 2 weeks and maintain that level of consistency, because this is the culmination

00:46:58
point of the 1% rule.

00:47:00
What James clear says is how am I just like putting in that 1% every day?

00:47:05
Right.

00:47:05
And that 1% is that day.

00:47:08
Right.

00:47:08
It's not a measure of yesterday.

00:47:10
And so that's what people forget about.

00:47:12
It's like, did I put that 1% in today?

00:47:16
And so, cause like yesterday's the past tomorrow's the future what's what's right now.

00:47:21
And so when he applies this and it's something that I even missed in his book is like, did I

00:47:26
put in that 1% effort today?

00:47:28
And that's that level of consistency because consistency is what compounds over time.

00:47:33
It's just like the stock market, putting your money in the stock market.

00:47:36
It's like that consistency of investing into yourself compounds over time.

00:47:41
So you just want to make a rule for that, that it's that it's not this all or nothing

00:47:46
mentality of, if I miss out today, then I can't do tomorrow.

00:47:51
No, you can't actually can do tomorrow because then that's the progress of consistency.

00:47:56
So it's setting that baseline of, you know, how you're going to operate on a daily basis.

00:48:00
Can I get that efficient sleep?

00:48:03
Can I make more quality decisions when I'm at the grocery store and getting more whole foods

00:48:08
into the shopping cart so that I can bring home and cook them a little bit better?

00:48:12
Right.

00:48:12
Can I dedicate 20 minutes a day, maybe even an hour a day?

00:48:18
Like, you know, if you can get a community of people that come along with you, I think that's

00:48:22
why another big component is getting community, doctor Alessi and myself, we always are inner

00:48:28
shit in our exchanging ideas to improve the quality of our health.

00:48:32
Like, do you have that comrade that can boost you up?

00:48:35
That can be like, Hey, let's keep going.

00:48:37
Let's get a little bit better every day.

00:48:39
And then measuring it on that day.

00:48:42
Right.

00:48:42
You know, and we have that, scorecard built out, which I love, and really just evaluating

00:48:49
our, our pillars in our life.

00:48:50
So we set our pillars in our life and it's mind, spirit, work, fuel, movement, sleep.

00:48:55
And so we measure those.

00:48:57
And so, Hey, where are we at?

00:48:59
And so I'll, I'll come to him.

00:49:00
Hey, where are you at in this area?

00:49:02
Or where, and it's constantly at an open dialogue of, are we improving within our

00:49:07
pillars, that allow us to grow every day with an act of consistency?

00:49:12
Yeah, man.

00:49:13
That's yeah.

00:49:14
And so I think, you know, kind of playing off of the consistency thing is, like, if it's a

00:49:18
quick fix, if someone's pitching you a quick fix or selling you something, it's probably not

00:49:23
the best thing to do because quick fixes, they don't last.

00:49:25
Right?

00:49:26
So it's all about that sustainability.

00:49:27
What is something you can incorporate that you can do forever?

00:49:30
Because then you're gonna just obviously be able to keep maintain that longevity.

00:49:34
So, you know, to summarize kind of everything we just talked about, focusing on nutrient

00:49:38
dense foods, managing hormones, building muscle, prioritizing quality sleep, and staying

00:49:44
consistent, you're gonna create a sustainable foundation for long term weight management and

00:49:49
health.

00:49:49
And so these strategies go beyond the quick fix, and they set you up for that lifetime of

00:49:53
wellness.

00:49:53
And these are things you can incorporate and share with family, friends, and, obviously,

00:49:58
your community.

00:49:59
So, you know, some takeaways.

00:50:01
Don't fall for the myths that we talked about.

00:50:03
Focus on sustainability, the science backed strategies.

00:50:06
Right?

00:50:07
Things like prioritizing the nutrient dense foods, muscle building exercises, and hormonal

00:50:11
health.

00:50:12
Consistency and patience are the key to the lasting results.

00:50:19
And as always, if you're enjoying what, we're kicking out here, we dedicate some time

00:50:27
editing.

00:50:28
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00:50:31
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00:50:35
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00:50:40
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00:50:46
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00:50:48
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00:50:52
We appreciate you listening in, and be better today.

00:50:57
Yep.

00:50:57
And so next week, we're gonna be diving into gut health.

00:51:00
We're gonna be sharing some practical tips for better digestion and overall well-being.

00:51:04
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00:51:06
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00:51:08
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00:51:11
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00:51:19
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00:51:24
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00:51:28
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00:51:35
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00:51:39
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00:51:43
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00:52:03
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00:52:09
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00:52:10
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