The Nutrition Grouch
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.
The Nutrition Grouch
Weight Loss: It's Not (All) About the Food
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)