book war: Fiber Fueled vs Fiber Menace
Fiber Fueled is written by a plant-based gastroenterologist, Fiber Menace, by a forensic nutritionist. Both hold diametrically opposed views on fiber recommendations. While Fiber Fueled praises including ever greater quantities of fiber in the diet, Fiber Menace pull no punches as to why fiver is overrated and potentially detrimental to overall health. Despite their differences, they both agree on one thing… “it is easier for our body to digest and process meat.” This is a quote from Fiber Fueled, which doesn’t give much credence to his plant-based argument, but that is a discussion for another day.
The thing everyone wants to know… how will I shit without fiber in my diet? Well, if we understand that nutrition is based on our ability to breakdown and assimilate nutrients, the simple fact that human don’t posses the digestive enzymes necessary to breakdown fiber should counter the idea that we need large amounts of fiber for regularity.
Gut motility is influenced by the content and composition of a meal, not its volume. Dense meals with high-fat content increase motility — carbs and protein have no effect. How much FIBROUS BULK you eat makes no difference because fat initiates the release of bile from the gallbladder, which then stimulates peristalsis. Pounding more fiber in hopes that it will make you shit is akin to there being traffic on the highway and thinking sending more cars down the onramp will help get things going.
That said, it is necessary for us to feed the microbes in our gut. And that is a good thing. More fiber = more diversity, but does more diversity mean better health? Fiber Fueled says yes, while Fiber Menace makes no mention (and as a fan of ancestral health, all signs point to more being better, however, I am not convinced). To get greater diversity, we need more fiber but an excess of fiber can cause greater acidity in your colon due to fermentation, which has the ability to kill off microbes.
Both books make compelling arguments fo their side, but it would be foolish to blinding accept what is being said in either, just because you want it to be true. A bit of self-experimentation is necessary to figure out where on the spectrum of fiber intake you need to be. A very simply place to start to see if you dietary plan is working or not is by utilizing the Bristol Stool Scale. If you aren’t shitting a “4” consistently, try adding or taking away some fiber for 2 weeks, depending on where you fall on the scale. Adjust accordingly.
Personally, Fiber Fueled was a waste of time because it just parrots everything you’ve already heard. “More plants, less meat.” This is dogma, and it WILL NOT work for everyone. Over the years I have ramped down my vegetable intake and have seen a rise in the quality of my digestion. When I was juicing everyday and eating grains, my body was falling apart. Fiber Fueled gets a 1 out of 5. On the other hand, Fiber Menace swings the complete opposite direction and is very refreshing to read something counterintuitive the common advice, and somehow have it vindicate my approach to a lowered fiber intake. Fiber Menace gets a 4 out of 5, and is a must read for anyone who thinks fiber is the only way to solve their digestive issues.
77. pillars of health
With all the noise coming from the media’s glorification of the impending mythical antidote, we seem to be losing touch with what was necessary for humanity to achieve a level of health that allowed us to arrive at this pivotal moment in history. Contented with the fact that Big Pharma will have an answer to the consequences a lifetime of indulging in desires will ultimately bring, most people no longer value the fundamental principles of health. The main message being delivered is that your health no longer needs to be your responsibility. It’s tragic. Unfortunately, I can’t save everyone, yet, for those that choose to take responsibility for their health, I want to share my fundamental pillars of health.
Wholesome Nutrition - What you need to eat will largely come down to your individual goals. It is important to understand that there is no perfect diet for all people. We all need to find what works best for us. A good place to start is to look at how your ancestors ate. Try to recreate it with the freshest, least processed, locally sourced, and most nutrient dense products you can find. Eat both veggies and vegetarians for the best health.
Functional Movement - Movement is more than exercise. It is the acquisition of strength to do what you need to do on a daily basis, and the mobility that grants you the ease to get in and out of necessary positions. The easiest way to improve your functional movement, without a gym, is to sit on the floor while you watch TV instead of the couch. You’ll constantly need to move and shift positions which will stretch different muscles, and then you will need to use those to get up, which over time, can improve strength.
Sleep Optimization - Sleep is underrated. Prioritizing rest and recovery is key to optimizing health. Without it we are unlikely to think, act, move, perform, or make decisions to the best of our abilities. The body thrives on consistency so follow a schedule. As the sun starts to set and bedtime gets closer, turn off unnecessary entertainment and dim the lights to mirror the outside environment.
Stress Management - While stress is necessary for adaptation and growth, if it becomes chronic, as in today’s society, there can be negative consequences, like a suppressed immune system. Knowing that you control how you react in any situation — that you choose, how anything affects you — will allow you to approach life differently. If you choose to take responsibility for your actions in all situations, you will have less stress and more time to appreciate the things you enjoy.
Digestive Health - You are not what you eat, but what you can absorb. The bacteria in our gut outnumber the cells in our body by a factor of 10. Their health can impact not only our nutritional input, but also our mood and immune health as well. The only way to improve your digestive health is to find a diet that works for you. If you’re not consistently shitting a 4 on the Bristol Stool Scale, you’ll need to change some aspect of your diet or lifestyle.
Efficient Detoxification - There is no such thing as a “pure” lifestyle in the 21st century. We have to be vigilant with what food and products we put in, on, or around our bodies because a majority of them have chemicals that aren’t tested by the FDA, as they trust companies to “self regulate.” Start with looking at the ingredients of everything you use and compare them to the EWG.org database, replace the most toxin ones. Oh and juice cleanses are bullshit. You need a certain amount of amino acids to efficiently detoxify, which are woefully deficient in fruit.
Resilient Mindset - Mindset is the most powerful thing we have. It is able to have a positive influence on our world and manifest change in ways we never thought possible. Stop focusing on the negative messages you hear all day and instead practice gratitude. Start a grateful journal today to change where your focus lies. Get a pen and paper, and write down 3 things you’re grateful for today. Repeat this everyday.
Community of Support - We are tribal animals. We were never meant to exist in solitude. To thrive, we need to find an environment with like-minded people in pursuance of similar goals, where we can connect with those who challenge us, as well as support our decisions to grow. I invite you to be a part of my tribe.
Maybe I missed the memo, but I don’t think these are being talked about by any mainstream source as a way to achieve a better quality of life. I’m assuming because they require taking responsibility for your own health and that’s not a money-maker for pharmaceutical companies. Regardless, they are what I have used to transform my own life as well as those I have worked with. It may take a little bit of effort, but they are the foundational principles of health that can save you from a reliance on the “sick care” system.
57. inadequate nutrition
Why do we get fat? The simplest answer is that we’re eating food that we know we shouldn’t in quantities higher than we should. But why am I always hungry? Well, at a certain point gaining weight is a symptom of inadequate nutrition. If your body found what it needed to function in the food you were consuming, then you would no longer be hungry. Problem solved!
Unfortunately, the hyperpalatable, over-processed, chemical-laden, mystery concoctions we classify as “food” these days are all deficient in the nutrients we need. And because of that, our hunger stays elevated. Essentially, we’re hungry because our body is continuously searching for nutrients the food we’re consuming doesn’t contain. It’s a cycle of your body saying “feed me”, and when you do it says “wtf is this, let’s try again.” Think of trying to complete a puzzle — you need a certain piece but keep getting pieces you don’t need and instead of throwing them away you have to stack them on top of the existing pieces, eventually there’s way more than you need and you still have a missing piece. When this happens the weight starts to rise alongside things like inflammation and metabolic dysfunction that create more issues.
The mechanism of hunger is designed to help regulate nutritional requirements. When you need vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients, hunger serves as your guide for which foods you should be eating, when, and how much. Once those baseline nutritional requirements have been met, the hunger stops. But, if the food being eaten lacks the adequate nutrients the body is looking for, the mechanism of hunger never really shuts off and you expand horizontally. Therefore, weight gain is a reflection of your nutritional status. To lose weight, start eating more satiating food!
Woman Drops 100lbs in 6 Weeks Going Strict Paleo, Eating Only Meat Scavenged from the Pack of Wolves She Runs with and fasting on Sundays!!!
If you’re even mildly paying attention you’ll have come across a headline, book, podcast, commercial or some friendly “advice” from a friend telling you exactly what and when you need to eat (and/or not eat), how to exercise, which supplements to take, how to sleep, etc. All you have to do is follow the protocol and you’ll lose the weight, feel better, cure a disease, be in the best shape of your life, and walk on water. Plenty of success stories, testimonials, google reviews, before and after transformation pictures are easily found to prove if such and such program worked for their fat ass, it can work for you too! And, this shit works.
With a multitude of “proven results” from seemingly contradictory claims, what exactly is working? One programs claims you can eat enough carbs to put an elephant into a coma, while another says that simply walking down the bread isle will knock you out of ketosis. One doctor says you can live with a pack of wolves, eating only meat, while another says anything other than consuming vegetables will give you cancer. One coach says cardio is king (gag!), while another says you should only move if it’s to pick up another weight. Supplement recommendations are all over the place. And, if you aren’t intermittent fasting, you obviously don’t care about your health.
This is all very confusing.
You do your best to take time to consider all the input from everything you’ve read, heard, seen, and try to put together that “perfect” program that works for you. You’re going to have your own success story… Woman Drops 100lbs in 6 Weeks Going Strict Paleo, Eating Only Meat Scavenged from the Pack of Wolves She Runs with and fasting on Sundays!!!
That headline is very appealing… How could that NOT work?
Well, probably because each individual program works for a reason — be it, specific macros, calorie counting, intermittent fasting, cardio or weight regimen, etc. Hobbling together a program you think will work is probably the best way to get lost in the hype of one thing or the other. Soon you’ll find your inclinations for the feral way of life waining. Or that fasting on Sunday’s interrupts your new Zoom drinking party.
So, what’s the point?
As a Personal Trainer (gag again — I fucking hate that classification, someone please ask me why so I can rant), I’ve been privy to working with 100’s of people during my tenure in this industry. All different. All wanting some result they saw on TV or in a magazine. All thinking it’s just a matter of fitting the right pieces in place and you’ll be an IG BootyStar. I’m here to tell you that, YES, it can be that simple, but rarely ever is. Very few people follow through on the simplest of things.
It’s not about willpower. It’s not about sacrifice.
It’s all comes down to figuring out WHY you want to be the END result you seek. Most people I’ve dealt with come to me because they want to lose weight, but being thinner is rarely the reason they want to lose weight. It’s generally much deeper and harder to uncover or admit to themselves, and certainly their trainer. It’s generally something like they want to look good naked so they can be attractive to their spouse who has lost attention, or they got bad results from their doctor and if they don’t change their ways, they’ll die long before they see their kids grow up.
Heavy shit.
So, how do you lose 100 lbs? By being honest with yourself and finding the real reason WHY you want to change your life. Revisit that WHY every time you want to stop or give up.
This is not the last time I’m going to say this… NARRATIVE is FUCKING EVERYTHING. We are the stories we tell ourselves. You want a better life, tell a better story. (More to come on this)