** FREE SHOWING OF FILM 5:30 AT SHEPHERDSTOWN OPERA HOUSE PRIOR TO TALK **
This Monday 7pm March 28 at Two Rivers Treads we will teach you how to “Run on Fat” and meet the stars of the recent movie – “Cereal Killers 2- Run on Fat”. Over the last few years in this column we have challenged what we believe and have been told to be true about diet and exercise and it is incredible to witness the transformation in health people are making. Two pioneers will be visiting us Monday at Two Rivers Treads to share their journey. Seminar is FREE to the public.
Dr. Stephen Phinney is a pioneering physician, researcher, and endurance athlete who challenged the low fat lifestyle and “carbo loading” over 30 years ago. The academic elite’s attempt to suppress him and the resistance of medical journals to publish his science is another sad chapter in the ongoing food fight and public health disaster of obesity. Dr. Phinney is now vindicated by almost everything we know now on the science of obesity and athletic performance.
Finnish Entrepreneur Sami Inkinen is a World Amateur Ironman Champion with 8:24 Personal Best achieved on a combination of diet (70% fat) and limited training time (10-12 hours/wk). Sami and his wife Meredith Loring rowed from San Francisco to Hawaii unsupported in an incredible 45 day ultra endurance achievement called the “Fat Chance Row”. Achieving this feat without any measurable breakdown in the body speaks volumes for the protective capacity of a well formulated, low carb diet with adequate – but not too much – protein. They smashed the previous record of 60 days while keeping the “divorce-o-meter” at zero too.
The recent movie “Cereal Killers 2- Run on Fat” charts world class triathlete Sami Inkinen’s transition from pre-diabetic sugar burner to a faster, healthier, fat fueled endurance athlete under the guidance of New York Times bestselling author Dr. Stephen Phinney. Sami, who used to follow flawed conventional wisdom and eat lots of carbs to fuel his sport, was diagnosed as a pre-diabetic. When he switched to a low carb, high fat diet he was able to reverse his diabetes without suffering any drop off in his athletic performance. In fact, he even got faster and “bonk proof”.
In an anti-sugar crusade Sami and Meredith row 4,000 kms unsupported from California to Hawaii and in the process give us a window into the astonishing capacity of how the body burns fat . As more and more evidence emerges of world class athletes adopting a similar protocol , with remarkable results in many cases, “Run on Fat” challenges the very foundations of sports nutrition. Sami and Meredith raised over $200,000 for Dr. Robert Lustig’s foundation studying the harmful effects of junk food and sugar.
Sami and Meredith ran on fat (with very little carbs) while crossing the Pacific. Their daily caloric intake was astonishing. Sami consumed 8,000 calories per day. The more petite but uber strong Meredith averaged 5,000 calories each day. When they arrived in Hawaii, Meredith was the exact same weight as when she had left San Francisco. Sami lost 18 pounds of muscle in his lower extremities through disuse of specific groups with exclusively rowing.
Dr. Phinney’s recent editorial piece in the British Journal of Sports Medicine titled “It’s Time To Bust The Myth Of Physical Inactivity And Obesity; You Can’t Outrun A Bad Diet” (co-authored with Sports Science legend Dr . Tim Noakes and leading British Cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra) debunk the health and medical industry’s promotion the weight loss is diet AND exercise. When you look at the science it is not 50/50 as most perceive it to be. For body fat and obesity it is more like 95/5 with what you eat being 95% contributor and maybe 5% due to exercise.
Don’t get me wrong about the importance of exercise for almost everything that keeps the body healthy. Exercise is a magic pill for your brain, heart, muscles, blood vessels, bones, joints, and pretty much any tissue in our body that keeps you alive and vital. It is just not for prevention and treatment of obesity, which is excess body fat. Exercise builds and maintains muscle. What you eat, especially the load of carbohydrates, controls your fat.
Dr. Phinney and Sami are brave and tireless advocates for policy surrounding the toxic food environment in America. In the BJSM article Dr. Phinney points out:
Coca Cola, who spent $3.3 billion in advertising in 2013, pushes a message that “all calories count”; plus associating their products with sport suggests it’s ok to consume their drinks as long as you exercise. But science tells us this is misleading and wrong. It’s where the calories come from that’s crucial. Sugar calories promote fat storage and hunger. Fat calories induce fullness or “satiation”.
A large econometric analysis of worldwide sugar availability and consumption, revealed that for every excess 150 calories of sugar a person consumed (say, one can of cola), there was an eleven fold increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes, in comparison to an identical 150 calories obtained from fat or protein. Since this was independent of the person’s weight and physical activity level; this study fulfils the Bradford Hill Criteria for causation.
An opposing viewpoint is Dr. Steven Blair who has been a champion of exercise his whole career. You decide if his work trying to convince the world that weight is about “energy balance” is correct. Dr. Blair carried the Olympic Torch as part of his connection with Coke. Blair contends: “Coca Cola has been an Olympic Sponsor for a long time. I do a lot of work with them. They fund a lot of my research….They focus on active healthy living.” The Coke Global Energy Balance Network founded by Blair through industry dollars was shut down by the scientific evidence debunking it and the public opinion disgusted with the tactics which smell of Big Tobacco.
At the informal talk Steve and Sami will discuss what is means to be “fat adapted”.
A few key benefits to fat adaptation can be summarized here:
- Increased energy and stable blood sugars
- Improved endurance for exercise and daily life
- Lower joint pain and inflammation
- Improved recovery
- Improved fueling of the heart and brain
The metabolic improvements in health go far beyond just the athletic parameters as Steve and Sami will explain. Please welcome them and join in the lively discussion. I encourage you to download the hour long movie before the Monday talk or if you cannot come view this amazing documentary film on your own. It may change your life
More on the Fat Chance Row here
I watched the original Cereal Killers today and wondered if you had any thoughts on the movie’s message regarding exercise. It seemed to de-emphasize exercise overall, especially the importance of frequent endurance exercise.
Mike thanks for comment. exercise is good for everything in life if done in healthy and sustainable way. for weight loss though it is about what you eat.