So last week, I found myself in a conversation that I have had a few times over the past few months where diets were being kicked around. The question of which diet is the best is the one that was getting kicked around. This question has been pointed at me more than a few times, as it seems folks think that there are some hacks that I have employed along the way.
Then later that same night, a new episode of a podcast that I follow popped up into my Overcast queue. The podcast is called ‘The Energy Blueprint’ which is a fairly hardcore, science based, clinically oriented type of podcast with real information that can be taken forward. This particular episode features James Krieger who hits upon this very notion of the ‘Best Diet For Fat Loss…’
Before I go into the actual podcast details that really resonate with me – let me share a few things. I have been messing with my diet in a big way going back three years at this point. I have gone through various fads and phases, and I think I’m nearing the point of clarity for my personal diet. I’ll start by saying this – I LOVE the fattest, richest, tastiest foods and drinks out there. Pizza is killer for me. Quality red wine is something that has become a wonderful hobby from time to time. I totally enjoy a late night bowl of ice cream covered in more sugary sauces and high sugar cereals more than you probably do. I love all of it.
I also love being able to put my pants on without a muffin top sagging out over my belt. So there’s definitely a give and take here. There’s a balance to be had, and I’ve been experimenting like so much else in my life over the past few years to reach a point of understanding and of clarity. For me, this required a substantial amount of experimentation – some would call it biohacking. Whatever. Here’s a very quick rundown of what I’ve been up to, and then I’ll give you the podcast punchlines to save you the hour of listening to it – unless you really want to geek out and get it straight from the source. I listened to it twice over, it is that dense of a podcast. It didn’t take me two hours to listen to it though, and if you are confused how I was able to do so, click this writeup here to learn how I have my Overcast configured.
Cleansing – So I have done the Blessed Herbs cleanse twice in my life. The first time I was in Boston, and I did the full regime while working for an early stage start up. It was incredible after getting through the first five days. The second time I attempted it and largely failed was when I was in the midst of my broken leg phase. It was too painful on multiple levels. I was sharing some of that experience with a buddy of mine when we were kicking around energy theories and spirituality after his trip to India. Turns out he had done the same cleanse and had a similar experience the first time around that I did. This stuff works, and I am probably ready to try it again in the coming weeks/months. When I do, I’ll share some of the experiences here.
High Protein – I switched into a protein dominant diet with whey protein about two years ago, and hit this hard. I was able to stack on some muscle while on this. Some of my greatest gains were when I was on this diet and on a strict cardio regime as well. I overtaxed my kidneys during this phase, and it was also during this phase that my adrenals eventually became shot. I was at my leanest during this diet though, and many times I was not hungry at all. My lowest body fat was when I was on this – I hit 11.9% as a 40/41 year old guy. Ripped was the word, but I was sick on the inside.
Vegan – I went hardcore Vegan last year for about 45 days, and I blew it all to hell over Halloween on some incredible food down here in the South over that weekend. What I learned during this time was that my clarity of mind was unleashed, it really struck me about two weeks in how much better everything was. I was even getting stronger at the gym, which was something I had not intended. I was very strict on the vegan thing, and managed to skip meals while on the road when the options sucked. I look back during this timeframe with wonder and awe – I’ll likely do this again down the line. The lifestyle tax was too hard and not truly sustainable for me as a lifestyle. At least not yet. This is when I realized that I could hack my diet like so much else I had lived by default up until this point in time.
Keto – This is the most recent experiment. I got the at home strips, the monitor, the whole shabang. I skipped the urine strips, those were not accurate enough for me. I found I dropped 10 lbs within the first two weeks, dropped my body fat a full 2 points, and I was largely lethargic in the afternoons. I started to lean out though, and my caffeine intake was through the roof to compensate. I was doing BulletProof Coffee at least twice a day, and I’ll never forget the moment when I broke through the dreaded keto flu wall that is discussed so much. I thought I was going to throw up, while experiencing dizziness at the gym during a bench press routine. I pressed on, and about 20 minutes later as I was wrapping up the lift – the nausea passed, and a surge of energy hit me. It was weird, and as described. For me though, I found this diet killed my lifting performance as my stamina sucked. I also experienced bad cravings for carbs, and I found that my weight eventually surged while on this diet – not in a good way. Suffice it to say, I probably did something ‘wrong’ and I know that this diet is not for me.
Fasting – This is the current regime I’m invoking. I’ll go anywhere from 12 to 20 hours daily fasting and then crush the calories. Recently, I’ve been crushing it a bit much, as I am in a bulking phase, and my weight is the heaviest sustained weight in over 20 years. My strength is almost back to my personal best on the squats. Deads and benches are at personal highs in decades, and the case of deadlifts – I am stronger than I was at 23. Yet, I’m carrying more fat than I would like.
So what’s the point in this diatribe of experiences over the past few years?
I have lived a variety of diets, and I can tell you for sure that there is no secret or best diet listed above.
The questions we have been asking all along about diets are the wrong questions, thus the mixed results for so many of us. The podcast I referenced above goes into the detail in a manner I had never considered before. It dovetails beautifully with that recent conversation I mentioned earlier, and it lines up perfectly with my experience rundown just offered.
There are two paradigms for diets – one school of thought is all about caloric intake and spend while the other school is focused on hormonal balance – things like carbs, insulin, and cortisol. Macro nutrients play a big factor into both, and many in the hormonal camp are overly focused on the macros.
The fact is this – if you eat less calories than you spend – you will lose fat. The question then becomes if you are seeking to preserve muscle, what to do? This will vary by individual.
Calories spent vs calories taken in – this is simple math, and numerous studies have concluded that high fat diets, high carb diets, high protein diets all will result in about the same amount of fat loss if you are mindful of your caloric intake. Some will need to measure calories as tedious as that is – until you get the hang of the calorie load. For me, I’m at a point where I’ll intermittently measure or if I am introducing a new diet makeup – otherwise, I know generally what I’m taking in.
So what is the magic diet based upon science? It is the Adherence Diet. By the way, there is no such thing.
Let me explain – the magic diet is the one that you can enjoy living with, while taking in less calories than you spend. The macros will take care of themselves. If you want to get really fancy – find a holistic nutritionist to help you on this journey.
In the research referenced in the podcast above, there are a few types of diets that have shown higher degrees of adherence, and they are:
- High protein diets
- High plant diets with fruits and vegetables as these are less energy dense diets
- Both protein and plants provide a higher degree of satiety as you eat them, thus preventing the urge to binge/break the diet
Another key takeaway from the podcast that was striking is this —
our brains are unevolved.
What? Yeah – think about this – energy dense foods like fat and sugar didn’t exist in the wild, back in the day – so when we get those foods – we treat them as gold. Plants and other items that took forever to forage and gather – those foods do not trigger the same chemical reactions in our brains. The rub is this – our brains have not evolved to our world where Snickers bars are in every damn gas station. For all of the wondrous elements of our brain, we are still operating with a chemical-based reaction system from 4000 BC…. so the wiring is from that epoch. This was something I had never considered, and it gives me another way to handle those ice cream urges…
Okay, final round of key takeaways that I had in listening to the podcast. To lose more weight – in addition to figuring out a diet that you can adhere to while eating less calories than you spend – these items were highlighted at the very end:
- Eat less
- Limit energy dense foods in your home (I’m slowly getting rid of that chocolate and ice cream…) – this will obviate any tendencies to binge
- Move around more, particularly if you are at a desk job
- Be more active – even if it is just a 20 minute walk
- Count calories to raise your mindfulness
So there you go, spend more calories than you take in as a lifestyle with a diet that you can enjoy and live with.
Diet Adherence is the key.