Restricting your eating times

Published July 4, 2015  ·  All posts on Jul 4  ·  

The reasons for these health benefits relate to the fact that the human body appears to be designed to thrive in a cycle of “feast and famine.” By imitating the ancestral conditions of cyclical nourishment, your body enters into a state of optimal functioning. Three major mechanisms by which fasting benefits your health include:

Increased insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial energy efficiency. […] Reduced oxidative stress. […] Increased capacity to resist stress, disease and aging.

~ Jeff Roberts from, «https://insights.collective-evolution.com/2015/02/05/why-restricting-your-eating-time-period-to-8-hours-will-transform-your-health-fitness/»

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Muscle loss during short-term fasting

Published July 3, 2015  ·  All posts on Jul 3  ·  

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Ned Kock's "Health Correlator"

When the body is running short on glycogen, it becomes increasingly reliant on fat as a source of energy, sparing muscle tissue. That is, it burns fat, often in the form of ketone bodies, which are byproducts of fat metabolism. This state is known as ketosis. There is evidence that ketosis is a more efficient state from a metabolic perspective (Taubes, 2007, provides a good summary), which may be why many people feel an increase in energy when they fast.

~ Ned Kock from, Muscle loss during short-term fasting

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Exercise is the least important part of the equation

Published July 2, 2015  ·  All posts on Jul 2  ·  

I looked at him and smiled and said, “Okay, then don’t exercise. Let’s deal with that a few months from now.” He replied with a face that looked something like this, and asked how I could possibly not recommend he start exercising if he wanted to lose weight.

My reply was simple: “I’m not interested in getting you to lose the most weight as quickly as possible. I’m interested in helping you get healthier, permanently.”

~ Steve Kamb from, Why Exercise is the Least Important Part of the Equation | Nerd Fitness

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An ideal conversation

Published June 28, 2015  ·  All posts on Jun 28  ·  

Ideally, this is going to be an effective conversation. You have a topic you want to discuss that will likely result in a decision or two. You are confident in your version of the truth and you feel no matter what happens in this conversation, you’ll be able to adapt.

Problem is, there is another person in this conversation and from the moment they open their mouth, it’s no longer just about the topic, the conversation is now about how we are having it.

~ Rands from, An Ideal Conversation – Rands in Repose

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HIT improves… your body’s sugar handling?

Published June 27, 2015  ·  All posts on Jun 27  ·  

This entry is part 3 of 14 in the series John Briffa's "A Good Look at Good Health"

In this particular study, individuals engaging in the ‘high intensity interval training’ (HIT) sprinted on a exercise bike with maximum effort for 30 seconds at a time with 4 mins of rest in between. 6 sessions were performed over a two-week period, with 4-6 ‘sprints’ in each session. I was interested to read a recently published study which used an identical exercise schedule. The focus here was not on fitness benefits, but on the impact HIT might have on individuals’ ability to handle sugar.

~ John Briffa from, «http://www.drbriffa.com/2009/01/30/short-bursts-of-high-intensity-activity-found-to-improve-bodys-ability-to-handle-sugar/»

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Overcoming the distraction habit

Published June 26, 2015  ·  All posts on Jun 26  ·  

One of the insidious things about the distraction habit is that we often don’t even realize it’s happening. It sneaks up on us, like old age, and before we know it we’re addicted and powerless.

But actually we’re not powerless. The power we have is our awareness, and you can develop it right now. Pay attention to what sites you visit, how often you’re looking at your phone, how long you’re spending in front of a screen all day.

~ Leo Babauta from, An Addict’s Guide to Overcoming the Distraction Habit – Zen Habits Website

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Boston bound

Published June 25, 2015  ·  All posts on Jun 25  ·  

Packed and ready to “parkour floor” it in Boston. But first, a detour to the Wells Fargo Center in Philly for the Rush 40 Tour concert!!

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Variability is the key

Published June 25, 2015  ·  All posts on Jun 25  ·  

Instead of specializing someone who is specialized in something else, we need to un-specialize them. We need to give people what they don’t have at the foundational level first. …

Once that foundation is established we’re able to move into almost any specialized activity, and that’s the goal. Not just to be good at exercising for a while, but to have bodies that are capable of doing whatever we want without injury in the real world, for the rest of our lives.

~ Matt Malloy from, «http://roguedenver.com/variability-fitness-training/»

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Targeted-heart-rate workouts

Published June 24, 2015  ·  All posts on Jun 24  ·  

This entry is part 26 of 72 in the series My Journey

A while back I mentioned I’ve been experimenting with a FitBit HR and an intentional, designed, fitness program. I’ve been playing with this more. I originally didn’t like that I couldn’t just redefine all the zones to the HRs that we’re targeting.

Most, tradition/common workout programs I’ve seen have just 3 heart rate (HR) zones based on a maximum HR which is simply computed based on your age. The plan I’m working with from Mike, is significantly more complex. (Details for another post I suppose.) Anyway, the plan calls for very specific workouts, for example: “17 minutes in Z1”.

I noticed on day one, that the FitBit only has one “custom zone” that you can configure. So, I’ve begun manually setting the “custom zone” to the goal HR before some of the workouts. Once I plug in the specific Z1 lower/upper numbers, I can then set off on the workout.

On the device, there is an icon-based display that shows you quickly if you’re below/in/above the target zone. Normally, the icons refer to one of the FitBit’s built-in zones. But it turns out that if you set a custom zone, then the icon status is for your custom zone. Ok, now THAT’S useful!

The above screen grab is from a morning run where I had the custom zone set to my specific Z1 values. The graph shows the FitBit’s default zones (blue/”under”, yellow/”fat burn”, orange/”cardio”) and it overlays my custom zone as the hatched band. The bar graph even adds a value for the time in the custom zone.

In this example I set out to perform, after warming up, for 17 minutes in Z1. …and BAM! 16 minutes in Z1 by it’s measure. Now that’s a targeted workout.

Aside: The tail end of the graph was a strong-run-out, 1/4 mile. My opinion is that the FitBit sucks at picking up highend HR. Either that, or I’m a machine, and can run an 8 minute mile pace at a 151HR. …and it’s not the latter of those two.

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