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	<title>Dr. Sekula&#039;s Blog &#187; nutrition</title>
	<atom:link href="http://briansekula.com/blog/category/nutrition/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://briansekula.com/blog</link>
	<description>Blogging about nutrition, fitness and stuff I find interesting!</description>
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		<title>You SUCK as a Man</title>
		<link>http://briansekula.com/blog/you-suck-as-a-man/</link>
		<comments>http://briansekula.com/blog/you-suck-as-a-man/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:48:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bsekula</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weight loss]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.briansekula.com/blog/2010/10/04/you-suck-as-a-man/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>And it’s embarrassing. </p>
<p>Editor’s note: This post contains what some might consider offensive language or a serious assault on manhood (yours or others). If you find any of the aforementioned potentially offensive, do not read this post. Remaining in denial or being uninformed is better than being exposed (and if it keeps you from getting in trouble with the wife, all the better). Instead, go here, here or here. If those don’t work for you, try this for comfort. It’s likely part of your current problem. </p>
<p>If you’re a man and have bigger boobs than your wife or wear pants with a waist size bigger than the length, you suck. No exceptions.&#160; </p>
<p>It’s the only conclusion that can be drawn – the introduction of the “sucking man” has led to a decrease in stature, an increase in estrogen and a softness you cannot deny. Prehistoric men were not soft or fat <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://briansekula.com/blog/you-suck-as-a-man/">You SUCK as a Man</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#000000"><font size="4">And it’s embarrassing.</font> </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font color="#000000"><strong><font size="3"><font color="#000000" size="4">Editor’s note:</font></font></strong></font><em> This post contains what some might consider offensive language or a serious assault on manhood (yours or others). If you find any of the aforementioned <u>potentially</u> offensive, do not read this post. Remaining in denial or being uninformed is better than being exposed (and if it keeps you from getting in trouble with the wife, all the better). Instead, go </em></font><a href="http://www.vogue.com/" target="_blank"><em><font color="#000000">here</font></em></a><font color="#000000">, </font><a href="http://www.maybelline.com/index.aspx" target="_blank"><em><font color="#000000">here</font></em></a><em><font color="#000000"> or </font></em><a href="http://home.disney.go.com/tv/" target="_blank"><em><font color="#000000">here</font></em></a><em><font color="#000000">. If those don’t work for you, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy_milk" target="_blank">try this for comfort</a>. It’s likely part of your current problem. </font></em></p>
<p><font size="2">If you’re a man and have bigger boobs than your wife or wear pants with a waist size bigger than the length, you suck. No exceptions.&#160; </font></p>
<p><font size="2">It’s the only conclusion that can be drawn – the introduction of the “sucking man” has led to a decrease in stature, an increase in estrogen and a softness you cannot deny. Prehistoric men were not soft or fat (neither was your grandpa). No, their boobs weren’t bigger than their wife’s (like yours).&#160; No, they didn’t wear 44&#215;32 inch pants (seriously?). No, they weren’t vegetarians. No, and most assuredly, they didn’t jump on an elliptical four or five days a week. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">And without question, while most of your body is big &#8211; the man-boobs mean your “manhood” is shrinking &#8211; it also means your brain is small and getting smaller.&#160; </font></p>
<p><font size="2">Sorry, but…</font></p>
<p><font size="2">You suck for many reasons, stature, dietary, lifestyle. Regardless, in nature’s view, you’re expendable. That soft, cushy body, those man-boobs and low testosterone mean you can’t and <em>shouldn’t</em> reproduce. It means you’re turning into a woman. When this happens in nature, you no longer matter. You’re here to reproduce and be a man. The good news is you don’t have to wait in line at the vasectomy clinic. </font></p>
<h2>Why you suck.</h2>
<p><font size="2">Tendon insertions reveal prehistoric man (and probably your grandpa) as having serious muscle. They were lean, mean fighting machines – able to kill and eat. And avoid danger. In today’s times, you don’t have to kill or avoid danger. All you HAVE to do is eat. The elliptical part is voluntary, not to mention a waste of time. And nothing in your life counts as danger, unless you’re afraid of your wife because she’s more of a man than you, which just makes my point stronger.&#160;&#160; </font></p>
<p><font size="2">Back to that tendon insertion thing. The bones of men “who do not suck” are thicker and stronger at KEY skeletal muscle insertions, like in the thighs and hamstrings, chest and back, which means they had serious muscle mass. Where are your bones thicker? In the hips and low back, which means you’ve got serious baggage yanking on them all day. It also means…</font></p>
<p><font size="2">You suck because your life (and everything else about you) is soft. You get up early; tired because your sleep habits are horrible. Stumble through a shower, brushing your teeth and the bagel (if you eat breakfast) and coffee. Don’t forget statins, metformin and Lisinopril. You fight traffic or take public transport to your job where you sit behind a desk for hours, pretending to work. Lunch is a&#160; sandwich and a bag of chips. Don’t forget the diet coke and cookie for dessert.&#160; </font></p>
<p><font size="2">However you make your way home, you either stop off at the gym to abuse an elliptical, run your kids all over the place or go home for a “lite” dinner, chicken and pasta, maybe a glass of wine, and ice cream for dessert. Then you make your way to the chair, where you doze and nod until 10:30 or 11 before going to bed for more crappy sleep. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">Rinse and repeat. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">Is it any wonder you suck?</font></p>
<h2>A bunch of You cants… </h2>
<p><strong><font size="4"></font></strong><font size="2">You can’t stop sucking when anything more vigorous than abusing an elliptical causes serious injury. Like a sprint or squat jump. The likelihood either of these rips a hamstring or pops a tendon is high. Too high. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">You can’t stop sucking when the only way you could do 10 pushups is by finishing the last 8 in the modified position, like a girl – remember, you’re turning into a woman. Should I elaborate? </font></p>
<p><font size="2">You can’t stop sucking when you eat low-fat, no protein, and whole grains (any grains, really), like pasta, wheat bread and Cheerios. Or snack wells. Or M&amp;M’s. Those food groups jack with your manliness, bind up testosterone, increase body fat and reduce muscle tissue (not to mention a bunch of other things). The elliptical doesn’t help here, either. Can you say Cortisol?&#160; </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font size="2">You can’t be a man and eat like a gorilla – either quality (vegetarian) or quantity. Relatively speaking, herbivores have small brains and large digestive tracks. Carnivores have large brains and smaller digestive tracks. Why? It can get technical, what with the </font><a href="http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/low-carb-library/are-we-meat-eaters-or-vegetarians-part-ii/" target="_blank"><font size="2">Expensive Tissue Hypothesis</font></a><font size="2"> and all, but suffice to say, you and a gorilla have more in common than you care to admit (*</font><a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_long_is_a_gorilla_penis" target="_blank"><font size="2">ahem</font></a><font size="2">*). Your brain is shrinking and your gut is expanding – it needs more room to digest all the crap you’re shoving down there. </font></font></p>
<p><font size="2">You can’t stop sucking by going to a restaurant and ordering from the “lite” menu. That’s code for low-fat, which means two ounces of chicken breast and three pounds of pasta. No thank you. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">You can’t stop sucking when victory in your suburban life is beating some guy off the line at a 4-way stop. This is like the pushup thing, no explanation needed.&#160;&#160; </font></p>
<p><font size="2">You can’t stop sucking when you’re a douchebag. There is no way to justify your doucheyness. And no matter what you change in the “How to” list below, if the douchebag remains, you still suck. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">You can’t stop sucking when you drink “lite beer” because it has fewer calories. Beer is made with wheat. And wheat sucks. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">You can’t stop sucking when you’re 5’ 5” and have little man’s disease. This just sucks. Really. You’re more like a gnat than anything else. NEXT! </font></p>
<p><font size="2">You can’t …</font></p>
<p><font size="2">There isn’t enough space on the interwebs to hold all the reasons. As a man, you suck and it’s embarrassing. </font></p>
<h2>How to stop sucking in 4 easy steps.</h2>
<p><strong><font size="4"></font></strong><font size="2">Can you ever stop sucking? Maybe. For your sake, I hope it’s not a lost cause. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">Here is my very own “How to stop sucking” list. Even if you don’t completely stop sucking, you’ll embarrass me and others who don’t suck a little less, which is bigger than winning a race at the 4-way stop sign. </font></p>
<p><font size="2"><strong>1. Things you can’t change.        <br /></strong>You can’t change your height. Being shorter than average doesn’t mean you’ll completely suck forever. Just partially, unless you can’t shake that “little man’s disease” syndrome. You can’t change your age either, but age has little to do with you sucking. Seriously. Just consider it a confounding variable. See Exhibit A, your grandpa. Who at 80 could wipe the floor with you. </font></p>
<p><font size="2"><strong>2. Crank up the intensity        <br /></strong>Ditch the elliptical. It just sucks. Besides, no self-respecting male that doesn’t suck would be caught dead on one. One or two days per week, crank up the intensity. Do something hard and intense. Get out of your comfort zone. Run some sprints. Do some jump squats or burpees. Go to the park, put out markers and do agility drills. Do real pushups. Go until you can’t go anymore and then do a few more next time. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">Go for a nice, leisure, SLOW walk 2 or 3 days per week (more if you’d like). This is more about keeping the sensitivity of your metabolic hormones than caloric expenditure. Remember, back in the day, a walk, at the very least, was a requirement before any food or drink could be consumed. Note: stumbling to the shower or kitchen does not count. </font></p>
<p><font size="2"><strong>3. Ditch the fake foods</strong>       <br />Eat some meat – real meat, like steak, pork, chicken or seafood. Grass-fed, pasture-raised is always preferable. But starting with these at the grocery store is better than what you’ve been doing. And please, ditch the pasta, bagels, chips, breads, most fruits and 99.9% of foods that come in plastic bags or cardboard boxes. They’re inflammatory, they ruin your digestive system and they’re full of hormone disrupters. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">They are not good for you, I don’t care what your wife, the food guide pyramid, the guy from CSPI, Dr. Oz, Kelly Brownell, some know it all down the street, “weight loss” programs sending food to your home or counting points say. Even when you don’t suck, they aren’t good for you.&#160;&#160; </font></p>
<p><font size="2">Take all that fake food and throw it away. Don’t eat it. Instead, put the meat on your plate and replace the stuff you’ve thrown out with vegetables – preferably the above ground variety. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">And quit drinking beer. Drink some wine or liquor, like scotch on the rocks. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">No more gorilla like tendencies for you. </font></p>
<p><font size="2"><strong>4. Get some discipline        <br /></strong>I’m talking about discipline in your diet and exercise program, and a couple of other areas, which have contributed to your current condition.&#160; </font></p>
<p><font size="2">Follow the three steps above for food and exercise. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">The other part, sleep. Go to bed earlier. Turn off the lights, TV, computer and cell phone. It can wait until tomorrow. Sports Center is not that important.&#160; </font></p>
<p><font size="2">Make sure your room is completely dark and a little cool. Shoot for eight hours. Soon, you won’t be stumbling to the shower or kitchen. </font></p>
<h2>What’s next? </h2>
<p><strong><font size="4"></font></strong><font size="2">So there you have it. My simple, 4-step process to being a less sucky man. How will you know when you’ve made it? A couple of things to look for…are your man-boobs disappearing? Is the waist of your pants getting smaller than the length of your legs? Can you do more than 10 regular push-ups? Have you stopped abusing the elliptical? Do you have less in common with a gorilla than when you started? You know the drill. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">Report back here in 30 days. We all want to see your results. </font></p>
<p><font size="2"></font></p>
<p><font size="2">Sorry if it hurt. Someone needed to say it. </font></p>
<h2>References </h2>
<p><font color="#000000"><strong></strong>Cohen PG. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17825496">Obesity in men: the hypogonadal-estrogen receptor relationship and its effect on glucose homeostasis</a>.       <br />Cordain L. <a href="http://www.thepaleodiet.com/articles/Cereal%20article.pdf" target="_blank">Cereal Grains: Humanity’s Double Edged Sword</a>.&#160; <br />Cordain L., et al. <a href="http://www.thepaleodiet.com/articles/Encephalization%20Final%20PDF.pdf" target="_blank">Fatty Acid Composition and Energy Density of Foods Available to African Hominids</a>.       <br />Diaz-Arjonilla M., et al. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18843273">Obesity, low testosterone levels and erectile dysfunction</a>.       <br />Live Science (accessed 10/04/2010). <a href="http://livescience.com/health/obesity-lowers-testosterone-100503.html">Obesity Linked to low testosterone in men</a>.       <br />Lunenfeld B., <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17558968">Testosterone deficiency and the metabolic syndrome</a>.       <br />Yassin AA, et al. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18727737">Metabolic syndrome, testosterone deficiency and erectile dysfunction never come alone</a>. </font></p>
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		<title>San Diego Presentation</title>
		<link>http://briansekula.com/blog/san-diego-presentation/</link>
		<comments>http://briansekula.com/blog/san-diego-presentation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:35:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bsekula</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weight loss]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.briansekula.com/blog/2010/03/15/san-diego-presentation/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>On March 10, 2010, the Medical Wellness Association sponsored a Medical Wellness and Nutrition forum as part of the IHRSA convention in San Diego. As an aside, Sunny San Diego? Are you kidding me? It was sunny, but, man, was it cold! The wind was blowing. Hard. Felt it to my bones. Probably not cold to someone from Minnesota, but to a Texas boy it was. And can you do something about the homeless people? The only place I’ve been where it was worse was downtown Baltimore. </p>
<p>So back to the forum. There were four speakers (including me), each presenting on a topic related to nutrition and wellness. I think the forum was well-received. I listened to all presentations and only one other excited me. Amy Blansit works with obese people in Missouri and she gets it. Her presentation was excellent and she’s doing a bang-up job. The other talks seemed <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://briansekula.com/blog/san-diego-presentation/">San Diego Presentation</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><font color="#000000">On March 10, 2010, the </font><a href="medicalwellnessassociation.com" target="_blank"><font color="#000000">Medical Wellness Association</font></a><font color="#000000"> sponsored a Medical Wellness and Nutrition forum as part of the IHRSA convention in San Diego. As an aside, <em>Sunny</em> San Diego? Are you kidding me? It was sunny, but, man, was it cold! The wind was blowing. Hard. Felt it to my bones. Probably not cold to someone from Minnesota, but to a Texas boy it was. And can you do something about the homeless people? The only place I’ve been where it was worse was downtown Baltimore. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">So back to the forum. There were four speakers (including me), each presenting on a topic related to nutrition and wellness. I think the forum was well-received. I listened to all presentations and only one other excited me. </font><a href="http://www.collegeofwellness.com" target="_blank"><font color="#000000">Amy Blansit</font></a><font color="#000000"> works with obese people in Missouri and she gets it. Her presentation was excellent and she’s doing a bang-up job. The other talks seemed rather fluffy. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">In order to gain more attention, I badly titled my talk: “How to increase revenue with weight loss programs.” IHRSA is not the most scientifically rigorous organization. A more appropriate, but boring, title would have been: “Misapplication of the energy balance equation.” That was the focus of my talk, but no one would have attended. I spent nearly half of the two hours building this up and why weight loss programs fail (or, the misapplication idea). </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">For more on this, check out </font><a href="http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/" target="_blank"><font color="#000000">Dr. Eades’ blog</font></a><font color="#000000">, Protein Power, more specifically, </font><a href="http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/metabolism/more-on-the-thermodynamics-of-weight-loss/" target="_blank"><font color="#000000">this recent post</font></a><font color="#000000">. You can also read </font><a href="http://entropyproduction.blogspot.com/2009/02/all-medical-science-is-wrong-within-95.html"><font color="#000000">this post</font></a><font color="#000000"> by Robert McLeod on energy balance, it’s at the bottom of the post. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">The gist of the talk centered on the pervasive notion of <strong>eat <font color="#ff0000">less</font>, exercise <font color="#ff0000">more</font></strong>. For overweight and obese, hyperinsulinemia equals metabolic domination, efficiency at fat storage and feeble efforts in fat mobilization. Simply eating less does not fix this and leads to failure. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Oh, and before you chime in with ASP, leptin and all the others, don’t bother. ASP is a toothpick to the bat of insulin. While the research on leptin and leptin resistance is fascinating, I have yet to work with someone where it was a problem. I know it’s there, somewhere, and I know it exists. Just haven’t run across it in my day-to-day business. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">You can also view the presentation at </font><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/bsekula" target="_blank"><font color="#000000">slideshare.net</font></a><font color="#000000">.&#160; Don’t know why, but the embed code has jacked up the first slide. It’s normal at <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/bsekula/the-energy-balance-equation-in-overweight-and-obese" target="_blank">slideshare</a>. Below the presentation are links to a reference list and white paper. </font></p>
<div style="width: 425px" id="__ss_3410943"><strong style="margin: 12px 0px 4px; display: block"><a title="The Energy Balance Equation in Overweight and Obese" href="http://www.slideshare.net/bsekula/the-energy-balance-equation-in-overweight-and-obese">The Energy Balance Equation in Overweight and Obese</a></strong><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=mwanutritionforumslides-100312100117-phpapp01&amp;stripped_title=the-energy-balance-equation-in-overweight-and-obese" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=mwanutritionforumslides-100312100117-phpapp01&amp;stripped_title=the-energy-balance-equation-in-overweight-and-obese" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
<div style="padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/bsekula">bsekula</a>.</div>
</p></div>
<p><font color="#000000"><a href="http://www.briansekula.com/pdfs/ReferenceListEnergyBalancePresentation.pdf">Click here to download the references</a>.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000">Click here to download the white paper. Note: I can’t find my white paper. It’s somewhere on my laptop. I’ll hunt it down and post the link in the next day or so.&#160; </font></p>
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		<title>Jeff Garlin: finding success but still struggling</title>
		<link>http://briansekula.com/blog/jeff-garlin-finding-success-but-still-struggling/</link>
		<comments>http://briansekula.com/blog/jeff-garlin-finding-success-but-still-struggling/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:52:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bsekula</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weight loss]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.briansekula.com/blog/2010/02/22/jeff-garlin-finding-success-but-still-struggling/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>
<p>Jeff Garlin, co-star and executive producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm, has written a memoir about his lifelong struggles with weight. In an interview for ABC news, Garlin talks about his addiction to food and his new diet. You can read the interview and watch a video here. </p>
<p>This is sad. Really sad. He said he’d eat and eat and eat and never feel full. Stand-bys included gourmet sandwiches, pop-tarts and Cap-n-Crunch cereal. In the video, he talks about donuts and milkshakes. Also, knowing that a single donut or any sugar-filled food would send him over the top, meant these foods were forbidden and that moderation was not possible. </p>
<p>He alluded to his lifelong struggle with weight. Although not prominent, I’m sure there were never-ending attempts to lose weight. Well-wishers like Larry David, his wife and others, I’m sure, encouraged him to lose weight. I’ve never met a person that was overweight <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://briansekula.com/blog/jeff-garlin-finding-success-but-still-struggling/">Jeff Garlin: finding success but still struggling</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img style="margin: 5px 0px 5px 20px; display: inline" alt="Jeff Garlin" align="right" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/2020/ht_my_footprint_100212_ssv.jpg" />
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">Jeff Garlin, co-star and executive producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm, has written a memoir about his lifelong struggles with weight. In an interview for ABC news, Garlin talks about his addiction to food and his new diet. You can read the interview and watch a video </font><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Wellness/jeff-garlin-diet-weight-loss-dos-donts/story?id=9864705" target="_blank"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">here</font></a><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">This is sad. Really sad. He said he’d eat and eat and eat and never feel full. Stand-bys included gourmet sandwiches, pop-tarts and Cap-n-Crunch cereal. In the video, he talks about donuts and milkshakes. Also, knowing that a single donut or any sugar-filled food would send him over the top, meant these foods were forbidden and that moderation was not possible. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">He alluded to his lifelong struggle with weight. Although not prominent, I’m sure there were never-ending attempts to lose weight. Well-wishers like Larry David, his wife and others, I’m sure, encouraged him to lose weight. I’ve never met a person that was overweight who didn’t want to lose weight. Really, I’ve never known an overweight person that hasn’t tried every diet under the sun. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">At age 37, he suffered a stroke. At his heaviest, he weighed 320 pounds. Through various changes he’s down to the upper 260’s. I’ll talk about those changes in a second.&#160; </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">So what’s going on? What’s the problem? Why can’t Jeff Garlin, et al just <em>buckle down</em> and lose weight? The answer lies in the ubiquitous message of energy balance. Accordingly, you can eat what you want, just eat less and the weight will disappear. Not in Jeff Garlin’s case. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">Despite the fact he’d eat a half-dozen donuts and a milkshake, he was never full. He talks about stopping at In-N-Out Burger on the way home from work to get two double cheeseburgers because dinner at home would not be enough. He also mentions the ability to eat an entire pizza and wash it down with five boxes of instant pudding, topped off with graham cracker crust. I wouldn’t be surprised if that didn’t fill him up, either.&#160; </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">The problem with the energy balance equation is that it assumes we can simply restrict calories and lose weight. Completely ignoring the real issue, insulin, of which Mr. Garlin could not be a more perfect example</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">As Gary Taubes eloquently pointed out in <em>Good Calories, Bad Calories</em>, hyperinsulinemia&#160; drives fat storage and dictates cellular starvation, regardless of food intake. This is spelled out specifically in Chapter 22, The Carbohydrate Hypothesis. More specifically, on page 399 (paperback), he discusses the role of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and fat storage. As insulin levels rise, triglycerides are preferentially stored in adipose tissue. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">During caloric restriction (as I’m sure Mr. Garlin tried, you know, eat less, exercise more?), weight loss becomes more difficult and even problematic. Fewer calories lead to decreased muscle mass and smaller organs (brain and kidneys, for example), in the face of hyperinsulinemia. It’s a feedback loop, driven by insulin, that works to maintain body fat levels, even in the face of decreased organ systems. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">So Jeff Garlin likely went on a typical diet of eat less, without changing the types of food he ate. Since his insulin levels were still high, it only made him hungry. Probably hungry as hell. And he could only hold on for so long. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">One thing those foods will do is elevate insulin. All that glucose has to go somewhere. I’m sure he Jeff wasn’t exercising. Even if he was, there’s no way in Hades he was depleting his glycogen stores, so that glucose went somewhere. It got converted to fat and stored. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">All of this brings me back to his new approach. I wish him well, but I have my reservations. Here’s what he’s doing. He meditates daily, 5:30am. He cut out sugar, fast-food and binge-eating. He doesn’t eat salt, chicken, turkey, red meat or ham, although he does still eat fish. He eats fruit, vegetables and whole grains. “It’s all very boring,” he says. Giving up sugar was, “really, really hard.” </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">He’s done pretty well. Lost about 50 pounds. Gave up sugar, salt and most forms of protein and he meditates. I think he’s been successful so far because of sugar elimination. I have no idea how much sugar he was eating, but with milkshakes, pizza, cereal and donuts, it had to be a boatload. I’m guessing 400-500 grams, minimum. </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">The problem I see, however, is the whole grains and fruit. His insulin is down, which helps the cravings. For the long run, however, it’s not down enough. He’ll find caloric balance soon and will get stuck, probably several pounds away from his goal weight. Then what? Probably try to eat less, again.</font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">What will be the culprit then? </font></p>
<p><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">*Photo courtesy of abcnews.com. </font></p>
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		<title>Top Prescription Drugs in 2008</title>
		<link>http://briansekula.com/blog/top-prescription-drugs-in-2008/</link>
		<comments>http://briansekula.com/blog/top-prescription-drugs-in-2008/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:48:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bsekula</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[fitness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prescription drugs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weight loss]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.briansekula.com/blog/2009/11/02/top-prescription-drugs-in-2008/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Most people I work with are significantly overweight – average weight &#62; 300 pounds. As you might expect, all have a cluster of metabolic disorders. Coincident with their condition,&#160; they take a laundry list of prescription medications. In general the lists are nearly identical and include prescriptions for hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and digestive disorders. </p>
<p>Given this, I assumed their laundry list was similar to that of the general public. So I went looking for the top 10 prescription drugs of 2008 to see if my thoughts would be confirmed. </p>
<p>Finding the Data.     I scoured the FDA website and could find nothing (for some reason, I thought the organization in charge of controlling this industry might track this stuff – go figure). I decided to contact them by phone and the person I spoke with (after about 3 minutes of menu clicks – seriously), directed me to drugtopics.com <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://briansekula.com/blog/top-prescription-drugs-in-2008/">Top Prescription Drugs in 2008</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Most people I work with are significantly overweight – average weight &gt; 300 pounds. As you might expect, all have a cluster of metabolic disorders. Coincident with their condition,&#160; they take a laundry list of prescription medications. In general the lists are nearly identical and include prescriptions for hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and digestive disorders. </p>
<p>Given this, I assumed their laundry list was similar to that of the general public. So I went looking for the top 10 prescription drugs of 2008 to see if my thoughts would be confirmed. </p>
<p><strong>Finding the Data.</strong>     <br />I scoured the FDA website and could find nothing (for some reason, I thought the organization in charge of controlling this industry might track this stuff – go figure). I decided to contact them by phone and the person I spoke with (after about 3 minutes of menu clicks – seriously), directed me to <a href="http://www.drugtopics.com" target="_blank">drugtopics.com</a> – here is their <a href="http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drugtopics/static/staticHtml.jsp?id=94987" target="_blank">about page</a>. </p>
<p>Table 1 shows information for 2008 (<a href="http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drugtopics/data/articlestandard//drugtopics/222009/599845/article.pdf" target="_blank">1</a>), including the top 10 prescriptions, the number of prescriptions (millions) and retail sales (in billions) (<a href="http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drugtopics/data/articlestandard//drugtopics/192009/597083/article.pdf" target="_blank">2</a>). Note: the list is for <u>non-generic drugs</u> only. Additionally, <a href="http://www.drugtopics.com" target="_blank">drugtopics.com</a> separates their publications by top prescriptions and top selling. Table 1 is a combination of the two. The Sales column includes rank information. </p>
<p>&#160;<strong>Table 1. Top 10 Prescribed Drugs in 2008. </strong></p>
<table border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" width="481">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="93" align="center"><strong><font size="2">Drug</font></strong></td>
<td width="189" align="center">
<p align="center"><strong><font size="2">Prescriptions</font></strong></p>
</td>
<td width="197" align="center">
<p align="center"><strong><font size="2">Sales (Rank)</font></strong></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="96"><em>Lipitor</em></td>
<td width="188" align="center">
<p align="center"><em>49.0</em></p>
</td>
<td width="195">
<p align="center"><em>$5.9 (#1)</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="99"><em>Nexium</em></td>
<td width="187" align="center">
<p align="center"><em>26.9</em></p>
</td>
<td width="194">
<p align="center"><em>$4.8 (#2)</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="101">Lexapro</td>
<td width="187" align="center">
<p align="center">26.3</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="193">
<p align="center">$2.4 (#11)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="103">Singulair</td>
<td width="186" align="center">
<p align="center">25.8</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="192">
<p align="center">$2.8 (#7)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="104">Plavix</td>
<td width="186" align="center">
<p align="center">25.1</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="191">
<p align="center">$3.8 (#3)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="105">Synthroid</td>
<td width="185" align="center">
<p align="center">23.1</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="191">
<p align="center">$0.5 (#75)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="106"><em>Prevacid</em></td>
<td width="185" align="center">
<p align="center"><em>18.6</em></p>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="190">
<p align="center"><em>$3.3 (#5)</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="107">Advair Diskus</td>
<td width="185" align="center">
<p align="center">17.8</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="190">
<p align="center">$3.8 (#4)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="108">Effexor XR</td>
<td width="185" align="center">
<p align="center">16.9</p>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="189">
<p align="center">$2.7 (#8)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="108"><em>Diovan</em></td>
<td width="185" align="center">
<p align="center"><em>15.7</em></p>
</td>
<td valign="top" width="190">
<p align="center"><em>$1.3 (#25)</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><strong>Confirmation and Surprise. </strong></p>
<p>So what was the confirmation? Cholesterol, hypertensive and digestive (GERD) disorder medications occupy spots #1, 2, 7 and 10 (italicized in table). They represent 110.2 million prescriptions and $15.3 billion in retail sales. It’s 40% of the top 10, 45% of all prescriptions and 49% of total retail sales. Lipitor by itself is 20% of all prescriptions and 19% of all retail sales for those in the top 10! </p>
<p>What surprised me? For starters, no diabetes drug in the top 10. Actos was the highest rated and it was 18th, with 12.5 million prescriptions. The $2.4 billion in sales would have been good enough for 10th on the sales list. This piqued my curiosity and led to another visit to <a href="http://www.drugtopics.com" target="_blank">drugtopics.com</a>.</p>
<p>Thankfully they track prescriptions and sales of generic drugs too. Guess what was in the top 10? I’ll give you a hint. It starts with “M” and ends with “M.” This list too is dominated similarly and I’m working on a follow-up post. </p>
<p><strong>My thoughts…</strong></p>
<p>Insulin resistance is big business in this country, playing a small or large role in nearly all of these on the list. And the Standard American Diet (SAD) is being pushed down our throats by so many factions, I don’t even know which way is up sometimes. </p>
<p>With all the healthcare debate going on, it’s amazing to me those in charge can’t see what’s right under their noses. I’m blaming <a href="http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/book-reviews/mistakes-were-made-but-not-by-me/" target="_blank">cognitive dissonance</a> and the powerful sugar, corn and wheat lobbies. </p>
<p>My advice, trash the food guide pyramid. Ignore nearly all advice from registered dieticians and your doctor – they’re part of the cognitive dissonance crowd. Eat quality protein and healthy fats (including naturally saturated ones) at every meal, along with vegetables and exercise vigorously 2-3 days per week. That and keeping your stress levels down will go a long way to keep you from being on this list. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.thekathleenshow.com/Health/PreventionnotPrescriptions/tabid/115/Default.aspx">This post is part of the Kathleen Show, Prevention not Rx.</a> </p>
<p><strong>References (both are pdf documents)</strong>.</p>
<p>1. <a href="http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drugtopics/data/articlestandard//drugtopics/222009/599845/article.pdf" target="_blank">2008 Top 200 branded drugs by total prescriptions</a>. </p>
<p>2. <a href="http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.com/drugtopics/data/articlestandard//drugtopics/192009/597083/article.pdf" target="_blank">2008 Top 200 branded drugs by retail dollars</a>. </p>
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		<title>What about diet? &#8230;research links</title>
		<link>http://briansekula.com/blog/what-about-diet-research-links/</link>
		<comments>http://briansekula.com/blog/what-about-diet-research-links/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:03:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bsekula</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.briansekula.com/blog/2009/06/13/what-about-diet-research-links/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Some random links on cholesterol and diabetes. They arrived in my daily research update and I’ve found them interesting. Interesting in that most of the treatments focus on a big pharma approach when simply dietary changes will work just as well. </p>
<p>So without further adieu, here are the ones I found most interesting…</p>

Could it be they’re targeting the wrong LDL particles? After all, statin therapy doesn’t care and the lipophobes certainly don’t. But according to this study from JAMA, lowering your LDL-C doesn’t necessarily reduce your risk of MI. Go figure. They seem a bit confused and hell-bent on finding a prophylactic treatment. I’ll do a full post on this article next week. 
And yet they’re told fructose is okay in moderation. Could it be all the fructose in their diet leads to liver problems? Why not tell them to control their carbohydrate intake and eliminate fructose (HFCS, specifically – see <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://briansekula.com/blog/what-about-diet-research-links/">What about diet? &#8230;research links</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Some random links on cholesterol and diabetes. They arrived in my daily research update and I’ve found them interesting. Interesting in that most of the treatments focus on a big pharma approach when simply dietary changes will work just as well. </p>
<p>So without further adieu, here are the ones I found most interesting…</p>
<ul>
<li>Could it be they’re targeting the wrong LDL particles? After all, statin therapy doesn’t care and the <a href="http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/lipid-hypothesis/low-carb-litesort-of/" target="_blank">lipophobes</a> certainly don’t. But according to <a href="http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/301/22/2331" target="_blank">this study from JAMA</a>, lowering your LDL-C doesn’t necessarily reduce your risk of MI. Go figure. They seem a bit confused and hell-bent on finding a <em>prophylactic</em> treatment. I’ll do a full post on this article next week. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153591.php" target="_blank">And yet they’re told fructose is okay in moderation</a>. Could it be all the fructose in their diet leads to liver problems? Why not tell them to control their carbohydrate intake and eliminate fructose (HFCS, specifically – <a href="http://www.briansekula.com/blog/2009/06/11/youre-confused-about-hfcs/" target="_blank">see this post</a>)? Oh no, that wouldn’t be prudent. That doesn’t fit with our ability to prescribe medicine. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153578.php" target="_blank">More backpedaling on the ACCORD trial</a>. The mess that is the ACCORD trial has been discussed by <a href="http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/cardiovascular-disease/ruminations-on-the-halted-accord-study/" target="_blank">Dr. Eades</a>. It amazes me that aggressive behavior entails more intense prophylactic treatment. Could it be the danger arose from the prophylactic cocktails? Why not? Intensive HbA1C control through diet works extremely well and there is no cocktail effect. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153724.php" target="_blank">Red wine is good for you</a>? What? No Glevlivet or Anejo. I’ll take a glass or two after a long week! </li>
</ul>
<p>So there you have it. A few research updates. </p>
<p>Next week I’ll do a full review of the JAMA article. </p>
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		<title>You&#8217;re confused about HFCS</title>
		<link>http://briansekula.com/blog/youre-confused-about-hfcs/</link>
		<comments>http://briansekula.com/blog/youre-confused-about-hfcs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:45:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bsekula</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[publicity]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.briansekula.com/blog/2009/06/11/youre-confused-about-hfcs/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>At least that’s the message from top researchers who wanted to set the record straight. </p>
<p>Let’s lay the groundwork. Three top researchers (as labeled by the press release) wanted to correct the inaccuracies and misunderstandings about high fructose corn syrup and it’s impact on the American diet. </p>
<p>At the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting, a session entitled “High Fructose Corn Syrup: Sorting Myth from Reality” was held to set the record straight. </p>
<p>The first quote is telling. </p>
<p>Contrary to its name, high fructose corn syrup is essentially a corn sugar, stated sweetener expert John S. White, Ph.D., president of White Technical Research. &#34;Recent marketing claims that sugar is healthier than high fructose corn syrup are misleading to consumers.</p>

<p>Yeah, sort of like saying stabbing myself with a big knife will hurt more than with a small knife. I can read the headlines already. “Leading researchers have discovered that stabbing yourself with <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://briansekula.com/blog/youre-confused-about-hfcs/">You&#8217;re confused about HFCS</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>At least that’s the message from <em>top researchers</em> who wanted to set the record straight. </p>
<p>Let’s lay the groundwork. Three top researchers (<a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/153170.php" target="_blank">as labeled by the press release</a>) wanted to correct the inaccuracies and misunderstandings about high fructose corn syrup and it’s impact on the American diet. </p>
<p>At the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting, a session entitled <em>“High Fructose Corn Syrup: Sorting Myth from Reality”</em> was held to set the record straight. </p>
<p>The first quote is telling. </p>
<blockquote><p><em>Contrary to its name, high fructose corn syrup is essentially a corn sugar, stated sweetener expert John S. White, Ph.D., president of White Technical Research. &quot;Recent marketing claims that sugar is healthier than high fructose corn syrup are misleading to consumers.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yeah, sort of like saying stabbing myself with a big knife will hurt more than with a small knife. I can read the headlines already. <em>“Leading researchers have discovered that stabbing yourself with a smaller knife causes less pain.”</em> Somehow the whole wound thing gets completely ignored. </p>
<p>It’s convenient for them to gloss over the influence of HFCS (and sugar) in heart disease and a whole host of metabolic disorders, which happen to have coincided with an <a href="http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/05/us-fructose-consumption-trends.html" target="_blank">approximately 20% increase in fructose consumption from 1970 to 2007</a>. Yikes, that’s a big knife!</p>
<p>After a few more mundane quotes aligning the similarities between sugar and HFCS, we get to the meat of the special session and press release. </p>
<blockquote><p><em>This is a marketing issue, not a metabolic issue,&quot; stated David Klurfeld, Ph.D., national program leader for human nutrition in USDA&#8217;s Agricultural Research Service and editor of the June 2009 Journal of Nutrition supplement, &quot;The State of the Science on Dietary Sweeteners Containing Fructose,&quot; in response to recent reformulations by manufacturers of products that once contained high fructose corn syrup. &quot;The real issue is not high fructose corn syrup. It&#8217;s that we&#8217;ve forgotten what a real serving size is. We have to eat less of everything,&quot; he noted. </em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>And there you have it…a marketing issue. It’s not about whether people are confused. In fact, these people are confused. They start with marketing and end with just eat less of everything. <em>Can we apply that eating less mantra to HFCS?</em> </p>
<p>It seems more like an act of desperation. Remember the Corn Refiners HFCS commercials? Here’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEbRxTOyGf0" target="_blank">one</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVsgXPt564Q" target="_blank">two</a>.&#160; And I don’t think people are confused. Here’s a list of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&amp;search_query=hfcs+parody&amp;aq=2&amp;oq=hfcs+" target="_blank">HFCS spoofs</a> on youtube. Accurate and funny. </p>
<p>To strengthen my hypothesis, I looked through the exhibitor list of the IFT annual meeting. I sorted by nutritive sweeteners and featured exhibitors. <a href="http://www.am-fe.ift.org/cms/?pid=1000780" target="_blank">Here’s what I found</a> (it’s an interactive database, so not sure results will come up properly – select featured exhibitors and nutritive sweeteners from the ingredient list). It’s pretty populated, showing a large number of nutritive sweetener exhibitors (somewhere between 40 and 50%). There’s also some overlap between featured exhibitors, sponsors and manufacturers of nutritive sweeteners. I’ll just say it’s pretty interesting…</p>
<p>What’s next, a special session on soy eggs? I produce plenty of estrogen, thank you very much. </p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Brian</p>
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		<title>CSPI: not so public interest</title>
		<link>http://briansekula.com/blog/cspi-not-so-public-interest/</link>
		<comments>http://briansekula.com/blog/cspi-not-so-public-interest/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:29:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bsekula</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weight loss]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.briansekula.com/blog/2009/06/04/cspi-not-so-public-interest/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>CSPI has released their 2009 Xtreme eating awards. The press release is here and their website announcement is here.&#160; </p>
<p>Should I laugh? Should I cry? Or should I get pissed off? There hasn’t been much sleep this week, pissed off is leading down the stretch.&#160; </p>
<p>CSPI does not have the public interest at heart (watch the first video).&#160; They think you can’t make a decision on your own. You’re too dumb to decide, so they should decide for you. </p>
<p>This whole idea that I, you or anyone else will suddenly change our mind on what to order at the counter when presented with caloric content is silly. And to blame restaurants and fast food on obesity is further destruction of personal responsibility. </p>
<p>And I’m not so sure McDonald’s is responsible. Sure, there’s Spurlock and Supersize Me. But there are major issues with Spurlock, which I won’t completely detail here but he <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://briansekula.com/blog/cspi-not-so-public-interest/">CSPI: not so public interest</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>CSPI has released their 2009 Xtreme eating awards. The <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/152482.php" target="_blank">press release</a> is here and their <a href="http://www.cspinet.org/new/200906021.html" target="_blank">website announcement is here</a>.&#160; </p>
<p>Should I laugh? Should I cry? Or should I get pissed off? There hasn’t been much sleep this week, pissed off is leading down the stretch.&#160; </p>
<p>CSPI does not have the <a href="http://www.fathead-movie.com/?page_id=2" target="_blank">public interest at heart</a> (watch the first video).&#160; They think you can’t make a decision on your own. You’re too dumb to decide, so they should decide for you. </p>
<p>This whole idea that I, you or anyone else will suddenly change our mind on what to order at the counter when presented with caloric content is silly. And to blame restaurants and fast food on obesity is further destruction of personal responsibility. </p>
<p>And I’m not so sure <a href="http://www.fathead-movie.com/" target="_blank">McDonald’s is responsible</a>. Sure, there’s Spurlock and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7Tv_mihMBA" target="_blank">Supersize Me</a>. But there are major issues with Spurlock, which I won’t completely detail here but he has refused to show his food logs – raising questions on the 5,000 daily caloric intake. </p>
<p>Next, he gained 10 pounds in one week. If the obesity argument is all about calories in versus calories out, how do you explain that? That’s an extra 35,000 calories in one week. That’s <strong>an extra 5,000 calories per day,</strong> with emphasis on extra! So if we take him at his word, that he was eating 5,000 calories per day, where does this extra fit in? </p>
<p>Which brings me back to CSPI and their <a href="http://www.cspinet.org/new/200906021.html" target="_blank">Xtreme awards</a>. If they really stood by their name – Center for <em>Science in the Public Interest</em>, they would promote what we’ve learned from science and not personal dogma. Science has taught us a significant reduction, if not complete elimination of bad carbohydrates from the body leads to a multitude of positive health benefits. </p>
<p>Now that I got that off my chest, it was a photo finish and feeling better won by a nose. </p>
<p>Brian</p>
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		<title>What&#039;s the best way to lose weight?</title>
		<link>http://briansekula.com/blog/whats-the-best-way-to-lose-weight/</link>
		<comments>http://briansekula.com/blog/whats-the-best-way-to-lose-weight/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 08 Jul 2007 17:55:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bsekula</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[personal trainer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weight loss]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.briansekula.com/blog/?p=64</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>So glad you asked!There are many ways to effectively lose weight, some better than others. But for most of us, at least according to this study, your plan should have some accountability. The study compared formal weight loss programs (diet and exercise only) to those that had a meeting/group component included, which they referred to as dietary counseling. Weekly meetings helped participants understand what their bodies were going through, how to deal with setbacks and learning to live a new lifestyle. Those in the counseling group lost 10-15 pounds and kept it off for approximately 1 year, significantly greater weight loss and long-term success than diet and exercise alone. Now I know what you are thinking, only 10-15 pounds? I want/need to lose 25, 50 pounds or more. That&#8217;s not the point. The point is they lost weight and kept it off for a year. If you need to lose more <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://briansekula.com/blog/whats-the-best-way-to-lose-weight/">What&#039;s the best way to lose weight?</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">So glad you asked!</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">There are many ways to effectively lose weight, some better than others. But for most of us, at least according to <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=75859&#038;nfid=al">this study</a>, your plan should have some accountability. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">The study compared formal weight loss programs (diet and exercise only) to those that had a meeting/group component included, which they referred to as dietary counseling. Weekly meetings helped participants understand what their bodies were going through, how to deal with setbacks and learning to live a new lifestyle. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Those in the counseling group lost 10-15 pounds and kept it off for approximately 1 year, significantly greater weight loss and long-term success than diet and exercise alone. Now I know what you are thinking, only 10-15 pounds? I want/need to lose 25, 50 pounds or more. That&#8217;s not the point. The point is they lost weight and kept it off for a year. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">If you need to lose more and participate in a program that only helps you lose 15, is that failure? I think it&#8217;s a darn good success story and gives you all the confidence you need to keep going. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Again, the main point is that they lost weight! </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">But why?</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">It&#8217;s the social support aspect of the dietary counseling. When you have weekly meetings, you&#8217;re more likely to stick with the program. Encouragement from others within the group builds confidence. These meetings also have someone participate that&#8217;s &#8220;been there, done that.&#8221; Their experience alone is invaluable. Finally, should you ever miss a meeting, someone will be there to ask you why. If your excuse is lame, the guilt alone can be enough to get you over a hurdle. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Back to the title of the post. Is this the best way to lose weight? On an individual basis, maybe &#8211; maybe not. For most people, weekly meetings (counseling, inspiration, motivation &#8211; however you want to label them) work extremely well for long-term success. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Remember, losing weight and then gaining it back is not the ultimate. Keeping it off is. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Have you been in a program like this? What are your thoughts? Have you tried, tried and tried to lose weight, only to have a little success and then fall back to the old habits? </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">We can help. First, sign up for our fitness center newsletter <em><a href="http://www.briansekula.com/bsfcmonthly.htm">BSFC Monthly</a></em>. It&#8217;s absolutely free and comes with nice <a href="http://www.briansekula.com/newsletters.htm">bonus gifts</a> for signing up. Plus, each month it&#8217;s loaded with all sorts of good information on fitness, diet, health and exercise. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">If you live in Houston or pass through the SW part of town on a regular basis, our <a href="http://www.briansekula.com/memberships_fitheart.htm">Fit Heart Membership</a> is just the ticket for you. The benefits, amenities and services associated with this membership are absolutely second to none!  </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Until next time, break a sweat today and eat some fruits and vegetables!</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Dr. Brian</span></p>
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		<title>And it continues&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://briansekula.com/blog/and-it-continues/</link>
		<comments>http://briansekula.com/blog/and-it-continues/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:56:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bsekula</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.briansekula.com/blog/?p=58</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Potential New Target For Type 2 Diabetes Found By Penn Researchers&#8220;We hope that drug companies will look for new ways to modify fat metabolism in type 2 diabetics using these possible targets.&#8221; Big Pharma dovetails quite nicely with the tertiary nature of our health care system. You don&#8217;t visit the doctor before you get sick. Type II diabetes and most chronic cardiovascular conditions are almost completely related to lifestyle. Eat a diet high in nutrient deficient, highly processed foods, do very little physical activity and it doesn&#8217;t take a rocket scientist to predict glucose metabolic problems in your future. But the purpose of this post is to shed light on the dependence of federal research monies on Big Pharma. The quote above is taken directly from the article and shows that perfectly. It&#8217;s as if researchers using federal money are directing the research focus of Big Pharma. Why do we need <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://briansekula.com/blog/and-it-continues/">And it continues&#8230;</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=73689&amp;nfid=al"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;">Potential New Target For Type 2 Diabetes</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size:85%;"> Found By Penn Researchers</span></strong></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><em>&#8220;We hope that drug companies will look for new ways to modify fat metabolism in type 2 diabetics using these possible targets.&#8221; </em></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Big Pharma dovetails quite nicely with the tertiary nature of our health care system. You don&#8217;t visit the doctor before you get sick. Type II diabetes and most chronic cardiovascular conditions are almost completely related to lifestyle. Eat a diet high in nutrient deficient, highly processed foods, do very little physical activity and it doesn&#8217;t take a rocket scientist to predict glucose metabolic problems in your future. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">But the purpose of this post is to shed light on the dependence of federal research monies on Big Pharma. The quote above is taken directly from the article and shows that perfectly. It&#8217;s as if researchers using federal money are directing the research focus of Big Pharma. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Why do we need more or different drugs when a perfectly acceptable solution is available? </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Why can&#8217;t there be a quote like this directed at lifestyle change? It is a perfectly acceptable solution. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">I closed a previous post by asking if I was being cynical, maybe I am. </span></p>
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		<title>How did they get there in the 1st place?</title>
		<link>http://briansekula.com/blog/how-did-they-get-there-in-the-1st-place/</link>
		<comments>http://briansekula.com/blog/how-did-they-get-there-in-the-1st-place/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jun 2007 13:18:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>bsekula</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obesity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[research]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.briansekula.com/blog/?p=56</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>As a former academic (and fully aware of the importance of scientific publications), there are times when I scratch my head and wonder, &#8220;Federal dollars were spent on this!&#8221;In nearly all cases, outcomes are predictable within an expected range. It&#8217;s called the scientific method. With no desire to get into a discussion of the scientific method, a recent study looked at the role of diet on recovery from colon cancer. You can read the summary. Here is the first paragraph:&#8220;Patients with stage III colon cancer who have undergone surgery and chemotherapy with the goal of cure may have a higher risk of relapsing and dying early if they follow a predominantly &#8220;Western&#8221; diet of red meat, fatty foods, refined grains, and desserts, according to research led by investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.&#8221;As I read this summary, all I could think was, &#8220;What type of diet do you think got <span style="color:#777"> . . . &#8594; Read More: <a href="http://briansekula.com/blog/how-did-they-get-there-in-the-1st-place/">How did they get there in the 1st place?</a></span>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">As a former academic (and fully aware of the importance of scientific publications), there are times when I scratch my head and wonder, &#8220;Federal dollars were spent on this!&#8221;</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">In nearly all cases, outcomes are predictable within an expected range. It&#8217;s called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method">scientific method</a>. With no desire to get into a discussion of the scientific method, a recent study looked at the role of diet on recovery from colon cancer. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">You can read the <a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=73337">summary</a>. Here is the first paragraph:</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><em>&#8220;Patients with stage III colon cancer who have undergone surgery and chemotherapy with the goal of cure may have a higher risk of relapsing and dying early if they follow a predominantly &#8220;Western&#8221; diet of red meat, fatty foods, refined grains, and desserts, according to research led by investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.&#8221;</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">As I read this summary, all I could think was, &#8220;What type of diet do you think got them there in the first place?&#8221; I&#8217;m sure this research was needed somewhere, after all, if a study doen&#8217;st prove it, how do you know it&#8217;s true. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">But there is some good news&#8230;we know now the answer to the question and a &#8220;prudent&#8221; diet has made some headlines. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Am I just being cynical?</span></p>
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