Welcome back to Let's Chat, Diets. In this episode, we discuss If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM). The core premise of this diet is simple. You are given numbers to hit in terms of fats, protein and carbs and as long as you hit them you are following the diet. Sound appealing right? Eat whatever you want and as long as "it fits your macros" you're in the green. 

This is where it gets a bit questionable. If people just throw things like micronutrients out the window and as Tom says on the episode "smash a few protein shakes and then eat chocolate and pizza" yes you're hitting your macros but at what health cost? As we always say EDUCATION is crucial.

We discuss one of the big names and that is the popular https://www.iifym.com/. The problem is they draw you in with calculating your macros for free however if you want the further advice (that we think is crucial) then it's going to cost. The language used is important and websites like these follow the trend of big bright colours, loads of buzzwords and it's all about appealing to masses rather than helping. Example "No foods are off-limits! As long as it fits your macro requirements, you can eat whatever you like." Is taken directly from their website. If you buy their meal plans then great as they'll steer you towards more nutritious however if not and you take this language as gospel you might go "rouge" as Tom calls it. To further support my point on the language they offer programs such as "IIFYM Booty Storm", "IIFYM Laser Legs" and "IIFYM Tummy Toner". If you want our thoughts on the world of "toning" then check out our episode on it! Let's Chat, Myths: Toning Muscle.

Spoiler alert but we essentially concluded that this could be beneficial to those who have a good understanding of nutrition. This will aid in ensuring that the right foods are being consumed to meet macro AND micronutrients. Tom gave a good rule of thumb in the episode. 80% wholesome nutritious food and then 20% for "fun" foods. This just aids in sustainability and that's crucial for long term dietary success.

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Welcome back to Let's Chat, Myths! In this episode, we explore muscle "toning". We establish early doors that the word toning is very subjective and essentially nonsensical. 

In most cases, we find that the word toning is a marketing word used to attract mainly women. Workouts like "Bums and tums toning session" are most definitely aimed at some women. Do these workouts do what they say? Do they "tone"? It depends. We go into all of that on the episode and also in the follow-up blog post on our website chatshitgetfit.com

Although we are not fans of the term toning it's clear that it may work to get people up and moving. To some, it's a happy, safe word that may motivate you to exercise. Example being 2 workouts the same and achieve the same goals. "Get toned abs with this great workout!" Get shredded six-pack abs with this workout!" The language used will sell the workout to a different audience. As you'll hear in the episode even Domyos and the NHS are guilty of using this terminology. The issue comes with a lack of further education. If you are overweight do these "toning workouts" but neglect the work in the kitchen then you will not suddenly see defined muscles. This is where it can become misleading when certain products/programmes promise toning but neglect to give you the full picture of what's required to actually "tone". We explain it all.

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Studies Mentioned 

"Toning Pants"

Brad J Schoenfeld Study

Brad J Schoenfeld Study 2

We have a few of our own pet peeves/bugbears but the majority are listener submitted. Some seem very simple on the surface however after discussion the ranking we give them may surprise you. We split all the pet peeves into 3 different tiers. Tier 1 being the really bad ones and tier 3 not really bothering us. In the actual episode, we use a more "creative" ranking system but we'll let you hear that for yourselves. Down below are all the pet peeves we discuss and the ranking we gave them. 

TIER 1

TIER 2

TIER 3

So some of these may have you screaming at the screen saying NO WAY! Well have a listen and we do make a good discussion to get to tier placement. We really enjoyed this one and if you did too then please get in touch and we will look at doing a part 2. If you do have some more pet peeves/bugbears that you'd like us to get stuck into then drop us an email or message us on Instagram and we will add them to the list.

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Content Mentioned

When discussing the 1/4 pet peeve we mention that we elaborate in detail on the topic on a previous episode. Down below is the link to that episode.

https://www.chatshitgetfit.com/myths-ep-2

Welcome back to Let's Chat, Diets! In this episode, we discuss very-low-calorie diets (VLCD - 800 calories or fewer per day). IMPORTANT: This diet should only be done under medical supervision. Bare that in mind going into the episode. The reason for this episode coming out now is that on social media we came across an advert for "Lose a Stone in 21 Days with Michael Mosley" Now the premise of the program is looking at the health of the volunteers due to lockdown and aiding in shifting weight gained. Now we're not saying he (Dr Mosley) doesn't know what he's doing however when you see big adverts saying Dr says Lose a stone in 21 days by going on XYZ calories a day without much-supporting information accompanying said advert then you're running the risk of impressionable members of the public getting excited and going for it.

We don't just discuss this program though as we explore social media misinterpretation as a whole and why it's so damaging and driving those onto these diets in the first place. As we have mentioned on numerous occasions we as a society are now now now and when seeing these "amazing" fast results online it gets people excited. This is not a good thing. Bill & Tom have a first-hand story from back in the day where a colleague of theirs went on a Slimfast VLCD and it resulted in them having to go home early from work due to exhaustion. No surprise there.

Tom also finally gets to rip into Herbalife and he tells us all about their "21-day challenge" which in most cases is a very low-calorie diet. He also has strong words for those "fitness professionals" who shovel this crap and calls them "failed PTs". As I said at the start this is something that needs to be done under direct medical supervision not by Debbie your neighbour whos a Herbalife rep. These people will post amazing exciting content all over social media and once they've got your "success" pictures (because you will lose A LOT of weight on a VLCD) they'll bin you off and move onto the next. There is a reason the NHS (health service in the UK) provides ongoing support after such a drastic diet.

To lose weight sustainably and safely you need to make long term lifestyle changes and it's a journey and a journey you should embrace. These no prescribed VLCDs are nothing more than a dangerous quick fix. The diet itself is designed for those who need immediate intervention and need to lose weight FAST to avoid serious health implications not for Mr or Mrs Smith to lose a bit of timber fast before their summer holidays. 

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. If you want some genuine advice then please don't hesitate to get in touch as we'd much rather help the best we can and point you to a GP if needed than you risking your health smashing 3 low calorie shakes a day.

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We explore whether training/exercising on an empty stomach/fasted state is a good or bad thing. It's not as simple as it sounds and we find it's very individualised/complicated!

We begin by going into the realms of "The Diets" by discussing intermittent fasting. Tom has done this previously so he tells us of his experiences and how he felt from not only a training standpoint but losing weight and the convenience factors. 

This took us onto a claim that those training while fasted/empty stomach like to make. Because we are training with low glycogen stores our body is forced to tap into our fat stores for energy. So while this is true yes, as long as you're in a consistent calorie deficit you will lose fat regardless of training fasted or not. Not only that but from a performance standpoint, you will most likely perform worse than if you had eaten before. 

However what if you can't exercise after eating for at least 2 hours because it makes you feel sick etc and you simply don't have the time to wait? Then unless you have been allowing the body to adjust to increasing intensity over time then we'd recommend you keep it light. As we mention we wouldn't personally do anything too intense without eating prior but this is why this topic is so individualised as some may find it ok to do intense training on an empty stomach. Evidence does suggest that eating prior will improve performance, however.

We also discuss EPOC (afterburn effect) and why it may be overexaggerated. This is something that happens after you exercise. So the continuation of extra calories being burned. There was a study which claimed this afterburn effect is heightened by eating before exercise over not eating. This is linked down below. Although this may be true it was hard to tell by what extent and from what we know it's most likely not a significant amount. Perhaps the reason this "afterburn" effect is heightened due to eating before is actually due to improving performance output so working harder, therefore, burning more calories. Once again this is all very personal to individuals. 

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Studies Mentioned 

Effects of fasted vs fed-state on exercise on performance

Eating before Increases EPOC

EPOC after cardio

EPOC resistance training

In the UK gyms have largely reopened and one our hosts Tom has been back to work in a commercial gym so he has all the details of what to expect and what we can expect going forwards. We also all give our advice for those getting back into the gym after perhaps many months away. Let's be honest most would have been simply walking/running and maybe had access to a few dumbbells etc so If you go back to the gym and try to do the volume you did before....Well, you'll be in for a surprise not only doing it but the next day as well! 

The second part of the show we tackle some more hot news in the UK's newly announced obesity drive. Bill gives us all the new proposals and initially there's lot of back and forth between Bill and Andy and their thoughts. Tom finally jumps in with a full mag and unleashes socioeconomics again. We also discuss the controversy of the governments eat out the scheme. Going to need that on a t-shirt soon! Here are the proposals that we discuss

We actually spent quite a lot of time on this as we think it's so important. We discussed things such do adverts really work? Cigarette adverts have been off the telly for ages but people still take up smoking, are these calories displayed even going to be accurate and even more importantly stated by Tom, will it trigger individuals eating disorders? Removing junk food from tills, removing the BOGOF, this is simply taking away and not adding. We believe it is crucial that we educate. Add more education in, stop taking things away like as Tom, said some families may rely on the BOGOF deal to feed their families. When we talk about socioeconomics we aren't talking about just the price we are referring to the multiple different factors. Example, saying healthy food is expensive is simply not true. The issue is is that yes most can afford vegetables and the like but the issue arises when it comes to preparing. Some may not know how to turn these foods into something nice that the family will eat. The expectation is another issue. Some may think frozen vegetables are no good and that they have to buy fresh that will only last a few days. Once again this is not the case. We need to educate. There is a lot more at play here and without typing out the entire podcast episode take a listen and see what you think? Any other points please let us know.

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Studies Mentioned 

British Army Recruits: Pirbright

Welcome back to let's chat diets! In this episode, we talk everything carnivore diet. It would have been great to get a guest on board who is a carnivore but it proved quite difficult as a large proportion of the vocal carnivores are either absolute zealots or will refuse to remove the tunnel vision and have a logical discussion. We assure you though that we did our best to look at both sides of the coin and we certainly came prepared with multiple solid studies to get into.

As well as Toms craziness (this week it went to a new level) we focus on breaking down certain claims made by carnivores.

We go in study heavy on this one BUT as you'll find out studies are sometimes very misleading. Bill brings up 3 whopping studies showing no link between high levels of saturated fat and coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease Tom then replies with some very important information. What we found is that it's very easy to cherry-pick certain data and certain studies to fit your bias and when it comes to actual decent relevant data there are no decent studies in support of this diet. If you go online you'll see numerous "success" cases but we get into why these may be and reiterate that anecdotal evidence is the lowest form of evidence. 

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Studies Mentioned

Questionable Saturated Fat Studies

The effect of replacing saturated fat with mostly n-6 polyunsaturated fat on coronary heart disease

Association of saturated fat and cardiovascular disease 

Associations between fatty acids and coronary disease

The Data That Matters

Saturated Fats Compared With Unsaturated Fats and Sources of Carbohydrates in Relation to Risk of Coronary Heart Disease

A study that unequivocally established that LDL causes ASCVD

Importance of reducing SFA to limit CHD

Studies on Fibre

Questionable 1999 study

Consumption of dietary fibre from cereals and fruits INVERSELY associated with risk of coronary heart disease

High intake of dietary fibre reduces the risk of incident colorectal, adenoma and distal colon cancer

High fibre intake was associated with a lower risk of CVD

Rectal Cancer: 20% Risk Reduction Thanks to Dietary Fibre Intake

Mechanical being Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg malfunction

Is this how humans drink water?

Is this how humans apply sun cream?

CrossFit will injure you. There have been so many links over the years in regards to doing CrossFit will injure you more than traditional training modalities. Tom even mentions that it's become a meme over the years. While we do have our thoughts on why injuries tend to occur in CrossFit we also have some studies (listed down below) that show that per 1000 hours CrossFit isn't that bad! One of the studies even shows the injury rate at a ridiculously low level. What this study did say though and it's something we all agreed on is that in that first year of training is when most of the injuries are tending to happen. Doing too much too soon. Not learning the basic movement patterns. Essentially be over-excited and not being sensible with your training. THIS is what is going to injure you. 

Deep squats = bad knees. This is something that stemmed back from 50s/60s with a Dr Karl Klein. Interestingly Bill started with giving what the consensus was in terms of Dr Klein's findings (which is deep squats = injuries) BUT Tom dug deeper. We delved into the fact that this study is so old that it's only found in his book. So after further research, it appears that some of what we found may have been blown out of proportion and has turned into digital Chinese whispers. We go through some other studies and Tom brings us some information from Greg Nuckols in where he gives the argument for not deep squatting even though he identifies that deeps squats do in fact REDUCE the chance of knee injuries. Once again this will be linked down below. Studies aside we also give our thoughts on it from a realistic viewpoint but we essentially came to a similar conclusion in that doing too much too soon, going way too heavy with bad form, having the correct training cycles and not being sensible. 

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Studies mentioned:

The Uprising of the Cow

CrossFit References:

A 4-year analysis of 3049 CrossFit participants 

Strength and Conditioning Study 2013

Injuries per 1000 hours table

Tough Mudder EPIC FAIL

The super-duper toes to bar, pull up, muscle up movement

Deep Squat References:

 Dr Karl Klein

Tommy Suggs in regards to Dr Karl Klein

GREG NUCKOLS - Stronger By Science

Welcome to a brand new series. The Diets. We start with a bang and in this weeks episode, we go into everything Vegan. Controversial with lots of information out there so we are not alone this week as we are joined by Mark from @strongtobeuseful who is a vegan himself and is quite vocal on the topic on social media. Most importantly is the way in which he is vocal and that is approachable. Because of this, we think it was perfect to get him involved.

It's a complicated topic and it takes us over 2 hours to finish up (we could have gone longer!). We cover everything from the ethical side to the common misconceptions associated with going vegan, the socioeconomic argument and our own thoughts and opinions. Some of it isn't opinion though as we do bring in some really good studies to solidify certain points. Important to note that it's a 50/50 split on this episode in terms of vegan and not. No echo chambers here!

If you are vegan, thinking of going vegan or even maybe despise veganism then this episode has it all. It will offer food for thought whatever your stance is on this diet/lifestyle. Go into this episode with an open mind. Get rid of the tunnel vision, get rid of what society has told you is the right way of doing things, pop your social bubble and basically open yourself up to change. It's our longest episode to date but every minute is worth listening to. 

If you want to check Mark out and see not only his stuff on veganism but some of his brilliant training as well then head over to his Instagram. He is more than happy to help if you need guidance on maybe making the change to vegan. Thanks again for joining us.

@strongtobeuseful

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Ethical Information

Dominion Documentary  

Joey Carbstrong: As mentioned in the episode "Militant"

Earthing Ed: "Non-Militant"

Studies Mentioned 

 Vegan diets: practical advice for athletes and exercisers

All about Soy

Case of "bitch tits"

Education on nutrition is key in regards to "food deserts"

In this weeks episode, we take on a listener request and talk everything BCAA and the rise of the BCAA canned drink. This is a supplement that has taken some stick over the years and from the studies we've seen it's for a good reason. BUT we have found some rather interesting studies. Tom found a whopping meta-analysis that actually shows that BCAA supplementation can offer a "large" decrease in DOMS. (Delayed onset muscle soreness) We get into the nitty-gritty of that study on the episode!

The drinks. Kes, who sent the request in was really interested in the drink NOCCO. NOCCO is a caffeinated, sugar-free beverage that contains BCAA. Bill and Andy absolutely love NOCCO and are happy to pay the £2 a can for it. Tom (who's not a cross fitter) isn't so keen and isn't convinced the drink is worth the price tag. Although we say a lot of good about NOCCO we are also offering reasons why perhaps your money is best spent elsewhere.  

It's a great topic of discussion and amongst all the chaos of "Birmingham isn't real" and that "the birds that are still watching" we get all the information out that you need when deciding if these drinks and the supplementation of BCAA is needed.

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Studies Mentioned 

That "whopping" meta-analysis in defence of BCAA

Fasting bodybuilders during Ramadan

BCAA and muscle protein synthesis