November 2010 Archives

Sorry, it's been a while since I've updated my blog with a new entry. But many people were still finding my entry about the Consumer Reports protein review very helpful in clearing up the issue. So I wanted to make that information easily accessible for those who were unfortunately mislead by Consumer Reports hack job.

Now a new bit of news has brought me back to blogging. Although this one is not as misleading in the message being delivered. Many of you have likely read the news about a professor at Kansas State University named Mark Haub, who recently lost 27 pounds in 10 weeks by eating nothing but junk food such as Twinkies, Oreos, and Doritos. If you haven't read this story, check it out here on CNN Health.

Upon closer examination of his diet, junk food is not all that he ate. He also consumed some vegetables, milk and even one Muscle Milk protein drink each day, along with a multivitamin/mineral supplement to get some micronutrients, as well as much needed protein. But still, a good seven of his meals were junk food. His total calories added up to less than 1800 calories per day. He did this to make the point to his class that total calories is the most important thing when it comes to weight loss. And while he is somewhat correct, the emphasis is on "weight" loss and not necessarily smart fat loss.

Yes he did drop a signiicant amount of body fat, going from about 33% body fat to about 25% as reported in the story. He even lowered his LDL ("bad") cholesterol and raised his HDL ("good") cholesterol. The one thing I did not see reported was how much of the 27 pounds was fat and how much was muscle. So I calculated it myself.  Based on his starting weight of 200 pounds at 33% body fat and his final weight of 174 pounds at 25% body fat, that comes to be about a 5 pound loss of muscle mass. While that is not a huge amount of muscle to lose while dieting, it is for someone who only has 135 pounds of lean body weight to start with, as this professor did. Not to mention, that little muscle mass also takes far less protein to maintain. Had you or I tried to diet on just a cup of milk and a Muscle Milk protein shake, we would lose a lot more than 5 pounds of muscle.  So in that regard, Dr. Haub is not correct in his suggestion that only calories count when trying to lose weight. Yes, calories are very important in regard to weight loss and you need to burn more calories each day than you eat, but where the calories come from can make a huge difference in how much body fat you loose and how much muscle mass you keep, or even gain. Had he chosen more protein rich foods, he would have kept more muscle and lost more fat, even still eating some of the junk food.

And that point about the junk food is really why I am writing this particular blog entry. Thanksgiving will be here in just a couple of weeks. And then come the December holidays. That means that you are going to be faced with your fair share of irresistible junk food. Will this completely destroy your physique? No, as Dr. Haub demonstrated. Given the fact that I maintain my percent body fat at 5% or lower year round, you may be surprised that I am a big believer in enjoying yourself with occasional treats of junk food. This is especially true around the holidays when some of your favorite decadent foods are only available at this one time of the year. Enjoy yourself I say, just be sure to keep your calories, as well as your carbs and fat in check at your other meals and you'll still be able to enjoy yourself without ruining your physique or health.

For specific tricks that I use to enjoy myself during the holidays and still maintain a low body fat percentage, join my new website jimstoppani.com and read my article, "Jim's Holiday Eating Guide".  On the site you'll also find dozens of videos, articles, workouts and diets, as well as my HIIT 100's Training and Diet Program eBook, that are all exclusive to members only.

Happy holidays!