As you may know, I have mixed feelings about Precision Nutrition (PN). On the one hand, I'm certified with them (PN1). On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of the way they run their online coaching (which differs from what they tell you in their certification manual). And while they sometimes post useful and informative articles, they sometimes write misleading ones. This post is about the latest example I've seen, and will hopefully help you with evaluating results of studies. Continue reading
Spot reduction refers to the concept of reducing fat in specific area of the body through exercise. Spot reduction claims have been around a very long time...and have remained popular despite the lack of results. It seems like it should work, right? But then, it seems like the earth is flat. ("Look! There's the edge!") So why is there still so much confusion about this?
A healthy diet has a wide range of benefits including body composition (fat percentage), longevity (live longer), reduced likelihood of many diseases (such as diabetes), feeling better (improved mood and more energy), and more. Having a healthy diet means eating mostly healthy foods, but knowing how healthy foods are is not always so easy.
The usual approach is to reduce calories consumed (“diet”) and/or increase calories burned (“exercise”) often summarized as, “Eat less, move more.”
As you all remember from the post on macronutrients, protein is one of the Big Three. How much protein should you be getting? Are you getting enough? These are important questions for anyone, but especially folks on the high side of 40...and they get more important as we go along.
As usual, the answer to these important questions starts with, "It depends..."
When people adopt a (usually short-term) diet regimen, there is considerable debate as to whether to allow "cheat meals" that willfully deviate from the diet. Proponents argue that occasional splurges help people stick to their diets without significant negative effects, whilst antagonists argue that they are slippery slopes that too often lead to abandoning the diet altogether.
But a better way to consider "cheat" meals is that they are not cheating at all...they're detours.
There's a video making the rounds again lately (despite being circa 2013-14) about an Iowa science teacher who used himself for an "experiment" with his class to eat exclusively at McDonald's. However, there were caveats, and the results surprise some people. As usual there's more to the story.
