Why We Get Fat and What You Should Really Do About It

Jan. 20, 2017

My guests this week are two of the brightest minds in the health and fitness industry. The first is my own Chief Medical Officer, Tommy Wood, MD PhD. Tommy is currently working as a visiting scientist researching neonatal brain injury at the University of Washington. He received his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, before studying medicine at the University of Oxford.

My second guest is Chris Masterjohn, PhD. Chris earned his PhD in Nutritional Science from the University of Connecticut at Storrs, where he studied the role of glutathione and dietary antioxidants in regulating the accumulation of methylglyoxal. He has authored or co-authored ten peer-reviewed publications. His writes a blog, The Daily Lipid, and produces a podcast by the same name. You can also follow his professional work on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat (whatever that is!).

Tommy’s premise for this interview was as follows:

If you fix lifestyle and environment, can you be a lot less "strict" with your diet? For instance, are low carbers needing to be so low carb because everything else is broken?

I took that idea and invited Chris Masterjohn on to the show for a roundtable discussion that starts with a general debate on the causes of obesity and then moves on to what we can all to improve or maintain our body composition.

You should listen to this interview because unlike many others I’ve heard; it includes a broad discussion of the range of issues that we see in our practice that hold people back from their body composition goals. The first time you meet someone who plateaued in their weight loss while eating a low-carb diet you realise that it’s a bit more complicated than that.

Here’s the outline of this interview with Tommy Wood and Chris Masterjohn:

[00:03:15] "The built environment," one that facilitates eating more and moving less.

[00:07:48] You, the listeners, are already winning!

[00:08:38] The composition of our food.

[00:09:32] Upsetting set points--poor sleep.

[00:09:57] Circadian rhythm.

[00:10:07] Stress and gut health.

[00:11:36] Low-carb diets and weight loss.

[00:11:52] Cronise, Raymond J., David A. Sinclair, and Andrew A. Bremer. "Oxidative Priority, Meal Frequency, and the Energy Economy of Food and Activity: Implications for Longevity, Obesity, and Cardiometabolic Disease." Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders (2016). Be sure to read Tommy’s response: Wood, Thomas. "If the Metabolic Winter Is Coming, When Will It Be Summer?." Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders (2017).

[00:12:58] Most of your stored body fat came from the fat that you ate.

[00:13:28] Calorie restriction.

[00:14:14] Insulin increases carbohydrate oxidation.

[00:19:10] Body recomposition programs.

[00:19:49] Chris Masterjohn does not see insulin as a key player.

[00:20:37] Whenever you restrict food choices, food intake goes down.

[00:22:56] MyFitnessPal.

[00:23:08] Sleep and calorie intake.

[00:24:28] Low-carb doesn't work well for the type of exercise Chris Masterjohn does.

[00:26:37] Preparing for fat-loss.

[00:29:53] Starting with other ideas that don't work can be helpful.

[00:32:47] Fueling for your activity.

[00:33:56] Start by fixing your environment.

[00:34:26] Feasting and fasting.

[00:35:14] Whole foods.

[00:38:32] Reduced activity in obesity is a symptom, not a cause.

[00:40:33] We're designed to eat when there's an abundance of food, i.e. the summer

[00:41:22] Dr. Satchin Panda on Time-Restricted Feeding and Its Effects on Obesity, Muscle Mass & Heart Health.

[00:42:58] Light differential--go outside!

[00:46:05] Blue light at night.

[00:47:01] Ben Greenfield talks about the Human Charger.

[00:47:35] Desktop lights, e.g. Light Book Edge.

[00:50:01] Lindqvist, P. G., et al. "Avoidance of sun exposure as a risk factor for major causes of death: a competing risk analysis of the Melanoma in Southern Sweden cohort." Journal of internal medicine 280.4 (2016): 375-387.

[00:55:17] Checklists before testing.

[00:58:22] Picture of metabolism and motivation for change.

[00:59:20] Daily Lipid podcast.

[00:59:45] The Ultimate Vitamin K2 Resource.

[01:02:18] Chris is now offering consultation packages.

[01:02:41] Recruiting for a human study.

[01:05:18] Gary Vaynerchuk.

[01:07:42] Developing new tests, especially for vitamin K2.

[01:09:21] VitaK.

[01:11:17] Tommy's plans for the future.

[01:12:26] Dr Pedro Domingos: How to Teach Machines That Can Learn.

[01:12:42] Book a free consultation with NBT.