• Paleo: Only “caveman” food. Nuts, meat, berries, vegetables, etc.
• Vegetarian: no meat
• Vegan: no meat, eggs, dairy
• Holistics: no processed food

Based off these examples, clean food is vastly different to each group. But the problems with “clean eating” are more than semantic. Let’s move onto the more sinister aspects of this nutritional misconception.

Missing Elements of Nutrition

Let’s take look at the staples in many fitness enthusiasts’ diets: chicken, rice, broccoli, oatmeal, eggs, nuts, fish, olive oil, etc. For many, things such as fruit, dairy, and bread are a no-go. What’s unfortunate about the exclusion of certain food groups is the lack of variety, which creates a lack of essential nutrients. A wide, varied diet allows for the diversity of vitamins and minerals necessary to keep your body healthy.

Another issue that can develop from a severely limited diet is the potential for too much or too little fiber. Since some “clean eaters” don’t track what they eat, it’s entirely possible to be out of a reasonable fiber range. There are negative effects associated with both too much and too little. Too much fiber can lead to cramping, diarrhea, constipation, gas, and malabsorption. The issue with malabsorption is that fiber binds to nutrients. With the influx of too much fiber, this raises the potential to pull essential nutrients out of the body and not allow for absorption. The issue with too little fiber is the potential for constipation, weight gain, and blood sugar fluctuations. Both extremes are clearly not optimal for a healthy body. A basic formula to follow is about .2g of fiber per pound of bodyweight.

The Mind Games of Clean Eating

One of the most damning aspects of “clean eating” is the negative mental effect. It’s very easy to fall into an all-or-nothing mindset. While eating healthy, nutritious food is important, the question of mental balance comes into play.

Have you seen those women at the gym marching in place in between their sets? I have. It’s obsessive and strange; trying to burn as many extra calories as possible. Being “healthy” is such a relative term. Some people try so hard to be healthy, they in turn become extremely unhealthy in their actions and obsessive mannerisms. Healthy is a term used for physical health, but just as important (perhaps even more so) is mental health. Clean eating is becoming a disorder in itself. You can call it health and wellness all you want, but when taken to extremes, it actually is a disorder.

There’s even a new term for it within the health industry these days; orthorexia. This disorder revolves around the concept of eating only “pure” or “clean” foods. This can become problematic because of the obsessive, addictive components. The individual may avoid any foods thought to be dirty, easily become extremely anxious about food, and even cancel plans with family and friends, due to being unable to control the food being consumed. Obviously, the severity of disordered thinking can vary, but it can become all-consuming; especially for females.

Another tough reality of strict “clean eating” is that in the long run, for most, it is not sustainable. As humans, as much as we’d like to think we have unfailing willpower, we do not. Cookies, chips, pasta—it’s all delicious. When using an all-or-nothing approach, odds are, instead of floating somewhere in a happy middle ground, the pendulum swings from one extreme to the next. Absolute clean, pure eating; over to full-blown binge eating. This binge eating is usually dished up with a side of shame and guilt. Not a great way to live.

Clean Eating Your Way Into a Disorder

Here’s a scenario I have seen quite often in the fitness community:

A woman discovers physique competitions, and wants to prove to herself that she can put on a swimsuit, get on-stage, and strut her stuff, showing off her hard work to the world! But where to begin? An online coach suggests she cut out gluten, dairy, sugar, and fruit. She is allowed to treat herself to one cheat meal a week. The aspiring competitor restrains herself all week; avoiding plans with friends, bringing her Tupperware everywhere she goes, scouring food labels to ensure there’s no sugar or gluten contaminating her “clean” food plan. But once Saturday hits, it’s time to give in to her cravings. She orders an appetizer, followed by an entrée, and of course, dessert, fitting as many treats into her meal as possible. Before you know it, she’s consumed 3,350 calories for dinner (total taken from a popular chain restaurant).

Fast forward to after her show. The competitor has successfully made it to the stage! Now what? Post-show blues settle in, and there’s no goal on the horizon. Inevitably, abstaining from treats becomes difficult, and the competitor starts to give in, binging on chips and pizza, and afterward, feeling horrible shame and guilt. Plus, after this intense dieting phase, these massive binges lead to unwanted weight gain, which send the competitor into another diet phase through “clean eating.” Thus starts the yo-yo of dieting, binging and an unhealthy relationship with food. I’ve seen it happen far too often.

There’s a Better Way

Here’s another scenario:

A new competitor decides to hit the stage. They hire a coach who follows flexible dieting principles and macro counting. They manage to fit a treat in here and there throughout the week, and maybe even a little more on a weekly refeed day. No restrictions, no binging. The competitor can go out with family and friends, ordering mindfully from the menu.

Fast forward to post-show. The competitor increases calories, while still enjoying the food she loves. No need to binge, no need to feel shame. There’s no massive weight gain, and no pit of shame she needs to climb out of.

Obviously, these scenarios can vary from one extreme to the other. But it’s definitely a reality. Looking at each scenario, it’s pretty obvious which competitor had an overall healthier experience. For some, yes, it’s possible to eat only nutritious, healthy foods while avoiding excessive sugar, salt, etc. But for the majority of individuals, it makes much more sense both mentally and physically to follow a mostly healthy, widely varied, nutrient-dense diet, peppered with a treat here and there.

The post Deprivation: Purity in Dieting Can Lead to Eating Disorders appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Dieting is a massive stressor on the body, and if you’re doing it, meet your new roommate: cortisol.

First, let’s run through how cortisol should operate in the body:

1. We’re faced with a stressor, causing our body to secrete cortisol from the adrenal gland
2. This puts our body in a state of “fight or flight” response
3. Cortisol inhibits insulin production to enable immediate use
4. The stressor is resolved and the body’s hormones return to a balanced state

This is fine for the occasional instance. But it becomes an issue when cortisol levels remain elevated, which is the case among many dieters. What many fail to realize when they consider entering a diet phase, is that dieting itself is extreme stress. Not only psychologically, but physiologically. Our bodies are complex machines that require balance. When balance is thrown, there are shifts that take place in order to try to regain that balance.

The Many Functions of Cortisol

Insulin 

Cortisol stores fat as well as releases it, depending on the circumstances. For instance, it becomes fat-storing in response to elevated insulin, because of an increase in the fat storing enzyme LPL. When insulin levels are high, the body tends to store glucose as fat. Cortisol, in an attempt to give that surge of energy necessary for action during high stress, releases glucose into the blood stream.

When we’re chronically stressed and the excess glucose is not being utilized, it is stored as fat. Plus, the increase and prolonged elevation of blood glucose can trigger the release of insulin. Insulin also slows fat burning through the suppression of the fat burning enzyme CPT-1. On top of this, an elevation in cortisol causes your body to be insulin resistant, which leads to greater fat storage. This cycle can become a massive issue for the dieter.

Thyroid

Another factor that is rarely noted is the relationship between cortisol and thyroid function. Your thyroid is important because it affects your breathing, heart rate, nervous system, weight, mental state, energy levels, and strength, among other things. When cortisol is elevated, it causes thyroid function to slow. When thyroid function slows, side effects include frequently being cold, constipation, and weight gain. Obviously not what the dieter is hoping for. Elevated stress prevents the conversion of T4 into T3. This is important because it stimulates metabolism and energy production. When in a high stress situation, the body halts the conversion of T4 to T3 to slow down metabolism. So, while chronically dieting, the metabolism slows, thus halting or slowing weight loss.

Sleep

Contrary to popular belief, cortisol is not all bad. It’s a necessary hormone that helps us rise in the morning, and tapers at night in order for us to get to sleep. But while dieting, cortisol levels elevate. This causes numerous effects and vicious cycles. I’m sure this is a familiar scenario for anyone who’s dieted before: You wake up after a not-so-restful night of sleep, dragging your feet out the door for work, large coffee in tow. As the day progresses, and you’re trying to wind down for the night, you feel a sudden surge of energy right before bedtime that leaves you wide awake, staring at the clock, dreading the fact you need to be up in five hours. Which leads me to the next point in this vicious cycle.

Caffeine

After your atrocious night of sleep, what’s a dieter to do? Likely reach for the coffee. It’s the only way to get you through the day. Since there’s a lack of calories to derive energy from, so many rely on caffeine. This works wonders. The only thing is, caffeine also elevates cortisol, adding stress on top of stress. In the moment, it’s a lifesaver, but paired with every other stressor including emotional stress and lack of sleep, it’s only adding to the problem.

Water Retention

Have you ever gone out with friends, let yourself live a little, and anticipated a weight jump the next morning, only to realize you actually lost weight? There’s a reason for this. When cortisol levels are elevated, the amount of water your body holds elevates as well. This massive weight drop is often referred to as a “whooshing” effect. The increase in calories reduces cortisol levels. This is why a refeed can be massively beneficial for a number of reasons. Stepping on the scale after an intense week of dieting and seeing no change, or even worse, an increase, is disheartening to say the least. But, more importantly, it only perpetuates your stress.

Abdominal Fat

Cortisol, paired with high insulin, has been known to promote visceral fat accumulation. Visceral fat is stored in the abdominal region, generally around your organs. When insulin is elevated and remains high, your body will not release fat from your cells. Abdominal fat contributes to many biochemical stressors. More abdominal fat is associated with higher levels of oxidative stress (lower antioxidants and higher lipid markers), and greater number of inflammatory markers. So every morning when you wake up and do the ‘ab check,’ there’s no abs in sight.

Digestive Issues

In the case where we need to “fight or flight”, it only makes sense for the body to shut down bodily functions that are not needed in the moment. If your child is trapped under a car, all resources shift to that adrenaline spike. Your body doesn’t care that you’d like to digest that burger. When levels are constantly elevated, this can lead to indigestion and inflammation. Many ailments such as ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome are found in people with extremely high stress.

Similarly, the last thing you would be doing in an emergency situation is reproducing, so your body shuts that system down, too. Cortisol is derived from progesterone, which is the primary source for estrogen and testosterone. When you are chronically stressed, progesterone is converted into cortisol, rather than estrogen or testosterone. This becomes an issue when wanting to reproduce, because women need estrogen to produce an egg and adequate environment in the uterus. Also, low testosterone levels result in low sperm, lowering the likelihood of the desired result.

How to Get Off the Cortisol Train

Dieting isn’t the most enjoyable thing. Your calories are decreased, you can’t eat an endless supply of all the amazing food you love, your energy levels are low, and your weight is on your mind constantly. This awareness of our bodies and anticipating the changes we’re making is overwhelmingly stressful. Generally, if the scale isn’t going down, we worry that we need to make even bigger changes in an attempt to head in the right direction. The night before your scheduled weigh-in, you lie in bed, unable to sleep, thinking about the repercussions that come with no weight loss. Again, a vicious stress cycle.

Now that we’ve covered all the reasons you should avoid stress, let’s talk about how to implement strategies to deal with the inevitable. Below are a few ways to bring that cortisol down to a manageable level:

• A good night’s sleep or a nap
• A massage
• A relaxing walk
• Meditation/stretching
• Bath/sauna
• Tea – more specifically chamomile, kava, valerian, etc.
• Magnesium
• L theanine
• Coloring/drawing/painting

Sometimes, a serious physical break is necessary to reduce cortisol. This could come in the form of a diet break. You can implement this is one of two ways: a full diet break or partial diet break.

• A full diet break consists of 10-14 days of no tracking your food. Assuming you’ve been tracking for some time, you’ll be able to intuitively eat in a way that won’t send you completely off the well-worn path. Continue eating at your normal times, and strength train as usual. Along with these changes, your amount of cardio should be reduced by 50%.

• During a partial diet break, you can either add roughly 500 calories, or increase calories by 20%, to about 10% below estimated maintenance. Rather than intuitively eating, you continue tracking as usual, but with a substantial increase in calories.

A break in dieting allows cortisol levels to come down, as well as balance any hormones that have shifted due to dieting stress.

More Harm Than Good

Contrary to popular belief, extended periods of dieting could actually be doing much more harm than good, mentally and physically. For your own health, consider implementing a diet break, or if that’s not a possibility, try some of the above methods to bring your stress down, as well as the number on the scale.

The post Drop Your Stress to Drop That Weight appeared first on Breaking Muscle.