Exercise Isn't Good for Weight Loss?

What if I were to tell you that exercise is fairly useless for losing weight?

Now before you accuse me of heresy, let me explain. There's no doubt that exercise is one of the best things in the world you can do for your health. It improves mood- in some studies as well as antidepressants- and it's great for your heart. Recent research shows that it even helps you grow new brain cells. And people who exercise on a regular basis have lower risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

But weight loss? Not so much.

Does that seem contrary to everything you've heard? Of course it does- but don't shoot the messenger.

Here's the truth: the exercise/ weight-loss equation is way more complicated than we've been led to believe.

Let's start with calories. Most people overestimate calories burned during exercise (by a long shot) just as they typically underestimate daily calorie consumption (ditto!) Forget what the computer readout on the Stairclimbers and treadmills at the gym say-- according to the Mayo Clinic, even high-impact aerobics only uses up about 511 calories an hour; walking at a pace of 3.5 mph barely uses 300. You can wipe that out with one medium meal at McDonalds--heck, you can wipe it out with a one big "low-fat" muffin from Starbucks!

Then there's the appetite factor. Exercise makes people hungry and people often compensate for exercise by eating more. I've seen people at the gym scarf down "energy" drinks that contain the calorie equivalent of two days worth of workouts.

Plus, there's good old garden-variety self-deception. Ever told yourself, "I can indulge with a Krispy Kreme today cause I just worked out"?. Sorry. That's like saying you saved some money by buying milk at Target so you might as well go to dinner at the Four Seasons. The math just doesn't work out.

Interestingly, the research is very clear that it's next to impossible to keep weight off unless you exercise regularly. But using exercise alone as a weight-loss strategy is- forgive the bad pun- an exercise in futility.

That's why the best trainers have a saying: "You can't out-train a bad diet".

"Calorie Restriction" Extends Life

Reducing calories by just 25-30% can not only help you lose weight but it can also extend your life.

We've known for a while that "calorie restriction" extends the life of every species studied in the lab, from yeast cells to worms to mice. But up to now, there's been some question as to whether those results apply to "higher" species like primates.

Twenty years ago, researchers began a study of rhesus monkeys to see if they would respond to a reduced calorie diet in the same way as mice and other species do. The first of those studies was published in the journal Science suggests that calorie restriction works just as well for primates as it does for mice. The hope is that it might work for humans as well.

The researchers allowed half of the monkeys to eat as much as they wanted, while the other half ate a nutrient-rich diet with about 30% less calories. Sixty-three percent of the animals eating the calorie restricted diet are still alive, compared to 45% of the "eat all you want" group. The unlimited calorie group died at about three times the rate of those on the lower calorie diet.

Reducing calories not only slowed aging in the monkeys but it also delayed cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and brain atrophy.

You can see what the monkeys looked like here.

The conventional wisdom has always held that losing weight is simply a matter of reducing calories. While there's certainly truth in this, the fact is that staying on a reduced calorie diet is often difficult, especially when that diet is low in fat and high in carbs. High-sugar diets- even when calories are low- create their own cravings and make sticking to them very difficult, as anyone knows who ever tried to eat just one chocolate chip cookie.

While you can certainly lose weight (and hopefully extend life) by gritting your teeth and counting calories, proponents of lower carb diets- like me- have long argued that it's easier to stay on a diet higher in fat and protein and somewhat lower in carbohydrates. It's also a lot easier to get all your nutrition from less calories when your main source of carbs is vegetables and fruits, and it's a lot easier to stave off cravings when you're eating enough protein and fat.

That's the principle behind the Diet Boot Camp Program. Even though calories clearly count, you don't count calories on Diet Boot Camp. You simply knock out the foods that are highest in junk carbs, leading to an automatic reduction in calories (and sugar!) and a healthier diet all around.

Plus you lose weight!

The Okinawans have a saying called "hara hatchi bu" which means 'Eat until you're 80% full". Since they're among the longest lived (and healthiest) people on the planet, it might be a good idea to learn from their playbook.

You're less likely to have to worry about calories if you limit your food to what I call "the Jonny Bowden Four Food Groups": Food you could have hunted, gathered, fished for or plucked.

That's not only the foundation of the Diet Boot Camp eating plan, but it's also the best natural fuel for a healthy body!

The Truth About Exercise

This 5 minute video busts a lot of myths about exercising. There's a lot more where this came from inside of Diet Boot Camp.

Cut Calories, Improve Memory!

There've been a ton of studies on "calorie restriction" as an anti-aging strategy. Cutting calories- even by 25%- 33%- has been shown to extend life of every life form tested so far, from fruit flies and yeast to monkeys. Now a new study (published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) shows that in addition to extending life, calorie cutting may also improve your memory.

Researchers took 50 men and women ages 50-72 who ranged from normal weight to overweight. One group was told to cut calories by 30 percent, mainly by eating smaller portions. A second group was told to leave their calories the same but change the proportion coming from fat, and a third group was told to make no dietary changes.

After three months, the subjects took tests involving memorizing words.

The calorie-cutting group averaged a respectable 20% improvement in memory performance. (The second and the third group showed no change whatsoever.)

Lead researcher Agnes Floel of the University of Munster in Germany said that the memory improvement might be linked to a decrease in insulin and inflammation in the reduced- calorie group.

Changes in insulin levels have also been postulated as one of the reasons calorie restriction may extend life. One 1992 study investigated people who were both mentally and physically fit and were at least 100 years old. The three factors they all had in common were: high HDL cholesterol, low triglycerides and… wait for it… low levels of fasting insulin!

Dr. Floel also said that lower insulin levels might "increase the sensitivity of receptors" in the brain and improve insulin signaling, allowing memories to be maintained longer. The reduced calorie diet also seemed to improve inflammation, a known robber of brain function and a contributing factor to every major disease.

In my DVD program The 7 Pillars of Longevity I talk about hara hachi bu, a saying in Okinawa inspired by Confucious. Okinawas believe hara hachi bu is one of the secrets to a long healthy life.

Want to know what it means?

"Eat until you are 80% full".

Wise advice, not only if you want to live long, but also if you want to keep your brain sharp and your memory intact!

Overeating Triggers Overeating

Want a terrific example of the proverbial "vicious circle" when it comes to diet?

Check this out:

Overeating can actually stimulate a metabolic response in the brain that induces cravings to eat more. The result? A vicious cycle of elevated calorie consumption that can lead to obesity, diabetes and insulin resistance.

We've long known that inflammation is a huge part of every degenerative disease from Alzheimer's to heart disease, and it's a big part of obesity as well.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of California-San Diego found that overeating can induce inflammatory responses that underlie Type ll Diabetes and obesity.

Here's how it works. There's a structure in your brain called the hypothalamus which is like the command center for regulating appetite, feeding behavior, energy and body-weight balance. And there's a hormone in the body called leptin which has a lot to do with regulating appetite. Leptin talks to the hypothalamus, but when communication lines are down and the hypothalamus doesn't get the message that "we don't need any more food", the hypothalamus can promote or induce either obesity or type ll Diabetes (or both).

Overeating turns on a (normally inactive) protein in the hypothalamus that screws up the communication that would normally keep obesity and associated metabolic problems at bay. When you eat "normally", this protein keeps its mouth shut. When you overeat, the protein acts like a drunk at a Karaoke bar.

So what's the big news? We've known that eating too much makes you fat since forever.

The news is that it's not just that excess calories go right to your butt and thighs. That would be bad enough. But those excess calories actually upset and inflame metabolic processes that underlie disease.

There's a Confucian-inspired adage used by the long-lived healthy people in Okinawa: Hara hachi bu.

It means- eat till you're 80% full.

In other words, push away from the table before you're stuffed. You won't get fat, you might just live longer, and you'll probably protect yourself from some really nasty metabolic consequences.

Withdrawn: Advice on Low-Fat diets for Obesity!

Have you heard that a low-fat diet is the way to go for weight loss?

Of course you have. Who hasn't? And like much "conventional" advice, it's turning out to be bogus.

Recently, researchers combed through hundreds of previously published studies that investigated low-fat diets in comparison to other weight loss strategies. They looked at the Cochrane Controlled Trials Registry, MEDLINE, and EMBASE, all sources of rigorously controlled published trials. They were interested in the ability of people to actually sustain weight loss over a long period of time, so they investigated the studies in which people were given specific dietary advice (like eat a low-fat diet, or reduce calories). Three independent reviewers poured over the studies that met the criteria for inclusion.

Guess what they concluded?

"Fat-restricted diets are no better than calorie restricted diets in achieving long term weight loss in overweight or obese people".

The title of their research paper- published in the prestigious Cochrane Database System Review was "Withdrawn: Advice on Low-Fat Diets for Obesity".

That kind of says it all, doesn't it?

You can lose weight on a low-fat diet, you can lose weight on a low-carb diet, and you can lose weight on a calorie-restricted diet. The choice should be based on what makes you feel better, reduces your cravings and increases your energy.

There's absolutely no advantage of a low-fat approach over any other, and in fact, there may be some disadvantages.

One disadvantage of a low-fat approach is that people eat more processed carbohydrates when they reduce fat too much. Another may be lower intake of valuable and healthy fats like omega-3's.

And a third disadvantage of low-fat diets is the constant cravings that frequently accompany them! I've never heard of anyone binging on buttered broccoli and steak, but I've sure heard of binging on cereal and bread!