Drew Baye’s High Intensity Training

New York-based HIT personal trainer Eugene Thong informed me of a recent article in Science Daily about a study from Tel Aviv University showing high carb foods can cause heart attacks.  One more reason to pass on the bread, rice or pasta and opt for better carbohydrate sources like leafy vegetables and fruits.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090625133215.htm

According to the article, study participants had reduced arterial functioning after consuming high glycemic index foods. More specifically, arterial distention, which the authors claim may lead to cardiovascular disease or heart attacks.

The abstract reads:

The Acute Effect of Various Glycemic Index Dietary Carbohydrates on Endothelial Function in Nondiabetic Overweight and Obese Subjects

Talya Lavi, RD*, Avraham Karasik, MD*,, Nira Koren-Morag, PhD, Hannah Kanety, PhD*,, Micha S. Feinberg, MD, and Michael Shechter, MD, MA,,*

* Institute of Endocrinology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
Leviev Heart Center, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Manuscript received October 26, 2008; revised manuscript received February 18, 2009, accepted March 3, 2009.

* Reprint requests and correspondence: Dr. Michael Shechter, Leviev Heart Center, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, 52621 Tel Hashomer, Israel (Email: shechtes@netvision.net.il).

Part of this study was presented as an abstract at the XXVI Congress of the European Society of Cardiology, Stockholm, Sweden, August 30, 2005.

Objectives: This study sought to explore the effect of glycemic-index dietary carbohydrates on endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in overweight and obese nondiabetic volunteers.

Background: Post-prandial hyperglycemia has been recognized as a cardiovascular risk factor in both the diabetic and the general population. Endothelial dysfunction has been shown to occur in diabetic and hyperglycemic patients.

Methods: We prospectively assessed brachial artery FMD in 56 healthy overweight and obese nondiabetic volunteers (38 [67.9%] men, mean age 48 ± 6 years) on 4 separate mornings, 1 to 2 weeks apart. After overnight fasting, the percent FMD (%FMD) improvement and endothelium-independent nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (%NTG) were assessed, after which subjects received 1 of 4 group meals at each visit (placebo [water] or a carbohydrate meal of glucose, cornflakes, or high-fiber cereal). Meals were distributed in a rotating randomized fashion, such that eachsubject received all 4 meals once throughout the study period.

Results: Fasting and 2-h post-prandial serum glucose levels were similar in all 3 meals, whereas at 30 to 90 min, serum glucose levels were significantly higher after glucose and cornflakes (high glycemic) compared with fiber (low glycemic). Baseline %FMD, not significantly different in the 3 carbohydrate-based meals, was reduced 2 h post-prandially in all groups, showing statistical significance in only high-glycemic index meals: glucose (15 ± 9% vs. 10 ± 8%, p < 0.01), cornflakes (13 ± 7% vs. 9 ± 7%, p < 0.01). No correlation was observed between the %FMD reduction rate and glucose levels throughout the study period.

Conclusions: High- compared with low-glycemic carbohydrate consumption significantly suppresses FMD in nondiabetic overweight and obese volunteers, suggesting a mechanism whereby high-glycemic meals may enhance cardiovascular risk.

Drew Baye Nutrition

The very same assholes who’s site I wrote about in Bullshit Fat Loss Claims tried to comment spam that post. They wrote,

“Hi, thanks for sharing that post. I have just found your site and You have a new subscriber(me). By the way I’ve been blogging about my own weight loss and
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I would really apprectiate it if you could check out my blog and let me know what you think about it.
Thanks,
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The words “weight loss diet plan” – good keywords if someone is trying to improve their search engine ranking – were linked to the site. Of course, I removed the link. Although I’m sure the average baye.com reader wouldn’t buy into the bullshit they’re promoting, any links to their site would improve their search engine placement and increase the likelihood of others finding it and possibly being suckered. I’m not about to help these assholes dupe anyone. Read more…

Drew Baye Fat Loss, Nutrition

Over the past couple of weeks there have been a few attempts to comment spam some of the articles on this site with links to a web site claiming you can lose “30 pounds in 30 days without diet or exercise” by taking products they sell. Of course, this is complete and utter bullshit.

For starters, the math does not add up. Assuming the claim refers to fat loss, and not loss of water or other tissues, this is impossible. A pound of fat contains 3,500 calories of energy.To lose a pound of fat one would have to expend 3,500 more calories per day than they consume. Many people do not even burn this many calories per day. No supplement is going to cause you to burn this many more calories per day, which would require more than a doubling of metabolic rate for many people, something that would probably also result in enough of an increase in body temperature to kill you.

There is a limit to the rate at which energy can be obtained from fat stores, the average being about 30 calories per day per pound of fat. A person would have to have over 116 pounds of body fat to begin with to lose a pound of it per day, assuming they were able to create a 3,500 calorie deficit. This is highly unlikely. Read more…

Drew Baye Fat Loss, Nutrition

Over the past 16 years I’ve trained hundreds of people one-on-one and have probably advised thousands through phone and internet discussions. Regardless of the goal, one factor that has consistently made a huge difference in results has been whether the client kept accurate records of their daily food intake, and if they were a long-distance client their workouts.

Studies using double labeled water have shown most people who are overweight significantly underestimate the amount of calories they consume, and people who are underweight tend to overestimate their calorie consumption. If you are not weighing or measuring and writing down what you are eating and drinking, you do not know how many calories or grams of different macronutrients you are consuming. Read more…

Drew Baye Fat Loss, Nutrition

This article is published here with the permission of the author, Ellen Coleman, RD, MA, MPH

Supplements that allegedly increase nitric oxide (NO) levels within the body are being heavily marketed to build muscles. “Nitric oxide” supplements supposedly: 1) promote an extended “muscle pump;” 2) signal muscle growth and speed recovery; and 3) increase muscle strength and improve muscle stamina. Nitric oxide (a gas manufactured by the body) is a key signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. It is different from other known signal molecules and so unstable that it is converted to nitrate and nitrite within seconds.

Nitric oxide regulates blood pressure and acts as a gatekeeper of blood flow to different organs. In addition to vascular regulation, nitric oxide plays an important role in immune responses and neuronal signal transmission. The 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signal molecule (see Nobel webpage) – a fact which some websites capitalize on to promote their “nitric oxide” supplements. The non-essential amino acid arginine is the substrate for the nitric oxide synthase enzyme, which catalyzes the oxidation of arginine to produce nitric oxide and citrulline. Read more…

Drew Baye Nutrition

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed better fat loss over the long run with low-carb and “Mediterranean” diets than a low-fat diet (Shai I, Schwarzfuchs D, Henkin Y, Shahar DR, Witkow S, Greenberg I, Golan R, Fraser D, Bolotin A, Vardi H, Tangi-Rozental O, Zuk-Ramot R, Sarusi B, Brickner D, Schwartz Z, Sheiner E, Marko R, Katorza E, Thiery J, Fiedler GM, Blüher M, Stumvoll M, Stampfer MJ. Weight loss with a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or low-fat diet. N Engl J Med. 2008 Jul 17;359(3):229-41.)

ABSTRACT

Background Trials comparing the effectiveness and safety of weight-loss diets are frequently limited by short follow-up times and high dropout rates.

Methods In this 2-year trial, we randomly assigned 322 moderately obese subjects (mean age, 52 years; mean body-mass index [the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters],31; male sex, 86%) to one of three diets: low-fat, restricted-calorie; Mediterranean, restricted-calorie; or low-carbohydrate, non–restricted-calorie.

Results The rate of adherence to a study diet was 95.4% at 1 year and 84.6% at 2 years. The Mediterranean-diet group consumed the largest amounts of dietary fiber and had the highest ratio of monounsaturated to saturated fat (P<0.05 for all comparisons among treatment groups). The low-carbohydrate group consumed the smallest amount of carbohydrates and the largest amounts of fat, protein, and cholesterol and had the highest percentage of participants with detectable urinary ketones (P<0.05 for all comparisons among treatment groups). The mean weight loss was 2.9 kg for the low-fat group, 4.4 kg for the Mediterranean-diet group, and 4.7 kg for the low-carbohydrate group (P<0.001 for the interaction between diet group and time); among the 272 participants who completed the intervention, the mean weight losses were 3.3 kg, 4.6 kg, and 5.5 kg, respectively. The relative reduction in the ratio of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was 20% in the low-carbohydrate group and 12% in the low-fat group (P=0.01). Among the 36 subjects with diabetes, changes in fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels were more favorable among those assigned to the Mediterranean diet than among those assigned to the low-fat diet (P<0.001 for the interaction among diabetes and Mediterranean diet and time with respect to fasting glucose levels).

Conclusions Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets may be effective alternatives to low-fat diets. The more favorable effects on lipids (with the low-carbohydrate diet) and on glycemic control (with the Mediterranean diet) suggest that personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions.

What’s most interesting about this is, despite the low-carb group not being restricted to a specific daily calorie intake like the Mediterranean and low-fat groups (1,800 calories per day for men, 1,500 for women), but rather limiting carbohydrates to 20 grams per day for the first two months followed by 120 grams per day, and despite being advised to choose vegetarian sources of protein, which are generally lower quality than animal sources, they had the greatest weight loss. Additionally, the low-carb group had the greatest increases in HDL and greatest decreases in triglyceride levels. The low-carb group also had the greatest decrease in the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL, nearly twice that of the low-fat group (20% versus 12%).

I am surprised the weight loss for each of the groups was so low based on the calorie and carbohydrate intake guidelines, and strongly suspect poor compliance, very sedentary subjects, or both. If the subjects were actually following the guidelines I expect the weight loss would have been far greater for all groups.

I am also disappointed the dietitians advised the low-carb group to choose vegetarian sources of protein, as I suspect better weight loss and at least equal improvements in lipid profiles had animal sources been chosen.

In any case, it is further proof of the benefits of a higher-protein, lower-carbohydrate diet and it’s viability as an alternative to high-carb, low-fat diets. I have consistently seen better results in my own training and with my personal training clients with higher-protein and lower-carbohydrate intakes.

Drew Baye Fat Loss, Nutrition

In books and articles on fat loss it is common to see arbitrary recommendations for daily calorie intake or deficit, such as 1,200 calories per day for women and 1,500 calories per day for men, or a deficit of 500 to 1000 calories per day to lose 1 to 2 pounds of fat per week. The problem with arbitrary calorie intakes is obvious – not everybody has the same daily calorie expenditure so the resulting deficit will vary significantly between people. Apparently the problem with arbitrary deficits is not so obvious – many personal trainers and health professionals routinely recommend a daily calorie deficit of 500 to 1000 calories for everybody – a range that is too low for some and too high for others. Read more…

Drew Baye Fat Loss, Nutrition

Whether you’re trying to maintain your current bodyweight, gain muscle or lose fat, it is necessary to estimate daily calorie expenditure as a starting point for determining the calorie intake appropriate to your goals. The key words here are estimate and starting point. No formula or method of measurement is perfect. No matter how good something looks on paper, what ultimately matters is practical results. Whatever your initial estimate, you will need to keep records of calorie intake and goal-relevant measurements and adjust your intake accordingly. Read more…

Drew Baye Fat Loss, Nutrition

This is meant as a set of basic guidelines for fat loss, and is nowhere near a complete discussion of the topic. More advanced, detailed guidelines will be posted in future articles as well as an upcoming book.

While numerous factors affect fat gain and loss, by far the most important is energy balance – calorie intake versus calorie expenditure. If you consume more calories than your body burns over a period of time, you will gain fat. If you want to lose fat, you must consume fewer calories than your body burns. There are three basic ways to accomplish this: Read more…

Drew Baye Fat Loss, Nutrition, Training