Calories In! 3 More Weeks. IG Follows. CF Women Are Strong. Skittles Kill. Cold Hack. The Week Ahead 7.18.22

Virtuosity is obvious and a path to a better living. Andrew Hiller has made his Batman logo famous as a result of his public vigilance over CrossFit athletes competing for the CrossFit Games. These Diablo athletes are on board!

“Our metabolic engines were not crafted by millions of years of evolution to guarantee a beach-ready bikini body.”  Herman Pontzer, Duke University

TWISI (The Way I See It) – You Cannot Out Train A Bad Diet. Check out the Science article in my Craig’s List section.  I couldn’t believe the data when I first saw it (and heard it on a podcast):  evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer discovered that active hunter-gatherers, the Hadza in Africa, expend about the same amount of daily calories as sedentary office workers in Illinois. Wtaf? Even more astounding: as they hunt and forage, Hadza women walk about 8 kilometers daily; men, 14 kilometers—more than a typical American walks in 1 week.

So, does this mean that our exercise and daily physical activity is not beneficial? No, there are numerous health benefits to physical activity that improve quality of life and extend lifespan. But, the painful reality is that exercise is not the path to weight-loss, especially on a Western diet. The way I see it (and so does Pontzer), weight-loss is not about calories in vs. calories out, it’s almost entirely about “calories in”.  With the exception of extreme actively training athletes (think, Tour de France or CrossFit Games), our daily BMRs (basal metabolic rate) stay within a fairly narrow range. And, while exercise does “burn” calories, our bodies usually adjust or acclimate to conserve. Thus, the best way (only way) to lose weight is to reduce our calorie intake below our BMR. Fortunately, calorie deficits  can be achieved in many ways, ie: macronutrient substitution & measuring (proteins, fats & carbs); replacing calorie-dense, processed foods with healthy foods; intermittent fasting; and many more.
 
Finally, as Herman Pontzer says: “Exercise prevents you from getting sick, but diet is your best tool for weight management.”

THREE WEEKS OUT! .. to the CrossFit Games. Yvonne is in peak fitness shape right now and almost ready for the Games which begin on Thursday, August 4th for Masters. She’s training 2-3x per day which includes strength or skill work, a metcon, and lots of accessory work. She’s swimming and running at least 2-3x a week as well. Her biggest challenge: getting enough calories to maintain weight! She’s weighing #118 – the lightest she’s been in almost 40 years – with a target weight of 120 for the Games. The good news is that she’s crushing her workouts – with lots of PRs along the way. Tapering begins in a week!

MY NEW FAV FOLLOWS ON IG:  @wodscience @crossfittraining @rodneynorman 

TWEET OF THE WEEK:  The contents found in your refrigerator and pantry will have more of an impact on your children than anyone cares to admit.” – Adrian Conway

WORKOUTS –  Progressive Programming Calendar July.  PRsAllDay Newsletter
The week ahead: 

CRAIG’S LIST (Stuff I’m Reading, Hearing, Watching, Using or Buying)

Why CrossFit Women Are Stronger Than You – “..your body is literally threatened by the extreme novelty of these workouts and begins to increase both muscle size and strength levels to protect itself against similar threats in the future.”  This is an amazing article by T-Nation contributor and fitness legend Charles Staley. It covers ALL the reasons why CrossFit works and encourages readers to look past ill-conceived notions about CrossFit training. Send this article to your friends!

Evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer busts myths about how humans burn calories—and why   Exercise doesn’t help you burn more energy on average! In fact, active hunter-gatherers in Africa don’t expend more energy daily than sedentary office workers in Illinois and pregnant women don’t burn more calories per day than other adults, after adjusting for body mass. Whaaa??!!

Lawsuit Claims Skittles Unfit for Human Consumption – Before you dismiss this as a frivolous lawsuit, consider that the toxic ingredient in question, titanium dioxideor, has been banned in many countries and will be banned by the European Union next month. 

CrossFit Kupuna – 100 years old is not too old for CrossFit.

The Outfit – Amazon Prime – This was an entertaining “gangsterish” movie with some very surprising twists. Worth it. 

Check Out My Kenmore Cold Plunge:  Diablo member Colin Cline sold me his used, Kenmore chest freezer that has a built-in drain to use as a hack-Cold Plunge. Most self-cooling cold plunges sell for $5,000 – $10,000 and are admittedly very nice. I’ve been contemplating including cold soaks into my weekly routing, especially since my Wild Health Doc, Tom McCoy, strongly encouraged me to start. However, I wasn’t sure I’d stick with the routine. So, after searching the internet, I discovered that a chest freezer makes an awesome substitute! Colin was happy to oblige. 

Make it an awesome week!

Craig