In Fear of Shaming (A Rant)

Recently I saw this posted to my Facebook news feed:

Food Shaming Fork

The gimmick is that a “smart utensil” has been created that vibrates if you try to take bites of food any fewer than 10 seconds apart. The idea is if we can slow down the speed that people will eat, they will start to feel full before they’ve eaten as much as they normally would. Weight loss ensues. 

The complaint is that this is “food shaming”, and is therefore inherently bad. 

"Fat-Shaming Fork"

On the heels of the “Fed Up” trailer that I ranted about earlier, where we shouldn’t be held accountable at all for our expanding waistlines, I started to think more about shaming and accountability. 

The HAPIfork

The idea that shaming of any sort seems to be sprung from the problem of “victim shaming” when it comes to issues of abuse and rape. This is totally warranted because, by very definition of a crime being done TO someone, there is a victim. The person at fault here isn’t the person that was acted upon, it is the person who did the crime. It’s the abuser. The rapist. The thief. Whatever the case, when you have one person doing something legally or morally wrong to another person, you put blame on the doer, not the victim. 

Where this goes wrong is when we start saying anything that involves consequences of one's own actions is "shaming" them. In this situations, they aren't victim to anyone except their own choices. It's not shaming to point out a consequence and explain why it happened and how one can avoid it. 

In what should be an obvious case, Rob Schneider got booted from the State Farm ad campaign because of his very vocal stance against vaccines. He voiced these ideas and no one is obligated to support him for it, especially when that someone is in the business of promoting vaccines. This is not "belief shaming," this is just cause and effect. 

Now food shaming. How can someone make you feel bad about what you eat? Either you enjoy it or you don't. You either accept that you're going to put that cookie in your mouth, or you feel bad for making that choice already, and someone pointing out that it might be contradictory to your goals merely brings emotion out. 

I just had a Triple Dipper appetizer at a Chili's Too here at the Oakland Airport. Alone. It was, according to MyFitnessPal, about 1700 calories all said and done. Go on and try to shame me for that. I knew full well what I was getting myself into. 

Me, in response to buffalo wings.

Thing is, when it comes to "size shaming", "fat shaming", or "food shaming", calling someone names and trying to make them feel bad is just you being a bully and NOT going to help a situation. However, suggesting that someone should lose weight for health benefits and suggesting they change the way they eat isn't shaming. (Unless you go up to a stranger and say this. Then you're a bully here, too.) Pointing out facts of a case (you eat more than you need, you don't believe in science, you ran with scissors) isn't shaming. 

When you are bigger than you want to be, it's pretty much a matter of eating more than you need. Yes, certain macronutrients can make you feel full longer (thereby controlling calories), and other macros or flavor combos can make you crave more food shortly after eating (thereby increasing calories). And when it comes to specific goals, certain things need to be taken into account. But the 10,000 foot view is, eat what you need, less to be smaller and more to be bigger. 

Why is it shaming if we say that? There needs to be more personal accountability when it comes to advocating for healthy lifestyles. If you don't like where you are, reach out to friends, family or professionals to help you get there. 

Notes from MOTIVATE: A health and behavior change summit (a saga in two parts)

This is going to be hard to write, as I'm still processing much of what it was said and trying to fit it into the relationships I have with current clients and the classes I teach. So bear with me if something doesn't make sense. And I won't feel bad if you get two sentences in and go somewhere else...

So what was the Motivate Summit? What the hell is an "un-conference"?

From the website:

"Personal trainers, strength coaches, physical therapists, doctors, RDs, nutritionists, yoga instructors, and coaches of all types are good at our jobs. But being the best in the world for an hour a week still leaves 167 hours that our clients can take our advice, or not. Continue to make progress, or not. Take 1 step forward and 167 steps back. So the question arises:

What about the other 167 hours?"

And the un-conference part of it? Rather than a regular conference, where speakers have already been given time slots and topics to present upon, the attendees come with questions or discussion ideas they want to bounce back and forth with other professionals. 

Here are some of the discussions I took part of:

Massive Action vs. Slow Change

People are inundated with promises of "6 min abs" and "90 day fat blasts" and this discussion was about, even though we know slow change through small but significant lifestyle changes is the way to long term success, if there a place for a promise of a 6 week, big results, bootcamp style promise to get people hooked? 

The thing with a lot of 6 week, and even 3 month, challenges ask their participants to put in so much effort to get the changes they want to see that, for a vast majority, those changes aren't sustainable after the end of the challenge. In the best scenarios I've seen, people will just go back to their previous habits. In the normal situations, people give themselves a "complete treat" or a "completion celebration" and go off the deep end. They only slowly swim their way out of the deep end, leaving them right where they were before they began. 

So sometimes it seems that either way clients can get discouraged. Either they aren't seeing the results they want to fast enough, or they see them but are so worn down after several weeks of EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT they give up and give in. 

Some of the ideas we bounced off:

1) Get the client to focus on function rather than weight. Many people will see increases in skill, mobility, and strength before they composition becomes noticeable. 

2) "If I got my medical degree in 90 days, would you trust me?" Reminding the client that anything worth working for takes time. And it's no different with changing your life. 

3) Try to change what "massive" means. Going from 0 to 1 is a huge deal. It's creating something from nothing. And that should be celebrated and put in the right context. 

Dealing with "Habit Hangovers": What to do when a client falls off the wagon. 

We've all been there. Where you're really gung-ho about getting on a new program, whether it's getting up early for training, a new diet regiment, adding a new dimension to your current training Your start out strong for about 4 weeks and, hey! this is going great! Then week 5 comes around and it hits you that you have nothing left to give and it all goes away. 

You've spent all your motivation and it gave you a case of the fuck-its. 

We see it happen a lot with ourselves and with our clients. Clients come to us because they finally have the motivation to start making changes. And even when given something really small to do, with out some failsafes in place, clients will go whole hog into it and exhaust themselves. 

Some ideas we bounced around:

1) Get client to rope in a buddy. Can they hook up with a spouse, coworker, or friend to exercise the habit with and hold each other accountable?

2) Make the habit scalable. So they are supposed to drink 16 ounces of water upon waking. If they forget but get to it at lunch, it's a sort of time-scale. If they wake up late and only chug 8 oz, it's not a failure. There are no failures, just ups and downs. 

3) Build in the "fuck-its. As Stevo quoted "The enemy always shoots back." As in, you plan for a counter attack because OF COURSE it's going to happen and in this case, it's your old habits fighting for dominance. For instance, every ~6 weeks of "clear eating" (eating with a purpose, I don't like the term "clean eating") I sit down with a bag of Milano cookies, the remote control, and go to town being a slob. 

Getting Clients to Be Self Aware

This could mean anything from proprioception so they can move correctly, to understanding how their habits and automatic decisions have guided us to where we need this intervention we're seeking. 

Precision Nutrition likes to use an exercise called "Notice and Name." Rather than just seeing "oh dear, I ate that muffin and suddenly the whole box of them were gone" you start stepping backwards to what made you eat the first muffin. Were you hungry because you pushed lunch back too far? Was your breakfast too small? Maybe even further, why did you or someone buy the muffins in the first place. 

You see where I'm going. 

Once you've you've Noticed an underlying trend and Named the cue that starts the ball rolling, the client can be more aware when it's about to all go down. And hopefully put failsafes in place to change what was once a reactionary habit to a more consciences one. 

Another suggestion was to keep a habit spreadsheet. When a client falls off a habit you two are working on, you can analyze what happened and formalize it in the spreadsheet or outline. 

These three discussions concluded the first half of the day. I took all my exercise and nutrition thoughts, and went to eat the BIGGEST BURRITO I HAVE EVER SEEN! 

Stay tuned for PART 2 next week. 

Ballet to Barbells: In the Zone vs Zone Out

One of the things I had to learn when I transitioned from dance to judo was how to get into a completely different mentality. As a dancer, being in "the zone" means that you are no longer thinking about the choreography or the beats, you're just being in the music and expressing yourself through movement. You no longer really see the audience, don't hear them, you're just existing. It's a sort of altered state I have yet to find the equivalent of.

I can't see you. (Yes, that's me.)

When I started doing judo, my first competitions were terrible. I went from a highly athletic endeavor where I knew what each step was going to be and could just disappear into that experience. Now I was doing something where being "in the zone" meant something else entirely. I couldn't disappear. I had to become one with the moment, but I also had to be aware enough to register what my opponent was doing and still hear my coach's voice amidst the din of the cheering teammates.

And I think that's a key difference in sport vs performance art. Being consciously tuned in versus being lost to the experience.

Yup. Me again on the left. 

When participating in a CrossFit class, it's important to try to strike the same balance.

Too often, I see athletes go the zoned-in-and-tuned-out route. They're just moving and moving and reps are flying by and not a word you say to them seems to get through. As a coach, it's frustrating to have to physically stop a person from moving, be it by stepping over their bar or blocking them from something, to break them of their coma and get needed coaching cues through. (It's even more annoying when the athlete takes these cues as a personal affront rather than me trying to protect their ass.)

To be effective in your workouts you want to be able to hone in your mentality to a certain degree. Experiencing every sensation would in a WOD would be a bit overwhelming, in a crowded class, with that construction happening outside, other athletes breathing, maybe talking or cursing. Making sure that you can still tune into the coach's voice will keep you on point for your movements so that "in the zone" experience will be safer.

The Evils of Sugar? Or Just Another Scapegoat?

First there was Forks Over Knives, where the authors/ filmmakers try to convince us all to go vegetarian because it's so much better than a traditional diet of McDonalds and Twinkies. Something that should be a blatant false dichotomy, but based on some conversations I've had, apparently not.

So I'll just leave this good review right HERE that is less rage written than I would have done.

Now we have a new anti-some-food-group movie coming in through the pipe lines called FED UP. I see what you did there. We're all over FED, and now we're FED UP with it all.

Here is the trailer:



Let's go through some points I take issue with:

Calories don't matter

Thing is, they do. I'm currently convinced that people say that cutting calories doesn't work for them is because they either (1) go too low and end up having major binge sessions or (2) they aren't actually cutting their calories as much as they thing they are.

Several studies show that people are terrible at recounting and recording accurately how much they eat. Check out HERE, HERE, and HERE (video).

So people go on a low carb diet and are compared to a high carb diet. Low carb diets mean that they are eating a lot more fat and protein, which help them stay full longer, thereby decreasing their over all calorie consumption.

Calories do matter. For some people, going low carb is their way of controlling their overall calorie intake, and that's okay in my book. Break the cycle. Do what you need to do. But, going out and proselytizing that carbs are the enemy for everyone irregardless of situation isn't cool.

I'm not saying that lowering carbs is the end-all-be-all. Obviously all macros have a role in you achieving whatever your goals are.


Sugar is Addictive Like Cocaine

Here is the image they show in the trailer:

"Your brain lights up with sugar just like it does with cocaine or heroin. You're going to become an addict." Direct quote from the trailer why the above image is showing.

Of course there is no context to those images, because that would weaken their argument. What you're actually looking at is the pleasure center of the brain lighting up. It's the area with the highest density of dopamine receptors. It will light up in response to sex, too.

Here is a more complete picture. If you see on the right column, those that are addicted have less "hot" colors in the image, showing lower levels of dopamine receptors. These subjects will have to do more of their vice of choice to get the same level of satisfaction out of the experience. That's addiction. We're looking at a personality trait, some would say the effect of addiction as a disease, not something that sugar itself is instigating in you.

A recent study out of Edinburgh University says that the act of eating is what people can become addicted to. It's not the specific macro nutrient, but the act. And with fewer dopamine receptors, these people have to eat so much more to get the same satisfaction of a non-addict.


I think this shouldn't be a war on sugar. 

I was going to go on a tirade here about government subsidies, food company scientists, and social expectations about how "being too busy" to be active is a martyr badge of honor. Instead I'll end with these few points:

- I'd like to see a time when saying "I don't have time to workout" is as shameful as "I don't have time to shower/ brush my teeth."

- I'd like to see a time when government subsidies make meat and vegetables easier to afford rather than the sugar and corn used in processed foods.

- I'd like to see a time when people were taught from elementary school what a macronutrient is and what calories actually are.

- I'd like to see a shift from exercise and healthy eating as punitive, and rather as something we just do without thought.

I don't know what else to say now, my rage had dissipated.

Moar Hylete Review: Capri Tights and Tank

After finding myself loving the Hylete backpack, I decided I wanted to try out some of their clothing. So much thought was put into the backpack, I figured that the same attention to detail would be taken with the clothes as well.

I've also heard great things about the men's board shorts and I know some gyms have used the Hylete shirt as the base for their gym shirt. That speaks volumes. However, I hadn't heard much of anything about the women's clothes.

My first visit to the site made me a little sad when I noticed the sizing on the large women's shorts:

Notice the difference between the waist and hip measurements on the large size. Most strength athlete ladies I know have a much higher waist to hip difference. My booty is nearly 10 inches bigger in diameter.

So I moved on.

The capris, though, seemed to fit right along with my squatter's sizing. So I ordered the capri tights with the red piping and a heather red tank:

Impressed on First Feel

I received the pieces about 4 days later. The first thing I noticed was how nice the material feels. The tank was super soft without feeling thin or fragile. The tights material was thick and soft, too. The only surprise was that the Power Mesh along the side of the leg also run along the back of the hip. So depending on where the strip sits, you're either getting plumbers crack, the top of my underwear, or just low back.

I figure I'd wear them the next day.


A day of Wearing and Training

First the tank, because this will be short. It's a tank top. It can be hard to get a shirt when I'm the size I am, sight unseen. It's a hair looser than I'd like it to be, but a medium would definitely be too small. That's okay, I'm trying to get my shoulders and back bigger anyway. I'll fill this thing out. (Some people buy clothes smaller as inspiration. Not this lady.)

The tights were what I was interested in trying. The material was thick, and sometimes that means that it wouldn't be stretchy or comfortable. I was pleasantly surprised here, though. The tights went on just as easily as though they ere made of thinner material, nor did they feel like the bunched behind my knee or at my hip crease.

Me getting through a snatch workout in the capris and tank. 79kg singles. 

The wide waist band at first bothered me, it's pretty stiff. But that shit doesn't move. Not once during the day did I feel the need to pull it up in the back, or push it down in the front when I sat down.

The mesh on the sides is particularly nice right now, as it's the start of "summer" here in San Francisco. And the extra breathability is a plus. The down side? You can totally see the waist band of my underwear in the back panel of the mesh. So it's going to be either (1) don't care (2) buy underwear that matches my capris or (3) get nude colored underwear. The tank I wore was long enough that I never once worried about giving a panty-peepshow.

The seam around the calf was less stretchy than I'd like, but I only noticed that when I went to try to lift the bottom seem up over my knee. I have nasty, nasty bruises on the inside of my knees from strongman training and I wanted to put stuff on them. Otherwise, it didn't seem to cut in and certainly stayed in place.

In conclusion, 

I really liked the capris! I'll buy another pair, for sure. Now, I'm such a sucker for colors, I'd love to see a line that used a contrast color on the mesh panel. I'll probably get a different style of tank just because the material is so nice, too.

-------

If you want to try out some Hylete gear, use promotion code KLN20 at checkout to receive 20% off your next purchase.

Ballet to Barbells: Foot Contact with the Floor

Ever watch a ballet? Maybe on TV or the stage? Watched shows like "So You Think You Can Dance"? 

Those dancers can create this amazing illusion of weightlessness. They way the glide across the floor and suddenly they're spinning on a single leg or leaping over the heads of other dancers. Maybe they're spinning AND leaping. 

They're able to create this effect because they have mastered their relationship with the floor. If you watch each step they take, no matter how fast or slow, the articulation through the foot shows connection, a push through the floor, that allows them to rise above it so easily. 

Take a look at this video for an example, and really watch their foot contact with the ground:

So You Think You Can Dance - Alex and Alison

Most people who don't think much about what their feet are doing as they are standing or walking around. If you ask someone to squat without any instruction, you often see them sit their hips down any which way and many will end up in what I call the "gargoyle squat."

So initially, we tell people to put their weight back in their heels. We ask them to spread the floor and spin plates with their feet. Many will take these cues to an extreme and lift their toes off the ground or roll their feet so the big toes pops up. These exaggerations are tolerated at the beginning so that athletes can become aware of differences in balance when emphasis is put on different parts of the feet. 

But as a person advances, you want to see them start to bring those exagerations back in and actualy use full foot against the floor to create movement. The balance within the footprint may change, but pressure is still distributed. Watch the lifter in the following HOOKGRIP video and see how her center of gravity changes through the lift, but as long as she is moving the bar up, the foot is pushing into the ground:

You can also often tell a person's body awareness by how they box jump. Even if you can't SEE them rolling their weight from their toes to support in the full foot. Many people still trying to figure this dynamic out land totally flat footed and you hear the smack with every landing. 

Thinking more about your foot contact with the ground, and working with gravity, can help you increase the quality of your movements. They can smooth out your steps in heavy carries, make your squats more stable, and increase the force you produce with jumps and the Olympic lifts. 

Product Review: By Moxy Tights

You can't deny that these tights have some swagger at first sight:

I mean, LOOK at these! Not only that, but they are vouched for by Pat Mendes. Pat is an Olympic weightlifter who has been training in Brazil for Rio 2016. I'm a little biased, I tend to trust weightlifters over other athletes in clothing recommendations for the unique body proportions our training hands us.

Their page states the following:

I'd like to address some of the variables.

Stronger Fabric

I can't speak to the strength of the material, but I can speak to the thickness. And they're pretty see through. I first bought a men's medium (same size as a woman's large) and could see the side strap of my underwear easily. Never mind when I started to squat or bend over. So I exchanged them for a woman's extra large. Now I can still see the underwear strap, but I have to bend over a little to show it off. I guess that's better. Still don't plan on squatting in them.


3cm Wide Waist Band

Okay, I love this. The thicker band means it doesn't cut in. I hate when I sit down and the front of my tights cut into my stomach, so that solves this problem nicely.


Higher Cut in the Back than the Front

I wish that differential was greater. I found myself tugging up the back of the tights while I was sitting at a coffee shot between clients today, and pulling down my top because I was feeling a little drafty on my low back. What I like about Champion and Lululemon tights are that they are little higher in the waist and I don't to worry about looking like a plumber.


Awesome, but I won't be squatting in them. 

I got more compliments on these tights than I have on any pair from anywhere else. And it's not like they weren't comfortable! They totally were, but when I took time to stretch, I just made sure my derrière was facing away from any other people. So I won't be sending them back, but I think they'll be my "Monday Tights" since that's an off day for training.

I mean, look how sweet these tights look: