Three Experiments to improve your eating habits:

In previous weeks we have discussed healthy eating habits and even suggested avoiding certain foods, but this is only sometimes a sustainable process. Avoidance can cause its unique issues in and of itself!

Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD, CSCS with Precision Nutrition (Pn) breaks down the Pn philosophy of “No bad foods.” His main points are:

  1. No single food defines an entire diet, it is all about balance, baby!
  2. No “one size fits all” approach exists for universally “bad” foods. We are all individuals, and our bodies respond to foods based on physiological and psychological factors.
  3. “The demonization of foods can make them more appealing” What makes the forbidden fruit desirable? This leads to something Brian calls “The Challenge Cycle” of fad dieting, which involves periods of restriction followed by over-indulging.
  4. “Rigidity is the enemy of consistency” Simply categorizing something as good or bad is not enough to make any real connections regarding health. It is better to create awareness around certain foods; Brian recommends investigating why certain foods may be appealing at that time. Try distinguishing hunger and craving. Are your stressed or bored? And how does this particular food ultimately serve your goals?
  5. “It is completely okay to eat for pleasure.” A part of the complex nature of food is that it is also tied to our social and spiritual dimensions of well-being. “Bad” food may not improve your physical well-being, but every once in a while, it may serve to improve your social well-being.

The article also lists more major points and offers some insight into becoming more in tune with your choices, but ill let you dig deeper on that if you’re so inclined.

Article Review: Benefits of Resistance Training

Sal Di Stefano, one of three personal trainers that host the MindPump Raw Fitness Truth podcast and has trained thousands of clients throughout his career, speaks on five reasons you should be lifting weights. 

  1. Functional mobility He refers to this as the ability to move through full ranges of motion with full control. This functionality comes from learning to adapt to added resistance when moving through these ranges of motion. If you can create safe and stable movement in a joint with added resistance, you will have much better control of the joint without resistance! 
  2. Increase in muscle mass Concerning longevity, Sal references the studies from Pubmed that support that a healthy amount of muscle mass can help protect you against chronic disease and physical injury. 
  3. “Hormone Optimization” This is regarding the evidence that shows increased testosterone in men and better balance in estrogen profiles in women. The mechanism behind this is due to both the activity of resistance training itself and the increased muscle mass that results from training. 
  4. Bone strength Wolff’s law states that bone density and architecture adapt to the loads placed on it – i.e., resistance training. 
  5. “Speeding up” your metabolism Muscle tissue is very energy expensive to build and keep. Regular resistance training sends signals to your body that prioritize building/preserving muscle and strength, which cranks up your metabolism to keep fueling this priority. This is also based on the second point but deserves its own space. 

Sal is not a man that claims without scientific backing; if you are interested in these topics, see the original article for Sal’s own words and the scientific articles he references. 

Article Link: https://www.mindpumpmedia.com/blog/5-long-term-benefits-of-resistance-training