|
So why the ”disconnect?” When did we
begin to resort to intermittent life-long dieting
as a cure for poor nutrition and inadequate
physical activity?
Why is it that our masculine paunches and
feminine hips continue to expand at a rate
which seems to defy the very diet industry
which grew on the premise of protecting us
from ourselves?
These issues and many, many more are
viewed in the light of day and unraveled in
the book, "How Fat – How Thin." Most
important, new and workable solutions now
nullify the decades old notion of restoring
health simply by cutting back on food as the
book delivers on its promise of: "The 101
Best-Kept Secrets about Our Metabolism."
begin to resort to intermittent life-long dieting
as a cure for poor nutrition and inadequate
physical activity?
Why is it that our masculine paunches and
feminine hips continue to expand at a rate
which seems to defy the very diet industry
which grew on the premise of protecting us
from ourselves?
These issues and many, many more are
viewed in the light of day and unraveled in
the book, "How Fat – How Thin." Most
important, new and workable solutions now
nullify the decades old notion of restoring
health simply by cutting back on food as the
book delivers on its promise of: "The 101
Best-Kept Secrets about Our Metabolism."
|
|
|
 | |  | |  | |  |
| How Fat - How Thin The 101 Best Kept Secrets about Our Metabolism and Some Surprising Insights into Our Origins and Lifestyle Norman Benjamin |
As a Physiologist and life-long sports horseman, I began early on to
observe a certain parallel between horsemanship and our relationship
with our intrinsic metabolism. Sounds strange? Please hear me out.
When I first gazed into the eyes of a half-ton monster my immediate
concern was how a 10-year old could ever dominate such a powerful
beast. As if second-guessing me, the trainer told me not to fret. It’s not
about conflict - It’s not about control – It’s all about cooperation.
And so it is with our metabolism. Our energy exchange system evolved
to work with us. It was never intended to engage us on a field of
combat in an eternal battle of wills. Our health, well-being and, to a
great extent, our very lives depend upon our willingness to meet our
intrinsic metabolism half-way.
observe a certain parallel between horsemanship and our relationship
with our intrinsic metabolism. Sounds strange? Please hear me out.
When I first gazed into the eyes of a half-ton monster my immediate
concern was how a 10-year old could ever dominate such a powerful
beast. As if second-guessing me, the trainer told me not to fret. It’s not
about conflict - It’s not about control – It’s all about cooperation.
And so it is with our metabolism. Our energy exchange system evolved
to work with us. It was never intended to engage us on a field of
combat in an eternal battle of wills. Our health, well-being and, to a
great extent, our very lives depend upon our willingness to meet our
intrinsic metabolism half-way.
| Norman Benjamin |
|
These special human beings hold in common the essential characteristics of highly trained athletes, wherein we
physiologists glean our keenest insights into the limits to human performance.
This chapter on measurements is not intended to summarize the American College of Sports Medicine’s guidelines.
Should your goal be the “bigger picture,” or more specific health- or age-related recommendations, let me guide you
to the site: www.acsm.org . For the many whom return to physicality with the benefit of medical prescription,
“Measurements” focuses narrowly on the very intimate relationship between energy,body composition and
performance. These are the measurable factors which most readily lend themselves to an appreciation of
improvement in lifestyle.
A casual glance at the morphology of Michael Phelps tells us a lot about his physicality, but this can also be
misleading. After all, how can someone who appears on the surface to be so thin (perhaps 6 percent body fat), train
on a highcarb diet of 12,000 calories per day? The most obvious answer is that he burns away this energy in the
pool. Less obvious, perhaps, is his elevated basal metabolism. When fat is lost as a byproduct of dieting or
starvation, our metabolism down-regulates. This is a normal metabolic response to deprivation: We conserve both
energy and energy potential.
Under conditions of optimum nutrition, while we subject our body to chronic and/or intense physical stress, we
continue to shed fat but acquire additional lean mass. Muscle tissue requires much higher maintenance than
adipose; so, under this specific set of circumstances, our basal metabolism tends to up-regulate. It is not
unreasonable to estimate that the basal requirements of a Michael Phelps are 15 to 20 percent greater than those of
a sedentary young man with the same absolute body mass but, perhaps, four times the fat mass.
The calorie (1/1,000 of a kilocalorie, or kcal) is the international standard for measuring nutrition-related energy
uptake as well as energy depletion resulting from metabolic processes, whether at rest or during exercise. In a
laboratory environment, the calorie is equivalent to the amount of heat required to elevate 1-gram of water 1 degree
C, from an initial temperature of 14.5-deg. C, in an airless environment. More significant than laboratory energy
equivalents is the specificity of the calorie by universal consensus. When one health care professional speaks of
dietary calorie uptake and the other refers to calorie energy consumed during exercise, you can rest assured that
they are both speaking the same language. Calculation of energy exchanges is most basic to an understanding of
metabolic processes.
As the student of physics knows, energy is more complex than mere heat exchange and subject to a multitude of
other formulae. While the physiologist uses many of these physical formulae to calculate factors related to muscle
strength, muscle endurance and velocity, our body’s energy is more readily understood through a basic appreciation
of our metabolism.
Our body is not organized primarily as an energy user, but rather as an energy conserving organism. It would make
little sense, therefore, for a free-range hunter-gatherer to liberate his energy recreationally or in any other frivolous
manner. His cost of acquisition is just too high. While this seems clear to most of us, less obvious is that
the more active we become, the more efficient our organism tends to be in the utilization of energy. The specific
metabolic mechanisms of energy efficiency are generally referred to as cardiovascular and cardio-respiratory
conditioning.
At this point we discover the yin and the yang of our physicality. Over the medium term, unless we wish to ratchet up
the intensity of our workout, we will face a very gradual fall-off in activity-related energy burn. On the other hand,
physiologists glean our keenest insights into the limits to human performance.
This chapter on measurements is not intended to summarize the American College of Sports Medicine’s guidelines.
Should your goal be the “bigger picture,” or more specific health- or age-related recommendations, let me guide you
to the site: www.acsm.org . For the many whom return to physicality with the benefit of medical prescription,
“Measurements” focuses narrowly on the very intimate relationship between energy,body composition and
performance. These are the measurable factors which most readily lend themselves to an appreciation of
improvement in lifestyle.
A casual glance at the morphology of Michael Phelps tells us a lot about his physicality, but this can also be
misleading. After all, how can someone who appears on the surface to be so thin (perhaps 6 percent body fat), train
on a highcarb diet of 12,000 calories per day? The most obvious answer is that he burns away this energy in the
pool. Less obvious, perhaps, is his elevated basal metabolism. When fat is lost as a byproduct of dieting or
starvation, our metabolism down-regulates. This is a normal metabolic response to deprivation: We conserve both
energy and energy potential.
Under conditions of optimum nutrition, while we subject our body to chronic and/or intense physical stress, we
continue to shed fat but acquire additional lean mass. Muscle tissue requires much higher maintenance than
adipose; so, under this specific set of circumstances, our basal metabolism tends to up-regulate. It is not
unreasonable to estimate that the basal requirements of a Michael Phelps are 15 to 20 percent greater than those of
a sedentary young man with the same absolute body mass but, perhaps, four times the fat mass.
The calorie (1/1,000 of a kilocalorie, or kcal) is the international standard for measuring nutrition-related energy
uptake as well as energy depletion resulting from metabolic processes, whether at rest or during exercise. In a
laboratory environment, the calorie is equivalent to the amount of heat required to elevate 1-gram of water 1 degree
C, from an initial temperature of 14.5-deg. C, in an airless environment. More significant than laboratory energy
equivalents is the specificity of the calorie by universal consensus. When one health care professional speaks of
dietary calorie uptake and the other refers to calorie energy consumed during exercise, you can rest assured that
they are both speaking the same language. Calculation of energy exchanges is most basic to an understanding of
metabolic processes.
As the student of physics knows, energy is more complex than mere heat exchange and subject to a multitude of
other formulae. While the physiologist uses many of these physical formulae to calculate factors related to muscle
strength, muscle endurance and velocity, our body’s energy is more readily understood through a basic appreciation
of our metabolism.
Our body is not organized primarily as an energy user, but rather as an energy conserving organism. It would make
little sense, therefore, for a free-range hunter-gatherer to liberate his energy recreationally or in any other frivolous
manner. His cost of acquisition is just too high. While this seems clear to most of us, less obvious is that
the more active we become, the more efficient our organism tends to be in the utilization of energy. The specific
metabolic mechanisms of energy efficiency are generally referred to as cardiovascular and cardio-respiratory
conditioning.
At this point we discover the yin and the yang of our physicality. Over the medium term, unless we wish to ratchet up
the intensity of our workout, we will face a very gradual fall-off in activity-related energy burn. On the other hand,
Thereafter, we can rejoin the group because our
individual results will be compounded into a new and
greater mass of population data.
Scientific knowledge can also be acquired through a
diametrically opposite approach. By highlighting the
extraordinary or idiosyncratic in certain unusual people,
we gain better insight into our own workings. I am
especially attracted to Olympic giants such as Michael
Phelps and to the magnificent Paralympians, many of
whom compete with fewer limbs than I have, much
faster than I could ever hope to go.
individual results will be compounded into a new and
greater mass of population data.
Scientific knowledge can also be acquired through a
diametrically opposite approach. By highlighting the
extraordinary or idiosyncratic in certain unusual people,
we gain better insight into our own workings. I am
especially attracted to Olympic giants such as Michael
Phelps and to the magnificent Paralympians, many of
whom compete with fewer limbs than I have, much
faster than I could ever hope to go.
| Chapter 18, Measurements for Lifestyle |
| Chapter Excerpts from How Fat - How Thin by Norman Benjamin |
| Chapter 19, Manipulating Metabolism |
|
These are usually dissolved in their drinking water and are known generically as hyper-tonics. Diabetics, especially
the insulin dependent, must avoid hypoglycemia under all circumstances. In the course of their medically prescribed
exercises they frequently pop apple slices or open sachets of powdered fructose in order to stave off a too-rapid
depletion of blood sugar.
In circumstances of long duration training, we must be alert to any sense of fatigue. Unless fatigue is accompanied by
a sense of well-being, it should be interpreted as danger sign. A well-conditioned, high-intensity athlete tends to
deplete glycogen slightly earlier than the half-hour energy crossover mark. An under-conditioned or inadequately
nourished “dieter” may be subject to the hypoglycemia brought on from either too-high intensity or insufficient dietary
carbohydrate preparatory to exercise.
Also bear in mind the caveats which follow. The maneuver herein described is not intensity-dependent. It depends
primarily on our availability and willingness to move our body at a fairly constant rate for about forty-five minutes at a
time, most days of the week. High intensity (aerobics) will burn more calories but not necessarily more fat. Low-
resistance intensity will make you “lighter” faster but also involves the utilization and surrender of certain amounts of
muscle tissue. Long-duration aerobics should be performed at a level safely below 90 percent of HRR (heart rate
reserve). Refer to the Tanaka calculation presented earlier and discuss with both your physician and your personal
trainer.
Once we determine our initial THR (training heart rate), there is no better way to monitor ourselves than strapping on
a cardio-frequency band or Polar-type watch. There should be no doubt that for us older “athletes,” the most
productive exercise technique is slow and steady. The aerobic metabolic maneuver just presented will thus occupy
about three hours a week over the course of four mostly alternate days. If we can find the time to squeeze in another
couple of hours of resisted or weight-loaded exercise, how clever are we? We will have successfully combined fat
loss with muscle gain and cardio-respiratory with cardiovascular conditioning. We will also come to appreciate a
rejuvenated and more ego-pleasing reflection in our bathroom mirror.
The technique just described does not manipulate insulin but rather rides on the slip-stream of the normal behavior of
this hormone during continuous physical activity. Insulin secretion and uptake, at normal levels, comprise the ego
centers of our adipose tissue: its primary function being the defense of fat-based energy reserves. In this
respect, insulin is indeed a rainy-day friend. It is in the nature of our normal insulin to lower its guard ever so slightly
in the course of a long aerobic workout; this provides us with these windows of opportunity for shedding excess fat.
the insulin dependent, must avoid hypoglycemia under all circumstances. In the course of their medically prescribed
exercises they frequently pop apple slices or open sachets of powdered fructose in order to stave off a too-rapid
depletion of blood sugar.
In circumstances of long duration training, we must be alert to any sense of fatigue. Unless fatigue is accompanied by
a sense of well-being, it should be interpreted as danger sign. A well-conditioned, high-intensity athlete tends to
deplete glycogen slightly earlier than the half-hour energy crossover mark. An under-conditioned or inadequately
nourished “dieter” may be subject to the hypoglycemia brought on from either too-high intensity or insufficient dietary
carbohydrate preparatory to exercise.
Also bear in mind the caveats which follow. The maneuver herein described is not intensity-dependent. It depends
primarily on our availability and willingness to move our body at a fairly constant rate for about forty-five minutes at a
time, most days of the week. High intensity (aerobics) will burn more calories but not necessarily more fat. Low-
resistance intensity will make you “lighter” faster but also involves the utilization and surrender of certain amounts of
muscle tissue. Long-duration aerobics should be performed at a level safely below 90 percent of HRR (heart rate
reserve). Refer to the Tanaka calculation presented earlier and discuss with both your physician and your personal
trainer.
Once we determine our initial THR (training heart rate), there is no better way to monitor ourselves than strapping on
a cardio-frequency band or Polar-type watch. There should be no doubt that for us older “athletes,” the most
productive exercise technique is slow and steady. The aerobic metabolic maneuver just presented will thus occupy
about three hours a week over the course of four mostly alternate days. If we can find the time to squeeze in another
couple of hours of resisted or weight-loaded exercise, how clever are we? We will have successfully combined fat
loss with muscle gain and cardio-respiratory with cardiovascular conditioning. We will also come to appreciate a
rejuvenated and more ego-pleasing reflection in our bathroom mirror.
The technique just described does not manipulate insulin but rather rides on the slip-stream of the normal behavior of
this hormone during continuous physical activity. Insulin secretion and uptake, at normal levels, comprise the ego
centers of our adipose tissue: its primary function being the defense of fat-based energy reserves. In this
respect, insulin is indeed a rainy-day friend. It is in the nature of our normal insulin to lower its guard ever so slightly
in the course of a long aerobic workout; this provides us with these windows of opportunity for shedding excess fat.
At this point we may, at our discretion, terminate the exercise session
and enter into a cool-down or gradual reduction in intensity during an
additional five minutes. Tapering off will not only return our leg
muscles to a more relaxed state, but will also “burn-off” residual free
fatty-acid.
This cycle may be repeated at least once more (without stopping). I
would only recommend tacking on an additional cycle for the well-
conditioned. As we have observed, however, the well-conditioned are
usually unconcerned with excess body fat. Endurance athletes –
marathoners as well as Ironmen and Iron Ladies – not only tend to
have lower fat reserves; they also train and compete across multiple
glycogen/FFA cycles lasting two or more hours. Therefore, they must
supplement carbohydrates and smaller amounts of protein and salts
on the fly.
and enter into a cool-down or gradual reduction in intensity during an
additional five minutes. Tapering off will not only return our leg
muscles to a more relaxed state, but will also “burn-off” residual free
fatty-acid.
This cycle may be repeated at least once more (without stopping). I
would only recommend tacking on an additional cycle for the well-
conditioned. As we have observed, however, the well-conditioned are
usually unconcerned with excess body fat. Endurance athletes –
marathoners as well as Ironmen and Iron Ladies – not only tend to
have lower fat reserves; they also train and compete across multiple
glycogen/FFA cycles lasting two or more hours. Therefore, they must
supplement carbohydrates and smaller amounts of protein and salts
on the fly.
