http://www.thealternativedaily.com/
Today, almost eight billion humans inhabit the earth. That’s twice as many living as there were 50 years ago. So, it’s no surprise that within our normal day-to-day living conditions, global heating, pollution and wildlife extinction get far less attention than they deserve. However, while this worldwide pandemic unfolds, so too does a bittersweet twist. […]
Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/
Let’s start training with resistance bands!
Whether you just got exercise bands in the mail from Amazon during quarantine, or they’ve been sitting in your closet since the 80s, you’ve finally decided it’s time to learn how to use the darn things.
Either way, you’re in the right place!
After all, we’ve been specializing in home workouts since 2009! Today I’m going to provide you with a full-body routine you can do with any resistance band, anywhere.
(By the way, sign up in the box below and I’ll send you even more home workout goodies).
Here’s what we’ll cover in this guide:
It’s time to join the Resistance…
…band movement.[1]
{Insert Matt’s vid here}
After you watch the video above (featuring Matt Shortis, a lead trainer in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program), here’s a quick recap with the repetitions of the workout here:
RESISTANCE BAND WARM-UP:
THE NERD FITNESS RESISTANCE BAND WORKOUT:
This Beginner Resistance Band Workout is what’s called a circuit (you can learn all about circuit training here).
That’s just a fancy term for doing a workout like so:
Your long term goal should be to do 3 full circuits back to back for a complete workout.
If you can only go through it once or twice, that’s okay too!
And if you need to take a break at any time between sets or after a circuit, do it! You do you.
Whatever you do, don’t skip your warm-up. Even if you don’t do the sequence above, make sure you get your heart rate up a little before jumping in.
Here’s another short sequence you can do to warm-up:
Next, let’s go over each move covered in our resistance band workout (and warm-up) in detail.
Here’s each exercise covered in the Beginner Resistance Band Workout:
#1) BAND OVER AND BACK
Tip from Coach Matt: If it’s too difficult to keep your arms straight, loosen and widen your grip on the band so it becomes less taut.
#2) OVERHEAD BAND PULL APART
Tip from Coach Matt: Resist the urge to have the resistance band “snap” you back up. Do this by slowly controlling the movement.
#3) HORIZONTAL BAND PULL APART
Tip from Coach Matt: Make sure you stand up straight during this movement. Over time this exercise will help improve your posture.
#4) BAND SQUATS
Tip from Coach Matt: If this seems too easy, you could use two exercise bands, increasing the resistance.
#5) BAND OVERHEAD PRESS
Tip from Coach Matt: Stand up straight and push up as tall as you can. Reach high during the movement and try to take up space.
#6) BAND DEADLIFT
Tip from Coach Matt: Make sure you pull with your arms during the movement, which will engage your back.
#7) BAND ONE-ARM ROW
Tip from Coach Matt: Keep your chest up and tall. You want the band to pull with your arm, not your entire body (resist the urge to rotate your torso).
#8) HIGH TO LOW BAND ROW
Tip from Coach Matt: Keep your chest up, towards the anchor point of the resistance band.
#9) SINGLE-ARM BAND CHEST PRESS
Tip from Coach Matt: Make sure the band has some tension in it during the start. You want resistance from the band during the entire movement.
#10) PALLOF PRESS
Tip from Coach Matt: The point of this exercise is to feel it along the obliques (side torso), so make sure there’s enough tension in the band during the entire movement.
In the Resistance Band Workout above, Coach Matt showed you how to handle two types of resistance bands: loop bands and tube bands.
Let’s go over these and other resistance bands you may come across.
#1) Loop Bands
Much like the name would suggest, loop resistance bands consist of one single band formed in a loop.
They don’t have handles and are more strap-like than chord-like.
Not only can you use these in the exercises covered above but you can also use them to help perform bodyweight exercises like assisted pull-ups or assisted bodyweight dips.
You can check out our guide The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises for more on this topic.
At the time of this writing, there were still some loop bands available for purchase online.
#2) Tube Bands
Tube resistance bands will often have handles or carabiners at the end (which you can attach a handle or anchor to). You might also hear these called “fit tubes.”
As Coach Matt showed you, every exercise in our Resistance Band Workout can be done with a tube band, so they’re ideal for creating a home gym.
The other cool thing about these bands: you can attach two of them to the same anchor and handle, increasing the amount of resistance. There’s really nothing stopping you from doing a third band either, which means they can really help increase your strength.
Tube bands can still be ordered online, so you might be able to add them to your arsenal.
#3) Mini-Bands (Circle Bands)
Mini-bands are like loop bands, but smaller, thinner, and wider.
They are often used for lateral movements, by placing them above your knees or ankles.
This offers more resistance to the movement, further activating your hips and glutes.
They aren’t quite as versatile as the loop or tube bands, but then again, they aren’t completely sold out either.
#4) Therapy Bands
Therapy bands are long (up to 6 or 7 feet) and thin, almost like a sheet.
They do not loop, although they can be tied together to form a loop.
Like the name would suggest, therapy bands are often found in rehabilitation centers, used to help strengthen muscle after someone has gone through an injury.
They’re generally “light” on the resistance offered, making them ideal for someone looking for a low-impact exercise.
Therapy bands offered by Hoocan have received good reviews and can still be sent to your home.
#5) Figure 8 Bands
No surprise here: these bands look like a figure 8, with handles on top and bottom.
These bands are great for many of the pull-apart exercises we covered earlier, and can also be used like the mini-bands to activate your hips and glutes, by placing each leg through one of the loops.
At the time of publication, SPRI still had some of these bands available.
Let’s discuss a few tips so you can make the most of your resistance band workout.
#1) Do not use the band if you notice cracks or tears.
Seriously, just buy another one. You do not want a resistance band snapping on you while in use.
#2) If you need more resistance, add another band.
The tube resistance bands with carabiners are great for this because you can pretty much always add another band between your handle and anchor.
#3) When anchoring your bands to a door, make sure the door pulls away from you.
You don’t want to accidentally force the door open, which could result in injury or hurt feelings.
#4) Maintain band tension throughout the exercise.
When starting every exercise covered here, you want a little tension at the start of the movement. This will help keep your muscles engaged during the entire exercise.
#5) Be careful what you anchor your bands to.
While a band may fit around a tree, the rough surface could wear down your band, causing it to snap. Check the surface, and if your bands come with anchors, use those.
If you’re trying to lose weight, a few resistance bands and the workout routine above could be a great part of the plan.
The other part of the plan should be your nutrition!
As we lay out in our Coaching Program, throughout Nerd Fitness Prime, and our massive guide on “Healthy Eating,” we believe that nutrition is 80-90% of the equation for weight loss.
No joke.
It’s by far the biggest factor for success.
So will you lose weight training with resistance bands?
Maybe!
If you fix your diet AND begin to incorporate our resistance band routine a few times per week, you’ll find yourself building muscle, losing fat, and getting stronger!
So how do you fix your diet?
Great question.
Whether you choose to follow a Keto Diet, Paleo Diet, Mediterranean Diet, or something like Intermittent Fasting, the best path will be up to your goals, your situation, and your habits.
Here are some basic tips though (as we cover in The 5 Rules of Weight Loss):
Those tips should get you started, but if you want more specific instruction and guidance, check out the NF Coaching Program – Your Coach will build a routine tailored to your individual needs and what equipment you have available:
The only question left to answer here is this: when should you do your resistance band workout?
As I discuss in our guide, How to Build Your Own Workout Routine, I generally recommend newbies complete a full-body workout two to three times a week.
When we say “full-body,” we want a sequence that will hit the following:
As you see, the Resistance Band Workout covers all these, so feel free to run through this sequence a few times a week. Just make sure you don’t train on consecutive days (you build muscle while resting).
On your “rest days,” you can look into doing some active recovery, yoga, or fun movement.
If you can only get yourself to work out once a week, that’s okay! Let that become normal, then we can brainstorm ways to squeeze in an extra day.
Building the habit of working out is our goal today. We can worry about maximizing “gainz” down the road.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about maximizing gainz.
Now the only thing left to do is start!
Here are some options for next steps with Nerd Fitness:
Option #1) If you want a professional coach in your pocket, who can do video form checks, provide feedback, and adjust your workouts based on the equipment you have available, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!
For example, let’s say you find yourself stuck indoors during a pandemic, and you want somebody to custom-build you a workout program based on the equipment and furniture you have. That’s where an online coach is a game-changer!
Personally, I’ve been working with the same online coach since 2015 and it’s changed my life. You can learn more by clicking on the box below:
2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Have questions you need answered? Join Nerd Fitness Prime!
Nerd Fitness Prime is our premium membership program that contains at-home exercise routines, live-streamed workouts with NF Coaches, a supportive online community, group challenges, and much more!
Option #3) Become part of the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out from home” guides.
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
Alright, I want to hear from you and your experience with Exercise Bands!
Do you rock resistance bands in your workout?
Any band exercises that I’m missing?
Any product recommendations that need to be shared?
Let me know in the comments!
-Steve
P.S. If you are trying to stay in shape while your gym is closed, check out:
P.P.S. Because I have to:
###
PHOTO SOURCE: Loop Bands, Tube Bands, Mini-bands, Therapy Bands, Figure 8, The road to rehabilitation, Exercise with bands, Exercise and sunglasses, Home Sweet Home, Sunset.
GIF SOURCE: Mini-Band,
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New study says exercise may prevent severe respiratory complications of COVID-19.
About 50% of food sold in Britain is ultra-processed. In France, it’s around 14%.
“The majority of studies, and especially the higher quality studies, showed that those who avoided meat consumption had significantly higher rates or risk of depression, anxiety, and/or self-harm behaviors.” From a new paper on meat and mental health.
Episode 419: Helen Marshall: Host Elle Russ chats with Helen Marshall, a Primal Health Coach and founder of the grain-free line of foods called Primal Alternative.
Primal Health Coach Radio, Episode 57: Laura and Erin chat with Drew Manning, who understands the importance of empathy when coaching.
Coronavirus is hitting the meat industry hard.
Coffee is healthy unless it’s not.
On the carbon footprint of various foods.
How risky is outdoor transmission of the coronavirus, asks the amusement park industry.
Superspreading happens “wherever and whenever people are up in each other’s faces, laughing, shouting, cheering, sobbing, singing, greeting, and praying.”
Important new paper: “From barefoot hunter gathering to shod pavement pounding. Where to from here? A narrative review.”
Question I’m asking: So it’s not the meat and dairy causing all the pollution?
Another question I’m asking: Are seed oils even worse than trans-fats?
Interesting discussion: On fat:protein ratios in carnivore diets.
I’ve seen this stuff somewhere before…: Twitter’s Jack Dorsey starts his day with meditation, salt water with lemon juice, ice baths, sauna sessions, hour long walks, short but intense workouts.
How has your diet changed (if at all) the last month?
One year ago (Apr 19– Apr 25)
“The link titled “Outdoor transmission of coronavirus is very rare, according to new research.” is misleading if you don’t review the linked article carefully. This research only studied infection points for 3 or more. Thus we can only conclude that “Outdoor transmission to 3 or more at once” is very rare, according to this research.
It would be premature to conclude that since group transmission hardly occurs outdoors that you or I have little chance of infection outdoors. The data is not present in that study (there may be others) to draw such a conclusion and doing so before we know might be dangerous.”– That’s a fair point, Steve. I think outdoor transmission will be much rarer—group or otherwise—especially with increased sun and humidity, but you are right that the link doesn’t account for single 1-to-1 transmissions.
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http://chriskresser.com/
Not all gluten-free diets are created equal. Find out about the potential negative effects a gluten-free diet can cause and learn how to avoid them and embrace a healthier way of eating.
The post How to Avoid Negative Side Effects of a Gluten-Free Diet and Make the Most of Your Diet appeared first on Chris Kresser.
http://www.thealternativedaily.com/
Personal hygiene has come into the spotlight in recent times, with everyone being encouraged to take extra care in the name of preventing viral spread. Although most of us would prefer to keep our toilet practices private, now more than ever, we’re having to “open the door” on our hygiene habits to ensure we’re doing […]
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Around here, we talk a lot about the stories we tell ourselves. You know, the limiting beliefs and thoughts that constantly dance around in our brains, preventing us from achieving our health goals. “I’m a terrible cook.” “I never have time to exercise.” “I’ll always be heavy.” Or, “I’m too lazy to stick to a plan.”
As humans, we’re wired to create narratives that string together the picked-apart aspects of our lives in a way that rings true for us. It might be things we heard our parents say or experiences we had growing up. Or even interpretations of those things and experiences. According to psychologists at Northwestern University, the narratives we create become a form of our identity — an identity that not only reflects who we think we are, but also what we believe we’re capable of achieving.
Just FYI, these are the false narratives and limiting beliefs you tell yourself and anyone else who will listen. As a veteran health coach, I know this drill firsthand.
When you have a goal in mind, it’s natural, almost reflexive to come up with reasons why you can’t achieve it. Here are some of the more common false narratives that I hear in my practice:
I don’t deserve it
I don’t have the willpower to accomplish this
I’m not disciplined enough
My body type is genetic
Any change I make will be minor, and barely noticeable
I have a tendency to fail at things like this
I don’t have the time
This is going to be just like the last time I tried and failed
I’m lazy
I’m selfish if I focus on improving myself like this
I’m too old
These are all made up – every last one of them. I get it though. You probably have decades of proof that you’ll never lose weight. Or that everyone in your family has thick thighs or has an awful sweet tooth. But let me ask you this…
Your mind is one of the most powerful resources you have. If you can believe you can do it, you have a better chance of actually doing it. It’s sort of a believing is seeing mentality. And there are loads of studies to back up this phenomenon. Research by psychologist, Alia Crum shows that how you think about your health can influence the outcome. She adds that you can actually change your reality just by changing your thoughts.
In a 2007 study 1, Crum and her associate Ellen Langer looked at hotel room attendants whose work involved strenuous physical activity. Two-thirds of the participants believed that they weren’t exercising enough because they weren’t doing typical exercises. Once it was pointed out that pushing heavy carts, pushing a vacuum, and lifting mattresses qualified as exercise, they showed improvements in their weight, blood pressure, and body fat over the course of four weeks.
Researchers conducted another study 2 where participants were given a 380-calorie milkshake, but were told that it was either an indulgent 620-calorie shake or a more sensible 140-calorie shake. When participants drank the milkshake they thought was indulgent, they had a steeper decline in the hunger-inducing hormone, ghrelin than when they drank the milkshake they were told was sensible. Basically, their bodies had a physical response based on what they believed.
I see this in my clients too. For one reason or another, they were programmed to believe that walking wasn’t a good form of exercise or they couldn’t go a single day without eating chocolate or that they’re flat out lazy.
They believed these thoughts until I helped them see things differently. And you can too.
You can always work with a health coach, but I think you’ll be surprised at how simple it can be to start to rewrite the limiting beliefs that have been holding you back for maybe, forever.
Here’s a snapshot of my 4-step action plan to shift your mindset so you can reach all of your health goals:
As I mentioned, your identity is based on your limiting beliefs, so instead of putting all of your effort into the behavior you want to change, focus on the person you want to become.
EXAMPLE: You’re trying to be healthier and your spouse comes in the kitchen with a drive-through burger and fries. Instead of saying, “no thanks, I’m on a diet,” try “no thanks, I don’t eat fast food.”
See the difference? In the first response, you still believe you’re a fast food eater (or soda drinker or whatever) but are trying to act differently. In the second response, you believe you’re the kind of person who doesn’t eat fast food. The more you associate with that person, the more your brain starts to automatically believe it.
ACTION STEP: Describe the type of person you want to be. The more specific, the better.
What are the qualities you’d associate with someone who is healthy? Really visualize a person in that situation — it could even be someone you know. What traits do they have that make them so successful?
EXAMPLE: You’d probably say that they’re mindful and patient. They might also be excellent planners, respect themselves and have a good sense of self-esteem.
Remember, you’re not listing out your own traits, you’re imagining yourself as a person who is mindful, patient, and a good planner. You’re laying the groundwork for becoming the person you want to be so that you can reach the health goal you want to achieve.
ACTION STEP: List out the positive qualities of the person you want to become.
How does the person you’re becoming act? What’s the first thing they do in the morning when they wake up? What do they do at mealtimes? How do they organize their fridge?
EXAMPLE: A healthy person eats according to their hunger level and recognizes when they have an emotional need (like boredom or fear) versus actual physical hunger. They also fill their kitchen with fresh veggies and good protein sources, making it easy for them to eat healthy.
Your interpretation of what this person does is completely up to you. There’s no right or wrong answer. The key is to visualize the specific actions this person takes, so you can follow suit.
ACTION STEP: Write down the types of things a healthy person does on a daily basis.
Once you’ve visualized your new identity, brainstormed what qualities they have, and figured out the actions they take, your subconscious will start associating with that type of person. Now is the time to take note of all the small wins you’ll be racking up.
EXAMPLE: I’m a healthy eater because I planned out my grocery list for the week. Or, I took 15 minutes to cook a meal of scrambled eggs and bacon instead of grabbing a breakfast sandwich at the nearest drive-through.
Making a grocery list or cooking breakfast one day may not feel like a big deal on its own, but as you see these wins add up, your brain starts to get onboard with your new way of being. And before you know it, you’ll be proving it to yourself with bigger and more consistent wins for the long-term.
ACTION STEP: Keep a record of all the small wins you experience and add to it regularly.
The idea isn’t to become someone else entirely. It’s about reframing your narrative to include all the possibilities you hadn’t yet allowed yourself to believe, then giving yourself the evidence that the life (and awesome health) you want really is available to you.
The post The Secret to Achieving Any Health Goal is All in Your Mind appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
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Fasting is a great tool for so many things. You can use it to regulate food intake and lose body fat. Fasting can help you shift body composition, normalize your appetite, and gain control over your relationship to food. Many people report cognitive enhancements from fasting, and it’s a surefire way to speed up the transition into ketosis and full-blown fat adaptation. There’s strong evidence that we look, feel, and perform best skipping the occasional meal—that it’s the evolutionary norm for humans not to have constant, unceasing access to food. After all, we didn’t always have 24 hour grocery stores and fast food restaurants. But what about fasting with a cold?
And what about intermittent fasting and the immune system? Should you fast at all when you’re sick? What about fasting with the flu? Or how about bacterial infections—can fasting help with those? These are actually some of the most common questions I receive. Because intermittent fasting seems to help with so many other conditions, it makes sense to wonder about its relationship to the immune response.
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There are two main types of infections that most people worry over: viral infections and bacterial infections.
In general, fasting doesn’t look like a great idea if you’re dealing with a viral infection like the flu or common cold. Why?
Animal studies show that mice who fast have a worse response to subsequent viral infections. In one paper, mice were either fasted every other day or placed a normal diet, then exposed to a “viral mimetic” (a type of chemical that replicates a viral infection). The mice who fasted ended up with higher cortisol, a more inflammatory immune response, more severe symptoms, and acted sicker than the mice who ate.1
Another mouse study found that in animals exposed to an infectious virus, a fat-based (fasting) metabolism was detrimental to survival and a glucose-based (fed) metabolism was beneficial.2
Viruses are much smaller than bacteria and generally cause trouble by hijacking cells and using your body’s machinery to replicate. To do so, they often steal nutrients from the host. One example is selenium, a crucial nutrient for viral replication. Studies show that viral infections can induce selenium deficiencies and that correcting those deficiencies by, well, eating selenium-rich foods can improve the outcome of infections.3
Most viruses will deplete nutrients and you need to eat to replenish them.
Blocking MTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) through fasting reduces expression of another major immune component: the interferon-inducible transmembrane protein (IFITM). 4 Think of the IFITM as a barrier preventing some viruses from gaining a foothold in your body, including influenza, Ebola, SARS, MERS, Marburg, Dengue, and hepatitis C. These are IFITM-sensitive viruses, but there are also IFITM-resistant viruses, like the common cold.
In fact, one study found that increasing IFITM levels increased vulnerability to infection by the common cold virus.5 Using fasting to reduce mTOR and lower IFITM expression could conceivably increase resistance to the common cold while increasing vulnerability to flu (and the others like Ebola and so on). Double edged-blade.
Or perhaps it’s triple-edged.
Part of dealing with an infection is learning from it. Our immune systems have to seroconvert antibodies so that when we encounter the infection again, our immune system is better equipped to head it off at the pass. This is the concept behind vaccination—a measured dose of the infective agent that trains our immune system to defeat the real thing in the future. As it turns out, inhibiting mTOR through fasting could affect our ability to seroconvert antibodies in response to viral infections.
In studies of older adults, higher levels of mTOR predict lower rates of seroconversion, and giving them an mTOR inhibitor improves seroconversion after a flu vaccine. If fasting reduces mTOR (and it does), it should in theory improve the antibody response to a vaccine or infection.
Weird, right? Fasting reduces mTOR, which could impair your short term response to an infectious insult (or improve it if it’s the common cold) while improving your long term response. You might still get sick but at least your chances of developing longterm immunity should increase.
In general, fasting looks like a better idea when you’re sick with a bacterial infection.
Animal models of bacterial infections find that mice tolerate them much better in a fasted, ketogenic state. In fact, the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate is able to directly nullify some of the oxidative stress associated with bacterial infections;6 while “ketogenesis was required for survival in bacterial inflammation, it was dispensable in the case of viral inflammation.”
One indicator is that your appetite often falls off a cliff when you have a bacterial infection. The last you want to do when you’re dealing a bout of food poisoning is eat. This doesn’t usually happen with viral infections, and I believe that’s important. In those “base” states of survival, what you crave is a good indicator of what you need.
A key component of the innate immune system’s ability to deal with bacterial infections is phagocytosis: When a class of immune cells called neutrophils surrounds, engulfs, and destroys individual bacteria. The phagocytic index describes the number of bacterial cells a neutrophil is able to engulf and nullify in a set time. Generally speaking, higher phagocytic activity means you have a better response to bacterial infections.
Luckily, we know pretty well how to increase and decrease phagocytic activity in people. To decrease phagocytic activity (make neutrophils worse at engulfing and destroying pathogenic bacterial cells), you simply feed a person sugar.7 It could be orange juice, honey, sucrose, fructose, or glucose—any simple source of sugars—and if you give 100 grams to a person, their phagocytic capacity drops for at least five hours. Give the person nothing—let them fast—and their phagocytic capacity climbs. Even at 5 hours after eating the sugar, the phagocytosis still hasn’t caught up to that of the fasting person.
Later studies confirm that low fasting blood glucose is a strong predictor of a strong neutrophil:leukocyte ratio8. Lower glucose, more neutrophils available to take on bacterial pathogens. Fasting is a reliable way to drop your blood glucose.
Phagocytosis doesn’t work so well against viral infections because a virus sequesters itself in the host’s cells. Neutrophils can’t engulf and kill the host cells; that’d just be counterproductive and probably quite dangerous. However, there’s evidence both ways: that neutrophils can enhance the immune response to viral infections but they can also exacerbate the damage done to host tissues. It isn’t clear what role they play so I’d advise against consciously manipulating them through fasting.
There are no easy, straightforward rules governing the optimal fasting strategy for infections, whether viral or bacterial. Each virus is different. Every bacteria is separate. Nothing in biology is simple. What we do know:
There are no magic bullets, but it cuts both ways. You are resilient. While most of the humans throughout history didn’t make it through hundreds of thousands of years of death, destruction, famine, and disease, your gene line did. So don’t think you have to pick one or the other—fasting or feeding—in response to illness. Go with what feels best, don’t get dogmatic, and just take it easy.
What’s your go-to feeding strategy for dealing with sickness? Do you differentiate between viral and bacterial illnesses? Let me know down below!
The post Fasting with a Cold: How Does Fasting Impact Viral and Bacterial Infections appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
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For decades, coconut oil was condemned as an unhealthy food to be avoided at all costs, due to its saturated fat content. Thanks to modern research, we now know that the natural fats found in coconut oil are highly valuable for nutrition, health, and more. Now widely used as a cooking oil and skin moisturizer, […]
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One of the more common questions we get in the Keto Reset Facebook community is, “How do I break through a weight-loss plateau?”
Stalls are frustrating. You’re cruising along on your Primal or Primal + keto diet, and then wham—you hit a wall. It’s all a totally normal and expected part of the weight loss process. Weight loss is never linear. There are always downs, ups, and flat spots.
In fact, if you’ve been losing weight for a while, and then you stall out for a week or two, I wouldn’t even consider that a plateau necessarily. Your body might keep losing weight on its own if you give it time and don’t stress about it. Still, I get it, you’re eager to kick-start the weight loss again.
One strategy that gets tossed around is trying a carb refeed or “carb up.” Carb refeeds are touted as plateau busters and also, more generally, as a strategy to support weight loss. In today’s post, I’ll explain the logic behind this idea and explain why it might be effective, especially for women following a generally low-carb approach.
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Let’s get some terminology out of the way. Strategically adding carbs to a low-carb diet is variously called a “carb refeed,” “carb up,” or “carb cycle.” These terms don’t have standardized definitions. In general, carb cycling usually refers to eating low carb for a certain number of days, then higher carb for a certain number of days, and repeating.
“Carb refeed” and “carb up” can mean the same thing, or they can mean adding carbs more intuitively when you feel like you need them.
Carb cycling strategies have long been used to promote leanness, especially by physique and other athletes trying to achieve low body fat percentages. In this context, carb cycling involves specific protocols, usually 5-6 days of very low carb eating combined with 1-2 days of higher carb eating. They may include exercise and fasting regimens, too.
The carb cycling protocols used for getting super lean aren’t the same as what we’ll be talking about for general weight loss and breaking out of a stall. For one thing, they usually involve more carbs than you probably need. We’ll get to that later. Also, although some of the mechanisms are probably the same, they focus specifically on depleting and refilling glycogen stores. For our purposes, that’s not so important.
First let me say that the evidence for carb cycling strategies, especially with regard to weight loss and plateaus, is mostly anecdotal. There is pretty good data to support the pieces, but the whole picture has not been rigorously tested.
So what do we think is happening? There are a few (not mutually exclusive) hypotheses here:
Leptin is sometimes called the “satiation hormone,” but it’s probably more accurate to think of it as a starvation sensor.1 Its main role is to tell the brain whether we have sufficient energy on board, either in fat cells, which secrete leptin, or because we have recently eaten (especially carbs).
It’s well established that leptin levels drop both when we lose body fat and when we eat in a caloric deficit2 for even a short period. Remember, from an evolutionary perspective, weight loss signals that we are in a time of food insecurity and stress. Low leptin signals to the hypothalamus that we might be facing an energy shortage. In turn, the hypothalamus kicks on the processes collectively known as adaptive thermogenesis,3 or energy conservation. These include down-regulating thyroid activity and slowing metabolic rate, decreasing energy expenditure, and increasing hunger and appetite.
Premenopausal women’s bodies are especially sensitive to anything that sets off the “Danger! Starvation possible!” alarms. (Postmenopausal women are generally more resilient.) Leptin is a key player in that system. It is also involved in the regulation of insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, the female reproductive and immune systems, and skeletal and cardiovascular health. Basically, leptin is really important if we want to feel good and achieve optimal hormonal balance.
Leptin levels rise in response to eating carbohydrates specifically.4 Thus, one rationale behind carb refeeds is that by boosting leptin, we can reset the system. Basically, it tells the brain, “Hey, it’s cool, we have food around. It’s safe to let go of some of this body fat.”
A related hypothesis is that dieting is physiologically stressful on the body. After periods of energy restriction, we see a decrease in thyroid hormones and an increase in cortisol (which may be related to falling leptin). These are part of the adaptive response that aims to restore energy balance. Carb refeeds alleviate the stress of being in a constant state of energy restriction.
One of the main reasons dieting hard is because of hormonal changes (ahem, leptin5) that increase hunger and appetite. Besides feeling unpleasant, this leads many dieters to eat more than they realize, undermining fat loss. Multiple studies also suggest that low leptin levels increase reward-seeking behavior. Basically, food becomes more appealing and harder to resist.
Low leptin is also related to depression6, anxiety, and perceived stress, all of which can make it harder to stick to your diet goals.
For all these reasons, periodically boosting your leptin via carb refeeds should make dieting feel less challenging. Beyond that, there’s also the psychological factor of knowing that you don’t have to strictly adhere to a diet indefinitely. Although it might seem counterintuitive, research confirms 78that giving yourself planned breaks can help relive the doldrums of dieting and actually increase your adherence in the long term.
There’s no evidence that carb refeeds are necessary or optimal if weight loss is your goal. Like so many things, this is going to be an n=1 situation. They might help, hurt, or be neutral depending on the individual.
First and foremost, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If your current diet is working just fine, you feel great, and you’re losing weight, you don’t need carb refeeds. (By the way, if you’re impatient because you’re losing slowly, I haven’t seen any evidence that they will speed up weight loss.)
Likewise, they generally aren’t recommended for people who still carry a significant amount of body fat. There’s no real guidance as to what constitutes “significant amount,” unfortunately. As a rule, though, leaner individuals are more likely to benefit from the hit of leptin because they have less adipose tissue to produce it on a day-to-day basis.
DO: Reasons to experiment with carb refeeds include:
DON’T: Other instances when carb refeeds are not advised are:
No matter what strategy you use, you want to refeed with nutrient-dense, Primal-aligned foods. We’re talking sweet potatoes, potatoes, beets, baked goods made with almond or coconut flour if you want, in-season fruit, quinoa, maybe legumes if they work for you. If you want to eat some rice (sushi!), no judgement here.
Primal carb refeeds aren’t just an excuse to “cheat” (a term that I hate). You’ll see carb cycling protocols that allow, even advocate, eating copious amounts of junk food (another term I don’t love) on refeed days. Since our goal here is metabolic health and hormone balance, stick to the same Primal foods that support those goals, just with more carbs.
If you look at the literature on carb cycling, you’ll find various opinions. Depending on who you ask, it can be upwards of 300+ grams per day. Again, though, these come mostly from protocols aimed at physique and other athletes, and these high carb recommendations are for men who are already quite lean. It’s not clear how they apply to the average woman looking to kickstart their weight loss.
As usual, it’s also hard to find research on people who follow a low-carb Primal or paleo approach. In this oft-cited study,10 for example, the control diet was a mainly liquid diet supplemented with orange juice, yogurt, and cream that came in at an average of 224 grams of carbs per day. In the carb overfeeding condition, which was shown to boost leptin, the average daily carb intake was 394 grams—way more than the average Primal eater probably consumes.
In the absence of solid research-based recommendations, you’ll have to experiment. A good place to start is bumping up to twice your normal daily intake by adding nutrient-dense carbs to one or two of your meals, and increasing as necessary. If you want to be scientific about it, log your food and also keep track of metrics like weight, sleep, and energy. Play around with the frequency of carb-ups, as well as the amount of carb you add, and see what works best.
Technically, carb refeeds don’t have to involve more calories. Some protocols state that you should reduce fat on carb-up days so that your total caloric intake stays the same. Others specifically recommend adding carbs and increasing calories by a fixed amount.
Unfortunately, we don’t have enough studies to break down the separate effects of carbs and calories here. In theory, both should signal to the body that energy is available, but carb intake uniquely boosts leptin. Once again, experiment to see what works for you. To start, I’d recommend allowing your calories to increase on refeed days. You might dial back your fat a little, but I wouldn’t overthink it, especially if you’re already low-carb or keto. Adding 50 or 75 grams of carbs is 200 to 300 calories. That might be less than your typical caloric deficit. Even if you add more, it’s unlikely to negatively effect weight loss if we’re talking occasional refeeds.
I know that many dieters are afraid to increase their calories for fear of “undoing” their progress. That fear seems to be unfounded. Multiple studies confirm that intermittent dieting—mixing periods of caloric restriction with eating around your maintenance calories—is no worse11 for losing weight than continuous calorie restriction. It may even be advantageous12 for weight loss, and fat loss specifically.
In terms of how often to refeed, you have some options:
If you’re actively trying to lose weight, one option is to wait until you hit a plateau—at least a couple weeks when the scale stops moving—then add a day or two of higher-carb Primal meals to see if that moves the needle.
As I said up top, some carb cycling strategies involve fixed periods of lower- and higher-carb eating. Often this looks like eating low-carb during the week and then doing one or two higher-carb days on the weekend. This is more convenience than science though. There’s no reason you can’t do 9/1 or 12/2 or any other pattern that works for you. You don’t even need to take a whole day. Some people just do one high-carb meal per week and feel great.
Obviously this strategy is more of a lifestyle than an acute tool for breaking through a weight-loss plateau. This is for people who don’t do well with continuous dieting or who find it easier to stick to their goals when they have planned deviations. It is akin to the idea of a cyclical ketogenic diet, although you don’t have to be keto to use carb cycling.
Another carb cycling strategy is timing carbs strategically around your menstrual cycle.
This strategy isn’t specifically geared at weight loss but rather supporting the whole hormonal system, but it potentially allows you to kill two birds with one stone. There are different approaches here, but a common one is increasing carbs 4 to 5 days post-ovulation (around days 19 and 20 of your cycle) and on the first couple days of your period. These are times when your leptin levels naturally dip, so you could possibly benefit from the boost. Some women prefer instead to add carbs around ovulation, days 13 to 15. Again, see what works be for you.
Finally, you can wait until your body starts calling out for carbs and respond appropriately. In my opinion, intuitive eating is one of the goals of a Primal diet and lifestyle. When we improve hormone balance and tap into how good it feels to nourish ourselves with nutrient-dense foods, we should be able to trust when our inner voice says, “Hey, I could use some starchy vegetables here!”
Eating carbs intuitively isn’t the same responding to sugar cravings or eating something off plan just because it “sounds good.” I think we can all recognize the difference between listening to our bodies and eating purely for pleasure. (You’re more than welcome to do that too, but it’s not what we’re talking about here.)
Intuitive carb refeeds are probably going to work best for people who have been on the Primal train for a while and who generally feel pretty in tune with their bodies. Women who are dealing with chronic health issues or hormone imbalances might need something more structured.
Note that this is a different question than carb timing, which Mark covered recently. Carb timing is about when to eat your carbs during the day.
I’m a big fan of experimenting with your diet. There is so much bioindividuality, it’s impossible to find a one-size-fits-all approach. The best strategy for you is the one that hits that sweet spot where you to feel your best and also enjoy how you eat.
Moreover, I’m going to go out on a limb and say if you’ve been low-carb for so long that you’re afraid to consider eating even nutrient-dense, Primal-aligned carb-y foods like sweet potatoes, you should challenge yourself to try a carb refeed and see what happens. I’m not talking about people who know they feel better eating very-low-carb and simply don’t have the desire to switch it up. I’m talking about people who have a mental block around the very idea of carbs. We don’t want people to get “stuck” in a low-carb paradigm to the point where they feel unable to enjoy otherwise nutritious foods just because they have more carbs than, say, broccoli.
Finally, although their are good reasons to try carb refeeds if your current low-carb diet isn’t working the way you want, it’s only one of many things you might try. In particular, if you haven’t also gotten your sleep and stress in order, make those priorities as well. Carb refeeds can only do so much if you don’t have a solid foundation of healthy habits in place.
Tell us: Have you had success implementing a carb cycling approach? What works for you? What are your favorite foods to use to increase carb intake?
Does Carb Cycling Work? It Depends.
Dear Mark: Should I Increase Carb Intake for Weight Loss?
Carb Refeeding and Weight Loss
The post Carb Refeeds for Women: Do They Help With Fat Loss? appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
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If you’ve ever had a meat or jerky bar made of finely chopped dried meat and perhaps berries, you may be familiar with pemmican. Pemmican consists of lean, dried meat – usually beef nowadays, but bison, deer, and elk were common back in the day) which is crushed to a powder and mixed with an equal amount of hot, rendered fat, usually beef tallow. Sometimes crushed, dried berries are added as well. For long periods of time, people can subsist entirely on pemmican, drawing on the fat for energy and the protein for strength, and glucose, when needed.
Vihljamur Stefansson, eminent anthropologist and arctic explorer, went on three expeditions into the Alaskan tundra during the first quarter of the 20th century. His discoveries – including the “blond” Inuit and previously uncharted Arctic lands – brought him renown on the world stage. People were fascinated by his approach to travel and exploration, the way he thrust himself fully into the native Inuit cultures he encountered. Stefansson studied their language, adopted their ways, and ate the same food they ate. In fact, it was the diet of the Inuit – fish, marine mammals, and other animals, with almost no vegetables or carbohydrates – that most intrigued him. He noted that, though their diet would be considered nutritionally bereft by most “experts” (hey, nothing’s changed in a hundred years!), the Inuit seemed to be in excellent health, with strong teeth, bones, and muscles. He was particularly interested pemmican.
The Inuit, Stefansson noted, spent weeks away from camp with nothing but pemmican to eat and snow to drink to no ill effect. Stefansson, a Canadian of Icelandic origin, often accompanied them on these treks and also lived off of pemmican quite happily, so its sustaining powers weren’t due to some specific genetic adaptation unique to the Inuit. In fact, when Stefansson returned home, he and colleague adopted a meat-only diet for a year, interested in its long-term effects. A controlled examination of their experience confirmed that both men remained healthy throughout.
So, pemmican has a reputation as a sort of superfood. While I’m usually leery of such claims, the fact that the stuff is essentially pure fat and protein (plus Stefansson’s accounts) made me think that maybe there was something to it. I set out to make my own batch.
What you need:
Let the meat firm up in the freezer, then slice it thin. After adding liberal amounts of salt and pepper, set the oven to the lowest possible temperature (around 150 degrees) and lay out the strips of meat directly onto a rack. Keep the oven door slightly open to prevent moisture buildup.
Put a handful of frozen wild blueberries on a small oven pan to dry out with the meat.
Let the meat dry out for about 15 hours, or until it takes on a crispy jerky characteristic that breaks apart easily. Pulverize the jerky in the food processor or blender until it becomes powder.
After the meat, repeat the process for the blueberries. No need to wash the blender in between – you’ll mix the dried meat and dried berries together anyway. Again, you want a powder. 
Now, render the fat. I used grass-fed bison kidney fat, which was already diced into tiny pieces. I put about half a pound of that into a cast iron pan and cooked it slowly over super-low heat.
I made sure to stir the fat as it rendered out, and watched closely so that it wouldn’t burn. When the fat stops bubbling, the rendering is done.
Use a strainer to avoid all the crispy bits; you just want the pure, liquid fat.
Mix the meat and berry powder together, then slowly add the hot liquid fat. Pour just enough so that the fat soaks into the powder.
If you poured in too much fat too quickly, you can add a bit of almond meal to firm it up. Once it firms, cut it into bars or roll it into balls.
Pemmican will keep almost forever. Pure, dried protein and rendered (mostly saturated) fat are highly stable, so I wouldn’t worry about it going rancid. If it does, you’ll know.
Now, my pemmican wasn’t exactly delicious. Without much spice, it comes out fairly bland. Maybe I’ll jazz it up next time with some more salt and spices, but I don’t think pemmican is meant to be eaten for pleasure. This is utilitarian food, perfect for long treks through the wilderness. It gets the job done, and I’ll probably make it again. It definitely doesn’t taste bad; in fact, the taste grows on you after awhile.
My dog certainly enjoyed cleaning up the bowl.
Has anyone else here tried pemmican? Let me know what you think!
The post How to Make Pemmican appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.
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