Diet and Exercise Terms Explained

Speaker 1 0:04

But really in the food labeling world , natural doesn't have a concrete definition , so it leaves room for interpretation . So a lot of products can be labeled natural but still have tons of additives , preservatives or other less than natural components . Hey , guys .

Speaker 2 0:23

Cora from Redefining Strength , Welcome to the Fitness Hacks podcast . So today I want to talk about misunderstood , misleading diet and exercise lingo that might be sabotaging our results , because it's really key that we understand what terms mean , especially as they've evolved over time . Keto now refers to a lot of different things that it didn't originally refer to , so does Tabata , so do a lot of other terms , and this isn't necessarily a bad thing . But we want to understand the evolution to these terms to make sure that we're implementing them correctly , to see the results that we want , and also understand where some terms are being used where there's not really any regulation on how they're being used , which might be causing us to get things we don't need or even sabotaging our results because we're not actually understanding the nuance of things . Michelle's going to go over some common labels that we see at the grocery store , and I want to go over some other phrases that we've uttered and terms that are thrown around a lot , so we can understand the nuance to them , to make sure that we're always meeting ourselves where we're at to get the results that we want . And I do just want to say a big thank you to everyone who's left a review . If you haven't yet , I would really appreciate you leaving one . This helps me keep the episode sponsorship free , so let's jump right in .

Speaker 2 1:30

So in this episode I'm going to go over a lot of terms that might be misunderstood , misused , and this isn't meant to make any of us feel stupid . I can tell you that I use terms and not their original meaning at times too , because that's how they're being used now . Right , so there's evolution , but the more we can understand the history of a term and why even certain phrasings came about , the better off we're going to be . So I wanted to start with some things that are often said and the true meaning behind them . So , number one muscle weighs more than fat . You'll hear this said a lot , and now there's been sort of the police against this . But I want to explain why this term came about , and it's because you cannot see any weight loss on the scale and still see body recomp happening . So that's where this term sort of came from , because you could be losing fat , having fabulous body recomp , look a lot leaner , but not have any change on the scale . And often this occurs because you gain two pounds of muscle as you lose one pound of fat , which can result in dramatic impact in results , while you even see an increase on the scale , right ? So we have said muscle weighs more than fat , but technically , no one pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat . It's the space it takes up , it's the way our body composition looks . That's really different . So just wanted to explain that term .

Speaker 2 2:42

The next thing I wanted to go over was you can't spot , reduce an area . So a lot of times we'll be like I just want to tone this one area right here and then we'll try and go do a bazillion moves for that area . So because of that , we've actually said you can't spot , reduce an area , which is , in part , very true , right , you can't go do a thousand things for that area and expect to see results , and diet does really matter , especially for fat loss . However , I think it's key we also understand the nuance to this , because as we do get leaner , as we're making those 1% changes , as we're almost at the level of lean as we want , even potentially implementing some spotlight policies , techniques can be beneficial where maybe we do go for a walk after we work a specific area or we do activation for an area to mobilize more fatty acids from the surrounding tissues of the muscles being worked to then utilize in our workouts . So we want to understand that there is nuance to everything . That's still not a magic pill , it's not going to , you know , just tone one area if you're not dialing in your diet . But we want to see the opportunity and options and really understand the nuance to everything .

Speaker 2 3:42

Okay , the third term or a phrase I wanted to go over was toning . Okay , so toning is an interesting one and I hear a lot of trainers hating on this term . They don't like the fact that people say toning because you can't actually tone a muscle . But I understand this term because it really relates back to body recomp . It's our phrasing for that , okay , but we just want to understand that , like , this is relating back to both a reduction in body fat and gaining muscle , and I bring this up more because people will be like oh , I like your tone and they'll think that they have to add muscle , even if they still potentially need to lose fat .

Speaker 2 4:16

Part of toning is that body recomp happening . We are doing everything we can to retain and even building muscle , but , more importantly , we're seeing that fat loss occurring A lot of times . What we think of as someone having built muscle is fat loss having occurred . It's just those last few percents that really revealed the muscle underneath , and I just wanted to clarify that because I think it can also make us confused as to what goal we should focus on first . While you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time , we always have to have a priority whether or not it's losing fat to put herself in a slight deficit , with more macro breakdowns that benefit us in that way , or whether or not we put ourselves at maintenance or even a surplus , to focus more on gaining muscle . And I will tell you that if you want to do both at the same time and you're really close to the level of the next you want , then maybe you do focus more on muscle . If you're not close to the level of the next you want , you focus more on that losing fat first , of course , doing both by how you control macros . But that is what toning is . It is a lot of fat loss over just building muscle , even though we can think someone looks very muscular .

Speaker 2 5:11

Number four that I want to go over was muscle will turn to fat . I've heard this said and it's not just oh , I don't do anything . Muscle is not fat Boom Magically it just turned to fat . That's not what happens . What can happen , though , is that , in the process of even trying to lose weight , if we are into big a deficit , we will utilize muscle as fuel . It is metabolically costly , which means it requires more energy to be maintained . It also can be broken down to provide us with a fuel that we need . Therefore , when our body is in that deficit , it thinks it's starving or it's hungry , even if it's not actually starving , it's going to utilize that muscle , which means that we can end up losing muscle . Our body can function better . We can see metabolic adaptations then , and function better off of the fewer calories , and then we can end up gaining fat , but it's not that the muscle actually turned to fat . It's just the process of metabolic adaptations that have occurred , potentially from the deficit , potentially from being inactive and not creating the stimulus for muscle growth , but it's not turning to fat . It's just that if we lose muscle , it's easier to put on fat .

Speaker 2 6:08

The last term I wanted to go over was consistency . This might sound weird to bring up as a misleading term , but I hear it thrown around a lot . Even I would put into this lifestyle as well . It's got to be a lifestyle . You've got to be consistent . But in looking at these things , either A we use consistency as something that we hold ourselves to , this crazy standard of perfection over small habit changes that build , before we say , oh well , over this amount of time I was consistent enough . Well , we're like it was five days good during the week and two days off during the weekend , the good all week syndrome that a lot of us have encountered because we can habits change . But we'll have that happen where we're good for five days , good , I'll put in air quotes and then off plan for two days and we're like well , this was consistent enough , but we don't look at the weekly averages . So I think it's really key we understand the nuance to consistency in terms of our implementation , where it's almost improving the 1% from the bottom . So can we make our lows less low ? Can we make those 1% improvements ? We make one habit change that we can keep implementing time and time again to build that consistency . That's what allows results to snowball . But we also have to understand the inconsistencies that , while it might seem small , actually have a huge impact .

Misleading Terms in Food Labels

Speaker 2 7:16

And I love this one lifestyle , but lifestyle is another term that I guess a lot of bonus one on that . We often misunderstand . We think , okay , I'm starting this weight loss program , this has to be a lifestyle , otherwise there's no reason to do it . But really , what you do to achieve your weight loss goal is not what you will do to maintain it . It doesn't mean you go back to old habits . Habits have to have evolved and so when you think about your weight loss journey or your muscle gaining journey , you want to think about putting in the fundamental habits , which is why I'm a big advocate for macros . It's why I'm a big advocate for workout progressions , because you want to have this foundation , off of which you know you can tweak those fundamentals to then move towards a different goal . So what you do to lose weight , the macros you use , maybe even the training practices , more sacrifices you make to get over plateaus and really embrace the lifestyle changes to then come back to something more sustainable , those fundamentals have to be there to create the lifestyle . But what you're actually doing probably won't feel sustainable long term because it is in the lifestyle . Okay , because what you do to maintain will be different than what you do to achieve a goal . Working towards another goal might require something else , especially another stage of life .

Speaker 2 8:17

So those are a few terms I wanted to go over in terms of changing our mindset around some of the things we often talk about with , you know , our weight loss or muscle gaining journeys . Next , I want to talk with Michelle about the misleading terms , and then I want to go over some other macro facts and even some workout terms that I often hear being thrown around . I'm super excited today to talk with Michelle about some misleading diet terms , or , as she so eloquently put it , the culinary lexicon . So , michelle , let's talk about the terms we often see on packaging that tell us that something is healthy and what all this really means .

Speaker 1 8:53

Yeah , the most important thing is really just being aware that marketing is occurring all around you and just in grocery stores alone . It's a field that will generate over $1.7 billion a year just for advertising within the grocery store . So really being aware of what it is that you're actually spending your dollars on , and what makes sense and what doesn't make sense , and just being smart , so really making sure that you understand what it is you're paying for when it comes to the label . So I'm going to jump in right off the bat and probably ruffle some feathers right away , but we're going to talk about organic first and foremost . So it's simply just a term that is regulated in the sense that there are some parameters that organic has to have to be able to have food that's labeled organic .

Speaker 1 9:46

However , it kind of has become this big thing where people have heard of the dirty dozen , they've heard of all these products that they should avoid if it's not organic or try to get food that is organic .

Speaker 1 9:58

So a lot of people think that the term organic means pesticide free , very . They kind of Take it in tangent with healthy or healthier and avoid of all synthetic Pesticides , but the truth is that's not true . There is pesticides that are still being used among these products , typically just in lower amounts , or a different or a very specific type of pesticide is actually being used , and it's going to be one of those things that , organic or not , the benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables are going too far , outweigh just Avoiding it if , even if you can't afford organic products . So that's kind of my big thing is , don't be afraid of Purchasing foods , even if it's on the dirty dozen . You may just want to make sure you wash it a little bit better , but that isn't . The benefits are going to far outweigh the risk of actually a Purchasing products that aren't organic . And that's even because , even if you are consuming products that are being treated with traditional pesticides , they are going to be at very low amounts that are considered safe for consumption .

Speaker 2 11:10

It's also the Thing of this is still something that's almost trying to make money off of a business and so you have to pay to get certified organic . So potentially , shopping at your farmers market , there might not be something that's labeled organic , but it is like more homegrown grown pesticide free , not to mention like not to go down the road of . Is Anything really what it says it is ? But we were driving next to a truck that had like open Truck bed of garlic and you know there's all these fumes going by , like look what's getting on . That Like .

Speaker 2 11:39

We have a friend who lives in more farm country in California and mentions how the Pesticide and non pesticide farms are really close together and the wind blows and one might get it . So not to say that you don't want to try and promote better farming practices , because I do think buying things that are a specific way Can help us promote better , more sustainable farming practices and get things going in the right direction . But it's also key that we don't freak ourselves out so much when really we might be spending a lot of wasted energy and increasing our stress and cortisol , which might have more negative health consequences than just having some traditionally grown fruit and veggies . That still gives the micronutrients .

Speaker 1 12:14

Yeah , and that that's really . You touch on a very important point . When it comes to labels in general , oftentimes it's really just a matter of cost , so oftentimes they , the companies , have to go through the hoops to get it certified . And it's not just organic . There's plenty of other Food labels that have the same thing , that have to go through those hoops . So sometimes you are paying a little bit more , yes , to hopefully ensure that it is . You know you're paying for the practice that you most align yourself with , but it is kind of just paying for the label itself .

Speaker 2 12:46

And also knowing that they want the label because it allows them to charge the higher price point or Appeal to somebody who is conscious about their health . So they're kind of using your own , like self-care against you .

Speaker 1 12:57

Yes , exactly .

Speaker 2 12:59

So the next misleading term was natural that you brought up , and I thought this was really interesting because they're there's so much nuance to this word .

Speaker 1 13:08

Yeah , so a lot of people too confused with natural , all natural , those type of terms , the same as they do organic . But natural , all natural , those things are not regulated terms so really anyone can kind of slap that on a label and Kind of a pill to a specific audience . That's kind of looking for Something that sounds more pure , simple , wholesome . But really in the food labeling world natural doesn't have a Concrete definition , so it leaves room for interpretation . So a lot of products can be called or labeled natural but still have tons of Additives , preservatives or other less than natural components . So even if they say something along the lines where , well , the vanilla was derived from a natural thing , it only takes one thing that they can kind of spin their whole product to say this is has natural flavors or something upon those lines and Often there's like , with different labels , even a just like a minimum quantity .

Speaker 2 14:10

You have to have to be able to call something , something like peanut butter . It only has to have a minimum amount of peanuts in order to be called that and I'll remember the exact number . But it's very interesting that even things that are natural only need a certain to hit a certain amount To be labeled as that thing .

Speaker 1 14:27

Yeah , and kind of going off that the same is said , like when it it's all like from whole fruits or Sweetened by fruit , those things . There's so much processing to that fruit that has kind of taken place that , yeah , originally it was from a whole fruit , but by the time it gets to you , I mean this is why most people know that fruit snacks are actually you wouldn't count it as a fruit , right , you're gonna count it more as a candy , but they'll still have those that label of like all fruits or not all natural type of Labeling that's going to be slapped on them .

Speaker 2 15:03

Dang , I can't have fruit snacks and get all my micronutrients and have real fruit in there . It's been what I've been doing , but anyway , next term . So the next term you had on there was multi-grain . Tell me a little bit more about this , because I thought this one was super interesting as well .

Speaker 1 15:18

So this is more . There's nothing wrong if you like multi-grain products by any means . But a lot of times I see clients who are trying to get in more whole grain food products and they see the word multi-grain and it appeals to them because they think that they're getting lots of whole grain sources . But it doesn't actually equal a whole grain . So it's really just means that there's more than one grain in the product and that may not be a whole grain product to even begin with . So there's not a specific percent of what the whole grain is in that product . So if you're really trying to get in more whole grains for fiber or just trying to make that switch , you really have to ensure that your product says a hundred percent whole wheat or a hundred percent whole grain . Multi-grain just isn't gonna cut it and you know it's gonna be in your cereals , your breads , your crackers , oh , even there's chips now . They're like multi-grain chips . So just because it says multi-grain , it does not mean it's a whole grain product .

Misleading Food Labels and Nuance

Speaker 2 16:18

I thought that was so interesting that you mentioned that , because I Didn't even realize there was necessarily a difference or think about it when you would buy those things , and so for me it was like holy cow they're kind of using a term really close to something that we are meant to look for Against us , where , if you don't think through it or like , look at the label more intensively and look at the nuance to it , it's like , oh , I bought something that wasn't what I was aiming for at all .

Speaker 1 16:41

Yeah , and that's the thing is marketers have been . They're , they're trying to catch your attention , they're trying to get what's going to appeal to you most and they're going to use terms that are going to sound better or healthy , to kind of appeal to people who are trying to be more health conscious .

Speaker 2 17:00

So next term non-GMO .

Speaker 1 17:05

So when we're talking about genetic modified organisms , there is definitely products that are I'm not saying they're not there and I'm not saying it's not something to be aware of but there's a large number out there that are in the market that have non-GMO verified labels , that don't even have genetically engineered varieties , Like they just don't exist . But people are slapping it on because now it's something that they know people are looking for to try and avoid . And they're slapping this on things like salt , which is it does . Salt doesn't have genes . You can't modify salt , but it's being slapped on . That . I've seen it on water . A big thing is in the dairy meat or egg section . You'll see non-GMO . But again , those products and the reason why they kind of go that way and how they're trying to mislead consumers is by saying that they don't feed these animals GMO corn and grains . But the truth is we've done enough research that we know that just because an animal has ate that food , that does not mean that it is affecting the product that we're actually getting from that . And also just so people are kind of aware too , gmo foods are actually one of the most extensively researched products and they have not found any negatives when it comes to actually consuming those things . But again , if that is something that you do want to be aware of and you are paying attention to , there's really only 10 products that you can actually get that are GMO , and that's going to be corn , soybeans , things like cotton , canola , alfalfa , sugar beets , papaya squash , potatoes and apples . But I do kind of want to go off on this just a little bit , because I think there is a big kind of misconception of what this actually is and I think people just think , oh , I have to avoid this because they've heard it's been bad .

Speaker 1 19:07

So there is a lot of our products that we have today are not the same . If you were to go back , even like 100 years , we have a ton of variety that have occurred . Most of our produce has become better . They've become more pesticide resistant sorry , not pesticide resistant , but like bug resistant , disease resistant and the reason for this is because farmers actually used to cross pollinate themselves , or it can occur naturally throughout the generations , as the seeds and the wind kind of blow things around , so that you get that natural occurring cross pollination .

Speaker 1 19:47

And then , of course , you have farmers that will actually start to breed products to try and create new varieties or better products , and one I recently came back from , actually Peru , where we hiked Machu Picchu , and one of the best sites that I saw was actually . So it was a farm terrace , but it was actually a lab where they developed potatoes and this is what they did was cross pollinate all these different types of potatoes to get different flavors , drought resistant , all this stuff , and it was super cool . And if you look at , look it up , peru actually has over 4,000 varieties of potatoes , so a lot of that is considered . I mean , at some point they were modifying that . They did have a lab that they were actually cross pollinating , cross breeding to kind of create those .

Speaker 1 20:35

So where the difference is nowadays is that's actually happening more in a lab based , where they're going to the gene themselves and kind of creating those differences at the gene level and not just cross pollinating , cross breeding . And that is where people are a little bit wary of it . But it's like I said , it's been super well researched . There's not really a real reason to be majorly concerned . But again , if that is something that you are choosing to kind of avoid for yourself , there's only 10 crops , so buying eggs , buying meat , buying dairy products that have non GMO slapped on it , it's not necessary and you're just paying for that label .

Speaker 2 21:22

It's so interesting diving into some of these terms too , because you do see that it's not as binary good and bad even with some of these things , like not having a label on that doesn't mean that this product is necessarily good , but it also doesn't mean it's necessarily bad , and not to go off on a slight other tangent with this , but it made me think about it as well . Like we just label like GMO bad , non GMO good , just like with processing processing bad , non process good . But processing isn't just like negative processing a whole bunch of additives in there , it's simply cooking it , it's canning it so that we can have it , is freezing it so that we can have things that are like in their natural state , in the most nutritious state . So it's realizing that there's so much nuance to these things and the more we empower ourselves to really dig deep over just taking that surface level , like look at things , the more we can find what we actually need to create the healthiest version of our lifestyle .

Speaker 1 22:12

Yeah , and it is finding that balance for you like , because when we come to , when it comes to food , if all we were to look at nutrients , for the most cases in these products there's really not a huge difference between one or the other and or saying one's actually healthier , more nutrient dense than the other .

Speaker 1 22:30

But because food is so much more than just actually trying to find that nutrient to kind of , you know , fuel your body and be able to thrive , it's also kind of about okay , well , we're , and we are very aware of this nowadays is what am I supporting when I'm purchasing from this brand ? What am I supporting when I am , you know , looking at these practices ? So it is kind of taking those things into account . But again , at the end of the day , the goal is still to be optimally fed and fine and be able to be having those nutrients . So if you have the luxury where you can afford to actually pay a little bit more and kind of put your dollar where you want it , to kind of have a bigger trickle effect , great . If you can't afford those things , there's nothing wrong with just being able to get the food so that you can actually feed yourself , especially nowadays where food prices are just continually to rise .

Speaker 2 23:28

Yes , definitely about getting the quality fuel you need and , when you can , making the impact . Talking even more about nuance , this next term that you brought up was no nitrates . No nitrates added uncured and we had a discussion about this prior , because it's really sort of a very misleading term , also one with a lot of nuance to it . So tell me a little bit more about that .

Speaker 1 23:49

Yeah . So definitely a theme here is make sure you're reading and reading the fine print . So any product that says it's uncured or no nitrates , no nitrates added , if you look and most of the time , actually all the time , if they have that there , you're going to see celery powder within that and the reason is is because celery is naturally high in nitrates . So even though it's saying no nitrates added , it is adding it because it's adding that celery powder for that specific reason . So if you're really trying to look at avoiding this within your diet , it's probably going to be at the risk or at the cost of actually avoiding process . Those high process meats you know that are going to be the , the bacon , the Salami . Those type of foods , the hot dogs , are probably going to need to be decreased or avoided kind of as a whole , because they're all going to be cured Either right away or , like I said , through the celery powder .

Speaker 2 24:52

But it also raises an interesting point that nitrates do occur naturally and that they're not necessarily dangerous , especially when they're balanced out with the other micros that are in some of those things too . So there's so much nuance to how things are being used , even potentially the health concerns that might make eliminating something from the diet key where it's not necessarily harmful to someone with no health concerns . You know , it's the nuance and all those different things that I think we really need to pay attention to as well .

Speaker 1 25:20

Exactly and honestly , again , if you're working so hard to make room for those type of foods , it's actually looking at like why are you trying so hard to make the room for that food ? Because we know hot dogs , we know cured bacon , while delicious , we know they're not probably the best lean protein sources . Most of them are considered , you know , a fat Brother than more protein because of the fat content versus protein in them . But again , just making sure , like , why are you working so hard to actually fit this in ? And is it because you're just really not willing to kind of Adjust and change your diet where it's actually needing to be changed ?

Speaker 2 25:58

Although I will tell you , I looked at turkey bacon compared to regular bacon , and the regular bacon actually was better than the turkey bacon .

Speaker 1 26:05

So don't be deceived by even labels like that , where something's masquerading is healthy well , and Exactly because it is one of those things like again , if you're going to enjoy it , enjoy it , don't stress about it . But if it's something that you're going to have multiple times Constantly , it's probably best if we are just to kind of decreasing what that product from the from the source .

Speaker 2 26:29

For sure , and then next term no added hormones or steroids .

Speaker 1 26:35

So this is in particular to chicken and pork products because , again , there are some items that like if this is something that's important for you to avoid that . There are some Products that , yes , you're going to want to kind of look for this label , but , despite the label appearing on chicken and pork products found in the store , there are no chicken or pork you buy ever that's going to have added hormones or steroids . In fact , it's the . The use of such added or artificial hormones is against the law by the FDA . So even though you are coming across and seeing , you know no hormones , no , no steroids on your package of chicken and never had it to begin with . So you're just paying for that label .

Speaker 2 27:20

It's very interesting that some of these things were their workarounds to promote health , where there might have been a like someone bringing up this concern with something else , where this other products like well , I can use this to my advantage , I don't have these things , even though these other products might have these things , but then we forget where the initial use of that sort of came from or why they might be alerting us to those things not being included over really , whether that not there's any concern originally with those specific products .

Speaker 1 27:46

Yeah , they're . They're just hopping on the trends and trying to catch your attention and , honestly , a little bit of that fear mongering too . They want to capitalize on your fear of certain foods , so they're going to start labeling everything that they can . You know avoided of that , and so the last term I wanted to go over was superfood .

Speaker 2 28:05

I know you put super sales for this and I thought that was Relatively amusing . Hopefully everybody else does too , but talk a little bit about , like that superfood label . So I actually think the term superfood , like I just said , is superfood .

Speaker 1 28:19

So I actually think the term superfood , like I did some research because I was like where did this even begin ? And it the earliest Like recorded use of it was actually during World War one , and it wasn't from nutrition scientists , it wasn't from dietitians , it was actually just a food company who was importing bananas and they started calling bananas a superfood and started touting all of the health benefits of bananas and it the the term just kind of skyrocketed from there and while don't get me wrong , bananas are great it's really just a way to again draw attention to one particular product and it becomes a trend where everyone starts using it and All the sudden they start . You start finding that superfood in almost everything that is kind of again trending . So it's not a regulated word , it is really just a promotion word . That was the sales tactic and it it appears now that like almost every month you can come across a new superfood .

Understanding Nutritional Terms and Myths

Speaker 1 29:26

So just to name a few that have kind of come , kind of gone , there's quinoa , chia , flax seeds , kel , asahi , matcha , even chickpeas , blueberries . All of these have been touted as a superfood and Now you can find them in , you know , in your protein mixes , in your bars , in granola .

Speaker 1 29:48

There's . There's just a way . It's just another way to kind of sell these products , and the big thing is is there's no ? Well , yes , all these products are fairly nutrient dense . They're going to be able to offer you lots of micronutrients and none of them . There's nothing wrong with any of them . They're also it there .

Speaker 1 30:09

You also aren't all the sudden the king of nutrition . Where they really are that much better than other products . It is just going to be kind of something that has caught the headline for some new research . Usually this comes along with some new research that they found , where they're focusing on a few vitamins and minerals that are high in that particular food . But at the end of the day , you still have to have adequate calories , you still have to be eating optimally , so you have to be having sufficient calories , protein , carbs and fat , and you're not going to get that from one food product . So you can't just hack your diet by ramping up one particular food and think that everything's going to be great . So there really isn't a superfood that's truly above the other foods .

Speaker 2 31:00

There might be superfoods for you if you find foods that address your nutrient deficiencies or what you need more in . It's why even supplements can be like superpowers to you if , like , you're deficient in something or maybe even need more of something because your training methods or whatever else where your friend can try the same supplement and be like this doesn't work for me , right . So superfoods can be in that way , although I will argue there is a superfood , but it's not one food , it's one macro , and you're going to think my joke is really bad but it's protein . Protein is the superfood .

Speaker 1 31:29

Pretty sure you're going to say protein on that one . But yeah , no , you are right . Like if you find something that is filling that gap where you're like I am deficient in these areas this is hitting all of these things for me and I'm able to consume it and enjoy it from this food , then that's going to be your superfood .

Speaker 2 31:51

Not going back over all the different terms , but the big underlying lesson with all of this , the biggest takeaway that we want from this episode , michelle .

Speaker 1 32:00

It's always a good idea to flip the product over , read the fine print and actually know what those labels even mean that you're seeing on the front of the box .

Speaker 2 32:10

I 100% agree , because so often and this is slightly more about the nutritional macro breakdown but there's so much difference in what that label can then show in that fine print , but like , even just the macros , like I compared two cottage cheeses that were supposedly the exact same type of thing , no difference . Even the ingredients weren't really different and the macros were different . So there's always going to be nuance to everything , and the more we can look beyond the labels , the better off we're going to be . Exactly so . I want to ruffle a few feathers , as Michelle also said , with some of the terms I want to talk about in terms of our nutritional changes that we're making , and the first thing I wanted to go over in phrase that I hear said a lot is diet matters most , and this is true , but it also isn't true . There's nuance to it , and I think that maybe my overarching term or thought for 2023 should really be nuance , because there is so much more to everything that we do that we don't fully give it credit for . And the more we embrace looking at those 1% changes or the little deviations and things , the more we can make sure everything in our plan and all the systems are working together to get us the best results as fast as possible . Obviously , we can go down a rabbit hole , but understanding there is nuance even can help us see when something doesn't work for us , why it might not .

Speaker 2 33:23

But talking about diet matters most . So this term is often said and while diet is really key for our health and it's really key for body recomp , it also is only key to a point If you don't train , you are not going to gain muscle . Okay , so diet is not the most matters most for that goal . Okay , if you're trying to hit a PR in your race , yes , diet is important , but your training is probably more important and I don't bring this up for you not to pay attention to your nutrition you can't out exercise your diet but also to understand that if we prioritize one thing so much , if we focus only on one thing so much , we're potentially holding ourselves back from creating a system that allows better results . To snowball , I will often hear , when I even do training videos on better training techniques for fat loss people will be like well , diet matters most , and yes , it does . However , if you start by just making one change and that change is training , you could end up creating the calorie deficit through your training , especially if your diet maybe isn't so off from what you really needed to be . Maybe your diet is overall pretty on point , but you're not seeing results and so making that change your training might be that training matters most in that case . So we want to see how all the systems are important and not prioritize one over the other . However , if we are looking to make that one change because we're feeling overwhelmed with everything , yes , maybe for fat loss , we do go to making a change to our diet first . However , again , the nuance of things , if you're more comfortable making changes in your training and you haven't made any changes , maybe you do start there to get the momentum going to get yourself over that first hurdle to actually force yourself to make the change that you really want to see right , because the pain of staying stuck has to outweigh the pain of change , otherwise we're not going to make that change . So diet matters most . Yes , diet is very key for our health , for everything , but working out is very key for maintaining functional strength , for making sure that we even see improvements in a lot of our blood numbers and blood work right . So we can't ignore the importance of our training as well , and even sleep , stress , all those other things . So , yes , diet matters a lot , but all the systems have to work together .

Speaker 2 35:20

The other nutritional term I wanted to go over slash nutritional myth I hear repeated a lot is like breakfast is the most important meal of the day or there are certain breakfast foods . So breakfast came about because companies wanted to promote specific foods for breakfast and get people to buy them . So previously it hadn't necessarily been this big deal , but it did come about with breakfast cereals and all those other things , because they wanted to market to this market they were now creating . So just remember that , while meal timing can be very beneficial to us and we can adjust it in different ways and maybe , yes , making your first meal and there's been some great studies on making that first meal more protein centric can be very helpful to the weight loss process , breakfast is something we sort of created . So if you want to eat chicken and broccoli for breakfast , you can eat chicken and broccoli for breakfast . There's no magic foods you have to eat . If you like fasting and want to eat a meal later in the day and you want to call a lunch , you can call a lunch . No one meal timing works for every person and we can't just prioritize one meal and say it's the most important thing , because , also , when is breakfast Right ? I mean , that's something that it's also been dictated just because we think of specific foods being eaten at specific times . But that is a marketing term that came about to market foods as breakfast foods so that we would want to buy those things . Same thing for snacks , right ? Snack can really be anything . You could grab a piece of chicken if you really wanted . Wouldn't recommend that . But snack foods are also something that we have dictated . What is a snack versus what is a meal versus all that , just food we're eating to hit our macros for the day .

Speaker 2 36:44

The other thing I wanted to go over and it's sort of building off of the different terms that Michelle went over were dietary terms being put on products to label them and market them to a specific person interested in a specific diet . We see this a lot with keto . We see this a lot with low fat . We see this a lot with low carb . We see this a lot with high protein . These terms are misleading . A lot of products that have to leave themselves as keto go against the very soul of the original keto .

Speaker 2 37:12

To be honest , it's not that you can't use these things in your diet to hit your macros ratios , but you have to be conscious that just because something is marketed towards a diet doesn't mean that it actually is embracing the principles or getting to the heart of why that diet works for you . I even see high protein being put on a whole heck of a lot of different bars . While there are some protein bars that have 20 plus grams , which I would consider high protein , there are a lot that are putting it on because they're high-er protein . It went from two grams to four grams in that serving . That's not high protein . That's not going to help you make a dramatic impact . Sure , if you're looking for those little tweaks to your macros , I 100% say embrace those things Ever . That's not high protein , it's high ER protein .

Speaker 2 37:52

So be very conscious of when these different terms to help you hit your dietary preference or the diet you might be following . Be conscious of what they're really doing right there , because keto can come with a whole bunch of then added , like added sugar , alcohols and different things like that , and a lot of processing that maybe you were even trying to avoid by going to a keto diet , like even with low fat , they're potentially bumping the carbs there . So you wanna see how that impacts you . Or even if there's other things being added because of that . Just like potentially low carb , are they adding a whole bunch of other things to lower the carb intake ? Michelle and I did a podcast episode on even net carbs and the very interesting labeling that can happen there and how that can mislead you . But really be conscious of the terms that are being used to sell you something or even to make you feel that something needs to be done . Any diets that's telling you there's only one way while there are a lot of times one way that works best for us and we might find that that is the one way that works best for us . We wanna understand the nuanced everything , because one way also might not be the one way for the rest of our life , and the more we can allow ourselves not to get so wrapped up in the identity of these things but even see value in shifting , the more we can always meet ourselves where we're at All . Right .

Speaker 2 39:04

So let's talk about workout terms . I wanna talk about the evolution of some terms and what things really mean so that we can get the most out of utilizing all the different techniques out there . So the first one I wanted to start with was HIIT , which is high intensity interval training . Also Tabata and Sprint . So these are three different terms we throw around and I don't think it's bad that they've almost come to me in the same thing . However , there are initial differences and even differences in implementation that we can use to our advantage . I bring this up more so that we can understand the nuance of terms . So high intensity interval training originally it was very much focused more on that Sprint mentality , that eight to 12 seconds of high intensity work followed by three to five times the rest of you fully recovered . Now high intensity interval training can be 30 seconds on , 30 seconds off , 30 , 15 , 40 , 20 , 20 , 40 , all these different things

Interval Training for Speed and Strength

Speaker 2 39:50

.

Speaker 2 39:50

Okay , but we wanna understand the difference between just interval training and potentially that Sprint training . Because with Sprints , if you aren't making sure that you're recovering adequately , you're potentially training slowness . And I bring this up especially if you are an endurance athlete which you're trying to train speed . You don't want to go for that Sprint too quickly because even though it feels like you're giving that 100% intensity , you're actually going at a slower speed potentially and not having that full capacity to drive harder , and so you won't be training speed the way you want . You could be training slowness , so to speak . So if you are doing Sprints , you do wanna think about at least three to five times the rest to the work that you're doing . More rest is better here , so that you fully recover , you have the energy to push hard each and every time , and you do wanna think about keeping that Sprint under 20 seconds , because over that you're not really able to go at that full intensity .

Speaker 2 40:37

With Tabata , too , that is a very specific protocol . It is 20 seconds on , 10 seconds off of a very , very high intensity thing originally and only done for those eight rounds , and it was to max out in those 20 seconds . It wasn't necessarily just any exercise done for 20 seconds with 10 seconds of rest . However , if you want to use this interval design , all for it , okay . But I think it's really key that we understand that Tabata was a specific , very specific protocol of interval training and that high intensity interval training , while we use it to describe a lot of different intervals , was more of that Sprint work originally . But if we wanna do Sprint work and train speed , we wanna separate it out from just any interval work .

Speaker 2 41:13

The other thing I wanna talk about is cardio strength . So I'll even say don't do as much cardio for building muscle . You wanna focus on the strength work . But really cardio and strength are on this continuum , and when we say cardio , we're thinking of that steady state running , biking at a higher intensity , not maxed out obviously in that Sprint , but at that higher intensity for longer times , not even necessarily walking . And then we think of strength work , maybe as a one rep max attempt , that power lifting type work . And so in between those two things is a variety of different techniques that we can use to improve our conditioning a little bit more work , different energy systems , build strength , muscle hypertrophy , some muscle growth , even strength endurance , right Work , a variety of different things to reach our goals . And the more we can see it not really as either or , but this spectrum we can work along to get the best results as fast as possible , the better off we're going to be , even knowing the downsides of getting towards one end of that spectrum in terms of our results , like doing a lot of more catabolic cardio training if we're really trying to build muscle or even if we're trying to train for that sport , the impact that , like that one rep max lifting might have in terms of impacting our speed and our endurance , right , so you can even use strength endurance maybe if you're more of that endurance athlete . So we don't want to think of it just as either or even though we've very much presented that way , but more as that spectrum Off of that , I wanted to talk about explosiveness , power and speed , and so I brought up speed a little bit with the intervals .

Key Concepts

Speaker 2 42:35

But I think it's really key that we understand that , like plyometric training in its original form , even though it's now become known for like just basically jump training in general , was more of that explosive power work . And the reason I want to differentiate even like more jump training from that explosive power work is the fact that when you want to train power , train that explosive power , you want to think lower reps and shorter intervals of work and longer intervals of rest , because you can only be truly explosive for a little bit . If you'll notice , when you're doing jump squats over time , you're not jumping as high , you're not being able to go as quickly because that explosive power has dwindled . So if you're really trying to work on that reaction time and that explosiveness . You need to do fewer reps and make them really high quality reps . Okay , make sure that you're able to really jump just as high , just as fast each and every time , reloading correctly with proper landing mechanics .

Speaker 2 43:22

This is super key , no matter our age . I mean you might be thinking I don't need to worry about explosive power . You know I'm X age and not training for any sport . No , no , no , the older we get , the more we still have to work on that power , that explosiveness , because that is our reaction time and the coordination , it's that mind body connection and the ability to recruit muscles efficiently and effectively to be able to perform a movement and even prevent unwanted movement . The faster our mind body connection is , the more explosive , the more powerful we are , the stronger we are and the more able to react and respond if we're pushed or shoved or tripped so that we don't fall and that can prevent falls and fractures as we get older . So work on that coordination stuff . Even the next thing I wanted to go over was soreness means you've worked hard enough .

Speaker 2 44:00

okay , a lot of us have sort of heard , you know , soreness is not an indicator that you've worked hard enough , which is true , and I think soreness became an indicator of working hard with the no pain , no gain attitude and also some of the muscle confusion stuff that came up . I love muscle confusion . I think diversity does really pay off in terms of our results . But I think with that and some of the workouts of the day setups , there was a lack of scheduled progression and so if you weren't sore , people thought they weren't getting great results because people were getting sore every day because they were doing new things . And that's really what it comes down to . Soreness is not an indicator that you worked hard enough . It's potentially something that you loaded a muscle more understretched to create more muscle tissue damage . You didn't recover enough . You're training the muscle group too much . You did something new , and new doesn't mean that it's like completely new over your deconditioned . Seriously , I've done like single leg deadlifts and then taking them out for progression and come back to them and , with the lighter weight that I even used at the end of the last one , been sore . Maybe it's where they were designing the workouts . Maybe it's coming back to the new movement after having done a different type of lift , but it's new . It's not proper recovery , not proper fueling , even not doing the mobility work that we need , and different types of training Again loading a muscle more understretched , doing movements that are more muscle tissue damage than even metabolic stress or mechanical tension that can lead to more soreness , or even doing a lot of volume when we're not necessarily used to it . We have to realize that there is a lot of different reasons we can be sore , and just because you're not sore doesn't mean you're not working hard enough . That's where creating that weekly schedule and tracking your progression is really key , because if you're doing more each week , that's way better than getting sore . Honestly , if you're doing a progression at points , you should stop getting sore from specific movements because you are adapting to them , even if you're progressing with them . That helps you lift more , push harder in your workouts because you're not constantly getting beat down .

Speaker 2 45:43

The last term I wanted to touch on was the fat burning zone . So there is a fat burning zone . Okay , let's get that clear . There is a fat burning zone . However , what this means is that you are burning a higher portion of the calories burned . So it's 100 calories . You're burning a higher portion of those from fat than you are from using stored glycogen and all that jazz . But if you burn more calories , then even though what percentage of each is being burned changes , you still potentially are burning more calories , which could put you in that calorie deficit , but also potentially burning more fat overall because you're having that higher calorie burn . So the fat burning zone is simply that the calories you are burning are coming from fat more so , okay , so that can be beneficial if you are walking after your workout , if you're really trying to add in extra activity but not stress yourself and just keep beating your body down , but help create that more movement throughout the day . So a higher metabolic rate , more energy usage , but also again trying to allow your body to recover , and you're then using more fat , which is why I also mentioned earlier , you know , the spa reduction . I like using walking after working , an area that is a more troubled zone because you've mobilized more fatty acids from their surrounding tissue and now you're gonna use those fats more to

Understanding Workout Lingo and Nuances

Speaker 2 46:53

fuel .

Speaker 2 46:53

Okay , so that was a few of the terms I wanted to go over for working out , just to clarify some things because , again , like , we all use terms in slightly different ways . I think that , for better or for worse , there's a lot of different ways that lingo come about and become terms that your fitness tribe potentially uses . But understanding the other ways that they might be used or where they really came from is also key to help us understand the nuance and why things might work for us or why they don't . Well , that's a wrap for this episode of the Fitness Hacks podcast . I'd love to hear what terms were really aha moments for you that you didn't realize had different meaning or were being used in that way .