This week's main book, The Gabriel Method, takes a controversial look at weight loss. It says...
If you are fat, being fat is actually in your body's best interest.
This extends beyond being overweight. Lack of money, being stuck in a job you hate, or being in a shitty relationship is actually in your perceived best interest or else you wouldn't be doing it. More on that later, for now, we will focus on our bodies and why diets don't work.
People generally respond to stress in two different ways. Avoid it or harness it. I'm sure you know friends who put on weight when going thru a rough patch and there are friends that look rail thin while stressed for a bit. Which of these to paths your body chooses is based off of how it perceives you are benefited. Jon Gabriel goes pretty deep on the emotional benefits of obesity so I'll let the experts stick to that topic. For now we'll look at why being fat is in your body's best interest.
If you are not getting enough nutrients from your food, your body thinks you are starving.
No matter how many calories you eat, you will still be hungry if you aren't getting the proper nutrients. Thus it is in your bodies best interest to keep eating because it is trying to get you the nutrients you need to survive. Overeating is not because you're a piece of shit and lack willpower. Your body is trying to get you nourished....it's trying to survive. The problem most of the food we eat doesn't have enough nutrients to curb hunger. But it's deeper than that.
Fat keeps you safe, it protects you.
Fat cells store toxins. Side note, this is why it's important to eat organic grass fed animals if you so choose. All the toxins animals are exposed to, including humans, are stored in fat cells.
You are fat because your body is trying to protect you from these toxins...already in your body. The fat surrounds the toxin so it can't harm your body. Your body needs energy/nutrients to detox the toxins stored in your fat cells.
Your fat cells hold onto toxins until you have the right nutrients to detox.
If you are not getting nutrients from your food, your body stores the toxins and empty calories as fat to deal with it later. So you will keep eating until you get the right nutrients in order to deal with these toxins. Storing more and more useless calories until you get the right ones.
If you are getting the right nutrients in your diet, your body can deal with these toxins and you will lose weight.
The book actually recommends that as long as you get your nutrients every day, you can literally eat whatever you want (cookies/cake/ice cream etc.) As long as you are getting nutrients, eat whatever. Over time your body will recognize that it is getting all the nutrients it needs and your hormones will switch to get rid of excess fat. You will stop craving foods that have no nutrients. Again its hormones, NOT calories. Another big one in the book is exercise.
Especially with FitBits and calorie counting devices being all the rage. Working out to lose calories alone does not work to lose weight....it actually creates more hunger. Instead choose workouts that tell your body being skinny is necessary for survival.
Stop working out to lose calories. Work out for your hormones.
When you workout to lose calories you are changing your hunger hormones to crave more calories back. Instead work out to have your hormones work for you. Similar to last week, you need to convince your body that it is necessary for survival for you to be skinny. You can do this by sprinting.
If you want to lose weight, sprint -- stop running long distances.
When you're sprinting, your body thinks you are running from a predator. If you do this consistently, your hormones will change in your favor to promote fat loss. Your body says, "hey, we need to be prepared to run away from predators (kind of a lot since we keep doing this.) It will be easier to run away and survive if we are skinnier." Boom your hormones will change to get you the athletic body you want.
(Classic Marathoner vs. Sprinter Image just for comic relief, different body types are drawn towards different exercises, i.e. guy on left would not look like guy on the right if he sprinted more.)
Think of watching a scary movie. You may jump when the murderer pops out unexpected but you're watching a TV screen. Even though you know you are safe on your couch...your body still feels the fear response. It's the same with sprinting. There really is no reason to sprint unless you are running from something that could kill you, or toward something you really want (like saving a family member). Gabriel actually recommends visualizing being chased by a dog when sprinting.
By sprinting, you actually convince your body that you need to be able to get away from things quickly and your body will lose weight... because it wants you to survive.
So key takeaways:
-Stop Counting Calories, Eat for nutrition/hormones.
-As long as you get the right amount of nutrients, you can eat whatever you want.
-Stop Working Out To Lose Calories, work out for your hormones
It's a real eye opening book. Definitively worth the read or listen. Especially with nutrition books, I find audio books easier to get through without falling asleep. And working through the emotional portion of it is extremely important, because emotions affect hormones, which we did not dive too deep into.
Til next time,
-Dylan
Resources
http://www.thegabrielmethod.com/
All pictures from: https://www.pexels.com
