The Sweet Spot of Diet and Exercise
Posted by PhilifeApr 8
You've got to find the sweet spot
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What do drugs, exercise, alcohol, food, and stress have in common?
They all follow the principle of Hormesis
Hormesis is the concept that a given stress to your body has an amount that is too little, an amount that is too much, and an amount that is optimal.
Getting the most out of your health, fitness and diet efforts requires you to find the optimal level, or the ’sweet spot’.
In this podcast we’ll talk about hormesis and explain how it pertains to various parts of your lifestyle.
John
18 comments
Comment by BadgerDave on April 8, 2010 at 6:02 pm
So basically “everything in moderation” right?
Also, great podcast guys, my only complaint would be that I’d like to hear from you more often!!
Comment by Philife on April 8, 2010 at 6:07 pm
BadgerDave,
I’d say it this way “everything at the optimal dose, no more, no less”
JB
Trackback by pligg.com on April 8, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Phi Life – The Sweet Spot of Diet and Exercise…
Health Podcast – Exercise and diet have a sweet spot that is just right. Too much isn’t good, and too little is also a problem, but how do you find the right amount?…
Comment by Pat on April 9, 2010 at 5:28 am
I eat one big meal a day, I just started last week. I’ll have maybe a Slurpee, or drinks throughout the day and have a 1000+ calorie dinner. If I eat breakfast, lunch or both, I go over my set number of 1200 calories. I really like how I feel not being stuffed all day too. It’s nice to be able to eat whatever I want at dinner, without going over.
Comment by Lachlan on April 9, 2010 at 9:36 am
“dude, you just said under-talked about”
lmao
Comment by Bryan on April 9, 2010 at 4:39 pm
I have been enjoying these podcasts. Thanks for helping to change the thinking I have had about fitness and nutrition. Keep up the great work.
Comment by pierre on April 9, 2010 at 5:36 pm
Hey Brad,
can you give some info on the new workout you are testing?also i imagined is for the sole purpose of muscle building.thanks and great podcast finding the right dosage for anything is the money shot.
Comment by Philife on April 10, 2010 at 1:43 am
HI Pierre,
The point of this workout is to get experienced lifters back to growing again…So I really don’t want to tell you too much until I’ve broken some of my own records in terms of lifts / measurements. However, I promise that the minute that happens, I’ll share…
(I don’t want to hype it up to everyone only to have it not work in the long run)
B
Comment by Vab on April 11, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Hey guys,
I found your podcast and blogs a little while ago, and I’m fascinated by your ideas. I’ve been overweight for all of my life, and have developed an almost obsession with diet and fitness in the last few years. I was a strict vegan for about 2 years, and for that period was actually in a healthy weight, bmi, and body fat range. Looking back (and considering your ideas) it was probably just calorie restriction that helped me maintain my weight.
I quit the diet, after I realized I was extremely depressed, and I did not feel healthy, despite being at a ‘healthy weight’. I resented dieting and pretty much let myself go. I went right back to my heaviest, about 40 pounds overweight for my height. I did not reignite my interest in nutrition until a few months ago when I stumbled upon the paleo/’low carb’ diet.
I went complete low carb, and bought into the hype of ketosis and ‘metabolic advantage’. After I stalled out for several weeks, only losing an initial 10 pounds, I stumbled upon Brad Pilon’s youtube videos. When I first saw him talking about calories I was angry, calories don’t matter…that’s the idea that I was mentally invested into at the time. But, my weight loss had stalled and I had tried IF back in my vegan days (warrior diet style idea), so I decided to throw in 2-3 fasted days a week combined with my previous low carb diet. I also started taking creatine after seeing one of John Barban’s videos. All of my lifts have gone up since I started, and I have been losing a steady 2 pounds each week through calorie restriction.
I am so sold on your theories right now. I have actually gotten STRONGER, while my scale weight and waist measurement goes down. The fasting can be brutal at times, especially when im doing it every other day, and I have to live with being hungry most of the time…but it works. I am getting leaner and not getting weaker.
Sorry to be long winded, but I have one gripe/question that I hope John could address. You talk about how ‘cardio’ is B.S., but the amount of exercise you advocate seems ridiculous to me. In your blog, you talk about the amount of exercise someone should get , in terms of several hours a week. In ESE, you acknowledge that you need to diet to lose fat, and weight train to ensure preservation of muscle mass. In my experience, the most effective weight training is brief, intense, and infrequent.
Ive found that a few that training twice a week, with compound exercises, training to failure, and training progressively (improving each session), is the way to go. I do not spend more than 40 minutes per week in the gym, I do a full body exercise with basic compound movements, and I only do 5-10 reps to absolute muscle failure. What is your attitude on this H.I.T. type mentality? Would I be better off working out more (3x a week or more?), if I’m cutting calories as much as I am?
Comment by Philife on April 11, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Vab,
Glad that you’ve found something that is working for you. As far as exercise goes, most people are used to getting the bare minimum and used to being pitched products that advocate getting more done in less time. This however is somewhat of a fallacy…there is a time factor involved in training. You cannot simply increase the intensity and get 3 hours of exercise done in 10 minutes (as long as you push really hard).
The amount of exercise you’re doing is probably fine, and if you’re happy with your results and how it fits into your life then there is no need for you to increase it.
JB
Comment by D Monk on April 13, 2010 at 11:37 pm
Yo you guys are not on
http://hotchickswithdouchebags.com/
Comment by Robert on April 14, 2010 at 11:53 am
I related to your comments about the joy of being able to take a vacation without worrying about training. A few years ago I would have been the same way, worrying about getting in the workouts.
One day a few years back I thought, hey, could I possibly NOT work out 6 days a week and still see the same results? Not long after I got into powerlifting and stopped caring about size (in the muscular sense. Once you’ve lost 100 lbs, it doesn’t matter if fat helps in powerlifiting, you’re NOT going to put it back on if you have anything to say about it. I’m just fine in the lighter weight classes, thank you very much). Anyhow. I went from 6 days a week to 4 and have progressed over time to what I have now; 2-4 days depending on my schedule and recovery.
For the first time in 2 years, I measured myself recently and found that I was as much as 2 inches larger in some spots (which the difficultly in finding jeans that fit had already indicated to me), haven’t lost size anywhere, and I am the same scale weight I was when I changed my training to powerlifting.
Despite that and other discussions, I still couldn’t convince a friend that he would NOT immediately lose size if he missed a day in the gym every now and again.
Comment by Chris R on April 15, 2010 at 3:11 am
@ D Monk. That’s freakin hilarious!!
Comment by Joshua on April 16, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Hey guys,
After practicing intermittent fasting, as well as lower meal frequency in general, I had actually been inadvertently drifting into doing one big meal a day for a while and lost a few pounds. However, I know I lost strength and some muscle as well. And when I look back, it must have had something to do with overall low protein intake for the day. I’m thinking even a high protein meal of like 75 grams is pushing it on the low end for a daily total. And that’s probably as high as it was going (most of the other calories being from fat, and then carbs, in that order) What are your thoughts?
Comment by Philife on April 16, 2010 at 8:03 pm
How do you “know” you lost muscle?
Comment by Joshua on April 17, 2010 at 6:32 am
by taking body fat percentage and weight measurements, losing a lot of strength (a marker of muscle mass when all else is equal), and just visual observation. The point is, even you guys believe in a “minimum” amount of protein and it seems hard to attain that (especially when trying to lose weight/cut calories) on a one meal a day diet.
Trackback by pligg.com on April 30, 2010 at 3:53 am
Phi Life – The Diet and Exercise Sweet Spot…
Health Podcast – Exercise and diet have a sweet spot that is just right. Too much isn’t good, and too little is also a problem, but how do you find the right amount?…
Trackback by pligg.com on May 3, 2010 at 3:38 am
Phi Life – The Diet and Exercise Sweet Spot…
Fitness and Health Podcast – Exercise and diet have a sweet spot that is just right. Too much isn’t good, and too little is also a problem, but how do you find the right amount?…