• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About Us
  • STEPS Virtual
  • FAQ
  • Links
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • 615.269.8844

STEPS Fitness

Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center

  • STEPS Virtual
  • Programs
    • STEPS Fitness Presents Events
    • DR. Irv’s Perfect Exercise Minute
    • Training Packages
    • Group Offerings
    • Corporate Wellness
    • Traveler’s Special
  • Personal Trainers
    • Dr. Irv Rubenstein
  • Testimonials
  • Fitness Blog
    • Dr Irv’s Fitness Blog
    • Exercise of the Month
  • Newsletters
    • Fit Happens
    • Real News Newsletter
  • Search

June 8, 2011 By Irv Rubenstein

Hi Pro/Hi Fat/Low Cardio Diets and Health

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

More Information LinkAnother study reported in the media –  Eating Fat, Staying Lean

— shows there may be benefits to eating hi fat/hi protein diets compared to the hi carb diets that have been promoted for the past 35 yrs. Studies, mostly short time, bear this out: reduced wt, reduced fat, even better blood fat and blood sugar stats. The biggest problem lies in sustainability as the diets get pretty bland after a while without fruits, veggies, and grains. But, for those able to sustain them, they do work in many cases. Obviously some people are not going to get the good blood values but many will see these improve as wt slips off.

The points I like to make to clients and students in classes (when I teach for Exercise ETC, as i’m going to be doing this weekend in phoenix) are these: first, all these diets help folks lose wt because they are providing fewer calories, with protein and fat being more satiating than hi carb diets (hence you’re hungry an hr after eating chinese food, right?); and two, hi carb diets are holdovers from the 70s because that’s when the aerobics fad started and athletes in that arena eat enormous amounts of carbs Hi Pro/Hi Fat/Low Carb Diets and Healthto optimize performance and recovery. This performance based dietary system prevailed until evidence started to appear that protein was useful for cardio athletes both during long events (as in cycling) and for recovery, tho it does not contribute much to actual performance, esp in terms of speed.

Let me use me for an example, as I’ve done in a previous blog. When in my late 20s, early 30s, I was a very competitive and driven tae kwon do athlete. I trained 4+ hrs a day, some in the gym some at home, plus jogged a couple miles/day or did wind sprints after class, all after doing 8 hrs of construction work in all kinds of weather. being a vegetarian at home – I’d eat fish or chicken at restaurants or others’ homes, but not red meat – I was constantly eating. once I graduated school in exercise science, I did a project where I had to calculate my caloric intake for 3 days. Now, mind you, I was all of 68″ tall and 141-144#, with a skinfold measurement of 3.3% body fat. I was eating 3500-4000 cals/day. To give you an idea, I had two pb&j sandwiches on homemade whole wheat bread for lunch, in addition to a quart of yogurt and usually a piece of fruit. Dinner was often rice and beans or rice and stir fried veggies, and often a full 12″ skillet full of the topping over 2 cups of rice.

Breakfast was a large bowl of cereals – bran, wheat germ, raisins, oats, with OJ on it, not milk,to sweeten it up. A friend taught me about this and I’d still eat it if my gut could handle raisins and oats. This did not include my snacks which were prolific. There were times I’d eat a whole baguette at lunch, with a couple yogurts. It was nothing for me to consume 1000 cals at a sitting. and I had to eat all day.That’s what hi carb diets do. In fact my diet was also 35% fat, some days 40Hi Pro/Hi Fat/Low Card Diets and Health%, so you may be wondering where I got my proteins. Well, out of 3500 cals, to achieve the minimum protein calories that the ADA recommended at the time, and even today – 0.8 g/kg – weighing, as I did, 65 kg, I needed only 52 grams/day. Of course, I was eating way more than that but had I done just that, it would have constituted only 200+ cals of the 3500/day, or about 6% of my intake. I can’t recall the numbers, but I was likely consuming at least 100 grams/d since the protein from peanut butter – about 3 tbsp, was over 20 g, and the bread – homemade and large slices – was likely 4 g/slice or 16 total; plus a quart of yogurt – another, say, 25 g; and then the grains and tofu and beans, etc – I’m sure amounted to 40-50 more per day. All this to say that if you eat enough calories short of just eating junk, you’re going to get you protein needs met. but I could only do this because I worked out and worked so physically all day long. Feed your face that way and sit at a desk all day and guess what? You’ll be obese, diabetic, and sickly if not dead in a decade.

So, to conclude, I guess what I want folks to appreciate is that the hi carb diets of yesteryear still apply for athletes and people who work out several hrs a day. For the rest of us, fewer calories are needed, and hi fat/hi pro diets meet that standard. Of course, so does a well balanced diet of fewer calories, but clearly modern mankind has no interest in restriction. So these new diets and studies are designed to make dieting feasible. Nonetheless, if they worked so well, we would not need more studies or books, would we? No, we don’t need to diet more on special concoctions or foods. We need to simply eat less, and move more, or keep buying diet books…..

Related Posts:

  • The Real Fake News: Processed Food Is 'Healthy'
    The Real Fake News: Processed Food Is 'Healthy'
  • REAL News - July 2021
    REAL News - July 2021
  • REAL News - August 2019
    REAL News - August 2019
  • REAL News - June 2021
    REAL News - June 2021
  • REAL News - February 2020
    REAL News - February 2020
  • Fit Happens - Fall 2020
    Fit Happens - Fall 2020
  • REAL News - February 2021
    REAL News - February 2021
  • Artificial Sweeteners: Diet or Die?
    Artificial Sweeteners: Diet or Die?

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Fitness Blog Tagged With: blood sugar, high fat diet, high protein diets, low carb diet

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

FREE Consultation!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

  • Exercise of the Month
  • Fit Happens
  • Fitness Blog
  • General News
  • Newsletters
  • Real News
  • Trainers

Tags

achieve well-being aging Alzheimer's disease barefoot running body fat bone density burn off excess weight calories cardio cardiovascular childhood obesity coronavirus covid diabetes diet dieting eating disorders Exercise exercise intensity field of health or exercise science fitness flexibility functional fitness health Heart Health higher risk of obesity lose weight mental health musculoskeletal improvements obesity osteoporosis physical activity physically active protein reduce your risk of falling resistance training running Senior Training slows cognitive decline strength training Stretching training weight loss Weight loss vs Exercise gain weight management

Recent News

Jun 01

REAL News – June 2022

May 01

REAL News – May 2022

Apr 05

REAL News – April 2022

Mar 01

REAL News – March 2022

Feb 07

Dr. Irv Rubenstein contributes to journal article on lunges

STEPS Fitness
Reviewed from Google

5 out of 5 stars

Anne Jones
Anne Jones

5 out of 5 stars

posted 1 month ago

You can feel comfortable anytime in this gym but especially during a pandemic. It is very clean and a great place to get exceptional instruction. Thanks Irv.

Big Don
Big Don

5 out of 5 stars

posted 1 year ago

This was my very first experience with a private gym and personal trainer. The owner and trainer made me feel very comfortable and at home. The gym is very clean and well equipped. I felt the price was VERY well worth the time attention I received. I will return once my work schedule becomes more predictable.

Read All 36 Reviews

Search Our Directory

Footer Widget Header

Affiliations

  • american-college-of-sports-medicine
  • american-council-on-exercise
  • biometrics
  • exercise-etc-inc
  • national-strength-and-conditioning-association
  • renewed-support

STEPS Fitness | 2424 21st Ave. S. Suite #100 | Nashville, TN 37212 | 615.269.8844 p

© 2022 Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center | Designed by Ponder Consulting ®