Category Archives: Psychology

Weight/Fat loss, Nutrition, News/Media, Psychology

Weight Loss Advice: Be Very Careful Who You Trust

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FitGreyStrong observation:

The mass media and ‘rogue’ researchers are confusing the public by suggesting that exercise does not facilitate weight loss. Sensationalised, poorly researched and inaccurate media presentations have misled consumers because a thorough assessment of the evidence wasn’t undertaken. Some sports scientists and doctors have further exacerbated the problem by claiming that physical inactivity does not contribute nor is associated with becoming overweight or obese.

FitGreyStrong Advice:

Be extremely careful about making any changes to your exercise, lifestyle, dietary, supplement or medication regimens based on information produced through the media. Consult competent health care experts with recognised qualifications and good reputations, do your own research, talk to those you trust and use some good old commonsense before making any changes.

For those interested in wanting to know more on this topic please continue reading see below.

For local Townsville residents interested in FitGreyStrong’s Exercise Physiology services or exercise programs designed to achieve the above-mentioned benefits or to enhance athletic performance, contact FitGreyStrong@outlook.com or phone 0499 846 955 for a confidential discussion.

For other Australian residents or oversees readers interested in our services, please see here.

Exercise, weight loss and why it doesn’t work for everybody

The following article represents the first of a series of blogs that will explore the reasons behind why exercise may fail as a weight loss strategy. It is often assumed that when someone starts an exercise program, weight or body fat loss will happen naturally and almost by accident. However, recent research demonstrates that the magnitude of individual weight loss varies dramatically, with some losing a substantial amount of weight, others maintaining weight and a few actually gaining weight. The question is, how is this possible? What compensatory mechanisms are at play to negate the effectiveness of exercise?

In this first installment I want to discuss how the mass media and ‘rogue’ researchers have contributed to the unfortunate situation where the message about the efficacy of exercise has been obfuscated and distorted. As a result the general public have received mixed messages as to whether exercise has any role to play in weight loss at all. Some sections of the media have done a pretty good job at cherry-picking research or commentators that promote the idea that exercise is largely ineffective when it comes to weight loss. This has contributed to the public perception, then, that exercise may have limited usefulness as a method to facilitate weight loss.

One of the best examples of this occurred when the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) TV show, Catalyst, aired a segment called “Toxic Sugar” (see here) claiming that:

“The studies show that exercise has virtually no effect on weight loss. One thing exercise does is it makes people hungry.”

weight loss and the media
Are the media trustworthy?

Such sweeping claims – that are not based on the actual scientific evidence – are particularly worrisome given the impact that such high-rating TV shows may have on the lifestyle choices and behaviour of their viewers. Why such organisations would besmirch the value of exercise is an interesting conundrum that has no easy answers.

There are a few possible reasons why this has happened and they are by no means based on any evidence I have been able to dig up and for this I apologise. The speed of the 24/7 news cycle, nevertheless, in conjunction with the need to sensationalise stories and news segments in an effort to gain viewer attention and watchership, have more than likely played a part. Media outlets do not undergo any critical assessment from any independent body – either internally or externally – to corroborate the accuracy of their program’s content. They can therefore function with relative impunity and little accountability. Media outlets are consequently free to make – without fear or retribution – poorly researched and misleading radio or TV shows that may not be in the public’s best interests.

Another reason why the media may produce content that is inaccurate and misleading is a simple one. Basically, the research that has gone into producing a show or print article has been hasty and superficial without a thorough review of the scientific evidence. If you consider the Catalyst segment mentioned above it was so lopsided because of one key component that was missing from the show – an opposing voice. The report ended up being totally biased because it did not present – in an objective manner – robust and contradictory scientific evidence. It also failed to interview any expert commentators that hold serious doubts about many of the claims that were aired.

The public’s confusion regarding the role of exercise in facilitating weight loss was further compounded, after well respected, credentialed doctors and sports scientists suggested in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that physical inactivity and obesity was a myth. Authors Malhotra and co in their editorial titled “It is time to bust the myth of physical inactivity and obesity: you cannot outrun a bad diet” (see here) made one of the most contentious claims in decades by suggesting that increasing obesity rates were not related to changes in physical activity levels. To put it another way, what they were essentially saying is this:

Doing no physical activity and sitting on your arse all day does not contribute to your risk of putting weight on or becoming obese!!

Here’s an interview on ABC’s Lateline with one of the authors, Dr Aseem Malhotra, discussing this publication (see here) if you are interested in listening to some of the commentary on this.

Let’s now just take a look at exactly what was put to print, so you the reader, can judge whether or not I am justified in being perplexed by their editorial. In it they state:

“Regular physical activity reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and some cancers by at least 30%.”

Fine, that’s dandy, I’m definitely happy with that! They continue:

“However, physical activity does not promote weight loss (my emphasis). In the past 30 years, as obesity has rocketed, there has been little change in physical activity levels in the Western population” (p. 1).

Criterium racing
Exercise and physical activity doesn’t promote weight loss?

This claim was based on one paper (see here) published in 2013 by Amy Luke and Richard S Coope (Department of Public Health Sciences, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, USA) which theorised that energy expenditure changes over the 20th century could not explain the increased obesity levels that now exist in the West and increasingly so in developing countries.

Such assertions fail to take much notice of a hefty amount of research that has shown that for many, exercise is a very effective method for assisting weight loss (see here and here). So it is rather puzzling why a more balanced and nuanced account of our current understanding of exercise and weight loss was not undertaken by these authors. So just what did they ascribe the increasing rates of obesity to? Answer: Excessive carbohydrates and sugar. Now this is certainly an interesting hypothesis and one that will unfortunately require another blog to give this topic justice so you’ll have to wait for that one. What I will say though is that such examples truly exemplify the problems of intelligent, educated researchers entrenching themselves in a paradigm of thinking so deeply that any evidence to the contrary is either dismissed or diminished.

Anyway, following publication of this editorial the global media jumped on it. If you Google the title of their article you’ll notice the massive media coverage it received across all forms – print, broadcast and the internet. Social media like Facebook and Twitter picked up on it and the core message – that physical activity and exercise does not promote weight loss – was repeated ad nauseam. There was a harsh backlash from many corners – sports scientists, researchers, public health advocates and the like – but suffice it to say these criticisms and feedback did not generate any traction in the media nor were any corrective statements issued. The genie was out of the bottle and the message that exercise did not work for weight loss was left hanging in the air, slowly seeping and diffusing into the public’s consciousness. This just reinforces my earlier comments where the media over-sensationalise stories and news segments in an effort to gain viewer attention, watchership and market share. What seems apparent in my view, then, is that these organisations have expunged themselves of their ethical obligations to ensure that the public’s best interests are kept front and centre.

Perhaps not surprisingly there is research that contradicts the central plank of their argument which hinges on the notion that activity levels have remained static over the last 30 years. Church  and colleagues (2011) (see here) found that:

“since 1960 the estimated mean daily energy expenditure due to work related physical activity has dropped by more than 100 calories in both women and men. Energy balance model predicted weights based on change in occupation-related daily energy expenditure since 1960 for each NHANES (U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys) examination period closely matched the actual change in weight for 40–50 year old men and women. For example from 1960–62 to 2003–06 we estimated that the occupation-related daily energy expenditure decreased by 142 calories in men. Given a baseline weight of 76.9 kg in 1960–02, we estimated that a 142 calories reduction would result in an increase in mean weight to 89.7 kg, which closely matched the mean NHANES weight of 91.8 kg in 2003–06. The results were similar for women.”

Based on these findings the increase in obesity levels – in the US at least – can be largely attributed to changes in energy expenditure via reductions in occupation-related physical activity rather than solely due to the over-consumption of carbohydrates and sugar as postulated by the editorial discussed above. The debate will probably continue to rage as to what the culprit is but logically it seems quite obvious that the answer lies between these two opposing explanations. So instead of it being purely diet-related or activity-related, the current obesity problem has probably come about because of simultaneous changes to both.

why doesn't exercise work for fat loss in everybody
Do your own research

To bring this to a close I would like to conclude by saying that certain sections of the mass media and ‘rogue’ researchers have undeniably contributed to the public’s confusion regarding the role of exercise for weight loss. Until such a time that all forms of media are more closely scrutinised and held accountable for the veracity of their productions, the advice from FitGreyStrong is to be very careful about making any changes to your exercise, lifestyle, dietary, supplement or medication regimens based on information accessed via the media. Consult competent health care experts with recognised qualifications and good reputations, do your own research, talk to those you trust and use some good old commonsense before making any changes.

To read the next installment of this series that summarizes some of the evidence supporting the idea that physical activity and exercise are important modulators of body fatness see Regular Exercise Doesn’t Promote Weight Loss: Fact or Fiction?

Disclaimer: All contents of the FitGreyStrong or FGS website/blog are provided for information and education purposes only. Those interested in making changes to their exercise, lifestyle, dietary, supplement or medication regimens should consult a relevantly qualified and competent health care professional. Those who decide to apply or implement any of the information, advice, and/or recommendations on this website do so knowingly and at their own risk. The owner and any contributors to this site accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any harm caused, real or imagined, from the use or distribution of information found at FitGreyStrong. Please leave this site immediately if you, the reader, find any of these conditions not acceptable.
©FitGreyStrong
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Psychology

7 Things that Will Surprise You About Meditation Retreats

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Image credit: Benjamin Balazs (Pixabay)

If you’ve been thinking about joining a spiritual retreat in Queensland, Australia or a meditation retreat anywhere else on the planet, you probably have some preconceived ideas about what will happen while you’re there. A National Health Interview Survey found that 8 percent, or 18 million, American adults, have practiced meditation, most of whom use it outside of traditional cultural or religious settings.

Perhaps you envision everyone sitting silently in the lotus position on straw mats wearing crystals, as you try your hardest not to laugh. That vision is likely to be far from the reality, in fact, there are quite a few things that will surprise you about attending a meditation retreat.

A Meditation Retreat Can Be Whatever You Want it to Be

Many meditation retreats offer plenty of flexibility and freedom – your days aren’t structured around a strict schedule but tailored to your particular needs. You can often choose from both relaxation and active pursuits, like swimming, biking, hiking, kayaking, dance, restorative yoga and even big thrills such as zip-lining or swinging through the tops of soaring trees on a giant swing.

Meditation Isn’t Just Sitting

It’s difficult to sit in one position all day long as the body simply isn’t use to sitting motionless for long periods of time. Most retreats include periods of sitting meditation as well as walking meditations. Walking will give your body the chance to unfold and stretch.

You Can Laugh

A meditation retreat isn’t all serious. In fact, laughing is encouraged. Some say it’s a requirement while meditation is the option.

You Don’t Have to Give Up Everything Good

While most meditation retreats offer plenty of healthy meals and are alcohol free, you don’t have to give up everything that’s good. Vegans and vegetarians are likely to find plenty of options, but you don’t have to follow a strict diet. Expect organic, colorful and delicious meals that will provide the fuel your mind and body needs to make the most out of the experience. Meditation after the retreat is meant to add to your life, not take from it. As you practice it’s likely to influence you to make healthier choices, but that doesn’t necessarily mean no more chocolate, coffee, sex and/or alcohol forever.

You Don’t Have to Be an Experienced Meditator

Many guests are brand new to meditating when they arrive at a retreat – it doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner and have never tried it before, or if you’ve been practicing for years. It’s ideal for everyone and a meditation retreat can be a great first step, or a great next step.

You Can Chant, Sing or be Silent

There’s no one proper way to meditate, it’s all up to you. Most retreats allow you to be silent or to use both your inner and outer voices, chanting or singing.

You Don’t Need a Meditation Wardrobe

You don’t have to go out and spend hundreds of dollars on a whole new meditation wardrobe. The goal is to be comfortable, which means what you wear is your own definition of comfort.

Final comments

The FitGreyStrong philosophy encapsulates a full rounded lifestyle approach to improving health, wellbeing and quality of life. Meditation is one key component of that approach that, when done regularly, can significantly contribute to healthy ageing.

Disclaimer: All contents of the FitGreyStrong website/blog are provided for information and education purposes only. Those interested in making changes to their exercise, lifestyle, dietary, supplement or medication regimens should consult a relevantly qualified and competent health care professional. Those who decide to apply or implement any of the information, advice, and/or recommendations on this website do so knowingly and at their own risk. The owner and any contributors to this site accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any harm caused, real or imagined, from the use or distribution of information found at FitGreyStrong. Please leave this site immediately if you, the reader, find any of these conditions not acceptable.

© FitGreyStrong


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Psychology, Strength, Weight/Fat loss, Nutrition, Endurance

The Unspoken Truth: Why People Struggle To Lose Weight

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In my article titled “It can’t possibly be true, can it?” I questioned whether there was any foundation to the claim that inactivity is not a chief cause obesity and provided scientific evidence suggesting otherwise. Today I will try explain to you what the bottom-line is as to why exercise doesn’t work for everybody trying to lose weight. One thing I have noticed is that there isn’t enough time or effort – either in the media or on the net – dedicated to informing the public about why exercise does not work for some people and what can be done about.

Exercise has been successfully applied as an essential ingredient of many weight loss programs. By increasing total daily energy expenditure, creating a caloric deficit state is theoretically, at least, more likely. It naturally follows that the weight loss achieved will be correlated to the magnitude of the energy deficit created. In practice however this does not always happen. In fact, there are a number of studies and anecdotal evidence that show a significant proportion of exercisers eating an ad libitum diet (possibly as high as 50%) do not achieve the weight loss expected with as many as 15% actually gaining weight. These individuals are often referred to as ‘non–responders‘. Those on the other hand that do achieve weight loss from exercise are referred to as ‘responders‘. The question is, how is this possible and are there any practical solutions?

exercise doesn't work for everybody trying to lose weight
Energy compensation and exercise-induced fat loss

People respond differently to exercise:
Non-responders vs responders
These differences in response to exercise include:
  1. Non-responders increase whilst responders decrease, total daily energy intake (all the food and drinks you consume on a daily basis).
  2. Some of these differences apparently occur unbeknownst to the exerciser so there is some sort of compensation going on to offset the extra energy expended from exercise.
  3. Non-responders increase their consumption of fat.
  4. Non-responders experience much greater subjective sensations of fasted hunger (upon waking) and hunger across the day compared to responders.
  5. Non-responders demonstrate an increased whereas responders show a decreased, desire to eat.
  6. Non-responders satisfaction or feelings of fullness from meals is significantly reduced whilst there are no changes in responders.
  7. Behavioural compensatory adjustments to exercise training in overweight women showed the loss of weight/fat mass or lack thereof, was attributable to an increase or decrease in spontaneous physical activity, respectively.
  8. Resting metabolic rate may be reduced in non-responders but not in responders.

Appetite is controlled by the brain
Brain function and weight control is poorly understood

If you are struggling to lose weight after starting an exercise regimen then you could be classified as a non-responder and should consider the following:

  • If possible, have some measurements taken by a knowledgeable professional that includes girths (such as hips, waist, thighs etc) and skinfolds where the subcutaneous fat can be approximately measured by calipers. By doing this you will be able to work out more precisely what changes are actually taking place. This is pretty important because some ‘non-responders’ will lose a considerable amount of fat but total weight loss may be only slight or actually increase (see King et al 2008). This will affect roughly 10% of exercisers that are trying to lose weight but these body composition changes are in fact desirable and favourable.
  • Monitor energy intake more closely and consider recording actual food and beverage intakes so you can keep tabs on this as you go. Given that ad libitum diets don’t seem to work too well for non-responders, recording your intake is a good place to start. Assuringly, research shows that those that diarise what they are eating and drinking are much more successful at weight loss and weight management compared to those that don’t, so start recording.
  • Recognise that if you keep accurate records of these things and create an energy deficit – the research that has been conducted in metabolic-ward studies suggests – that weight loss is highly probable. Based on an account of energy intake and energy expenditure, if the creation of an energy deficit does not elicit any change in body composition, it is likely that there has been an over-estimation of energy expenditure or an under-estimation of energy intake, or a combination of both. However, this now allows subtle changes to be made to energy expenditure or intake so that body fat mass reduction can be realised  (see here and here for great discussions on the crucial role calories play when it comes to fat loss or fat gain).
  • Ensure that your exercise program includes some resistance or weight training. The response to exercise of non-responders as outlined above is related specifically to 1-2 hours of aerobic exercise (i.e. walking, running, cycling etc). You may ironically achieve better weight loss if you back off the aerobic exercise but place a bit more emphasis on weight training or resistance-type exercise. Some research has shown that appetite is suppressed more so with resistance versus aerobic exercise and it is the changes of increased appetite in non-responders that presents a major problem when attempting to bring about sustainable weight loss. With respect to adults who are overweight or obese, Drenowatz & colleagues clearly demonstrated that resistance exercise but not aerobic exercise reduced fat mass.

Weight training and aging
Resistance training is very effective to facilitate fat loss

  • This form of activity also substantially reduces the risk of losing LBM (lean body mass = muscle tissue) in older adults (see Villareal et al). It is very common to see exercisers lose significant amounts of LBM when only aerobic exercise is undertaken while in an energy deficit state.
  • The loss of LBM is not desirable for 2 key reasons. Firstly, functional physical capacity could be affected in both the short and long term (see Villreal et al). Secondly, resting metabolic rate will be reduced thereby making weight loss more difficult and weight regain more likely (see here for further discussion).
  • “Don’t put the cart before the horse.” By that I mean, the quality of what you decide to eat will have a massive impact on your success. A caloric deficit is the goal but it should be achieved with a diet consisting of wholesome, natural, minimally processed and nutrient-dense foods. Not only is this essential to weight loss success but more importantly generating good health.

To lose weight you need to expend more than you eat
No caloric deficit = no fat loss

  • To combat increased subjective sensations of hunger, then, as a start please make sure that the diet is high in a variety of vegetables, has several serves of fruit each day, contains sufficient and varied sources of protein and includes things like nuts, seeds and oils. This is pretty commonsense stuff but you need to put into practice what actually works. The make-up or quality of the diet appears to impact on subsequent appetite, sensations of hunger and feelings of fullness, so anything that assists in keeping the physiological drives to eat at bay are only going to be helpful (see Blundell et al).

References (in no particular order)

Drenowatz, C. et al. (2015) “The prospective association between different types of exercise and body composition” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 47(12): 2535-2541.

Manthou, E. and Gill, J.M.R. and Wright, A. and Malkova, D. (2010) Behavioural compensatory adjustments to exercise training in overweight women. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 42 (6). pp. 1121- 1128.

Melanson, E.L. et al. (2013) “Resistance to exercise-induced weight loss: compensatory behavioural adaptations” Med Sci Sports Exerc.August; 45(8): 1600-1609.

King N.A. et al. (2008) “Individual variability following 12 weeks of supervised exercise: identification and characterization of compensation for exercise-induced weight loss.” International Journal of Obesity. 32: 177-184

King N.A. et al. (2009) “Dual-process action of exercise on appetite control: increase in orexigenic drive but improvement in meal-induced satiety.” Am J Clin Nutr. 90: 921-927

Peterson N.D. et al. (2014) “Dietary Self-Monitoring and Long-Term Success with Weight Management”. Obesity 22, 1962–1967

Broom, D.R. (2008) “Influence of resistance and aerobic exercise on hunger, circulating levels of acylated ghrelin, and peptide YY in healthy males” American Journal of Physiology. 296(1): R29-R35.

King, N.A. et al (2012) “Exercise, appetite and weight management: understanding the compensatory responses in eating behaviour and how they contribute to variability in exercise-induced weight loss.”British Journal of Sports Medicine 46(5):315-22.

Villareal D.T. et al. (2011) “Weight Loss, Exercise, or Both and Physical Function in Obese Older Adults.” N Engl J Med 364(13): 1218-1229

Blundell J. et al. (2010) “Appetite control: methodological aspects of the evaluation of foods.” Obe Rev 11(3): 251-270

For local Townsville residents interested in FitGreyStrong’s Exercise Physiology services or exercise programs designed to achieve the above-mentioned benefits or to enhance athletic performance, contact FitGreyStrong@outlook.com or phone 0499 846 955 for a confidential discussion.

For other Australian residents or oversees readers interested in our services, please see here.

Disclaimer: All contents of the FitGreyStrong website/blog are provided for information and education purposes only. Those interested in making changes to their exercise, lifestyle, dietary, supplement or medication regimens should consult a relevantly qualified and competent health care professional. Those who decide to apply or implement any of the information, advice, and/or recommendations on this website do so knowingly and at their own risk. The owner and any contributors to this site accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for any harm caused, real or imagined, from the use or distribution of information found at FitGreyStrong. Please leave this site immediately if you, the reader, find any of these conditions not acceptable.

© FitGreyStrong
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