When I was over in Japan, I developed a little bit of a beer gut, and noticed myself losing some muscle strength, even though I was eating what seemed like a healthy diet (prepared by my amazing host mom) and walking around a bunch. When I got back here, I decided to try to reverse the trend, and got on the Internet to see what the hive-mind had to say.
The most interesting articles I've found:
Gary Taube's excellent Times article on the myth of fat being bad for you.
The Primal Blueprint, a guide to getting back to the basics of paleolithic life. Scientific? Varies. Salient? Very. Main points: eat natural things, run around, lift heavy objects, play, sleep, use your mind.
Same guy as above, on grains
Some dude who has lived on nothing but beef and water for 47 years, answering questions of the curious. ((PDF version here)
General reading on carbs, the medical/nutrition establishment, worldwide diets, and other miscellanea.
Tim Ferris on working out more infrequently.
Major take-aways:
Everything we think we know about a healthy diet is a lie.
Fat is good, even saturated.
Running, biking, and other low-impact exercise is fine, if you're doing it as a sport or for fun. It doesn't do jack for your health.
For the year I spent abroad, I essentially did the exact opposite of what these guys recommend: ate mostly carbs, and rarely did any strength training.
A month-ish of experimentation, and here's what's been working:
Lift weights twice a week, in compound movements, slowly, to failure. No stupid cardio, no stupid 'isolating muscle groups.'
Cut out sugars and grains all together, cut down on legumes, get about a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight every day. Get the rest of your nutrition from fat. Eat hella meat and eggs, plus some cheese, nuts, and veggies.
Never count calories, carbs, or anything else. Eat whatever when being social. Food should give you energy, not stress.
I haven't checked a scale for months, but I'm not trying to lose weight. I can lift more, got rid of the developing belly, never spend more than an hour a week in the gym, and can go for hours without getting hungry. I've also noticed that food is tastier- once you cut out crackers, bagels, and cookies, I think your tastebuds attune to the lighter flavors in whole foods.
Lingering questions:
Why do some societies seem perfectly healthy eating high-carb? Your average Japanese person eats a lot of rice and noodles (and beer), doesn't do much in the way of weights, and lives long and ages well. Why wasn't their lifestyle healthy for me?
Why is there such a disconnect between the low-carb movement and government/medical opinion? Is a sinister processed-foods lobby, or simple cognitive dissonance?
Are we seriously damaging our kids by stuffing them with all these carbs?
I wonder if there's a career or graduate school path for an Econ major in nutrition science or policy. This is some really interesting stuff, and with obesity accounting for about 9% of health care costs nationwide, there are some real economic implications if we can turn the epidemic around.
Updates and Suggested Reading:
Michael Pollan: In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma
Lierre Keith: The Vegetarian Myth (Lowcarbian summary)
Gary Taubes: Good Calories, Bad Calories
Clarification: I don't think weight matters much, unless people are super-obese, and the weight-loss obsession is missing the point. You can tell if you're healthy by your mood, how you look, how fast you move, and how easily you can lift heavy things.
