Eat Meat And Stop Jogging: 'Common' Advice On How To Get Fit Is Keeping You Fat And Making You Sick (11 page)

Intensi
ty also plays a factor as walking produces favorable reductions in URTIs:

E
lderly individuals walking 45min 5xWeek reduced infection by 50% compared to sedentary.

I
mmune function appears to be the worst when there’s a moderate-to-high intensity (60-80%) and a longer duration (90min):

And it’s not just runners!  One study looked at 24 swimmers, and the rate of respiratory infection was higher in the well-trained swimmers (56%), compared to the amateurs (12.5%).  Although speculative, this could suggest
that the repetitiveness of the exercise and the cumulative affect on the body may be the most detrimental.

“Excessive is training with insufficient rest and variety of trai
ning.”

Asthma and allergies appear to be highly prevalent as well, as one study tested 42 elite runners of which 23 had asthma and 31 ast
hma like symptoms. Another study from Finland tested 103 athletes with an average age of 23, reported 16 with asthma, 24 with allergies, and more than half with asthma-like symptoms or exercise-induced asthma.

A 1984 study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, found that 29% of female endurance athletes have amenorrhea, which is a disruption in menstrual cycle.  Amenorrhea results in a delayed or missed periods, and researchers point to a ‘lack of available calories’ as the driving force in producing these unfavorable consequences. It’s suspected that the total ‘amount’ of training is to blame for these high instances of amenorrhea in female long distance runners. Again we see a connection between chronic cardio and signs of early aging, as amenorrhea from over-exercising has been linked to bone loss.

Likewise, a 1994 study found that high-mileage male runners have lower sperm counts and motility than low-mileage runners. Considering the extremely high blood concentration of stress hormones with longer durations and higher intensities, it’s not surprising to see the disrupted release of reproductive hormones. The oxidative stress from long distance endurance training produces significant decreases in the size of the reproductive organs, and cortisol has been shown to reduce testosterone and androgen levels.

The other important consideration for those deciding to partake in long-distance running is the increased loss of blood, and the iron that goes with it. Women are already at an extremely high risk of anemia (low iron) because of their monthly blood loss, and generally low red meat intake.  Research has identified a clear link between anemia and runners, and the statistics suggest that it’s also quite prevalent in males.  In fact, most endurance athletes appear to be at a consistent iron deficiency, losing 1.7-2.2g/day while only absorbing 1g/day.

Cardio
= Cardiovascular Problems?

Although the
other negatives of selecting cardio to stay healthy have been eye opening, this one tends to sting the most.  The main reason a lot of people decide to start running or biking is to improve their ‘heart health.’  So finding out that this activity does the opposite can be extremely troubling.  I can’t help but think of someone out there running their butt off to get in shape or stay healthy, when in fact they’re doing more harm than good. As they continue to get better at it, they push the limits to strengthen that blood pumping muscle, when meanwhile the are putting their cardiovascular health at risk.

Overtraining is a common mistake many athletes make in preparation for competition, and perhaps more common in the general population when they decide it’s time to ‘get fit.’  January 1st roles around and the out of shape guy at work says:

“My goal this year is to run a marathon!”

Our body physically adapts as best it can during frequent and intense training and many times the damage isn’t felt until it’s too late.  When it comes to endurance exercise, this is especially true. Our natural defenses endure the consistent mileage increases, and compensate for the elevated intensity until one day our heart shuts down.  This can be seen in the cardiovascular health of ultra-endurance athletes, who continuously put their bodies through a pounding.  These guys, and girls, aren’t just running further than everyone else, they’re running more consistently and faster.  Generally, most (including me) would like to idolize these individuals as we can’t see ourselves doing 1 marathon, let alone 2 in a row on a Saturday afternoon. However, as you’ve learned, duration and intensity has a profound effect on free radical accumulation.  Despite the natural increase in antioxidant production, the adjustment is short-lived and serious damage ensues over time.

As Dr. James O’Keefe points out, endurance training causes ‘structural cardiovascular changes’ and ‘elevations of cardiac biomarkers’ that appear to return to normal in the short term, but as taken on as a regular activity it results in:

“patchy myocardial fibrosis…an increased susceptibility to atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, coronary artery calcification, diasto
lic dysfunction, and large-artery wall stiffening.”

He mentions
that it’s common to see abnormal results in heart tests for elite level endurance athletes, with as high as a 5-FOLD increase in the prevalence of atrial fibrillation.  With ultra endurance athletes, or frequent Cardio Kings and Queens, the damage is especially detrimental as each workout of increased intensity and duration produces more free radical accumulation and more damage.  One study, from the European Heart Journal looked at marathon runners, triathletes, alpine cyclists, and ultra triathletes, who competed in races lasting 3, 5, 8, and 11hrs respectively.

Dysfunction in the right ventricle after the race was least in the marathon runners (3hrs), and highest in the
ultra triathletes (11hrs).

Although t
he evidence is still emerging, there’s a budding amount of research that extended endurance training sessions performed frequently leads to cardiovascular damage and increases heart disease risk:

• Impaired
  Cardiac Contractile Function
  
• Decline in Peak Systolic Tissue Velocity
  
• Cardio Myocyte Damage
  
• Myocardial Fibrosis
  
• Atrial Fibrillation
  
• Cardiac Arrhythmias
  
• Poor Left Ventricle Function
  

These elevations and alterations could be the result of adaptive responses our body goes through in order to deal with the physically taxing and stressful workout. However, it’s clear that this adaptation is likely not favorable in the long-term, and the recorded damage is hard to ignore. One could relate this to our hunter-gatherer ancestors who occasionally had to deal with unique challenges and intense feats of strength that would require an above-average adaptation to survive.  Although, just because we can adapt doesn’t mean we should, especially on a consistent basis.  The resulting heart damage has been witnessed in the early (or near) of several famous ultra-endurance and marathon runners:

Micah True
(Caballo Blanco) - one of the ultra runners featured in the popular book Born to Run, died in 2012 at 58 years old of Phidippides cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart from chronic excessive endurance exercise!)

Alberto Salazer
– won 3 New York City Marathons and 1 Boston Marathon between 1980 and 1982, had a near fatal heart attack at 49 years of age

Jim Fixx
- the man credited for popularizing jogging and author of the best-selling book, The Complete Book of Running, died of a heart attack at 52!

Cardio
Accelerates Aging

We know that the duration and intensity of your workout dete
rmines the free radicals produced, and there’s a certain threshold at which accumulation overburdens our anti-oxidant defenses.  We also know that this damage accumulates over time, making each additional session of equal intensity or duration increasingly harmful.  Although the free radical theory of aging is still considered a hypothesis, it’s been proven that DNA damage in mitochondria increases disease risk.

One analysis of skeletal muscle from a 90-year-old man revealed that only 5% of his mitochondrial DNA was full length, while that of a five-year-old boy was almost completely intact. 

Either way, the evidence suggesting damage from an imbalance in free radical accumulation and antioxidants is strong and reliable.  Knowing this, anyone with a goal of living a long and disease-free life should avoid instances that promote free radical accumulation.  Similar to inflammation, a balance can be achieved by either obtaining more of the reducing agent (antioxidants) or avoiding the promoting agent (free radicals).  For both inflammation and oxidation, it seems more reasonable to avoid the harmful agent (cardio!).

Free radical damage from long and frequent cardio workouts is especially detrimental to cardiac and skeletal muscle, encouraging muscle catabolism and potentially increasing heart disease risk.  Additionally, the combination of oxidative stress, and negative hormonal consequences (high cortisol, low testosterone) that are chronically secreted during prolonged aerobic exercise, seem to disrupt the immune and reproductive system and promote unnecessary inflammation.  The long-term affect of chronically elevated cortisol is nearly as detrimental as oxidative stress, with respect to disease.  Consistently high cortisol is associated with the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and even depression.

Lactate production is also a consideration, which like cortisol and oxidative stress, increases steadily throughout a high-mileage exercise bout causing cell damage over-time.  The low pH in extracellular fluid (blood) from chronic lactate accumulation is potentially the biggest concern, as it’s been linked to the various diseases associated with aging.  Worth noting, is that free radical and lactate production are intensified when exercising in the heat, which unfortunately is also a normal practice by many endurance enthusiasts.

I know it seems odd for me to be a nutrition and fitness advisor yet I’m openly discouraging endurance exercise.  However, much like my philosophy on nutrition, I’m not an advocate of aerobic training because I know there’s a better alternative without the negative consequences.

Soy is detrimental at over 36g;
wheat causes inflammation and digestive distress; so why consume them at all? 

Cardio elevates cortisol and lowers testosterone, burns muscle and stores fat, and promotes cell da
mage through oxidative stress.  So why do it at all?

I assure you that your time is better spent building muscle that burns fat, and eating in a way t
hat has you burning fat as fuel instead of sugar.  The common approach leaves you filled up with cortisol, free radicals and insulin, with burned out muscles, hormones, and energy levels.  The time and effort is not worth it, when the same improvements in cardiovascular health can be achieved from walking, and better results in body composition by EATING RIGHT!

“Everybody is a genius.  But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live it’s whole life believing that it is stupid.”

―
Albert Einstein

Conclusion

So What Now?

The reason I took the time to write this book and make my program available to you, is because I’ve watched the ‘common’ approach negatively affect those around me.  They usually last about 2 months, trying to ‘burn calories’ on the treadmill, and ‘eat less’ high-calorie foods, fighting a daily battle with hunger and low energy.  Conventional wisdom has left them:

OVERWORKED and UNDERFED!

Once they fall off the ‘diet’ and put more weight on than when they started, they become depressed because the universal theory of calories-in vs. calories-out implies that they lack discipline.  As I like to say to new clients:

“You’ve been hitting the
bull’s-eye on the wrong target!”

Now
that you’ve read
Eat Meat And Stop Jogging
, you should be aware of the nonsense.  You understand why ‘everyone else’ believes, and ‘everyone else’ follows bogus advice.  The question is, do you want to continue looking, feeling, and living like everyone else?

Take a look around next time you’re in public and take note of the body composition of those around you.  Individuals in their early 20’s with 40% body fat, school children with the physique of a middle-aged stock broker, and baby boomers hobbling around like seniors, from hip fractures, triple-bypasses, and knee surgeries.  The reason we look the way we do is because of the food we eat, fitness regimen we follow, and lifestyle choices we make.  The misconceptions you just discovered are what most have been attempting to follow for the last 50 years, and where has it landed them?

Are you going to sit back and accept that this is the new ‘no
rmal,’ and we’re all destined to be fat and unhealthy, or are you going to do something about it?

Are you ready to open your eyes to a BETTER way of eating, a BETTER way of training, and a BETTER way of living?

In my next phase,
Live It, NOT Diet!,
I will tell
you what to eat in a way that gives you the ability to dedicate minimal time and effort to ‘getting fit’ while experiencing amazing results.  I give you the principles that help determine when to put in the effort and then reward you handsomely and frequently for your efforts.  My program works for me, and it has worked for 100’s of clients.  It works because it’s sustainable.

With my unbiased, non-corporately funded program you will achieve the toned, healthy, muscular, sexy physique you've been striving for, and if embraced as a lifestyle, you will maintain your results well into the future.  Not only that, but you’ll get there without fighting your innate need to eat when you're hungry and until you’re full.  Never again will you count calories or monitor portion size, feel deprived or weak, or experience the endless yo-yo cycle of losing it and gaining it back.  Now I can’t promise you’ll be a fitness model or world class athlete, but I will guarantee:

Weekly Fat Loss WITHOUT Muscle Loss!

I introduce you to 14 Principles and progress you across 3 phases until you’re presented with the
Live It, NOT Diet!
Lifestyle Plan, which has been followed by myself and my clients for years.  We eat as much as we want, whenever we want, and never do cardio. We maintain a lean and healthy physique, and strong body and mind.  I progress you at a comfortable speed, so you're programmed for consistent success.

The difference between
Live It, NOT Diet!
and other approaches, is that it’s designed to be embraced as a long-term strategy. My clients that have followed this plan achieve amazing results, but more importantly they maintain them long after they've gone on their own.  If you’re ready for superior and sustainable results while improving your health and longevity, I hope you will JOIN ME and thousands of North Americans in getting lean, and staying lean…for LIFE!

Coach Mike