A few weeks back, this article from 2015 cycled back through my Facebook feed. It contains a lot of valuable information, and illustrates that the idea of sugar making you fat, NOT fat, isn’t a new concept.
Read the original article here, and continue below for my thoughts after:
Exercise Can’t Save Us: Our Sugar Intake is the Real Culprit
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2015/04/24/exercise-wont-save-us-sugar-and-carbs-are-our-bodily-downfall/
As I’ve previously touched on in my posts on Glycemic Index and why Fat Doesn’t Make You Fat, sugars, and the resulting insulin response from your body, are the cause of chronic inflammation, obesity, and disease that are so commonly experienced.
The article starts out with a strong statement:
We can exercise to the moon and back but still be fat for all the sugar and carbs we consume. And perhaps even more jarring is that we can be a normal weight and exercise, and still be unhealthy if we’re eating poorly.
Remember, as far as your body is concerned, there is no difference between pure sugar and carbohydrates. Your body immediately converts carbs into glucose and glycogen, and produces the same basic insulin response you experience when eating candy or drinking soda.
And insulin is the primary mechanism that causes obesity [1]. It’s pretty straightforward.
So what does this mean in the context of exercise? The article continues:
The related and larger issue is that even normal weight people who exercise will, if they eat poorly, have metabolic markers that put them at very high risk of chronic illness and early mortality. “Up to 40% of those with a normal body mass index will harbour metabolic abnormalities typically associated with obesity, which include hypertension, dyslipidaemia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disease.”
That’s right. You can exercise your butt off, and if you’re eating a diet heavy in carbohydrates, you are still at severe risk for the same diseases that afflict the obese. It’s not BEING fat that makes you sick, it’s the chronic inflammation associated with the CAUSES of obesity that are killing you.
Another reason why the “healthy fat” in inflammatory oils that you’re told to eat are actually KILLING YOU.
The argument in favor of REAL healthy fat is also mentioned:
What we know to be true is much simpler: “Sugar calories promote fat storage and hunger,” the write. [sic] “Fat calories induce fullness or satiation.”
“Sugar calories” meaning foods that trigger an insulin response from the body. i.e. Carbohydrates. But as the article points out:
It might take quite a lot of work to shift our psychology around food, especially since advertising is so saturated with the message that carbohydrates are good for us.
Just the other day, for instance, my son was watching a children’s show on Netflix, and the cartoon characters were singing a song about how “carbohydrates give you energy so you can run!” And since I’ve been properly brainwashing my children 😉 , my son was confused and came to me:
“Dad, this show says you get energy from carbs, and they’re good for you.”
I told him that’s true, carbs DO give your body energy. But they’re not good for you. It’s much better for your body to get energy from fat.
“Oh, ok.” The battle will be constant…
As for my personal experience with exercise and weight loss on a low-carb, anti-inflammatory diet, here’s the full disclosure:
For those of you who have read my post on My Health Journey, you will see at the end of the post that I made significant progress in weight loss and body composition during 2018. What I DIDN’T mention in that article, is that I was doing 20 minutes of HIIT Cardio (High Intensity Interval Training) each week as part of my normal exercise routine…
… until December of 2017.
In December of 2017, I injured my ankle riding an ATV, spraining it pretty severely. It took about 6 weeks before I could even try doing cardio again, and I would quickly aggravate my injury and have to stop before completing the full 20 minutes. This corresponded with beginning a low-carb diet, and as I continued to NOT do cardio, but still see SIGNIFICANT progress in weight loss and overall body composition, I just never felt the motivation to return to those hard workouts.
In June of 2018 I decided to check my fitness against the Manitou Incline, reaching the top in just 48 minutes, and then RUNNING the entire length of Barr Trail back down, because walking wasn’t keeping my heart rate up enough.
Then in September of 2018 I hiked Four Pass Loop, a 27 mile hike over 4 separate 12,000+ ft mountain passes, over 3 days and 2 nights, with a 60 pound pack.
In both instances, my endurance and energy felt unbelievably consistent. I was surprised, and still not significantly motivated to restart my cardio routine.
Here I am now, nearly a year-and-a-half later, still not having re-incorporated cardio into my weekly exercise (which consists of 1-2 sets of moderate weight lifting per major muscle group, per week).
My 10 year-old daughter plays competitive soccer and basketball, and I can still run her up and down the field without any problems. And she practices and conditions 4-5 times a week.
There’s a lot of power in the human body, and a high-fat, low-carb diet unlocks an unbelievable amount of that potential (especially when combined with fasting).
If you’re still on the fence about trying out an anti-inflammatory diet, check out my free 28-day Kickstart Guide. There’s no time like the present to change your life for the better!
References:
Insulin Causes Obesity:
[1] https://idmprogram.com/insulin-causes-weight-gain-hormonal-obesity-iv/
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