We are constantly bombarded with the latest scientific discoveries. One article describes a set of scientific results. Then three months later, another article gives opposite results. What do you do?
With these contradictory results, it would be easy to give up on science. But I’m not sure science is to blame. Each study gives us a clue to the final answer. Here are a few thoughts to shed light on these contradictions and teach us to take a bird's-eye view of the issues at play.
Our bodies fight restrictive diets in every way possible, resulting in weight gain, not weight loss, over the long term.
Starting a new diet can be thrilling. It’s a time of hope and possibility. The process often starts with a trip to the drugstore for a notebook to write down the details of every meal. Then it’s off to the grocery store to fill the cart with strange ingredients such as chia seeds and apple-cider vinegar. Next, a post on Facebook and Instagram to let everyone know it’s Day 1 of your new diet. Through willpower and perfect eating habits, you are going to get the body of your dreams, at which point you’ll move on to other things.
And then, a year later, you find yourself exactly where you started. Or maybe a few pounds heavier, filled with disappointment.
If you’ve ever experienced this scenario, you’re not alone. And it’s not your fault.
In her book “Secrets From the Eating Lab: The Science of Weight Loss, the Myth of Willpower, and Why You Should Never Diet Again,” Traci Mann, professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, shares her findings after 20 years of research. She discovered restrictive diets don’t work, often result in weight gain and might ultimately be unhealthy. What’s more, losing weight is not a matter of willpower. When we diet, we are fighting against our brains and our biology.
All this doesn’t mean we should sink into a torpor surrounded by potato chips and ice cream. Istead of riding the roller coaster of restrictive diets, Mann recommends adopting healthy eating habits, exercising and—most importantly—being happy with your leanest livable weight.
Sound familiar?
Charles is here on a weekly basis to help you cut through the B.S. and get some real perspective regarding health and training. Please post feedback or questions to Charles directly in the comments below this article.
I wonder if you have seen this popular meme? It implies that even the statue of David would become obese if it resided in the United States, due to the prevalence of the evil American fast food industry.
If you are an 80’s kid or older, you are familiar with The Karate Kid. It’s one of those movies you come across while flipping through the channels on a Sunday afternoon and just have to stop and watch until it’s finished. The real gold is found in the gems that come from Daniel and Miyagi’s conversations. One of my favorites is from a scene where Mr. Miyagi is training while Daniel is finding “the balance” in the ocean. Curiously, Daniel asks:
In CrossFit gyms around the world, women deconstruct the longstanding myth of “the weaker sex” and continue the march toward true equality.
In 1973, 55-year-old Bobby Riggs—the 1939 Wimbledon champion—challenged 29-year-old Billie Jean King to a tennis match. Riggs said he could beat any female player even though he was in his 50s.
The tennis match, dubbed “The Battle of the Sexes,” took place in front of a crowd of 30,492; an estimated 90 million people watched it on TV. Although the odds favored Riggs going into the match, King dominated from the beginning. She won all three sets—6-4, 6-3, 6-3—and threw her racket in the air when the match ended.
Women’s equality had a long way to go in 1973. Second-wave feminism was just gathering steam, with the goal of changing the commonly held belief that women’s biological differences from men made them intellectually inferior, more emotional and best suited for domestic life.
The realization that strength is a social construct might be the hallmark of feminism in the 2000s. The worldwide influence of CrossFit—from the affiliate level to the CrossFit Games—has played a role in this shift, helping to destroy the idea that women are the weaker sex.
If you want happy joints, you gotta get low.
As adults we may grudgingly get on the floor every once in a while, but for most of us the journey down to the floor and back up is not a pleasant one. And we certainly don’t think of it as therapeutic. But if you suffer from cranky joints and chronic tension, it may be just what your body needs.
