The Nutrition Grouch

Half of the things that we think we “have to do” are not essential.  “I have to watch that football game”.  “I have to get my daughter’s teacher a Christmas present”.  “I have to get new clothes for work”.   “I have to get to the gym today”.And many of the things that we “obsess about” and the goals that we pursue in the long term, really aren’t all that important in the grand scheme of things.  And yet we keep ourselves so busy pursuing things that are not essential to our health and happiness.  In today’s episode the Nutrition Grouch suggests that you take the time to figure out what your “core essentials” are to your health and happiness on a daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.  Figure out what you actually “really” need to take care of to further your health and happiness and what things can you forget about or let slide.I’m not saying that we forgo our duties and responsibilities, aim for mediocrity, be lazy or take the easy path, rather there are things in this life that matter and things that do not.  Put your time and energy into the things that matter and minimize the rest.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: Not everyone needs the drive of Tom Brady to be successful (1:57)Sometimes the right conditions are more important than talent for success (3:50)Aaron Rodgers won a Super Bowl and said, “now what?” (8:50)Singular obsessions and mastering your craft (10:08)Everyone’s got trauma: my PhD and career are mine (11:44)My obsession with nutrition education hasn’t led to success (13:08)I’m just not willing to “play the game” (14:04)Changing the culture of health & wellness and your relationship with it (15:29)The dark side of obsessions: unintended consequences (19:21)Finding like-minded, science-based wellness people is nearly impossible (23:20)Team up together or get squashed (26:12)Do what you are designed to do (29:06)A Buffalo Bills Super Bowl will never be enough (32:28)I HATE Christmas (37:15)My problem with “Forced Holidays” (37:57)Giving and receiving gifts is not my cup of tea (40:24)The time I found out why saying “Good Morning” is SO IMPORTANT (41:39)I have a two activities per weekend limit (43:21)If you seek tranquility, do less (44:43)Our pace of life, diet, and lifestyle are NOT normal, but it doesn’t have to be this way (46:09)What’s enough?: daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals (51:41)Unrestrained moderation (53:58)

How much of anything do you really need?  What’s enough to make you happy?  In today’s episode The Nutrition Grouch wrestles with the idea of “what’s enough?”.So many of us have so much, and yet, it never seems to be enough.  Humans have an insatiable appetite for more.  But more isn’t always better and more doesn’t necessarily lead to happiness.In obesity, we clearly have exceeded, “what’s enough?”, in terms of calories.  But why do we consume some so many calories in the first place?  I think it at least partially has to do with our appetite for more, leading us to overextend, spread ourselves too thin, and stress ourselves out.So, in asking, “what’s enough?”, I’m not only asking you to consider what’s enough in terms of calories and pleasure, but I’m searching much further into everything outside of nutrition in your day-to-day lives, material possessions, needs, wants, and desires.By asking, “what’s enough?”, and scaling back on both our caloric and non-caloric needs, wants, and desires, perhaps we can reset our “what’s enough?” equilibrium and carve out more time for meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking, things that will ultimately lead to increased health and happiness.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: What’s Enough?, is not minimalism, it’s more like essentialism (1:41)The myth of “having it all” and being able to “do it all” (2:10)It sucks getting rid of something you later actually need (6:16)What were some of your greatest Christmas gifts growing up? (9:05)Expectation setting (9:05)The Joneses aren’t that happy (11:32)Can money buy you happiness? Yes and no (13:39)Focusing on what you don’t have rather than what you do have (18:02)“If you’ve got your health, you’ve got the world by the balls” (25:52)How many cups of coffee do you drink? (28:19)Use only what you need (29:29)Flattening your high (31:36)Dopamine fasting misses the point (34:01)The Hungry Brain’s advice: moderate palatability foods (36:06)What’s Enough: Food Frequency, Portion Size, Energy Density (42:27)Mel Robbins: The Let Them Theory (49:26)

The world, technology, and the pace of our lives seems to move faster and faster each year.  Your life not that long ago is different in so many ways from the one you’re living today.  But what about the food you eat?  Has that changed?  To any casual social media observer, dietary advice and what you’re supposed to eat seems to change every day.And yet, dietary advice has barely budged in the last 40 years!  Starting in 1980, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) have encouraged Americans to limit saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, alcohol, and yes, excess sugar.In today’s episode, The Nutrition Grouch talks about how the low-carbohydrate advocates rail against the DGAs as being too carbohydrate based, yet their wish to make the DGAs more fat and protein based are historically, environmentally, health, and budgetarily impractical.Overly reductionist scientific factoids and tidbits are great for producing unlimited social media content but lack the big picture programming, interconnectedness, and nuance, housed Ato Z in one location, required for successful lifestyle change and optimal wellness.And finally, the Grouch wishes we could burn all of health & wellness down and start over, beginning anew with only those who meet a minimum bar of competence.  But he knows that won’t happen because marketing, persuasion, and entertainment are what drives nutrition, not cold hard facts and science. Weight loss advice in 2035 will probably look a lot like it looks in 2025.  The 5 Universal Laws of Weight Loss, Your Behavioral Obesity Risk Score (BORS), The 3 and Only 3 Ways to Cut Calories, and Nutrition Rules and Decision Fatigue will remain pillars of any good lifestyle management plan.  There are no magic cures, quick fixes, or even science (outside of GLP-1s) coming to save us. Some of the topics in today’s episode include: 1980: the first edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) (3:27)The 7 dietary guidelines of 1980 (3:50)The 4 dietary guidelines of 2020 – 2025 (4:13)The DGAs have NEVER promoted eating sugar (5:28)It’s easier to reduce saturated fat than it is to reduce carbohydrate (8:12)It’s completely impractical for everyone to eat low carb (8:54)Food labeling is so deceptive (and yet within the rules) (10:58)When fad diets become part of your personal identity (14:01)Mainstream, regular diet advice is BORING! (16:34)Why are we obese? Occam’s razor: too many calories (17:24)Keeping the nutrition waters muddy is advantageous to most (22:27)Why social media cannot and will never work for nutrition education (23:24)People are ok with being lied to if it makes them feel safe/ok (28:32)In dieting, nothing is ever new, everything is just recycled (30:09)All of nutrition can be viewed through one of two lenses/camps (32:45)Exercising cells in a flask is not exercise (36:48)I hate supplements, especially in grocery stores (40:10)An endless amount of overly reductionist nutrition advice (42:18)Who is best at giving nutrition advice? (43:52)Timeless nutrition advice (49:32)Blow up health & wellness and start over from scratch (54:22)Marketing and entertainment will always dominate nutrition (56:17)The ENORMOUS DANGER of non expert persuasive speech (58:55)

Food addiction is a somewhat controversial topic.  Can you really be “addicted” to something necessary for life (i.e., food, air, water)?  Based upon the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS), the technical answer is, yes.In today’s episode, The Nutrition Grouch asks whether the identification of food addiction is helpful to clients and practitioners in losing weight or whether it provides a “permission structure” enabling them to continue eating junk food and becoming an excuse for their ultimate failure.Based on the YFAS, 25% of people with overweight or obesity are food addicted but interestingly, so are 11% of normal weight individuals.  Is food addiction concept creep or a simple expression such as “I’m starving” or “I’m freezing” or is there something more to it?While there’s no clear answer to any of these questions, the frontline therapies for people with and without food addiction for weight loss are very similar: medications, lifestyle modification, and bariatric surgery.  We love to blame individuals for addictions; however, culture and environment are often overlooked, ignored or downplayed.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: Food addiction as concept creep (0:28)Is food addiction a permission structure to eat junk food? (3:51)Food addiction OR life circumstances and food environment? (5:53)Sometimes your best still just isn’t good enough (7:52)I’m a defender of fast food, carbs, and ultra processed food (15:36)Junk food in “selective moderation” (15:57)Nutrition rules, self-binding, and setting boundaries (17:26)Eliminate problematic foods you can’t control from your diet (18:14)The two most accepted methods for identifying food addiction (21:15)Food addiction prevalence: 25% with overweight/obese and 11% lean individuals (27:07)Food addiction may be relatively short lived, transient, and self-correcting (31:08)Is food addiction real? Yes, but you may have to squint to see it (31:48)How do we treat food addiction? (32:20)There’s essentially no difference in how you treat someone with or without food addiction (37:08)I prefer “level of problematic eating” to the term food addiction (39:19)Chocolate, sex, nicotine, cocaine, and amphetamines (41:40)What heroin users during the Vietnam war taught us about addiction (45:00)The woman who just couldn’t stop eating McDonalds (48:12)I can’t put food addiction in the same category as other addictions (49:47)

There’s literally nothing you can eat that is universally agreed upon to be good for you.  Not even fruits and vegetables.  You can build out the old food guide pyramid with the foods that people are judging, demonizing, and vilifying with every single category: grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy.  So, what then are we supposed to eat?The basis of all fad diets is fear, avoidance, and demonization that is largely determined not by scientific evidence or superior results, rather, is based upon personal preference and rationalization/justification.In the United States we have a calories problem and there is no “superfooding”, or “nutrienting” our way out of it.  Food judgement and demonization makes some foods untouchable and off-limits but then also limits the options that we have to reduce our calories through portion control and selective moderation.Each food is a tool, a means to an end.  There are no “good” foods or “bad” foods.  Some foods are nutrient dense and fulfill our nutrient needs while others are for pure pleasure.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: Food situations I have been judged for (0:50)Everything You Eat Will Kill You! (8:48)Clean eating perfectionist health nirvana utopia (11:03)Weight Loss: It’s Not (All) About the Food (12:48)Is It Better to Eat 5 or 15 Servings of Fruits and Vegetables? (14:15)I don’t really like eating fruits and vegetables (15:33)Everyone rationalizes and justifies what they eat (17:25)I really like clean eating, but they take it a step too far (21:12)When the benefit of clean eating wears off (22:27)I’m not a huge fan of cheat days (27:27)How Much Junk Food is Too Much Junk Food? (28:34)The basis of all fad diets: fear, avoidance, and demonization (30:33)Different purposes: there are no “good” or “bad” foods (35:05)

Weight loss is the result of consuming less calories than you burn (calories in < calories out).  Most weight loss diets are sold to you with the idea that some foods are “good” for you (i.e., fat and protein) while others are “bad” for you (i.e., carbs and ultra processed foods).  There is a notion that if you just stopped eating the “wrong” foods and replaced them with the “right” foods that you’ll lose weight.But what exactly are these “right” foods and “wrong” foods?  Diets focused on eliminating ultra processed foods (Paleo), eating the right macronutrients (Keto, Atkins), manipulating meal timing (alternate day fasting, time restricted feeding), and reducing hunger (Keto, high protein) aren’t any more effective than one another or their opposite counterparts.  But why is that?Maybe it’s because weight loss, despite being treated like a good food bad food math equation, isn’t actually about the food at all.  14 of 25 weight change correlations are not directly related to food, only 2 of the 9 factors associated with increased longevity are connected to food, and only 1 of 8 categories of wellbeing are associated with nutrition.In today’s episode, The Nutrition Grouch talks about exploring some of the “upstream” decisions that determine what we eat and how much of it we eat.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: Why do we try to solve the problem with the problem? (0:26)Ultra-processed food, macros, meal timing, and hunger don’t really matter (1:25)Food has no inherent meaning, only the one you attach to it (6:28)14 of 25 weight change correlations are not about food (7:31)Only 2 of 9 longevity factors are about the food (8:36)The Blue Zones and “the Power 9” (9:09)Nutrition: only 1 part of 8 components of wellness (12:14)Like an NFL quarterback, nutrition gets too much credit and too much blame (14:39)Can you achieve wellness without good nutrition? (16:55)Can you have good wellbeing with only good nutrition? (17:41)What are a few simple questions to ask yourself to be well? (18:19)What’s enough? (20:09)Everything in “selective moderation” (21:32)What is essential? (23:46)The myth of “having it all” (24:54)Try to ignore the noise, which is almost everything (29:11)The opposite argument, weight loss IS all about the food (32:48)I’m absolutely against food warning labels (33:50)My problem with blaming ultra-processed foods (35:49)Our ancestors would have killed for our modern food environment (39:57)

In today’s episode Todd discusses the 25 things that DO MATTER for weight change and the 14 things that DO NOT seem to matter to weight change, based on his analysis of The Paper Database.He also discusses the possibility/utility of creating a weight change (loss) app called the “Behavioral Obesity Risk Score" (BORS) to help you assess your risk of becoming and/or staying obese based upon your diet, lifestyle, environment, and emotional regulation.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: What is your Behavioral Obesity Risk Score (BORS)? (0:55)In nutrition, everything is relative (1:16)The law of diminishing returns (5:31)Breakfast eating weight gainers be damned! (8:13)Be cautious in going down the “but I’m different” rabbit hole (10:18)I despise gamification and wellness challenges, but I could do it with BORS (14:11)Things that DO MATTER for weight change (21:41)#1: Driving (21:50)#2: Emotional Eating (23:13)#3: Depression (26:00)#4: Short Sleep Duration (29:06)#5: Shift Work (30:48)#6: Evening Chronotype (31:51)#7: The Holidays (32:41)#8: Overeating Occasions/Celebrations (34:10)#9: Weekends (36:08)#10: Full Fat Dairy (37:37)#11: Soup (39:18)#12: Liquor (40:44)#13: Energy Density & Portion Size (41:30)#14: Cognitive Restraint (42:50)#15: Palatability (43:58)#16: Socioeconomic (45:55)#17: Nuts & Cereal (48:31)#18: Dieting vs. Dietary Restraint (50:04)#19: Age (51:45)#20: Early Weight Loss & Adaptive Thermogenesis (52:52)Things that DO NOT seem to MATTER for weight change (54:35)#1: The % of Macros in the Diet (ratio of carbs, fats, & protein) (54:44)#2: Diet Type (55:32)#3: Glycemic Index & the Carbohydrate/Insulin Hypothesis (55:56)#4: Small Frequent Meals (57:25)#5: Fat Burning (58:09)#6: Breakfast (59:54)#7: Nutrition Education/Food Labels (1:00:33)#8: Exercise Type (1:05:09)#9: Eating Speed (1:05:26)#10: Plate Size (1:08:40)#11: Hunger/Appetite (1:10:31)#12: Food Craving (1:11:18)#13: Stepped Care (1:11:18)#14: Marijuana Use  (1:11:18)Other Considerations: Time & Money

There are hundreds of diet types and thousands of diet do’s and diet don’ts for weight loss.  And yet, what does every diet type have in common?  The 5 Universal Laws of Weight Loss.It doesn’t matter if you eat low carb or high carb, low fat or high fat, Paleo, Keto, or alternate day fast.  Eat fat to burn fat, lift weights or run, drink water before meals, eat after 6pm, eat slowly, avoid carbs to keep your insulin low, protein and keto to suppress your appetite, or avoid ultra processed foods like the plague.All of the (oftentimes) contradictory, factoids and tidbits, hacks, tips, and tricks do not matter.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: Weight loss advice hasn’t changed for decades, and it won’t change (2:03)A comprehensive list of all the diet interventions for weight loss (3:26)Should SNAP benefits really exclude soda? (7:51)If all diets suck the same, can I just pick the one I like? (10:51)Stay suffering in the familiar or embrace freedom and uncertainty? (12:11)The 5 Universal Laws of Weight Loss are… (15:05)#1 Meal plan to create a calorie deficit (15:25)#2 Log your food daily and self-correct as needed (19:59)How long do I have to food log for? (21:08)Food logging is really just “checking your work” (23:06)Hunger, satiety, and intuitive eating are relatively worthless in the 21st century (24:09)Food logging in real time, not daily (24:32)#3 Exercise 300 minutes a week (25:22)Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, and the jacked Cross-Fitter (28:23)Todd’s exercise history and the importance of being flexible (33:35)I’ve never regretted doing a workout (43:03)Don’t worry about doing things right or knowing what to do (44:39)#4 Weigh yourself at least once weekly (46:41)#5 Control your food environment (51:48)

To lose weight, the standard advice is to follow this simple formula: estimate your metabolic rate to see how many calories you burn (calories out), then log your food to make sure you consume (calories in) fewer calories than you burn.  By creating a deficit of say, 500 calories a day, you will lose one pound of body mass per week…or so the thinking goes.If only losing weight were that simple.  Energy balance (calories in – calories out) is the foundation of weight loss; however, the 3500 calorie rule for weight loss is misleading, we’re terrible at estimating your metabolic rate (calories out) and we aren’t great at measuring the calories you consume (calories in).  We’re playing the weight loss game with faulty information.People want to know their metabolic rate, because they want to know how many calories they can get away with eating and still lose weight.  I believe this is the wrong approach and only leads to consuming too many calories a day to achieve the type of weight loss you’re looking for.Losing weight is a social, emotional, environmental problem, not a math problem.  Instead of continuing to overutilize food for pleasure, we need to (temporarily) redefine our relationship with food, build in a “margin of safety” by eating far fewer calories than the typical weight loss diet prescribes, and live with the results, knowing that you did your absolute best.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: Why do we feel the need to estimate your metabolic rate? (1:11)We should use total daily energy expenditure, not metabolic rate (1:58)The Amazing Chewing Gum Diet for Detoxing and Weight Loss! (4:55)The two ways to measure (estimate) your metabolic rate in a lab (7:13)The third option to estimate your metabolic rate: an equation (13:03)A real life example(s) of equations being way, way off (14:16)The math that goes into losing weight (16:02)Most people with obesity actually have really high metabolic rates (16:47)Enlarged organs and metabolic rates in obesity and sumo wrestlers (17:19)How many calories can I get away with eating? Why we really measure metabolic rates (20:33)People notoriously underestimate the number of calories they consume (calories in) (21:35)We aren’t very good at estimating calories in OR calories out (22:17)Why you should eat the same number of calories regardless of your metabolic rate (22:44)Diets aren’t supposed to be fun, they’re a means to an end (23:26)Hypothesized weight loss in total starvation, 500, 800 calories a day for 8 weeks (25:36)You can only go down to eating “0” calories a day but eating more than 3,000 is easy (27:36)Your weight loss “margin of safety” (28:07)My confession about a mistake that I’ve made (29:56)Calorie counting (food logging) is a necessary evil (31:10)The precision we try to prescribe weight loss diets with is absurd and ridiculous (32:39)

Low carb, low fat, high protein, alternate day fasting, cutting out ultra processed food, eating multiple small meals a day, time restricted feeding, Keto, Paleo, you name it, what do they all have in common (besides energy balance)?  They all rely on some variation of the 3 and only 3 ways to cut calories.  Although all diets claim to have their own “special secrets”, “magic recipes” and/or fancy narratives on how and why they work, they all use some combination of portion control, food frequency, and energy density to reduce the number of calories you eat each day.We have 41 different well studied diet types, and yet, they all depend on just three calorie cutting methods.  In today’s episode, The Nutrition Grouch discusses how to utilize these three strategies in establishing your nutrition rules and controlling your food environment to create a diet that you can stick to for the long term.Only you can decide what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat.  There’s just too many variables and too many decisions to be made for someone else to tell you how to do it.  It’s daunting and difficult to start.  But it’s worth it.  You get out, what you put into it.  Take the time to start building a solid diet foundation today.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: The 3 and only 3 ways to cut calories (1:50)Fad diets are a one trick pony (4:02)Fad diets: an overly crude and blunt instrument for a complex problem (4:43)People hate uncertainty, fad diets solve this (5:46)Food logging: you ate what you ate, big deal, please don’t take it personally (7:29)Fad diets are a “quick fix, get rich quick scheme” often ending in ruin (8:54)Should you build your house on sand or stone? (12:20)Fad diets are fool’s gold (13:30)The portion size, food frequency, and energy density of breakfast tacos (14:07)My reluctance to use reduced fat and/or artificially sweetened products (24:49)Food logging sucks but you have to do it (28:10)Weight loss should be psychology based, not math based (33:27)

Many of us have a nearly unlimited access to a wide variety of ultra-processed, highly palatable, energy dense food.  And yet, most of us don’t gorge ourselves on these ultra processed foods at every waking moment like a bear in September.  But why don’t we?With the risk of oversimplification, I think that most of us have some level of restraint (outside of hunger and satiety, because we know that can be overridden) based upon an internal framework of what they should be eating and how much of that food or drink they should be consuming.  Even the most uninhibited eater has his limits.  People have some level of reasoning and rationale behind what they eat and how much of it they eat.  I call this reasoning and rationale your “nutrition rules”.  Nutrition rules are self-imposed (somewhat) arbitrary boundaries that help guide your eating.  Some people have extremely loose rules while others have very strict rules, but everyone has some set of rules, whether clearly defined or clear as mud.I encourage you to make your own nutrition rules that fit your life and your goals, not someone else’s (i.e. a fad diet’s).  Your nutrition rules should follow the golden rule of energy balance by limiting unnecessary calories from fat, carbohydrate, and snacks, while also allowing you to fully enjoy calories from fat, carbohydrate, and snacks.  You just can’t be open to eating ALL OF THEM.By establishing your own set of nutrition rules you’ll be able to automate and streamline your eating decisions, thus reducing your decision load (fatigue) throughout the day and freeing up more space to tackle some of the more pressing and important problems that you’re likely to encounter throughout your day.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: How much weight can you lose on a diet, exercise, meds or surgery? (1:31)What is your dream weight, goal weight, happy weight, and acceptable weight? (2:46)The first weight loss conversation you need to have (6:17)Flooding the zone with bullshit (8:51)What are Nutrition Rules? (12:18)Nutrition Rules = Setting Boundaries = Self-Binding (13:58)Mostly positive, yet mixed reviews of James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits (14:44)Fad diets are based upon arbitrary nutrition rules (17:33)You can’t trust government scientists, but you can trust gurus? (18:32)Any diet that is not of your own making is a fad diet (20:48)The golden rule of nutrition (27:13)Design your nutrition rules to limit unnecessary excess calories (28:35)How I limit some fats and how that allows to me to enjoy other fats (29:12)How I limit some carbs and how that allows to me enjoy other carbs (31:36)My relationship with alcohol and snacks (36:19)Fad diets depend upon executing one rule exceptionally well, forever (42:52)I’m not against fad diets per se, but I am against fad diet magic (43:48)There’s 3 and only 3 ways to cut calories and 3 and only 3 ways to eat too many (47:10)What is decision fatigue? (48:28)

Weight loss conversations should start out like this: weight loss is a lot harder than you think it is and it is a lot harder than you’ve been told it is.  You’re going to lose less weight than you think you should and you’re going to lose less weight than everyone has told you that you will lose.Let’s set that all aside for a minute and talk about how much weight you can actually expect to lose on a diet and let’s talk about how much weight you can expect to lose by increasing your nutrition knowledge, exercise, diet and exercise, meal replacements, low calorie diets, very low calorie diets, intensive lifestyle modification, weight loss medications, and weight loss surgery.Now that you know what you’re up against and what to expect, let’s see if you’re open to resetting your expectations and what method of weight loss (if any) you would like to commit to.  Because if you decide to do it, you need to go “all in” and do it, that is if you want to be successful.It’s going to take a considerable amount of effort, but it’s worth it.  Start living by design, and not by default.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: Who cares if you lose 14.6 lbs. or 12 lbs. on a diet, they’re both underwhelming (2:31)What really pisses me off about people being lied to (6:42))Even if you know it is too good to be true, it’s difficult to not fall for it (7:55)There’s no number of reviews, degrees, or testimonials to filter out the good from the bad (8:42)The weight loss doctor who didn’t want to “start a war” with me (9:40)Why I don’t really care about diets lasting less than 6 months (15:05)Weight loss success is really the study of weight maintenance, not weight loss (17:25)The first 3 months of a weight loss diet are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!! (19:41)The “J” shaped or “flattened J shaped” weight loss curve that every diet follows (19:41)What a Rodney Atkins’ country song and weight loss have in common (22:26)The more restrictive and intense the diet, the greater the transition danger is (23:35)The 3500 calorie rule is not 100% fat loss, you lose lean tissue too (27:24)Weight loss is NOT linear, it’s just not that predictable (28:44)Why weight loss is expressed as a percentage and not as total pounds lost (29:57)Extreme variability in weight lost in dieting; why every diet can work and fail (32:14)The myth of finding “the right” diet for your body type or physiology (33:53)Finding “the right” diet type is not the same as playing the lottery (35:21)Live by design, not by default (35:59)Can knowing more about nutrition (education) help you lose weight? (36:49)How much weight can you lose through exercise? (39:14)How much weight can you lose on a diet? (43:09)How much weight can you lose through diet AND exercise? (44:15)How much weight can you lose with meal replacements? (45:45)How much weight can you lose with very low calorie diets (VLCDs)? (46:36)How much weight can you lose with intensive lifestyle modification? (46:36)How much weight can you lose with weight loss medications? (49:09)Is microdosing weight loss medications an effective strategy? (53:29)How much weight can you lose with bariatric surgery? (54:42)Summary of weight loss with diet, exercise, behavior modification, meds, and surgery (56:25)What is your dream weight, goal weight, happy weight, and acceptable weight? (58:15)If you have a lot of weight to lose, sorry to say it, but you might be screwed (1:03:12)Don’t give up, but you may want to change your expectations (1:03:21)

Diets aren’t sold with facts; they’re sold with testimonials.  And the reason diets are sold this way, is because if you actually knew how little weight you were going to lose on a diet or how hard it would be to maintain your weight loss, you probably wouldn’t even bother.  You would think the effort wasn’t worth the reward.But when you’re told that you can easily lose 50 to 100 pounds, with relatively little effort, by changing just one thing (i.e., don’t eat carbs, don’t eat after 6pm, eat a big breakfast, have a “cheat day”), of course you’re going to try it out.The problem is most people will never lose as much weight as they would like to or achieve their goal weight, losing weight is really hard, and losing weight takes a considerate amount of change (an entire lifestyle change) but no one wants to tell you that, because that’s not good for business.In an effort to sell you a weight loss diet, people bend, twist, and contort the facts so much, that they’re essentially lying to you about the diet.  Instead of lying to one another, let’s have an honest conversation about weight loss and chart a different path.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: What people are lying to you about (0:16)41 different diet types and the power of persuasion (4:38)The is no “best” diet: all diet types are created equally ineffective (5:06)Choosing a diet type based on your preferences doesn’t increase weight loss (5:56)People are okay with being lied to if it makes them feel good (8:55)Identity: when an attack on a fad diet is an attack on you! (10:53)Hard work equals success, right? (14:59)Why I’m a relative failure in the health & wellness industry (17:52)Social media and subject matter expertise are incompatible with one another (24:42)41 different diet types and 80 types of diet interventions (29:54)The magic isn’t in the diet, it’s in the “process” (30:35)The list of the 80 different types of diet interventions (33:44)We’ve literally tried EVERYTHING!! Nothing is new, everything is recycled (36:51)All 41 diet types actually fit into just 8 different categories (38:26)Cultural rot and its effect on health (39:32)Don’t you dare challenge the almighty power of nutrition (45:20)The drastic difference between weight loss expectations and reality (46:15)Social media, the disconnected factoid and tidbit selling machine (49:01)The weight loss variation within any given diet is absolutely incredible (52:39)Fad diets, cults, and religion share so much in common (55:10)The myth of failing on a diet being your fault and not the diet’s fault (1:01:26)The myth of finding the “right” type of diet for you (1:02:38)

What do you spend your leisure time doing?  Is it something you enjoy doing, or is it something you used to enjoy doing but are still doing it out of routine or habit?  In today’s episode, Todd and Jeff discuss some of the things in their lives that just don’t really serve their health and happiness anymore, as well as some recent changes they have made to improve the quality of their lives.  They also discuss some of their vices that they think make them happy, but in reality might be doing them more harm than good.Some of the topics in today’s episode include:  My system of eating and way of living has greatly evolved over the years (1:04)This episode’s inspiration, Seneca, On the Shortness of Life (6:36)What Todd spends too much time doing (wasting) (9:50)What you pay attention to in life has a profound effect on your happiness (10:56)What Jeff spends too much time doing (wasting) (11:41)What Jeff would like to be doing more of (14:14)What Todd needs to be doing more of (17:03)Something that Jeff has recently changed (19:18)Something that Todd has recently changed (23:54)Bad habits that Jeff has developed recently (31:49)Bad habits that Todd has developed recently (37:05)Why Jeff spends more time warming up than actually working out (42:28)What are some pleasurable activities that might actually make your life worse? (49:52)How many minutes a week does Jeff exercise? (1:01:25)Even experts need plans! (1:03:08)People don’t like being told what to do! (1:09:41)

Not all carbs are created equal, with some being better than others.  But how can you tell?  In part III of our miniseries on carbohydrates, The Nutrition Grouch reviews the nutrition epidemiology literature to discuss what types of carbohydrates you should be eating, based on the literature.  Some answers are pretty straightforward, some are surprising, and others just don't make any sense at all.Some of the topics in today's episode include:Carbs: nothing is “OFF LIMITS” (0:00)When it comes to food, variety is “not” the spice of life (0:36)A quick recap of our last two episodes on carbohydrates (7:06)Ultra-processed foods tend to contain carbs AND fats (9:30)Three types of scientific studies suggesting carbs do not turn to fat (11:59)Some carbs increase your risk of type II diabetes but so do some fats (15:09)Saturated fat and trans-fat increase your risk of developing type II diabetes (23:57)TV Dinners: Phase I weight loss for The Science of Dieting (25:46)Does eating dairy (saturated fat) cause type II diabetes? (28:20)A potential podcast episode: if I was an internet asshole (33:09)Reverse causality, ice cream, and Diet Coke (34:07)Ultra-processed cereals and their surprising protective superpower against diabetes (35:30)Should I eat low glycemic foods to prevent type II diabetes? (37:02)Fruit juice and the risk of developing diabetes (46:22)I thought fruits and veggies were supposed to be SUPERFOODS?! (46:55)Brown rice versus white rice, which is better? (48:46)Potatoes: apparently a hill that I will die on! (49:17)Nuts, coffee, and alcohol (52:27)Conclusion and beginning of final summary (52:53)Are whole grains really that good for you? (54:37)I want to go work for the cereal industry! (56:02)Bottom line recommendations (58:30)

In part II of our miniseries on carbohydrates, Jeff Burkart of Brave Chicken and I talk more about how in most cases carbs, are not only NOT harmful, but in many cases they're actually beneficial to you.Some of the topics in today's episode include:Three ways science shows us that carbs do not make us fat (1:09)Does eating carbs cause you to develop type II diabetes? (3:13)What is BY FAR the GREATEST risk for developing type II diabetes? (10:23)Who really cares what you’re eating if you have obesity (14:09)Is it easier to avoid fat or carbohydrate? (26:56)A low fat diet should be low in fat AND carbs (29:15)Don’t waste your calories on unnecessary fat (30:35)Is it easy to get fats in your diet? (32:56)Is there ever a reason to justify eating pop tarts? (33:56)There are recommendations for carbs and protein, but not for fat (39:25)How Jeff formed his perspective on carbohydrates (41:33)If you don’t have fitness figured out by 35, you may want to hire someone (44:52)80-90% of fitness is in the basics, try not to overcomplicate things (45:45)Jeff’s personal story of disordered eating (46:10)What Jeff’s first job out of college taught him (55:39)Eating carbs to lose weight? (57:13)Exercising in the “fat burning” zone is inefficient and time consuming (58:09)Performance isn’t just for Olympic athletes, it’s for you too! (1:00:57)Eating carbs to preserve performance during dieting (1:05:01)If you do any volume of training at a relatively high intensity, you need carbs (1:11:02)The “collective illusion” of carbs being bad for us (1:14:37)Todd’s theory on why people say that carbs are bad for us (1:18:17)

Most rational people realize that there are different varieties, types, and sources of carbohydrate.  But the dialogue around carbs is not a rational one.  We’re far more likely to hear about how carbs are bad, period.  They make you fat.  They give you diabetes.  You shouldn’t be eating them.  There’s just a blanket condemnation of an entire macronutrient without really knowing all that much about carbs.In today’s episode The Nutrition Grouch explains what carbohydrates are, the difference between simple and complex carbs (there really isn’t), how carbs are digested, absorbed, and metabolized in the body, how carbs can be converted into fat but probably won’t make you fat, how energy balance and carbohydrate control fat burning, and what he looks for in a grain based carbohydrate product.This podcast episode is jam packed with great information that hopefully can help you better understand carbohydrates, be a little less afraid of them, and maybe even learn to love them, guilt free.Some of the topics in today’s episode include: Carbs weren’t the enemy for 99.999% of human existence (2:53)Hunter-gatherer diets varied greatly by region and availability (6:03)The saturated fat/cholesterol hypothesis of heart disease (9:03)Just say “NO” to saturated fat, says the American Heart Association (12:51)The low saturated fat diet became the “low fat” diet by mistake (14:23)If you don’t eat fat, you HAVE to eat carbs almost by default (15:22)Low fat diets should be low in fat AND low in carbs! (15:54)Along comes Dr. Atkins to turn diet advice on its head (17:03)How a high saturated fat diet can actually reduce heart disease risk (18:33)There isn’t just one type of saturated fat, there’s at least 10 in the diet (20:24)Not all saturated fats are bad and not all unsaturated fats are good (22:14)We tend to hate things we don’t know or understand (27:13)What do all carbohydrates ultimately become in the body? (28:15)Fat doesn’t control fat burning, carbs do! (29:14)The single unit sugars: the monosaccharides (31:25)More simple carbs, the disaccharides (32:38)Simple carbs (sugars) versus complex carbs (sugars) (32:56)The gut can only absorb monosaccharides, sorry di and poly (33:43)Glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrate in the animal (35:49)Will eating carbs make you fat? (37:23)How the body can convert carbs into fat (38:26)Energy balance, not fat, controls fat burning (40:10)Your inability to burn fat makes you fat (41:57)The oxidative hierarchy of nutrient metabolism (42:11)Carbs can turn to fat AFTER glycogen storage is maxed out (45:33)A calorie is a calorie is a calorie, the first law of thermodynamics (49:23)Fat and protein calories are not superior to carbohydrate calories (49:23)32 controlled feeding studies, the nail in the coffin (Hall & Guo) (49:23)Macros DO NOT MATTER!!! (51:28)Is the ability to burn fat predictive of long term weight change? (54:08)The myth of choosing complex carbs over simple carbs (58:05)Less processed carbs have to be better for you than processed carbs, right? (58:53)Should I make my carb choices based upon the glycemic index? (59:19)What exactly are “added” sugars? Should I avoid them? (1:00:01)“0” added sugars don’t make a food healthy (1:02:55)There are no healthy desserts or indulgences (1:07:34)Two things I look for on a nutrition label (1:10:15)What food groups contain carbs? (1:13:30)Carbs are easy to produce at scale, that makes them cheap (1:15:36)Carbs: what are the take home messages? (1:19:46)

It may sound crazy, but everyone needs an enemy.  Not the kind that wants to hurt you, but someone or something to fight against.  If you don't find something to fight against, you may find yourself lacking purpose and floundering in the wind.Enemies can help define who you are by helping you identify what you want to become and who you definitely do not want to be.  In today's episode The Nutrition Grouch and special guest/co-host, Jeff Burkart discuss their biggest enemies and how they use them to succeed at what they do.Not all enemies are helpful and as Jeff illustrates, you need to pick your battles.  But even if you do not want, or are not seeking an enemy, they'll be sure to find you in some way.  Rather than letting them define you, use that energy to drive action towards your goal, whether that be race performance, weight loss or healthy living.Some of the topics in today's episode include:Introduction to my new co-host (0:00)My man strike, I mean, man crush (4:07)An Alan Watts idea: everyone needs an enemy (8:06)When you say “enemy”, what do you actually mean? (9:13)Jeff’s greatest enemy (13:23)Todd’s greatest (internal) enemy (20:25)Why Todd doesn’t belong in academia or industry (20:21)Afraid of being pigeonholed into one role (24:12)Personal training is so much more than just sets and reps (25:33)Health coaching: a jack of all trades, master of none (27:55)School left me totally unprepared for the real world (29:10)Even with a PhD, you’ll never know everything! (35:01)How to be okay with not knowing everything (36:11)Being comfortable with making mistakes (37:43)Todd’s many, many external enemies (40:24)Nutrition is no longer science based, now it’s art and entertainment (44:28)Nutrition is used to support your superiority complex (46:21)Nutrition is dangerous when it becomes part of your identity (46:54)I’d be out of the nutrition field if it wasn’t for my enemies (47:32)Don’t you dare trust science, unless it’s for your dog’s food! (49:29)Do you pick your enemy, or does your enemy pick you? (50:30)What happens when you get rid of McDonalds? (51:35)Is having an enemy worth it? (52:29)

We all eat (some) junk food, but exactly how much is too much?  What exactly is junk food and are some junk foods worse than others?In today's episode, The Nutrition Grouch explains that while there is a strong dose response relationship between ultra-processed food intake and type 2 diabetes risk, not all ultra-processed foods are bad for you.  In fact, some ultra-processed foods may be "good" for you and actually reduce your risk.He also discusses the limitations of the ultra-processed food classification system and while he encourages you to reduce the total amount of ultra-processed food in your diet, he also stresses the importance of "picking your spots" to enjoy the taste, convenience, and freedom from the kitchen that ultra-processed foods may provide you.Some of the topics in today's episode include:An elementary school explanation of junk food (1:21)2009: the debut of Monteiro’s NOVA ultra-processed food classification (2:13)Beer and wine aren’t good for you, but liquor is worse (7:52)Whole wheat bread and Wonder bread are in the same category? (10:11)Cheerios are not the same as Lucky Charms (10:44)Bro science idiots and breakfast cereal (11:19)70% of our food supply is ultra-processed! (12:51)Ultra-processed is a dirty word and shorthand for “bad” for you (13:26)Not all minimally processed foods are good for you (15:55)What’s the bigger problem: nutrient deficiencies or too many calories? (18:36)Not all ultra-processed foods are bad for you (Chen, 2023) (21:10)Are some ultra-processed foods actually “good” for you? (22:40)Is Diet Coke better for you than regular Coke? (25:29)What’s worse, animal products or Coke, the answer may surprise (26:39)My kids love hot dogs and chicken nuggets, darn it! (27:14)Chen’s 2023 quintiles of ultra-processed food consumption (28:44)There isn’t any “safe” amount of ultra-processed food (31:04)It’s extremely difficult to quantify your exact risk (31:55)Are there any health benefits to cutting out ultra-processed foods completely? (36:40)When your nutritional tank is full, it’s full (39:11)Is 10 servings of fruits and veggies a day better than 5 servings? (39:41)You can do your health far more harm with nutrition than you can do good (40:30)Fruits and veggies versus cancer reoccurrence (41:31)The blunted pleasure response of habitual ultra-processed food consumers (44:01)My favorite researcher of all time, Kevin Hall (45:23)A bag of Doritos versus a bag of baby carrots (47:18)We’re all asking the wrong question about electric cars (50:49)Induced demand nutrition (52:41)NOVA is too broad and unrefined, is there anything better? (57:52)The crazy individual variation in how foods are metabolized (59:01)How much junk food is too much junk food? 

You can pay someone to make so many of life's problems go away but this simply isn't the case with your nutrition.  No one else can do the work for you, you have to do the work.While there are a number of products and services that can reduce or even eliminate your cooking burden, none of them are long-term, stand-alone solutions.In today's episode, The Nutrition Grouch discusses why you, and you alone, must take responsibility for your diet and the reasons why it must be this way.Some of the topics in today's episode include:200 food decisions a day (7:44)Even professional chefs can’t cover everything (10:17)What are the possible meal options? (11:37)Listed: the easiest to the most burdensome meal options (11:53)The matrix of meal solutions (13:55)No one knows your schedule, tastes, and preferences better than you (15:21)After 12 years, I still don’t always get my wife’s food preferences right (16:15)Why in person grocery shopping is still worth the time and effort (18:29)Knowing what to do “in theory” versus the knowledge of having done it (20:34)The “right” information doesn’t equal the “right” eating decision (22:04)The time Jeff B. challenged my tacit knowledge and left me embarrassed (22:48)Food marketers have filled your head with too much useless shit (25:13)The illusion of explanatory depth: how does a toilet work? (28:16)You don’t learn anything by blindly following a meal plan (30:09)

We keep treating nutrition and weight management as a logic and reasoning problem when it is not.  The math is simple, eat fewer calories than you burn, and you'll lose weight.  If you know the number of calories in a food, you'll make the decision to eat it or not eat it to stay within your daily calorie budget.Yes, weight loss is a calories in/calories out math equation, but it is also so much more than that.  We need to spend more time looking at how food decisions are made and how to better control our food environment.The nutrition field seems to think that we can "educate" our way out of the obesity epidemic.  That if people had the "right" information, they would make better eating decisions.  But eating decisions are not born out of logic and reasoning.Eating decisions are controlled more by our emotions (whether conscious or subconscious), the food environment, and the pleasure and reward we get from eating sugar, fat, and/or salt, than by knowing what is "good" for us or "bad" for us.We're not going to out reason, or outwit, manipulate or hack our physiology to decrease our hunger or increase our metabolism through various diet strategies.  We've been there, tried that (food doesn't work but medicine can).Nutrition does not exist in a vacuum, separate from all the other parts of peoples' lives.  We need to take a more wholistic approach at looking at the individual's emotions and stressors that lead to food decisions.  Rather than focusing on the food, we need to focus on the individual.We also need to find ways to "replace" the pleasure people are getting from food by engineering other daily pleasure inducing opportunities into their lives whether that be phoning a friend, watching Netflix, or going for a walk.Some of the topics in today's episode include:Weight loss is about the person, not the food (0:42)We keep treating nutrition as a logic & reasoning problem (1:12)Everything you eat will kill you! (2:33)Muddying the waters of nutrition education (3:01)We treat nutrition as an isolated problem separate from the rest of your life (5:16)The logic & reasoning brain centers are separate from hunger and satiety (6:59)The frontal cortex has to override the primitive brain centers (9:00)Why we evolutionarily crave sugar, fat, and salt (9:37)Broccoli, bananas, and chocolate bars (11:13)The frontal cortex is lazy and only turns on when it needs to (12:27)Risk/reward and our inability to forecast into the future (13:12)Appetite regulation research is so super confusing (15:28)The 3 books that radically changed my view on obesity (18:20No one on this planet has categorized more papers on obesity than I have (20:17)Diet and exercise aren’t enough (22:32)Relying on willpower is just plain stupid (22:53)The grocery store and fast food chain explosion (26:06)From 3% to 40%: how the prevalence of obesity skyrocketed over the years (26:59)Knowledge is worthless without application (28:37)Weight loss comes from eating less garbage (28:58)The rider and the elephant (30:12)All diets target either your brain, your metabolism, or both (35:21)You can’t manipulate or hack 100,000+ years of evolution with food (36:30)But you can hack weight loss with medicine (37:28)Trying to get away with as much as you can (39:58)Atkins is a snack food company and not a weight loss company?!! (41:35)Obesity results from a prolonged, persistent energy surplus (44:59)An overreliance on food reward and food pleasure (45:27)I hate talking about eating as an addiction (46:29)Breaking the cycle: dissociating food from reward and pleasure (48:20)

Good nutrition is not the same as wellness.  In fact, nutrition is only a subset of a subset of wellness.  And yet, if you listen to many of the experts in the field, you'd think that good nutrition is the be all, end all, of health.In today's episode the Nutrition Grouch talks about how he used to think that "wellness" was just kind of a fluffy, meaningless, shallow term.  And he also chronicles how he drank the diet and exercise Kool Aid starting as a high school student, then as a college student, and well beyond that before realizing that it just wasn't cutting it for him anymore.By focusing so intensely on diet and exercise, many of us have neglected the other aspects of wellness that are ultimately responsible for our health and happiness.  In future episodes he plans on exploring what it means to be well and how to best achieve it.Some of the topics in today's episode include:Why nutrition is NOT wellness (1:13)The 8 components of wellness (1:45)Willful ignorance (3:37)Why I’m in a unique position to be hypercritical of the nutrition field (4:11)Why I’m (sometimes) grateful for never having had a “real” nutrition job (4:56)The worst thing that has happened to me in my life (5:19)The luxurification of EVERYTHING! (8:07)I used to think that wellness was kind of bullshit (9:56)The power of writing your own obituary (12:45)There’s too much focus on the food and not enough focus on the individual (16:02)We need to stop “overeducating”, overcomplicating, and confusing people (16:21)Influencers and companies oversimplify nutrition (17:42)My high school weightlifting embarrassment (25:25)Drinking the diet and exercise Kool Aid (27:52)My switch from exercise to dietetics (30:26)Deciding to become a college professor (31:53)“Real world” nutrition is nothing like academia: that’s a shame (33:35)There’s no support structure for health & wellness dietitians (35:59)I hate, yes I said HATE, continuing education (36:58)I thought I was pretty hot shit, then I did a Master’s (39:40)Doubling down on the same failed approaches (40:03)We’ve tried and researched EVERYTHING! (43:36)Trapped in our own disciplines (44:39)We lose weight to be happier, not healthier (45:47)Happiness isn’t everything (48:04)Seeking happiness through weight loss might be misguided (49:08)The #1 predictor of weight loss success (51:05)

In episode 27, I provided you with the foundation of meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking, in what I like to call "the weekly meal cycle".  But I couldn't tell you EVERYTHING you needed to know in one episode.So, today's episode in an extension of episode 27 and looks to fill in the gaps on the weekly meal cycle and covers kitchen essentials that I find indispensable to cooking and food storage as well as other tips and tricks to limit your decision fatigue and remove some of the obstacles and inertia that inevitably occurs during your workweek.Some of the topics in today's episode include:In a nutshell, this is how I meal plan (0:10)Tip #1: Disconnect food preparation from food cooking (8:16)Tip #2: Prepare your snacks: lettuce, peppers, grapes, and hard boiled eggs (10:59)Tip #3: Please buy yourself some proper storage containers (13:46)I recommend a 9 piece set of Pyrex containers for $38 (14:16)Mason jars for peppers (15:31)I will NEVER EVER eat a salad if… (16:09)Tip #4: You have to have at least one good knife, here’s what I recommend (17:10)Tip #5: Wood or bamboo is preferable to plastic cutting boards (19:55)Tip #6: A nice set of stainless steel pots and pans for $170 (21:18)My last “must have”, yet very overlooked kitchen utensil (23:36)The power of veggie dip (27:11)How is McDonalds “bad” but other restaurants are ok? (31:09)Batch cooking (33:31)A freezer full of meat; impromptu cooking (33:47)The importance of an organized fridge and pantry (35:33)

The weekly meal cycle is a concept that I coined to describe all the steps that go into meal planning: from finding recipes to creating grocery lists, grocery shopping, cooking, eating, running out of food, and starting the process all over again.In today's episode the Nutrition Grouch talks about how he developed the weekly meal cycle and how it has been so incredibly helpful in his own life.  It's probably one of the best organizational things he has ever done.Some of the topics in today's podcast include:Things purposely left out of the weekly meal cycle (4:12)Macros (the ratio of carbs, fats, and proteins) don’t matter for weight loss (4:37)When you eat (meal timing) does not matter for weight loss (6:03)Diet quality does not matter for weight loss (7:31)Fruits and vegetables do not matter for weight loss (10:51)Step 1 of the weekly meal cycle: grocery shop (at least) once a week! (15:13)The 1, 1, 4, 1 program of meal planning (17:36)Where do I find recipes for meals to make? (23:45)After I find recipes, where do I store them (the Paprika Recipe Manager)? (26:20)How I prevent myself from eating nothing but chicken for the week (Excel) (28:36)Put your weekly meal plan on an index card on your fridge (29:48)What’s the difference between a meal, a snack, and an indulgence? (32:11)Why does grocery shopping take 2+ hours?! (44:25)The fine line between meal planning success and failure (47:59)The weekly meal cycle summarized (50:45)

If you can't perform your preferred mode of exercising, what's your backup plan?  If you can't run, do you bike?  If you can't bike, do you swim?  If you can't swim, do you lift weights?  If you don't have weights available, do you use resistance bands?  If you don't have resistance bands, do you do bodyweight exercises, or do you just give up?In today's episode, the Nutrition Grouch talks about his backup plan to his backup plan to his backup plan for exercise.  Many of these backup plans haven't been freely chosen, rather, they are the result of various injuries that have forced him into a new type of exercise or routine.Recently, the Nutrition Grouch has begun to wonder why he exercises at all, when all it seems to do is result in some type of pain.  Find out why he still exercises in the face of so many setbacks and why he thinks you should too.Some of the topics in today's podcast include:I’m so inflexible it’s not even funny (1:19)The kinetic chain (2:21)Dead butt syndrome (5:51)I’m a believer! (6:39)Nothing’s ever good enough for physical therapists or dietitians (8:03)Being healthy is a full time job (8:52)The time the PT made me feel worse, not better (8:52)You’ve got hips like a woman (12:40)Joint by joint flexibility (14:34)Waking up in the middle of the night not being able to move! (18:17)I want to cut off my big toes! (19:00)I like to complain, but I’m still pretty healthy (20:42)The 3 major loves in my life (27:00)Problems in wellness are a microcosm for what’s wrong with society (29:54)I’m unwilling to do what it takes to be successful (33:21)Health & wellness tech is for your entertainment, not your health (34:39)Teaching is no longer an option for me (37:45)Student loans: when paying $30,000 puts you further in debt (39:26)Should your son your daughter pursue a nutrition degree? (43:46)My back up exercise plans/modifications over the years (44:40)Why do I still exercise when all it does is cause me pain? (45:46)Transitioning from physique and performance to health and longevity (53:49)What’s in your exercise toolbox? (55:49)

Summer, summer, summertime!  Ah, summer vacation, a time to rest, relax, rejuvenate, enjoy the great outdoors, and the many hours of daylight.  Summertime is also a time when your eating goes sideways, and your food environment gets destroyed.In today's episode the Nutrition Grouch explains why he is taking the summer off from podcasting (he'll be back in the fall) and discusses how he is going to handle his eating environment during his two big summer trips to Wisconsin and Buffalo, New York.Some of the topics on today's podcast include:How common are single income families? (0:56)Self-conscious on the playground: my 24:1 woman to man ratio (1:37)Stephen Hawking teaches high school algebra (2:31)Why I’m taking the summer off from podcasting (3:42)Let’s just say I don’t like social media (8:38)I’ve decided that I love Christmas cards! (9:14)My worldview/philosophy on life (11:00)We have too many (social media) friends but not enough good friends (12:01)One big game of status seeking (14:02)I control everything about the foods we have in the house, from start to finish (17:25)The importance of fridge and pantry super organization (17:37)Variety is not the spice of life (20:29)Baked goods are my kryptonite (22:41)But dad, you can’t set soda on fire, it won’t burn (23:06)We eat out once every 10 to 14 days (24:10)My diet is not the poster child of healthy eating (24:55)A tightly controlled food environment allows me to drink beer and eat Cheez-Its (25:14)Gaining 5-10 pounds in Buffalo, takes 1-2 months to lose (25:31)The 5 phases/time sections of vacation eating (26:05)The food trap I tend to fall into the week before a trip (27:12)There’s nearly a 100% chance I’m buying overpriced airport McDonalds at DIA (28:17)959 miles from Wisconsin and 1500 miles from Buffalo (30:22)Buffalo is very food centric (32:59)Eating strategies for my Buffalo food environment (36:01)Visiting family is not a true vacation (38:19)The long trip back home from vacation (38:52)Get back into your weekly meal cycle, ASAP: a bridge meal can help (40:03)Exercise recommendations for your trip (42:46)My 48-72 hour exercise adaptation window and getting to the gym 2.5 times/week (42:46)My personal obstacles to exercising (44:38)Go to the gym the day of your trip (47:04)The battle between present self and future self (50:57)

Hunger is often reported as one of the biggest reasons why a weight loss diet fails.  And yet, dietary strategies to reduce hunger, such as drinking more water, eating more protein, fiber, fruits, and vegetables, and even going on a ketogenic diet are no more effective than diets without a hunger reducing emphasis.In today's podcast The Nutrition Grouch provides an overview for why he believes that hunger actually doesn't have that much to do with weight loss or weight gain.  Some research studies seem to indicate that not all people on a diet will have increased hunger and that some peoples'  hunger will only increase to that of a lean, non-dieting control.People with obesity appear to be no more or no less hungry during the fasted state or after a test meal than their lean counterparts, and in fact, their lean counterparts may actually be hungrier after a test meal.Hunger isn't comfortable but rather than focusing on dietary strategies to control hunger, I argue that we need to lean in and embrace it, or employ other cognitive, non diet strategies.  And if that doesn't work, I think you may want to consider a GLP-1 weight loss medication, because unlike fad diets and other dietary strategies to reduce hunger, GLP-1's actually work.Some of the topics in today's podcast include:Three disclaimers on my views of hunger (1:49)Hunger is a super complex topic under the umbrella of appetite (3:23)The Triad of Appetite: hunger, food choice, and the amount of food eaten (4:57)The two types of hunger: physical and hedonic (5:40)Food choice: an apple or a bag of potato chips? (7:47)Dietary restraint, willpower, inhibition, and the amount of food eaten (10:22)Four types of eater, which one are you? (12:19)How many apples can you eat in one sitting? (14:41)The appetite triad and overeating to reach obesity (15:26)Do small plates help you with portion control? (18:42)The blunted food reward response: more isn’t always better (20:19)Cigarettes, beer, gambling, climbing mountains, and lifting weights (20:55)Look in the fridge, look in the pantry, repeat, don’t eat (21:49)Losing weight begins with food choice, not hunger (22:45)Protein, fat, and carbohydrate, which one keeps you the fullest, the longest? (24:59)Why I hate short-term feeding studies on hunger (26:56)Individual variations in hunger are wildly astounding! (29:46)We spend too much time, energy, and effort on hunger (33:16)The more we pay attention to hunger, the more power and control it has over us (33:16)The weight loss maintenance behavioral strategies that work (35:44)Tried and true, boring, cliché behaviors are in your control, hunger is not (40:06)Are people with obesity just hungrier than those without obesity? (41:44)Four papers on hunger during weight loss (44:32)Hunger increases during refeeding (50:01)Population hunger versus case study hunger (52:22)Eating food to control hunger is a stupid idea (52:55)

I really don't like fad diets but there are a few things that they actually do get right.  In today's episode I talk about 5 of the things they do get right as well as what some of the pitfalls of even those five "positives" are.To get to that point, we first discuss the multiple diets and diet diversity of our Paleo ancestors based upon region, geography, and season, how relatively new and arbitrary dietary guidelines are, the dominance of the low-fat/high carbohydrate diet of the late 20th century, which became the springboard for all of the other fad diet varieties that we see today.Some of the topics in today's podcast include:What is a fad diet? (0:36)Most nutrition advice is somewhat arbitrary (1:22)There are Paleo diets, not a singular Paleo diet (1:54)Region, geography, and season creates thousands of Paleo diets (4:15)Humans = 200,000 years; dietary guidelines = a mere 130 years (5:11)What diet is healthier, a true Paleo diet or a modern-day diet? (7:49)The simplistic story of the history of obesity in the United States (8:44)By default, a low-fat diet is also a high carbohydrate diet (10:12)The prevalence of obesity skyrocketed in the 1990s (11:12)The data on the relationship between saturated fat and heart disease is a mess (11:29)Why did obesity skyrocket?  One word: CARBS!! (12:54)Carbs make us fat and prevent us from losing weight (13:41)Calories make us fat, not just carbs (14:17)Two of the many great Kevin Hall research papers (14:32)How many fast-food restaurants have you ever been to?  Can you name them? (15:26)The carbohydrate/insulin hypothesis and Occam’s Razor (16:30)Captain Obvious: losing weight and keeping it off is really freaking hard (19:13)Traditional caloric restriction (low-fat/high carb) does not work well for weight loss (20:58)The creation of fad diets and the fad diet lifecycle (21:25)Fad diets have helped tens of thousands but failed tens of millions (25:48)Low-fat/high carb doesn’t mean you can have a carb free for all (28:08)Is a 5-12 NFL record really better than 3-14? (29:25)Using science to explain non-existent differences (30:39)The logical fallacy of “A” causes “B” and “B” causes “C” so “A must cause “C” (31:08)Common examples of weight loss logical fallacies (31:39)Macros, meal timing, and nonexistent differences at the expense of energy balance (32:51)The 5 things fad diets actually get right (33:52)#1: Fad diets solve some common overeating problems (34:04)Fad diets are too rigid and inflexible to be long-term solutions (36:39)My personal feelings on eating (with flexibility and freedom in mind) (36:59)This may sound bad, but sometimes I eat so I can drink (37:35)I ate my first banana in months, I don’t like forced fruit eating (38:45)#2: Fad diets provide you with a system of eating (43:37)We have studied every different type of diet possible and they all suck (46:33)Fad diets: the path of least resistance for the practitioner and the client (47:56)The mental framework for how and why a diet works, matters greatly (48:30)A common story/example of how low-carb diets fail (48:39)If you’re willing to give away ALL your food freedom, maybe a fad diet is for you (51:19)#3: Abstaining versus Moderation (52:18)Everything in moderation is a stupid saying (52:21)#4: Fad diets lack variety (55:12)When it comes to food, variety is not “the spice of life” (55:17)#5: Fad diets overcome the inertia of getting started (56:52)Starting a diet and maintaining a diet are not the same thing, the importance of transitions and exit strategies (57:20)I don’t think a fad diet can compete with one that you’ve created for yourself (100:51)

I love nutrition but I hate the way it is practiced.  In my opinion, there's academic nutrition based upon science, facts, figures, and knowledge and then there's the business of nutrition based upon sales, marketing, and persuasion.I just can't figure out how to compete in the business of nutrition, or rather, I just can't bring myself to do it.In health & wellness, nutrition knowledge, realistic expectations, and context seem to be optional.  Instead, testimonials, best case scenarios, a total lack of quantification, false optimism, wishful thinking, and low effort, high reward programs seem pretty standard.What I want more than anything is for nutrition claims to actually represent the data and the evidence and for them to be put into the context of life.  I know this isn't the way it works and there are far too many moneyed interests for it to work this way.  But this is the way that I operate, and this is what you can expect from me.  Honest, contextual assessments, and advice.We're a little too good at telling people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.Some of the topics in today's podcast include:I love nutrition but not practicing it (1:10)The two books that first changed how I view obesity and weight loss (2:05)The parts of nutrition that I really hate: marketing, sales, and persuasion (3:05)Weight loss is high effort, moderate reward, not low effort, high reward (4:11)Nutrition education is as futile as trying to convert a Trump supporter (6:09)Fast food, diet coke, and full-blown hatred = immortality (7:31)Nutrition is ultimately a selfish pursuit (8:41)The battle between helping people or fighting misinformation (10:24)Changing the culture of health & wellness and your relationship with it (12:08)Nutrition knowledge has little effect on day-to-day food decision making (14:06)Metabolic carts are for fun, entertainment, and education but not real life (16:22)The lack of willpower is a myth (17:20)The appearance of “trying” to lose weight (22:23)Body dissatisfaction is a great predictor of weight loss success (23:13)Being ignored/not mattering is soul crushing (25:28)There’s no place in nutrition for me (29:57)Our models for practicing nutrition kind of suck (35:17)What I really want more than anything (38:03)Academia is the only place for weight loss science (38:55)Nutrition undergrads aren’t properly prepared for the real world (38:55)$100,000+ and two decades of training, only to be blacklisted (41:14)It’s hard to love something that doesn’t love you back (41:50)

No one ever has enough time.  Everyone is too busy.  Meal planning becomes an afterthought and meal decisions are made in the moment.  Pardon my pun, but this is not a recipe for success.Diets work in the short-term because they help you create a negative energy balance and provide you with a system and a way of eating.  But they fail in the long-term because diets fall on your priority list and suffer from a lack of long-term commitment. In today's podcast the Nutrition Grouch outlines the first three steps you need to take to build a systematic, comprehensive way of eating and also talks about the importance of periodically identifying/ranking our priorities and making sure that nutrition stays towards the top.  He realizes this isn't easy and that some sacrifices need to be made, but it's what you need to do for healthy living.Some of the topics in todays podcast include:Nutrition is Not transactional (0:37)The first 3 steps to building a comprehensive and systematic way of eating (4:12)What are the most common priorities for people? (12:20)Time use surveys – what do you do with your time? (13:05)My top 10 priorities (19:49)My priority #1: Sleep (20:31)My priority #2: Chores/Household Activities (21:16)My priority #3: Food (22:33)I want to be a snake and eat once a month (25:20)My priority #4: Kids (26:30)My priority #5: Work (27:39)Studying hungover and missing Packer games (29:19)Doing this podcast is a real grind (31:28)Meaning making and mattering (32:23)My priority #6: Spouse (34:54)My priority #7: Self Care/Personal Care (36:51)My priority #8: Friends (38:43)My priority #9: Hobbies/Recreation (39:27)My priority #10: Extended Family (41:13)Create an excel spreadsheet to manage meals and cooking methods (44:32)Nutrition is more about time management than it is about knowledge (47:42)Skinny people have to try hard too (49:09)The eating advantages I have (51:12)Riding my bike to a brewery (54:58)Things I cut back on or do when I’m too busy (55:28)Coffee and beer are life, the rest is just details (56:28)

Is McDonalds really that bad for you?  Yes, it is.  But it's not McDonalds that is bad, it's how much and how often you eat McDonalds that is bad.  The poison is in the dose.  By focusing so intently on hating McDonalds people are missing the other culprits that make up the majority of our calories in our highly palatable, easily accessible, calorie rich food supply.McDonalds isn't going away, and neither is the fast-food market they created.  So, we need to find a way to live with it.  Bashing McDonalds or hating McDonalds is unhelpful and unproductive.  You can eat McDonalds or other fast food without breaking the calorie bank.  It just takes a little forethought and effort.Some of the topics in today's podcast include:Is McDonalds really that bad for you? (0:14)The poison is in the dose: 10,000 shots of whiskey (3:16)McDonalds checks all the “bad” boxes but none of the “good” (10:52)Is it McDonalds’ fault or personal responsibility? (11:19)McDonalds wouldn’t exist without customers, and customers don’t want salads (11:59)If McDonalds ceased to exist, would anything really change? (14:06)Going through the drive thru on my bike (17:04)More variety = more food consumed (18:18)“Calorie Pressure” (19:26)How I get tricked into eating 3 bags of chips in one week (21:08)The importance of knowing who your enemy is (22:47)Chipotle is Not healthy (24:46)If Natural Grocers is so great, why is half their store supplements? (25:14)I trust McDonalds more than health food vendors (i.e. Chipotle) (26:09)Normalizing “healthy” fast food: a slippery slope (26:55)Eating out is the enemy (27:39)Fast food breakfasts are for special occasions not common occurrences (28:31)8 tips for managing your fast-food environment (28:42)540 Meals Makes a Difference: how to eat McDonalds and lose weight (35:06)Morgan Spurlock is an idiot (35:57)Will you get sick eating 3 Chipotle burritos every day? (36:23)34,000 Big Macs eaten by one man (and counting)! (36:37)The cat is out of the bag and there’s no turning back (37:51)

Change is super freaking hard.  In an effort to get people to change their diets, many practitioners have advocated for a "small changes" approach.  That is, make a few small changes to your existing diet and exercise to make the change a little easier to get started.On the other side of things, is nutrition perfectionism.  And as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has said, "The standard is the standard".  You do it or you don't.  Nutrition perfectionism is all about getting in your servings of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean meats including fish, low-fat dairy, water, omega 3 and 6's, vitamins, and minerals all while limiting processed food intake, saturated fat, sodium, alcohol, and added sugars.To probably no one's surprise, The Nutrition Grouch isn't a fan of either of these approaches.  Small changes should be part of the overall strategy but not "the" strategy and losing weight requires cutting calories and not necessarily health focused eating.Some of the topics in today's podcast include:The small changes approach and public health (2:03)How I used to be a small changes advocate (4:27)What is nutrition perfectionism (6:45)A perfect diet score is impossible (6:54)Are nutrition recommendations more a guiding star than an endpoint? (8:12)Dope like Lance and bones of steel (10:25)The Blue Zones (11:50)The Power 9 Lifestyle Factors (12:49)Wine at 5 (14:42)Liquor, beer, wine: what’s healthiest? (15:57)Wine and dark chocolate for health? (16:11)The 80% Rule (17:06)The free radical theory of aging (18:27)Eat till content, not full (21:57)The Plant Slant (22:26)Red meat, saturated fat, and cholesterol (23:00)How much red meat can I eat? (23:42)Generic advice on eating meat – diversity (26:00)Meat 4 days/week versus 2 days/week (27:12)Total calories versus red or processed meat – what’s worse? (33:14)Future disease versus current reality (obesity) (33:47)Why I’m drawn to weight management (34:50)The man who ate 34,000 Big Mac’s (37:39)Eating as many calories as you can get away with on a weight loss diet (44:55)Put forth an effort that you’re proud of (48:38)

"Clean coal" and "light cigarettes" make about as much sense as the "bright side of negativity".  In general, it's almost always to your advantage to be positive than negative.On today's episode, The Nutrition Grouch talks about why he was shocked to realize that he sounded so negative and does his best to explain why.  The nutrition world is showered in and drowned by positivity and the only way to counterbalance positivity is with its opposite, negativity.You can't "out positive" the positive and a constructive criticism and "nudges" aren't enough to bring people back to rational.  Some of the topics in today's podcast include:Oscar the Grouch vs Oscar the Complainer (3:20)No one has worked harder for less career success (4:10)King on the Mountain (5:43)I’m not that smart, I’m educated (6:41)Grateful to keep my values and my integrity (8:26)My strong sense of right and wrong – and why it matters so much (9:35)The four primary reasons why I’m negative (11:04)The only way to fight positivity is with negativity – you can’t “outpositive” the positive (11:50)One of the best children’s books I’ve ever read (12:25)What can you really sell with negativity? (14:21)Most medicine only makes you feel “less worse” (15:37)The pathology of disease is more severe than the benefits of good nutrition (17:10)Is food medicine or is food toxic? (18:27)A healthy skepticism (19:31)There’s a chance I’m wrong about all of this (21:12)To hell with your nutrition perfectionism! (22:08)Systemize your nutrition and let it play in the background of life (23:31)Why studying long-term nutrition is so difficult (24:05)It’s hard to argue facts or data with make believe (26:54)The quantification debacle 2.0 – how to lie with percentages (27:27)A Kia is not a Mercedes – no nutrition levels, categories, or tiers (29:11)Is diet quality important for weight loss? (29:41)Diet input does not equal health output (31:48)The luxurification of everything – does your dog eat better than you? (33:02)Nutrition is about the avoidance of disease more than it is for positive benefits (34:34)Absurd positivity and altered normal are explained by habituation (37:01)

Anyone who knows anything about nutrition, knows that the vast majority of nutrition buzzwords are made up, don’t mean anything, misinterpreted, or stolen from an unrelated industry.  These buzzwords belong in works of fiction, not nutritional science.If students in a college class used even a fraction of the buzzwords used to market nutrition, they would fail.  And yet, in the real world, we tolerate them, and I can’t understand why.  On today’s episode, The Nutrition Grouch provides his rationale behind his general dislike for nutrition buzzwords while also explaining some of his own philosophies.  Some of the topics in today’s podcast include: Goals of The Nutrition Grouch: practical & actionable over theoretical (1:55)90-95% of our time is spent in theory; only 5-10% on action – why? (2:35)What if you were the only one of your kind? (4:35)Trying to find people to play music with (5:54)Brain melt (6:15)Nutritional Science is missing the science (6:39)The three tiers of nutrition buzzwords (7:50)Tier 1: Turn Offs/Trigger Words (8:49)Tier 2: Gray Areas (10:31)Tier 3: Thumbs Up (11:29)Why “the Process” of eating is more important than what you eat or the individual (12:03)A more thorough explanation of my own nutrition philosophy (14:04)An oversimplified short history of nutrition (14:34)Nutrition deficiencies courtesy of the industrial revolution (16:02)The very first nutrition guidelines in the United States (1894) (17:32)The discovery of vitamins (1912) (18:39)Body’s nutrition needs operate on demand driven, as needed basis (20:20)Continuum of deficiency and not deficient (20:34)What really burns me: above and beyond optimum; forever and ever (20:56)Unlimited rewards – your body isn’t a credit card (22:04)Too much or too little is harmful; preferred setpoints (22:32)Phytochemicals, antioxidants, nutraceuticals (25:23)The free radical theory of aging (25:55)Exercise’s role in oxidative stress (29:34)Inflammation (30:44)Why not eating might be the best way to fight inflammation (33:36)The overwhelming financial incentives for you to eat more, not less (34:37)Eat for weight loss or health but not both (35:47)Are all diets healthy? (38:24)Trying to rationalize and defend your way of eating (41:24)I like Doritos, beer, pizza, and other processed foods (41:53)

Wellness influencers of today are all too often modern-day snake oil salesmen who also happen to be masters of social media.  Enthusiasm, optimism, passion, and artistry trumps evidence, knowledge, facts, and expertise.  Most wellness influencers know very little about nutrition, metabolism, or weight management, and yet they are the leaders in the field.On today’s episode, The Nutrition Grouch provides his observations on what it takes to become an influencer and why he will never do what it takes to become one.  Some of the topics in today’s podcast include: The three types of wellness influencer (11:24)Doctors (MDs) can be the worst fact offenders (12:35)My mother-n-law’s hyperbolic nature (in a good way) (15:47)The event that changed my life forever (17:03)Oversimplistic, unifying theories to explain everything (21:17The traits and characteristics that make a great quarterback (24:59)Make losing weight so easy that you don’t even have to try (27:10)Be a contrarian, go against the grain, see what no one else can (31:29)Promote, promote, promote (34:55)How Flo from Progressive and wellness influencers are very similar (35:56)Quantity > Quality (37:51)Masters in reductionism (38:28)Everything you eat will kill you! (38:43)The one and only blog I subscribe to (41:42)Make people feel good about themselves and what they’re doing (42:58)Lexus and Apple versus Kia and Timex – the role of status (45:32)I think I’m better than you, how did nutrition become so moral? (46:12)Some problems just aren’t fixable (46:45)Entertainment > Education (51:05)Absolute Certainty (55:23)Wellness professionals significantly overestimate the importance of their fields (56:21)Personal experience and testimonials cannot replace research (58:05)Conclusion – not all influencers are created equally bad (1:00:45)The two people in the field that I jam with (1:02:46)Why fitness might have the most “good” influencers (1:03:19)What do we do about these influencers? (1:05:30)

GLP-1 weight loss medications are game changing.  Outside of bariatric (weight loss) surgery, there isn’t another diet, exercise or lifestyle modification program that can help you achieve a 15-25% weight loss.  Yet, these medications do have some serious and uncomfortable side effects.  On today’s episode, The Nutrition Grouch provides his take on these blockbuster medications and talks aboutWhy weight loss medications were excluded from The Paper Database (0:00)Questions to be answered/explored in this podcast (8:50)What is GLP-1 and what does GLP-1 do in the body? (12:51)The carbohydrate/insulin hypothesis (19:35)How do these medications work? (27:45)Hedonic Hunger (31:00)Names of GLP-1 medications and who makes them (34:00)How much weight you can lose on the different types of GLP-1 medications (36:18)Do you need to diet and exercise on GLP-1’s to lose weight? (38:04)Can you quit taking the medication after you lose the weight? (42:28)What are the medication side effects? (44:28)How much do the medications cost? (51:00)Would I take them? (53:05)Why Lifestyle Interventions/Behavior Modification still matters (53:18)

According to a recent study……who cares what your recent study says!  Is it earth shattering? Paradigm shifting? Revolutionary? Game changing? Groundbreaking?  No, it is not.  But that’s not what the news media, internet ads, and radio spots will tell you.Outside of weight loss medications (a category of their own), there haven’t been any truly paradigm shifting research in diet, exercise or behavior modification for many, many years and there isn’t going to be for weight loss (I’m not talking about health, just the number on the scale).We already have mountains of research on what works (and doesn’t), we just can’t properly formulate or execute a plan.  Much of this stems from the lack of control in our food environment and our incredible drive to eat.In today’s episode The Nutrition Grouch talks about His disdain for the ads on ESPN sponsored by Taboola – such trashHow new studies don’t nullify and trump the existing 50 studies on a topicWhy I love research papers from the 80’s and 90’s but no one pays attention to themHow we’re going to look back on this fad diet period and say those people (researchers) were idiots for trying to lose weight using dietary strategies in a 21st century food environmentWhy both journalists and researchers are trapped in their methods of storytellingWhy conducting research is a painfully slow, methodical, and grinding process that does not allow for immediate “breakthroughs” but takes years and decades to “inch” forwardThe difference between randomized controlled trials, observational studies, review papers, and meta-analysis and what the advantages and disadvantages areWhy no new diet, exercise or behavior research will ever beat Zepbound or Mounjaro As well as BMW drivers and Platinum Ford-150 guy living in so-so apartment complexes and trailer parks, standing on your left leg and chewing bubble gum while exercising, 1984 mac computers vs. supercomputers, mystery doctors and miracle cures, flies landing on elephants, writing hit songs on the back of napkins vs. conducting research, Chuck Norris’ two minute routine, the illusion of explanatory depth in test taking, how toilets work, how research is more selfish than it is altruistic, significance vs meaningfulness, why nutrition articles written 10 or 20 years ago will still be relevant 10 or 20 years from now (not much changes), and why the biological drive to eat will never be overcome by diet, exercise or behavior modification strategies.

Nutrition and Politics are two seemingly very different fields/disciplines, yet they have far too much in common.  In today’s episode The Nutrition Grouch illustrates the ways in which the disciplines are structured, and how their individual incentives are at odds with actually helping people live better lives.  Nutrition and politics are more about being a performative artist, self-promoter, instigator, fighter, and entertainer, than they are about helping people.  And the public is oddly complicit.For example, they both:Pick a Side and Dig in on a Single Issue – allowing no nuance or discussion, I’m right, you’re wrongHave Strong Party Affiliations/Professional Organizations – fosters an “us” versus “them” environmentBlame Someone or Something for Your Problems – McDonalds and carbohydrateAllow Only the Most Extreme People to Get Attention – just Google “Top 100 Wellness Professionals”, yikes!Lie, Embellish or Oversimplify – the pitfalls of absolutism and relativismLove to Use Fear – to gain money and powerLove to Tell You How to Live – what to eat and not to eatAre Super Passionate about Shit They Don’t Know Anything About – I should have been an MD, not a PhD The Grouch also explains why fad diets are band aids to far larger “life” problems, why dietitians are maniacal about explaining the difference between dietitians and nutritionists, aren’t great at understanding metabolism, and protect their professional territory like honey badgers, how defending McDonalds gets you lots of hate mail, how the health & wellness industry is dominated by quacks, that his favorite health & wellness influencer of all time is Nia Shanks of Lift Like a Girl, why most wellness industry experts are being forced out of the industry (myself included), his disdain for absolutism and relativism as well as nutrition advice based on questionnaires/diet surveys, and why he would love to see aJon Stewart/Liz Cheney 2024 presidential ticket and nutrition science to break away from health & wellness to form its own organization actually based upon science and sound, practical advice.

Christmas decorations, lights, cards, music, parties, presents………and eating advice.  Every year we do the same things for the holidays, one of which is giving cliched, watered-down holiday eating advice.In today’s episode, The Nutrition Grouch provides his Eight Tips to Survive Holiday Eating and attempts to do so without being too cliché.  While there is no universal advice that will work for everyone the Grouch talks aboutStaying in a Weekly Meal CycleNavigating Individual Holiday MealsWhat to do with LeftoversHow to Handle Cookies and DesertsThe Snack TrapA Light Meal of the DayChoosing Between Drinks or DesertsThe Role of Exercise (hint: it’s not about calories) Other topics include the Grouch’s love of leftovers, dislike of cooking, enjoying foods in “selective” moderation (not everything in moderation), being made fun of for taking small plates of food, his trip to New Orleans, and how a crappy gym is still better than no gym.

Anyone who diets, will at some point, go through a weight loss stall or a weight loss plateau.  Many people will tell you that your body may have entered “Starvation Mode”.  In starvation mode your body “thinks” you are starving and will no longer allow you to lose any more weight. But is “starvation mode” really a thing?  And if so, what can you do about it?In today’s episode The Nutrition Grouch questions the validity of “starvation mode” and surmises that it is an overly simplistic made-up term used to describe a complex phenomenon.Weight loss stalls and plateaus are usually fairly explainable:Body mass loss – less metabolically active tissue – lower resting metabolic rateEat less food – decreased thermic effect of foodWeigh less – decreased thermic effect of physical activityLess dietary adherence – more foods “sneak” or are “allowed” back into your dietFood logging stops or is less accurateDietary motivation and prioritization of diet decreasesLess meal replacements – replaced with higher calorie “real food”Life is busy – gets in the wayYet, there are times when your metabolic rate decreases further than you would expect it to and your dietary adherence seems to still be good.  This isn’t starvation mode, this is adaptive thermogenesis.The Nutrition Grouch details how energy expenditure is measured (body composition, oxygen consumption or a predictive equation) and how in adaptive thermogenesis energy expenditure (calories burned) is lower than expected.  But what can you do about it?NothingEating more calories won’t fix it, weight training won’t fix it, high protein diets won’t fix it, weight loss medications won’t fix it.Your numbers are what your numbers are.  But despite the hand that you’re dealt, you can’t use it as an excuse.  Once you start playing the blame game, you lose/forfeit/cede control and that’s not a winning strategy.But don’t despair, whether you experience adaptive thermogenesis or not, you will still do many of the same things you otherwise would.Meal planFood logSelf-weighGet in a weekly meal cycleExerciseIdentify and overcome obstaclesControl your food environmentUse meal replacementsDecide how much effort versus reward you are putting into and getting out of dietingAt the end of the day, do the best that you can do.  That’s all anyone can ask of you and that’s all you can ask of yourself.

People are obsessed with burning fat to lose weight.  Millions of products, services, and careers are based upon the relationship between fat burning and weight loss.   In today’s podcast, The Nutrition Grouch explains why he thinks burning fat is actually very overrated.  Burning fat isn’t actually controlled by fat, we don’t have a calorie burning or a fat burning problem, we’ve got a calorie consumption problem, introduces his favorite nutrient metabolism concept of all time (the oxidative hierarchy), explains how all diets work, and dispels the myths ofEating fat to burn fat (Atkins or Keto)Exercising in the fasted state to burn fatExercising in the fat burning low to moderate intensity zones to burn fatSpending more time in the fasted state to burn fatNot eating carbohydrates because they turn into fatWe also discuss how long you can live without eating (the answer will surprise you!!) and why energy balance, above all else regulates how much you weigh.

Fat – Bad!Muscle - Good!The Nutrition Grouch explores yet another example of overly simplistic, binary, good/bad thinking in the health & wellness industry.  And grumbles that no one takes the time to talk aboutHow much fat is too much?How much muscle do you really need?That people with obesity likely already have enough muscle.  They don't need to build more.Why burning fat, a catabolic process, is the antithesis of building muscle, an anabolic process.Why you might want to focus on one goal or another.Why it is important to consider why you are making a change.  Is it to improve your metabolic health, functionality, or visual vanity (physique)?Why no one considers the ROI -- effort versus reward when it comes to physique.Other topics discussed include talking about “skinny fat”, the quantification debacle, why BMI is fine for estimating body composition, purchasing my first Olympic weight set, my own struggles with vanity, my apparent obsession with Arnold Schwarzenegger, overly simplistic, generic advice, and my ongoing beef with high protein diets at the expense of carbohydrate.

The Nutrition Grouch tells the story of his 10-year job odyssey and why it is reflective of a truly broken health & wellness industry.  He ponders why there is apparently no place for someone who has taught atConcorde Career CollegeJohnson and Wales University - DenverThe Community College of DenverMetro State UniversityThe University of New EnglandIowa State UniversityEast Carolina University And created50+ Blogs on Energy Balance Nutrition Consulting10+ YouTube Videos5000+ research paper website – The Paper Database for Weight ManagementThe Obstacle Meter for Weight LossThe Science of Dieting Weight Loss ProgramThis May Help You?... podcastAmong other thingsOther highlights include CNAs making more than PhDs, learning that Atkins is a snack food company and not a weight loss company, and how honesty is not a good policy when it comes to interviewing. 

The Nutrition Grouch (Todd) shares how and why his weight has fluctuated by 40 pounds over the years in his autobiographical weight narrative AND why it is important for people to know their own story.  IncludesBeer drinking and weightlifting in collegeRiding 100s of miles at Iowa State and doing half-ironman triathlonsSeverely hurting his backHow his PhD almost killed him and sent him into a depressionBiking 930 miles one summer with his daughterWhy visiting Buffalo is his most challenging obstacle todaySpecial appearances by Don Bredle of UW-Eau Claire, 24 Hour Fitness gym guy, Nino’s pizza of Hamburg, NY, and my mother n’ law, Donna Gavin.

Recap of keys 1-8 including what Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking Fast and Slow” System 1 versus System 2 comparison means for decision making when it comes to your food and food environment.  Why diet is more important than exercise to lose weight (but you still have to exercise).  Why Todd hasn’t been to the gym in a month, slow and steady does not win the race, how no one celebrates by NOT eating food, why the first 3 months of your diet will determine how much you weigh years from now, why you should think about using meal replacements, kits, and delivery (portion control), why eating home cooked meals is the key to your long-term success (even though cooking is such a pain in the ass), the importance of self-monitoring food intake and self-weighing, the obstacle meter, a few good weight loss programs other than The Science of Dieting, and why I would avoid fad dieting and somewhat surprisingly, Weight Watchers, WW or whatever they are calling themselves these days.

The Nutrition Grouch shares the first 8 of his 15 keys to weight management.  Items discussed include trying not to be so hard on yourself, the role of your food environment and how it has caused obesity but can also cure it, our snack culture, setting realistic weight loss expectations, how there are no short cuts, nutrition is not a transactional fix it and forget it service, you have to be fully committed to lose weight, losing weight requires a caloric deficit regardless of the diet type, there are 3 (and only three) ways to incur a caloric deficit, and why diet is so much more important than exercise to lose weight.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Despite all the wild claims and massive positivity claiming otherwise, there is no “best” diet.  There isn’t even a “right” diet for you.  The idea of a “right” diet is a very American, individualistic concept.  Yes, humans are different but there isn’t a “right” diet type for anyone.  All diets suck and provide suboptimal results.  Rather than arguing over whether Keto, low-carb, low-fat, Paleo, alternate-day-fasting or time restricted eating is “best” we need to realize there is not a best and there never will be a “best”.  Even if a diet were created based upon your individual genome, there are too many other factors that will prevent you from following that diet, mainly human behavior, and your built environment.  Changing “one thing” or “one rule” (i.e., give up carbs) may work for a short time (1-3 months) but generally fails over the long-term (1 year+).  A more systematic, sustainable, pragmatic approach to weight loss and maintenance is required.  Other topics covered in this podcast are the options that you have for weight loss (i.e., weight loss surgery, prescription medications, very-low calorie diets, lifestyle modification, fad diets, and exercise), the history of how The Science of Dieting came to be, my disdain for theory at the expense of practical, actionable, pragmatic advice, the three phases of The Science of Dieting weight loss program, and the 5 Universal Rules of Weight Loss.  There’s a lot of great information in this one!

Todd talks about how privileged he feels to have avoided Covid for so long (got it for the first time last week) and how these "life" privileges (advantages) directly affect how he eats.  He also discusses how he became a stay at home dad, the importance of a weekly meal cycle, how to overcome eating obstacles (the obstacle meter), why nutrition is not transactional (you have to do the work), and why weight loss isn't about food at all....it's about your unique life circumstances and your relationship with food.  Finally, he talks about the tools that he uses in his weekly meal cycle and how he was able to stay on track despite having Covid for the week.

In today’s episode, Todd Weber, PhD (aka, The Nutrition Grouch) talks about his small town, west central Wisconsin upbringing, choosing a college, changing majors, being an idiot, reading Muscle & Fitness, going to school forever (BS, MS, PhD), creating a 5000 paper database on weight management, his first foray into health & wellness misinformation, the early days blogging post PhD, not being able to get a full time teaching job, his disdain for continuing education, exile from the field of nutrition, his trouble with absolutism, the inability for people to show weakness, and the justification companies have for their nonessential existence.  He also details how no one has spent more time, energy, or effort in trying to research and understand the field of weight management and why he more than anyone else is in the position to speak the truth when it comes to weight loss.

The weight loss industry is, has been, and always will be a dumpster fire.  People like to say health & wellness (of which weight loss is a part of) is “broken” or full of “misinformation” but that is being too generous because it implies that some of it is good or that it is actually fixable.  It is damaged beyond repair.  If it were possible, I would burn it to the ground and start over.  While it is impractical to try to summarize what’s wrong with the industry in one podcast description, my premise is this: there is a truly astronomical amount of information that neither our media nor our professionals are able to communicate to you in a meaningful way without losing all context, applicability to real life, and/or the ability to see how all of the pieces fit together.The media should just stop covering health & wellness because their soundbites explain nothing and are little more than headlines and talking points.  They may raise awareness but not understanding, leading to the illusion of explanatory depth.  Academics actually know what they are talking about and could help educate us but are too busy with their work and only some are engaged with the public.  Most academics look down on and laugh at the quacks and zealots in the field but it’s the quacks and zealots that have the real power.Businesses do not have the right people in place (PhDs or medical professionals) to drive product and service development (that’s left to the MBAs).  After the brand is established, the number one rule is that you must protect and promote the brand no matter how myopic, self-serving, or unimportant that brand is.  Healthcare is for the (already) sick and public health is so surface level.When it comes to their health, the public is lazy.  They want the most entertaining, convenient, and positive information available, even if it is at the expense of achieving their goals.  Hard work, I think not.  Let me take the path of least resistance and “do it on the side”.  There’s no reason for real change.Instead of being stuck in pedaling the news of the day, disconnected factoids and tidbits, overly reductionist, cliché, idealistic, magic cures, easy fixes, secrets, tips, tricks, hacks, fads, gimmicks, cherry-picked, binary, good/bad, flashy, insanely optimistic, exaggerated, fantasy land, sunshine and rainbows, theoretical, testimonial based weight loss information -- let’s come up with a more comprehensive, systematic, sustainable, realistic, semi-automated, results-oriented, pragmatic approach to weight loss with a slice of common sense.  I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time (years and decades) thinking about the thousands of nuances of weight loss (just Google Energy Balance Nutrition Consulting, The Paper Database, or The Science of Dieting).  I’ve also spent thousands of hours trying to understand why the health & wellness field isn’t actually science based despite the information being readily available.I am so fed up and exhausted by it all.  It is so broken that on many days I want to say forget it.  I’m done with this.  It can’t be fixed.  I’m a smart motivated guy that can take my talents elsewhere (LeBron).  But something keeps drawing me back.  It’s like a sickness or a bad relationship.  I just can’t get out of it.  At my core, it’s who I am.  In this podcast I want to offer you truly science-based weight loss advice, critiques of the weight loss industry/diet culture, and thoughts on my experiences and failings in the profession.  And with that, I bring you The Nutrition Grouch.