Sometimes an interesting discussion will happen within the context of the comments on other blog posts that warrant a brand new column dedicated to that topic. Such is the case today from one of my regular readers named Katy. I like the fact that she isn’t afraid to share her opinions and I welcome even dissenting voices like hers to share what they are thinking so we can all benefit from what they have to say.
Katy first began posting her disdain for what the participants in Isabeau Miller’s FitCamp last month were doing in these comments to one of my videos where she stated how much she was “dismayed by this focus on intense exercise to lose weight.” She believed that all of us were being pushed to pain and made to push harder through it all for the purposes of weight loss and that this was no way to do it. But Katy wasn’t there with me and the ladies of FitCamp to see when Isabeau made some of us sit out and get some sleep or backing off on the intensity of the workouts to prevent overtraining.
Her basic premise in all of her comments on the various videos was that exercise is not an effective means for losing weight and that my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog has never touted doing exercise as a way for people to shed the pounds. Of course, Katy would be wrong because not only have I blogged about how much cardiovascular exercise I did in 2004 during my 180-pound weight loss (see my posts here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, for just a few examples), but I also wrote an entire chapter of my book about it. You can disagree that it’s the best way to create weight loss, but you cannot deny the fact that it was an instrumental part of MY success four years ago.
With that said, I wanted to share the latest comment Katy left to this blog post I recently wrote about another FitCamp opportunity coming in October that contained quite a few errors that needed to be corrected. I’ll give Katy the benefit of the doubt that she is simply making a lot of assumptions based on what she believes the truth is. That’s okay and I don’t fault her because I know she has good intentions. But this could not go unanswered.
Here’s what Katy wrote:
I’ll admit I’ve been “confused” by the sudden flood of contradictory messages put forth here by ol’ Jimmy in the last month:
Before FitCamp…
1) JIMMY has made many proclamations over the years that carbs are bad and unnecessary, even for world-class endurance athletes, as to be expected on a site such as LLVLC.
2) JIMMY has denigrated the approach of Dean Ornish, Mr. Low Fat, as being unhealthful (to put it mildly).
3) JIMMY has featured a number of low carb advocates and experts who have expressed the opinion that exercise does not help people lose weight through calorie burning (Gary Taubes?).
4) JIMMY has featured a number of low carb advocates and experts who have warned about the downside of excessive exercise on the body (Remember Fred Hahn? Dr. Mike Eades?).
Jimmy then goes to FitCamp…
1) JIMMY begins to include bread and fruit to help him through the workouts because he’s dizzy (electrolyte imbalance?).
2) JIMMY is participating at a camp where counting calories and low fat foods are emphasized (strawberries are only 2 calories each…).
3) JIMMY works out “like a madman” at a camp where burning lots of calories through intensive exercise is stressed (one estimate was 6,000), and responds to criticism with “If you don’t agree with this method for losing weight, then don’t do it. I can tell you that FitCamp is a combination of BOTH cardio and strength training which is a VERY good way to get healthy and lose weight.” Note the “lose weight” part.
4) JIMMY works out for 4-6 hours per day and proclaims it GOOD! (at this level, I don’t think it matters if it’s a strength training and cardio mix).
As Jimmy likes to say, HUH?! Is it OK for Jimmy to alter his course, change his mind, or explore other avenues of getting fit and losing weight? OF COURSE! But there is a big difference between WANTING to push yourself to the limits of your capabilities and believing that you NEED to in order to become fit. If the participants got what they wanted out of their FitCamp experience, GREAT. My message has been simple: it is NOT necessary, nor advisable, for overweight, beginning exercisers to workout for 4-6 hours a day. I truly thought that the NO PAIN, NO GAIN philosophy had been put to rest by fitness experts a long, long time ago. Just call me perplexed (I think I have just a touch of whiplash…).
I made a quick response to Katy’s criticisms of me below her comments at that post. But after further reflection on what she had to say, I just had to correct her on some major flaws in her reasoning and on the assumptions she made about my FitCamp experience.
First, nothing is conflicting about my current philosophy and my philosophy pre-FitCamp. I’m the same guy writing about the same things I did before with only a slightly new and better perspective. If we ever stop learning, then that’s when we stop thinking, stop growing, stop the progress we’ve made to get where we are today. I’m not about to let that happen to me or this blog.
Second, while I have often stated low-fat is an unhealthy way for ME and many others to eat, I’ve always maintained the mantra that people should find what works for them, follow that plan exactly, and then never stop doing it for the rest of their lives. If that’s low-fat, even Dr. Ornish’s version of it, then knock yourself out. It’s quite monolithic of anyone to tell someone there’s just one diet that will work for them and nothing else. For me and you, Katy, that’s low-carb, but others may benefit from some other way of eating.
Third, while I love and respect the work that Gary Taubes put forth in his book Good Calories, Bad Calories, that doesn’t mean I buy his hypothesis about cardio exercise. I know for me in 2004, it was all that cardio that helped me shed the weight as quickly as I did in conjunction with my low-carb lifestyle and I don’t regret it one bit. However, what I do regret and stated as much in my book is that I didn’t add in strength training to my routine sooner. The bottom line is FitCamp got me excited about doing regular cardio exercise again where I had allowed it to slip off the radar for me in the past year. I just feel better when I exercise…weight loss or not.
Fourth, I wouldn’t call 1-2 hours of exercise, especially when it is combined with strength training like I incorporate, as “excessive exercise.” During FitCamp we went upwards of 4-6 hours a day for a period of time to get us used to this kind of exercising experience. And many of those ladies were doing next to NOTHING prior to that. Most people don’t do nearly ENOUGH for their bodies, so this was a “crash” course in learning more about it. Yes, Isabeau and Jacob rested us when we needed to be rested from being overtrained which you would know if you watched my FitCamp videos. Even now that I’m back home, I listen to my body and take it easy when I need to. It’s quite presumptuous of anyone to pretend to know what is going on in my head if you’re not me. I’m doing this for ME and nobody else for my own personal reasons–of which weight loss may or may not be the goal.
Fifth, I added some low-carb bread and low-glycemic fruit to my diet during FitCamp because I was getting some MAJOR dizziness during some relatively easy exercises. If eating some strawberries or honeydew melon makes that go away, then I’m content with consuming them. In fact, I’ve continued eating melon prior to my spin class or workouts with my personal trainer back home because it helps. Even Dr. Atkins said these fruits are perfectly fine for low-carbers to eat on his diet. And, after all, they’re REAL FOOD, so I don’t understand what the fuss is all about.
Sixth, while Isabeau’s diet plan for the FitCampers included some lower-fat offerings, she respected my wishes to stay on my high-fat, low-carb plan and I did. My calorie requirement during my two-week stint there was 2500 calories a day–right where I have been trying to keep it usually and not too chintzy if you ask me! I enjoyed eating my foods which included butter, mayo, full-fat meats, cheeses, nuts, salad greens, etc. Go back and read my menus blog during those two weeks. I wasn’t suffering eating anything low-fat or low-calorie at all.
Seventh, while I didn’t lose any weight during FitCamp, I still lost 14 inches off of my body while gaining some invaluable lessons along the way. Something happened as a result of that experience and that something would seem to be muscle growth. You know, Katy, from reading my blog this year about how I’ve been dealing with a rather odd blood sugar/insulin issue that I’ve been to see a low-carb specialist doctor about. We’re still dealing with it, so your insensitivity to my situation is quite regrettable. Under normal circumstances, most anyone would have lost weight doing what I did at FitCamp. In fact, ALL of my fellow FitCampers DID lose an average of about 10 pounds and 13 inches in the two weeks they were there. Not too shabby for a plan you seem to be universally dismissing as useless and irrelevant.
Finally, the 4-6 hours of cardio/strength training/circuit training mix was only TEMPORARY–now that we’re back home, most of the FitCampers are getting in anywhere from 30-90 minutes a day since they have the skills and knowledge from going through this experience. That’s the purpose of FitCamp and it did the trick for me personally–I haven’t wanted to stop exercising since being home. I have missed this part of my health routine in the four years since my initial weight loss and I’m grateful to Isabeau Miller and her FitCamp for lighting that fire in me again.
I’m sorry you’re “perplexed” about all of this, Katy, but I see nothing but benefits from this entire FitCamp experience I went through in August. THANK YOU as always for your opinions and I welcome the opinions of others to share their thoughts about what you have said and my response.
