Carbs Are NOT Evil

I have a never ending battle with my Mom and sister about the benefits of carbohydrates (carbs). Somewhere along the way, they both were convinced that eating a slice of bread is akin to eating a peach grown in the lovely farming community of Chernobyl. I just disagree.

I once heard a famous motivational speaker say that if you want to be successful at something, you should model people who have already made it. Or, pay attention to years and years and YEARS of research instead of what you read in a 500 word article in Shape magazine.

Cases in point:

• Michael Phelps’s diet plan. I don’t think he is too concerned about carbs being bad for him. Don’t adopt his plan, just learn from an Olympic champion how eating carbs is key to his success.
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends 45-55% of your calories come from carbs. Who wrote the article YOU are reading???
• The American Dietetic Association tends to agree.
• Carbs are the primary source of fuel for people trying to exercise
• Heard of “net carbs"? There is no such thing. It was invented as a part of a marketing campaign according to the Irving Center for Clinical Research at Columbia University.
• Following diets designed for performance athletes is probably a likely way to make the body work efficiently

If you are not a doctor or dietician, do your homework. Don’t follow a fad--even if the science “makes sense.”

Which Diet Plan is Best?

There is no secret formula for weight loss through dieting. It is a combination of eating less, moving more and maintaining a healthy balance of the nutrients you need to perform. Period. Now that we have that out of the way, we can chat.

Too many people succumb to analysis paralysis in trying to decide which diet plan will lead to the best results. I can think of over 50 of them off the top of my head, and every single one of them have a few things in common:

• They all claim to be backed by “breakthrough” research that sheds new light on losing weight
• They all have testimonials from satisfied (and lighter) customers
• They usually have multiple people with an impressive suffix after their name to back their claims (usually wearing a white coat in a photo)
• They all usually claim some sort of conspiracy by an inanimate entity against your weight loss (food companies, fast food providers, the sugar industry, etc.)
• They all claim that if you follow THEIR plan, you will finally be successful (for a fee)

They all also have one other good thing in common: they promote careful planning and tracking of your diet and require you to make choices and sacrifices. There are many pros and cons to all of them, so I suggest you take a look at this comparison tool from Health.com. It is an excellent guide to try and find a plan that fits into your lifestyle instead of trying to find a way around your possibly unhealthy lifestyle.

However, you need to keep this simple math problem in mind. A pound of fat is made up of 3500 calories. If you want to lose 20 pounds, you need to burn off 70,000 calories through diet and exercise. There is no way around it.

I run into people every day who are scared to death of carbs. Or fat. Or eating late. Or…well, you get the picture. They can’t see the forest for the trees. It is like a race car driver desperate to win a race, but they never leave the garage because they keep worrying about what is the BEST oil to use in their car.

Get moving. Drive fast. Finish first. That is how you win. The rest are details that you can figure out with experience.

Do something.

Volume turned up to 11

Remember the famous scene from the mockumentary, Spinal Tap, where the guitarist  talks about how his amp’s volume controls go up to 11?

You should be thinking about your workouts in the same way. Many people have set levels in their mind as to what their maximum effort might be. You need to periodically reset these levels “to 11” every now and then if you are going to continue to make gains. Watch the video and think about what Christopher Guest’s character says.

What do YOU need to do to push your workout a little bit over the top? You can do the same workout with the following changes:

• Reduce your rest time from 60 seconds to 45 seconds between sets.
• Perform a bodyweight exercise in between sets (alternate 30 pushups and 30 crunches)
• Add three sets of plyometrics at the end of the workout to finish it off.
• Do antagonistic exercises (e.g., bench press and lat pulldown) back to back with no rest, then rest 30 seconds, repeat
• Add 5% more weight than last time
• Add one more rep per set

There are a limitless array of variations to what you can do to your workout to turn up your workout amp to 11. Try to keep the training time the same, but compress more effort into the workout.

Are you fit enough---to be a ref?

It is almost World Cup time, and that means I will have no idea which team will win or why this sport over any other mesmerizes the entire world---except the United States. From what I have seen, it certainly is filled with some of the most fit athletes on the planet.

However, according to research, it is the referees that actually run more than anyone else on the pitch (upwards of 12 miles per game). To make sure these officials can keep up with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, FIFA instituted a strict policy, which I have quoted from an article:

In 2007, FIFA ramped up its referee training by launching its Refereeing Assistance Program to prepare the candidates for 2010.

Because referees have to keep up with the speed of the game, they are subjected to two fitness tests to mimic the action on the soccer field. They are given the tests multiple times.

The first fitness test requires speed. A referee runs 40 meters six times. Each of the six sprints needs to be completed in 6.2 seconds for a male referee. He is allowed 1 minute and 30 seconds between each sprint.

The second test examines the referee's stamina in repeated high-intensity runs. He must run 150 meters in 30 seconds, and then must walk 50 meters in 35 seconds. This is repeated 20 times, which equals 10 laps around a track field. Assistant referees have less strict standards.

I think I will be trying this out in the next week to see how I do. I think I better bring a bucket.