Whats The Difference Between Appetite and Hunger?
The answer:"One arises from the neck up, the other is a natural desire to nourish your body."
Listen for the Key Moment:"An appetite is the sign of ..."
Rob Faigin of
Natural Hormone Enhancement talks about two different ways to describe hunger as well, namely
Hormonal Hunger vs
Cravings.
Rob says
"... it may be helpful to think of 'Hunger' as a general craving for food, and a 'craving' as hunger for a particular kind of food. Giving in to Hunger/Cravings does not mean that you are weak; they are immensely powerful biological drives.
Willpower has limits, but there are no limits to hunger and cravings. Conventional dieting puts willpower and appetite on a collision course. Unfortunately, this is a case of the irresistible force against the movable object: willpower weakens as the fight wears on, but hunger and cravings become stronger and stronger."
Since being on the
NHE eating plan for over 6 weeks now, I have to say that I have not had any cravings. Where I used to think of certain foods once in a while, now I just plod along doing my training, eating my protein/fat/veggies based meals and have no cravings. I suggested to a friend in Florida to try the NHE eating plan, and he as well said that just a few short days into the switch over from sugar burner to fat burner, his cravings as well disappeared.
I have not done an update on my Natural Hormone Enhancement (NHE) program for quite a few weeks now, so I'll be sure to do that soon.
Labels: Cravings, Natural Hormone Enhancement, Shawn Phillips, Start Strong
Hormonally Correct Eating - Q and A
One of my Sunrider clients and I were talking on the phone the other day. I told her about the Hormonally Correct Eating program I was now following and trying out. We talked about what people consider "eating good" or "eating clean" because people will tell me by email that they're "eating clean" or "I eat well". I still don't know what "eating clean" means to people.
To a Vegetarian: Eating Clean might mean eating no animal products, but would include rice cakes for example. Rice cakes might be clean, but it's most certainly not "Eating Well". Rice cakes are one of the worst things you could put in your body. If you have any in your cupboards, throw them out.
To a Bodybuilder: Eating Clean would most probably mean low starchy carbohydrates, higher protein and fat meals, no pizza, no beer.
To the Average Joe: Eating Clean might mean that they don't eat red meat, but do eat Chicken. It might mean "don't drink Soda Pop" but "do drink beer". It might mean they've cut the fat out of their diet to at or below 15%. Also, not clean. Fat is your friend, not your enemy. Fat helps you burn fat and it was the introduction of "low fat" foods that actually increased obesity in the US and around the world. Eat Fat, but eat good fat, and only when you know you're in fat burning mode, never in sugar burning mode.
We talked about how different people have different values and when they say "I eat clean", it may or may not be what YOU mean.
Then I got an email from her, based on the discussion we had about this Natural Hormone Enhancement program by Rob Faigin. A short discussion followed and I've decided to post it here for others to gain knowledge from. Or at least my opinion, knowledge or not.
Q: What happens when you go back to "normal" eating....does the introduction of carbs every day make you gain more rapidly? I know its not Atkins, but cutting carbs can be scary so I'm afraid that although I'll lose initially because it isn't a permanent eating plan, what happens after?
A: If it works, and I get results, why would I want to add carbs back in?
read the book and you'll understand why it's healthier to eat this way in the long run. eating this way extends life, reduces aging and is healthier. Why would I want to go back to eating a way that adds fat, lowers my energy and reduces my life expectancy?
[Continued..] Oh, never thought of it as permanent......I think I'll give it a try....when my computer is up (not my work one) and I can read your weight loss blog.
A: It is a permanent eating plan. It's the way to eat for life to improve hormones, anti-aging, lower cholesterol, blood pressure, improve skin, mood etc.
The side effect is fat loss and muscle gain.
It's a program to eat for the rest of you life.
it works, it's easy... it allows for freedom.
Q: I guess my question still is....I know its forever...but what if it wasn't? Then what would happen? The Atkins effect? fat fat fat. Why can't we (I) just eat right, and regular and go to the gym? wouldn't that be healthier in the long run than 3, 4, 3 , 4 [Carbohydrate Cycling] ???? I dunno.....I really want to try it, just don't know.......You're comfortable with this forever?
I know, I'll check the book out. I'm not saying you would want to stop...I'm just saying, over time (months, years) you may gradually eat more carbs on low carb days....lots of discipline to make it forever, no?
A: How do you figure? if you feel better eating this new way and then start to add carbs back in (for what reason I still don't know) and then begin to feel shitty and put on weight, why would you continue on the old way of eating?
Then she asked the question again but worded it a bit differently, so I answered the previous email with a little more detail:
[Continued..] I guess if it's a drastic change in mood, fat etc. it would be easier. I think I get the concept just seems hard , at least for me, to fathom forever.....but like you said, eating pizza and other fun stuff makes it seem no so diet-ee....will check it out more for sure......
ok, I'm up and on line and reading your blog.
Q: I guess my question still is....I know its forever...but what if it wasn't? Then what would happen? The Atkins effect? fat fat fat.
A: What would happen? well, your body would switch back from being a fat burner to a sugar burner and your body would stop burning fat for energy and switch back to using carbs instead. Burning carbs (sugar), you would crave more and more carbs again to keep the energy supply up. Fat would cease to be burned as you're now using carbs for energy. If you ate too many carbs, you would begin to gain fat again if the energy in was larger than the energy out. Eating the Carbohydrates would increase the insulin levels in your blood and would stop your body from burning fat.
Q: Why can't we (I) just eat right, and regular and go to the gym? wouldn't that be healthier in the long run than 3, 4, 3 , 4 [Carbohydrate Cycle] ????
A: I think we talked about this on the phone. What is "eating right". Wouldn't that be healthier in the long run? Yes.. eating right is healthier in the long run. What if eating protein, fat and veggies "IS Eating Right"? who's to say it isn't except by trying it.
It may be the answer you're looking for. I know it is for me. It just seems to resonate with me from everything I've read and tried regarding Hormonally Correct Eating.
Q: I dunno.....I really want to try it, just don't know.......You're comfortable with this forever?
A: If it works and I feel better and get younger and get more muscular, and my cholesterol drops and my blood pressure drops then yep, I'm good with it for the rest of my life. It's actually easier than what I've been doing. I don't have to weigh anything, I don't have to count calories, I can eat as much as I want, I can eat pizza if I want.. so ya... it's working for me.
Proof is in the pudding though. Time will tell
Will it still work with Sunrider? Yes, of course. Sunrider is whole foods too. Am I going to eat this way for the rest of my life? Time will tell. Right now, it's what I'm following. Most likely, I will eat this way for the rest of my life, but as I say.. Time will tell. I used Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle for years and this is just a little different version of it. So far I'm finding it to be quite easy and it allows for so much freedom on the foods I choose (not that Burn the Fat doesn't). It's easy to follow when I'm out or with friends and I don't have to consider preparing my food ahead of time if I'm going to be traveling or working outside my office.
Diet's don’t workThe generally accepted definition of a diet is "
to cut calories to lose weight". At least I believe that is the generally accepted term. Most people think of "diet" as "pain and suffering". A long time friend used to say "
Diet is just Die with a T".
Wikipedia defines Diet as "
the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group." While has this as the definition of Dieting: "
the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake."
I'm ok with both of the Wikipedia definitions. To me Diet means "what I eat on a day to day basis to fuel my body" . The Wiki term for Diet is as close to that as I've ever seen on the internet.
When I am on "My Program", it's the food I eat on a daily basis to fuel my body and improve how I feel. Dieting, or cutting calories drastically just does not work. It will backfire and most likely the dieter will gain fat back plus a few extra for good measure (to be ready for the next calorie restriction you know!).
When I choose a "Program" to follow, I do it with the intention of sticking with it for life. It's not a fad. Rob Faigin's Natural Hormone Enhancement Program is about improving every aspect of your health through eating in a manor based on human history before the advent of the "grain movement" and the industrial revolution. Our bodies have been conditioned over many thousands or tens of thousands of years to incorporate food and manage it's ongoing systems through the use of Hormones. Why would we think that the introduction of grains and processed foods would not have an effect on our bodies and our health.
Rob's book is thoroughly researched and backed up with many scientific studies and notations. Brian Plowman, Certified US Olympic Weightlifting Coach says:
"Natural Hormone Enhancement is the bible of health and fitness."
Rich Hughes, MFS, ND, Former Mr New Zealand and author of Fat Attack says
"A superbly written and researched overview of the coming hormonal revolution... a must read for everyone interested in super health and optimal performance"
Dr Richard J Marsh, MD, MA.. and many more says
"Natural Hormone Enhancement is a masterpiece of research combined with honest, intelligent thought. I believe it will be seen as a landmark in health and fitness literature"
It's a way of eating for life.
Labels: Natural Hormone Enhancement
Hormone Control Carbohydrate Cycle Number Two
The first 7 days of the
Natural Hormone Enhancement program by Rob Faigin calls for a conversion from sugar burner to fat burner. During the first 7 days, only 30 grams of carbohydrates are allowed per day. I went as close to zero as possible.
After than, the carbohydrate cycling begins. There are two phases, a three day cycle followed by a four day cycle, then repeated.
I reported my first carbohydrate cycle a few days ago, so wanted to update about the second cycle I just did, the four day one.
I had first thought that the elimination of carbohydrates was going to be a bit of a challenge, but have found that not to be the case at all. The only carbohydrates I'm having is in the morning with breakfast in the form of Oatmeal. While I used to eat an entire pot of oatmeal with my morning omelet (about 1 cup of raw oatmeal), I'm now only eating ¼ cup of Oatmeal. That's it for the day, each and every day… with the exception of the carbohydrate cycle phase.
Here's how it works. Carbohydrates are kept to their lowest possible amounts during the day and Rob recommends 60g or less. I'm keeping it even lower… to about 30 grams. The meals consist of protein, fat and vegetables. In fact, the author of Natural Hormone Enhancement suggests that Broccoli and Cauliflower are to be considered "free" as their thermogenics value far outweighs the carbohydrates. The vegetables also fill the requirement for fiber in the diet. The first cycle ends on the third day when you have to eat 40g (for women) or 60g (for men) of carbohydrates.
For active bodybuilders, the requirement is much higher at 200g plus. For me, that's in the form of Brown Rice right now and I split it over the last two meals. Last night, to complete my first 4 day cycle, I ate 4oz of chicken breast with 3 cups of Brown Rice, Cauliflower and cucumber. The next meal (my last of the night before bed) was exactly the same. A little bit of chicken breast and a LOT of rice.
Rob suggests eating the carbohydrate rich meal as the last meal of the day, so that the resulting insulin spike won't affect cravings because you'll be sleeping when it kicks in. It's the eating of carbohydrates while in sugar burning mode that causes cravings. Blood sugar spikes up, resulting in insulin following it shortly thereafter. Insulin then works too well, and blood sugar drops further than when you started causing cravings to drive you to eat and eat and eat more carbohydrates.
The second cycle is 4 days (which I just completed my first). It's exactly the same as the first except for the length of time involved. Then it begins again, over and over. Three days, four days, three days, four days.
The freedom is incredible. For example, I'm eating my normal omelet in the morning with 8 egg whites and green pepper, but then I'm adding 3 whole eggs and some veggie cheese, or goat cheese to it. This along with raw cauliflower and ¼ cup of oatmeal is how I start my day.
Meal #2 has been beef burgers with veggie cheese and cauliflower
Meal #3 has been my raw egg white shake with 8 egg whites and a scoop of chocolate whey protein and 1 or 2 Tablespoons of fat from Udo's Oil.
Meal #4 has been steak which I cooked on my George Foreman grill along with veggies and a salad and more fat
Meal #5 has been chicken breast and steamed veggies and a salad.
If I’m still hungry before bed, I make another chocolate egg white shake with only 1 Tablespoon of fat.
I might have a chocolate egg white shake first thing in the morning and then have my omelet a few hours later, but that's pretty much what I'm eating.
It's easy. It's nutritious. I'm feeling WAY better than I have in a long time now that my hormones are in better control and I have more energy. I've had NO cravings for anything except a good sized steak. This Natural Hormone Enhancement program is really feeling like exactly the right way to eat for the rest of my life. It allows the freedom to have pizza on the carbohydrate loading phase as well as ice cream (says the author). The hardest thing is actually having to eat the carbohydrates. I don't miss them at all, and I HAVE to eat them for the program to be successful.
This program by Rob Faigin is very similar to
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle with the exception of the extreme restriction of carbohydrates. I say extreme restriction because it seems to be the popular myth that we actually need carbohydrates on a daily basis. Too many people, this restriction seems crazy, so I use the term "extreme restriction". Give me a few months and I'll call it "the best way to incorporate carbohydrates to your advantage". Tom also recommends low carb days, followed by extreme low carb days, followed by re-feed days. Rob Faigin just approaches it in a different manner. If you're following the
Burn the Fat program (the best on the net), you might want to have a look at this natural hormone control book as well because they compliment one another.
Get the book, get on the program.
Labels: Natural Hormone Enhancement
Natural Hormone Enhancement First Carbohydrate Cycle
Yesterday was the end of my first carbohydrate cycle on the natural hormone enhancement program. It was easier than I thought it would be.
I finished my arm and shoulder training in the gym and followed it up with a protein and fat shake and then gave it about an hour to digest. While I was digesting, I was cooking a pot of Brown Rice, Quinoa and brown lentils which takes about 45 minutes.
To meet the requirements of the carbohydrate cycle, I had to eat 100 grams of active carbohydrates with little protein to go with it. "Had to eat" is a bad term.. "I chose to eat" would be much better. The protein I chose was chicken breast. I ate about 10 grams of protein and then had the brown rice. To get 100 grams, I ate 3 cups of my brown rice, quinoa and lentil concoction. I followed it up with just a little Cauliflower… enough to add some fiber, but not enough to fill my stomach. I was pleasantly fulfilled.
This was about 6 hours before bed.
Three hours later, I did it again completing my requirement for 200 grams of carbohydrates spread over the last two meals of the day. I noticed no cravings due to the insulin spike so that was very good. With this second carbohydrate loaded meal, I chose to eat more Cauliflower with it just to see if I could fit it all in. No problem.
I woke up this morning and began my regular program of protein, fat, vegetables and ¼ cup of Oatmeal. What I'm choosing to do is stay WAY below the 30 grams of allowed carbohydrates during my normal days and only having Oatmeal as my active carb with my first meal of the day.
I now begin my first 4 day carbohydrate cycle. The first cycle is 3 days followed by a second cycle of 4 days and then repeating.
I'll let you know how it goes.
If you want to follow along from the beginning, here are the related posts:
Natural Hormone Enhancement Carb Cycling Weight Loss Program : Part 1
Natural Hormone Ehancement Carb Cycle for Weight Loss: Part 2
Labels: Carbohydrate Cycling, Natural Hormone Enhancement
Natural Hormone Enhancement Carb Cycle For Weight Loss
Like I said yesterday, my 7 days of eating no carbohydrates in order to switch from sugar burner to fat burner is over. This is the initial start of the
Natural Hormone Enhancement program by Rob Faigin. Now, I'm pretty sure I was always a fat burner, but I wanted to follow the program from start to finish just as outlined.
That's the problem with a lot of books people read. They discount some of the information, or it's challenging their beliefs on what is right and what isn't when it comes to health and weight loss. They begin to read, but either add in some of their own things, or modify the program, or don't even complete it.
Start with the chapter explaining how to do the first 7 days. Then go back and read from the beginning to learn how the Natural Hormone Enhancement program works. Give yourself the 7 days to catch up to that chapter and go beyond.
I have begun my first carbohydrates cycle. I'm adding Cauliflower back in, as Rob suggests removing all carbohydrates during the "switch over" cycle to fully facilitate changing from sugar burner to fat burner. I'll be limiting my "active carbohydrates" to under 30g per day and 20g per day if I can do it. It's been a long time since I've been that low on carbohydrates for such an extended time, so it's just a matter of getting into the habit of reading labels for everything I eat. What I'm going to be most cautious about is hidden carbohydrates. I actually have no idea how many active carbohydrates are in mustard. I'll look that up. The low number of carbohydrates doesn't concern me, it's just getting into the new habit.
You'll have two programs to choose from, the regular program for maximum fat burning and then the bodybuilder program which is a lot more strict and does require a good deal of commitment in order to get enough carbohydrates on the re-feed meal. As Rob says, the lows are lower and the highs are higher.
The regular program allows for between 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per day and then during the re-feed meal, he suggests 40g of active carbohydrates for women and 60g for men. Compare that with 200g for bodybuilders. I remember trying this with brown rice and it turns out to be a LOT of brown rice. Now, remember that the amount of active carbohydrates mentioned above is for
one meal… the last meal of the day. Bodybuilders can split the 200g into the last
two meals. Rob also recommends limiting fluids and fibrous carbohydrates for this meal as it would just create extra volume in the stomach when the goal is to eat as many active carbohydrates as possible. In fact, the amounts above for the regular program is
minimum amounts of carbohydrates because there is
no limit.
This re-feed meal happens during two different cycles. Cycle one is 3 days and cycle two is 4 days. So every 3rd or 4th day depending on the cycle, you get to eat an enormous amount of food. Now, that said, the reverse is true for fats and proteins. With this re-feed meal, the idea is to have as much insulin response as possible, so you'll also have to reduce the amount of protein at that meal as well as the fat with less than 20g of each suggested. Up until that last meal of the day, everything else is the same…. Namely meals comprising of protein, fat and fibrous vegetables and little or no active carbohydrates.
My breakfast for today:8 Egg whites
3 whole eggs
3 inches of polish sausage sliced up
½ a green pepper
3 Tablespoons of Coconut oil
2 slices of Yves veggie cheese
2 slices of Elk Sausage diced up
Organic black pepper
1 cup Cauliflower
I warmed up the frying pan with the coconut oil, browned the sausages and green pepper, added the egg whites, whole eggs and veggie cheese and then kinda scrambled it / made an omelet out of it. Nibbled on the Cauliflower (raw) afterwards and washed it all down with some Fortune D.
Lunch is going to be some Elk burgers with veggie cheese and mustard, no bun, and more cauliflower and maybe a green salad.
Meal 3 will probably be a protein shake with 1 scoop whey protein with 8 egg whites and two tablespoons of Udo's Oil. I call this my Chocolate Egg Shake.
Meal 4 and 5, not sure yet, but will be more meat and veggies and fat.
WHY? All this to
INCREASE fat burning, increase testosterone, Thermogenics, reduce insulin response and increase Glucagon.
This post is certainly going to piss off a lot of vegetarians (I'm a former vegetarian….. so take it easy) and surely create some controversy. I look forward to the comments.
Labels: Natural Hormone Enhancement, Rob Faigin, weight loss
Natural Hormone Enhancement Carb Cycling Weight Loss Program
After
7 days of eating nothing but protein and fat (zero carbs), I'm starting my first two days of my carb cycle.
I've followed
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle for a few years now and I've wanted to try this
Natural Hormonal Enhancement program by Rob Faigin for about a year. Wanted to start it last year but due to my traveling, it was just impossible to begin.
The first 7 days on the NHE program require you to reset your system from sugar burner to fat burner. This is done by completely limiting carbs to less than 20g per day. I took the plunge and just did zero carbs. With the exception of some hidden carbs in say mustard and Franks Red Hot sauce, I think I got away with it. Franks Red Hot sauce says there is 0 carbs in a tablespoon, so I'm going with it.
For the past 7 days, I've eaten only egg whites, whole eggs, whey protein, Chicken, smokies, steak and Udo's Oil for good fats.
Now the carb cycling begins.
The idea is to have two cycles, one 4 day and one 3 day. During the cycles, I'm only eating protein and fat, and less that 60g of carbs. I'm going to see if I can get it as low as possible, say less than 20g of carbs per day. Then on the end day of the cycle, the last meal is comprised of minor amounts of protein and fat but HUGE amounts of carbs to restore glycogen levels. My plan is to use whole grain brown rice as my carb of choice. Rob says there is no need to count calories on this program however knowing grams of carbs, protein and fats would be a good idea.
Cruciferous vegetables are free and are not counted at all towards carbs because of their thermogenics impact and lack of an insulin response, so I'm sticking with Cauliflower as I just love it.. raw, steamed, however. Cauliflower also has the ability to lower estrogen levels thereby changing the Testosterone / Estrogen balance in favor of Testosterone.
After these past 7 days with no carbs, I have no cravings, but I do want an apple. I'm not craving the apple, but I would like to experience one again pretty soon. I love apples. Low GI, High Fiber, Thermogenic, taste good and they come in a convenient package.
I know that I'm a fat burner, but wanted to go through the process from start to finish as an example. I function better on protein and fat than I do on carbs anyway. I called a very famous friend of mine as I remember him telling me how he dropped all his weight eating protein, fat and saturated fat. He had told me that his cholesterol levels dropped to normal or better than normal range as well. We've decided to do a mutual interview on the subject which will be posted when the time comes. When I called him to ask him about what it was he did (as I had just my memory to go on), he agreed that my memory was correct. He gave me an example of what he had to eat today. He said that on his way home from the gym, he stopped at McDonalds for two Quarter Pounders with Cheese and two chicken sandwiches'. He removed the bun and the sauces and ate the veggies, meat and cheese. That was his food for the day.
According to Rob Faigen, his Natural Hormone Enhancement program is based on how we used to eat thousands of years ago before the "grain" movement (10,000 years ago) and before the industrial revolution which included the processing of foods.
Eat more like hunter gathers and our hormones will not only be stable, but we'll be in a hormonally enhanced state whereby ALWAYS burning fat for energy, having a great immune system, proper cholesterol levels and the ever elusive Anti- Aging miracle formula. I'm paraphrasing of course, but his book NHE lays out all the foundations for this sound science. With our hormones running at optimal levels, Human Growth Hormone, Testosterone, Glucagon and Insulin will all be maximizing muscle growth as well. Rob says that it's possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. He has two programs within his book, 1 for those who want to maximize fat loss and a 2nd for bodybuilders who want to maximize muscle growth.
For the record, this is not a "no carbs diet". It's inteligently cycling of carbs. How I do it as a bodybuilder may be differnt from the program outlines for the general public. I do eat carbs. I just eat them in a specific maner at a specific time. More on that in later posts here and on my other blog.
It makes sense to me and I'm going to try it. I'll let you know how it goes as I'll probably be sticking with this one for the rest of my life.
Labels: Natural Hormone Enhancement, Natural Weight Loss, No Carb Diet, Rob Faigin
