Podcast Summary: Why Dr. Mike Israetel Changed His Mind on Fat Loss Strategies, Fasting & Blood Sugar

adutmj

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Intro (00:00:00)

  • Dr. Mike Israetel acknowledges that he has changed his mind on some topics related to fitness and nutrition.
  • He emphasizes the importance of scientific rigor and being open to evolving one's stance based on new evidence and research.

Fasting Potentiates Longevity (00:01:56)

  • Fasting can extend a healthy lifespan, primarily due to lower overall caloric consumption.
  • Autophagy and glycemic benefits can be achieved through long fasting intervals or smaller, more frequent meals that create a calorie deficit.
  • Fasting may not suit everyone's lifestyle, but a balanced diet with weight loss can provide similar longevity benefits.
  • Exercise induces autophagy and clears nutrients from the bloodstream, similar to fasting.
  • Chronic overfeeding leads to health issues, while short periods of relative deprivation promote autophagy and other health benefits.
  • In a state of chronic overnutrition, any nutrient in isolation can be detrimental, including saturated fat, sugar, and excessive protein.
  • Low-carb diets can be healthy, but demonizing fat and overemphasizing carb avoidance may be misleading.
  • Dr. Mike Israetel now believes that a balanced approach that includes all macronutrients is more effective for fat loss than a low-carb, high-fat diet.
  • Consuming excessive amounts of saturated fats can negate the benefits of a low-carb diet.
  • It is important to focus on overall calorie intake and not just macronutrient ratios.

Meal Frequency (00:11:46)

  • Contrary to previous beliefs, there is no clear additive advantage to increasing meal frequency beyond four meals a day for maximizing muscle hypertrophy.
  • Four meals a day is the minimum effective frequency for maximum muscle hypertrophy and retention during a fat loss diet.
  • Eating larger meals (4-5) that are digested more slowly provides similar benefits to having smaller, more frequent meals (7+).
  • High meal frequency extremes offer no additional benefits compared to four meals a day.
  • Real meals, which contain a combination of protein, carbs, and fats, digest more slowly and provide a steady release of amino acids.
  • Eating every five or six hours is sufficient for muscle growth, unlike whey protein shakes which require more frequent consumption.

Full Range of Motion (00:20:48)

  • The bottom third of the range of motion is superior to the top range for hypertrophy, inducing approximately 10% more muscle growth.
  • Chasing the deep stretch rather than the peak contraction leads to better muscle growth.
  • Skipping the lockout at the top of certain exercises, such as chest machines, can be beneficial for targeting the chest and may even yield better results than locking out.
  • Resting at the top of an exercise can allow for more reps and potentially greater hypertrophy, but it should be done intentionally with a rest-pause approach to achieve the same level of failure.
  • Dr. Mike Israetel and Dan had a nutritional debate while Dr. Israetel was on vacation in Hawaii.

Glycemic Index (00:26:24)

  • The glycemic index of a food can be affected by the presence of protein, fat, and fiber in a mixed meal, which can slow down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates.
  • The body can adapt to different dietary patterns over time, but consistently overeating, regardless of food combinations, will lead to negative health outcomes.
  • Undereating or maintaining a healthy weight through balanced nutrition allows for greater flexibility in food pairing without significant impact on health.
  • Excess caloric intake, regardless of food combinations, is the primary driver of weight gain and negative health effects.
  • A balanced diet rich in nutritious foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins is key to maintaining optimal health.
  • The glycemic index alone is not a reliable indicator of a food's healthiness, as low glycemic foods like pizza, ice cream, and chocolate milk can still be part of a healthy diet.
  • Overeating high-calorie foods like ice cream can lead to negative health effects, especially when consumed in large quantities.

Maximum Recoverable Volume (00:36:23)

  • Maximum Recoverable Volume (MRV) is the highest training volume the body can recover from, while Minimum Effective Volume (MEV) is the lowest volume needed for muscle growth.
  • MRV and MEV vary depending on genetics, training experience, and muscle fiber type.
  • Training below MEV won't result in muscle growth, while training above MRV can lead to overtraining and decreased performance.
  • Contrary to previous beliefs, the local MRV for each muscle is higher than the systemic limit, allowing for higher volume for specific muscles while maintaining lower volume for others.
  • For most muscles, the local MRV is around 30-50 sets per week, significantly higher than the previously recommended 10-20 sets.
  • To prioritize a specific muscle's growth, reduce training volume for other muscles to maintenance levels and gradually increase volume for the target muscle over several months.
  • Cycling phases of more lifting and less running, and vice versa, can lead to short-term gains that can be maintained.
  • Systemic fatigue accumulates from all sources and can increase the risk of illness, so training should be adjusted based on life stressors to avoid overtraining.
  • Excessive training can lead to injury, sickness, or regression in abilities, so pulling back on training when necessary is important for long-term health and performance.
  • Finding the balance between MEV and MRV is crucial for efficient training, prioritizing results without compromising toughness, and balancing training intensity with recovery to avoid injuries and maintain optimal performance.
 
@yhdks I don't follow the guy, but yeah, most of his revised thinking seems to just align more with general current thinking...by many. When was the last year anyone recommended 7 meals a day?

There are a lot of influencers out there preaching from narrow POV, I guess he is/was one? IDK. A lot of people think pretty highly of him and Beardsley these days, among others.
 
@adutmj Thanks for the summary.

I don't know much of what he'd preached in the past. He is often mentioned so I assume he is well-regarded, interesting that his opinions are headed back towards a layperson's knowledge of fitness and nutrition vs min-maxing.
 
@adutmj His observations re range of motion can be observed when training isometrics as well. It is almost useless to train at shorter muscle length, and added benefit can be had training with the muscle somewhat stretched even over a longish length.

Is better generally to think in terms of muscle length than joint angle, even if describing the same factor.

If stuck training with less than optimal load, training stress can be increased by avoiding the last 1/3 of the ROM.

Caveat - scapular pulling exercises feature different muscles at different points in a pull. Only training this at long length will underutilize some muscles.
 
@mikeb34
Caveat - scapular pulling exercises feature different muscles at different points in a pull. Only training this at long length will underutilize some muscles.

Does mean that the bottom end of a pullup is the peak stretch while the top end of the pullup (when a person's chest is on the bar or chin is over the bar) is the peak contraction?
 
@adutmj Dr. Mike on point as usual, but I've a nitpick.. obviously overconsumption is bad and they stated as much. Spiking your blood sugar on a constant basis when you're not going to quickly use that energy is bad. That is how insulin resistance starts. Simple carbs are rocket fuel in terms of the spike they create. Saturated fats are not. The talking point that "saturated fats" "can be" worst needs to be in the context of consumption - you're not easily eating a stick of butter. But you can very easily ingest 60 grams of sucrose. So mentioning that rat studies use saturated fats to force diabetes feels irrelevant to me here.
 
@sharkbait13 I think the excessive sat fat comment is towards the extreme keto followers. I largely do low carb and keto-ish myself but some keto people go down the path of maximizing fat consumption which isn't correct.

Like you said it's hard to eat a stick of butter anyway.
 
@werewolf Ahh, I see - that makes sense, thank you.

I did keto for a short while (less than 3 months) and while I used a lot of butter, I think it would be hard to max out on it w/o carbs - at least for the way I cook. I guess if you're going hard on cheese and red meats maybe easier.

I would eat like 6 eggs, an avocado, and cottage cheese for breakfast.

People always take things to an extreme... carnivore diet and such.
 
@sharkbait13 Yeah I've been between keto and low carb for 4+ years. Meals basically look the same as a general meal just a bit more protein and veg, no pasta and bread, no dessert.

The extreme fat overloading doesn't quite work and probably isn't sustainable for toilet paper reasons.
 
@sharkbait13 This is misinformed thinking. Studies have repeatedly shown eating up to 20 servings a day of fruit has no negative impact on insulin sensitivity.. Studies have also shown that adding berries to other high-glycemic foods such as cereal or oatmeal actually LOWERS the glycemic response of the food. Fruits are naturally low glycemic load foods despite their calories being primarily simple sugars because they are loaded with soluble fiber which slows digestion.

Insulin resistance only occurs in the presence of fat.. When you have intramyocellular lipids in your cells and free fatty acids in your bloodstream it causes your cells to shut off its insulin receptors. This can be caused by excess body fat OR excess dietary fat.
 
@thechristenedviking I mean... when I wrote '60 grams of sucrose' I wasn't talking about mangoes. I'm talking about processed foods, sodas, white sugar laden junk food - that's why I mentioned "easily ingest". No one easily ingests 20 servings of fruit in a day.

That link is not a study. Diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance. Insulin resistance alone after ingesting food is not the basis of a diagnosis. That's why diabetes is tested in a fasted state. So the article saying 160 minutes later... I don't care. Also it mentions some mysterious study from a century ago... I also don't care about that.
 
@sharkbait13 Everything in those links is backed by scientific studies that are linked on the pages. You said that insulin resistance starts by ingesting sugars which spikes your blood glucose but that’s not true. Insulin resistance only happens in the presence of fat in and around your cells. If you eat too many carbs and get fat you are going to exhibit insulin resistance, but studies repeatedly show that high fat diets decrease insulin sensitivity. Studies show this time and time again.

Many experts believe continuous glucose monitoring is a better indication of glucose tolerance than fasting tests, but the technology is new and not widely incorporated yet. Using CGM they’ve found many people with normal fasting blood glucose can actually still have poor glucose dynamics.

There are people who eat 20 servings of fruit a day, they are called fruitarians. It’s obviously super uncommon though.
 
@thechristenedviking Fruitarians are crazy people. Putting that to the side, I apologize - you were correct re: the links in the original article.

It's really unfortunate about that first study you're linking here. I pulled the text on SciHub, 13 subjects with BMI 33.6 +/- 1.3. Otherwise it seems really well designed to be testing this on weight-stable individuals.

Why did they not choose normal BMI individuals? I'll take a look at the other studies linked however. I'm not sold on your viewpoint yet, but am open to it. Part of it is the definition of what a HFD consists of. 55% calories from fat is.. I mean... you've got to be trying hard to eat fat. I can't think of a 'normal' (not carnivore, not keto) diet (as in just a diet customary to a culture e.g, not specific weight-loss plan) which would naturally get those numbers.

100% agree on CGM. I've thought about getting myself a monitor because I've a family history of Type II DM.
 
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