We have spun a 180 in the past decade from FAT Fearing to FAT Indulging. Yes the tables have turned because of new science which shows that you NEED fat in your diet. The 70’s through the 90’s saw rapid decline in health due to the Food Industry promoting the Low Fat diets which heavily emphasized processed foods and sugars. But, while we may have a better hold on what the current science says, there is still some outstanding myths and "Unknowns” around FAT that YOU NEED TO KNOW!.
1. Not All Fats Are the Same.
There are 4 classifications of fats and all have a different effect on your health.
-Saturated Fat. Once the most reviled form of fat, saturated fat became the poster child which spawned the devlopment of the Low fat revolution. Saturated fat is found in Coconut Oil and Animal Fat. This fat DOES HAVE the ability to raise your cholesterol so you should watch how much you eat. This fat is now very popular because of things like BULLETPROOF Coffee and CARNIVOURE dieting. While all the cool kids might be eating plates of bacon every day, I would suggest checking your blood out before doing so yourself.
-Trans Fats. Trans fats are HUMAN MADE fats that help to keep processed foods on the shelves longer. These are truly bad for you as the science has shown they lower ‘good’ cholesterol in the blood and cell tissues, and raise ‘bad’ cholesterol. The US banned Trans fats in 2015 but they still lurk around the food environment under the disguise of “PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED” oils.
-Monounsaturated Fats. These are plant based oils that are paritcularly good for your heart. These types of fats are found in AVOCADO OIL, ALMOND BUTTER, and AVOCADOS. Why these are so good for your is that they have the ability to clear ‘bad’ cholesterol from your circulatory system as well as provide ‘healthy’ fat to cell tissue.
-Polyunsaturated Fats. These fats are the most confusing to understand because they fall into 2 sub categories of OMEGA 6 and OMEGA 3 fats. Omega 6 fats include all the vegetable oils like canola (corn) and soybean oil. These are cheap cooking oils that contain carcinogens and are unstable at high heat. OMEGA 3 fats are those found in SALMON, CHIA SEEDS and FLAX. These fats have similar benefits to the Monounsaturated fats in that they help repair the GUT and arteries.
2. Fats Raise your Cholesterol.
One of the most common tests that your doctor performs on you during a physical is to take blood and check your cholesterol. Given the results, your doctor may make some dietary recommendations to help lower your levels. What happens is that without proper education on FAMILY HISTORY, GENETICS, and NUTRITION, people tend to get really gun shy around fats.
The truth is;
-Saturated fats can increase your LDL "(Bad Cholesterol) when eaten too much but it can also INCREASE your HDL (good cholesterol)
-Monounsatruated fats naturally decrease LDL and increase HDL !! (The best)
-Trans fats are the devil and should be avoided at all costs. Along with processed foods.
Finally, to decrease LDL in your body it is vital that you eat a high Fiber Diet of vegetables, fruits, nuts , seeds, and whole grains. This flushes cholesterol form the GUT so it never enters the blood stream.
3. If you want to lose weight, you should stop eating FAT.
100% not the case. In February 2018, the Journal of American Medicine released a study which found that over 600 people who were trying to lose weight found that there was not difference in weight loss between those who cut fat out and those who kept it in. When it comes to weight loss, the ratio of calories taken in and calories burned per day is more important.
As well, the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has shown that consuming a healthy amount of the saturated fat in COCONUT OIL has a beneficial effect on the burning of fat while dieting. The ketogenic diet is based on this principle of consuming healthy fats to shift the metabolism away from carbs .
4. VEGETABLE oils are the healthiest.
Not all oils are the same, especially when it comes to plant based oils . While many oils like canola and soybean oil have beneficial monounsaturated fats which can be good for the heart; what we find is that the process of refining these oils is rather deadly.
Canola, Soybean and Vegetable oil are REFINED, BLEACHED, and DEODORIZED during the processing. This means that solvents and heat break down the nutrients inside to get the golden colored oil. This makes them VERY unstable and highly CARCINOGENIC at high heat.
I recommend COLD PRESSED and COLD EXTRACTED oils like Olive and Avocado as your daily go to’s. Avocado oil actually is the best oil for the high heat cooking and frying. Costco sells huge jugs of it!
5. Butter Vs. Margarine .
When I was young, the butter stayed far away from the dinner table. We had Country Crock and my brothers favorite was I Cant Believe Its not Butter. These ‘healthier’ products were touted as a way to keep cholesterol down without sacrificing the flavor. Kinda like a Vegan eating tofu hot dogs….. shit just isn’t the same. In fact the Margarine substitutes were filled with trans fats and highly processed oils.
Butter has always been the best not only because it tastes better but also beacause it contains alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 polyunsaturated fat that helps reduce inflammation in the body. I suggest using Kerrygold brand of grass fed butter.
I see the world at a cellular level. At this level Fat plays a crucial role in the health of all living things. Nature gave us Fat to protect us from all the harmful things that try and kill us, so we should learn to love it. Becoming more knowledgeable about what types of fat you put in your body is vital to the health and longevity of your systems and yes…. your cells.
With Love,
Eric
Programming Notes 2/24- 2/28*** This week DT comes out to play. Monday we use this benchmark to practice barbell cycling. And while I don’t program that as much as I used to , the skill of positioning the body is important to stay confident on. We are doing squat waves again on Tuesday as well as the muscle up complex on Wednesday. Weighted pull ups also lead into another benchmark type workout with some interval “buy in” on Friday.
2/24
Baseline:
Banded Good Mornings
Banded Hip Activation
Banded Squats
Banded Trunk Rotations
Banded Pass Thru
Banded Press and Rip
6 Min Quality AMRAP
8 Barbell Sumo Deadlift
8 Shrug and Pull Under
8 Kip Swings
8 Divebomber push Ups
Skill Development:
3X8
Deficit Tempo Deadlift (1,1,3) 3= eccentric
Bent Over Row
*Ascending
WOD:
“DT”
5 Rounds For Time
12 Deadlift 155/115
9 Hang Power Clean
6 Shoulder to Overhead
2/25
Baseline:
3X
200m Run
8 Elbow To instep Lunge + Reach
10 Squat Therapy
8 Side Lunge
10 Hip Swivel Kicks
Squat Flow: Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Ankle Roll Out, Bootstraps, PNF Stretch, Squat W/ T Spine Stretch
Strength:
Build Up To 80% of 1RM Front squat .
EMOM 16
Odd- 1 Front Squat
Even- 3 Back squats
Anaerobic Training
Every 2 mins for 20 mins
100m Sprint
*recovery time is much lower than I usually program. The first 3 should max the intensity of last 3
2/26
Baseline
3X
10 PVC Pass Thru
10 PVC Trunk Twist
10 PVC Overhead Squat
Gymnastic Skill Work:
Muscle Up Complex.
EMOM15
A) :20 Ring Support Top
B) 8 Hips TO Rings Pull Ups
C) :20 Ring Support Bottom
Conditioning:
15 minute AMRAP
21 cal bike
15 chest to bar pull ups
9 sandbag cleans 150/100
2/27
Baseline:
5:00 Easy biking
:30 Lat band Mobility (Each Side)
:30 Bully Stretch (Each Side)
:30 Scapula Distraction Stretch (Each Side)
Shoulder Prep W/ 5# Plates:
-Bent Scarecrow + External Rotation
-Bent Reverse Flys
-Bent Scarecrow + Press
-Bent Supermans
-Standing Corkscrews
-standing front Raises
-Standing Lateral Raises
-Standing Y Press
-Standing Cross Over Presses
Strength primer:
3 Rounds
12x 3-Point Bent Row w/ KB @Heavy
12x kneeling land mine press
Conditioning:
“Dub Step”
75 double unders
30 Single Arm hang clean and press 50/35
75 Dubs
30 Toes to bar
75 Dubs
30 Hang clean and press
30 Dubs
2/28
Baseline;
2 Miles on Assault Bike :45 Easy pace / :15 Hard
3X
10 Kip Swings
5 Burpee Pull Ups
:15 Chin Over Bar Hold
10 Bootstraps
Strength:
Weighted Pull Up
5x5
Superset with;
5 Kettlebell Press (each arm)
Wod:
5 x 5min AMRAP
400m Run
10 Kettlebell Snatch 53/35
-max rounds and reps in remaining time of “CINDY”
-rest 3 minutes between rounds-
1 round of Cindy =
5 pull up
10 push up
15 squat
