Episode #139: The Last Diet You’ll Ever Need – Part 1

Ben Greenfield (0:00)

In this podcast, the last diet you'll ever need, the bar method of working out, what to do if your calves are too big, and a couple questions about training on a bicycle.

SPEAKER_2 (0:14)

Welcome to the Ben Greenfield fitness.com podcast. We provide you with free exercise, nutrition, weight loss, triathlon, and wellness advice from the top fitness experts in the nation.

So whether you're an Ironman triathlete or you're just trying to shed a few pounds, get ready for non-run-of-the-mill, cutting-edge content from bengreenfieldfitness.com.

Ben Greenfield (0:48)

Hey, folks, it's Ben Greenfield here, and somehow I've managed to figure out how to get you a podcast while I am basically stranded on top of a mountain in the middle of a small island called Nevis in the West Indies. There are monkeys climbing on top of the roof of my little hut up here, perched on top of a hill.

And I'm amazed that I even have an internet connection. But I do have my portable microphone, and I am here because I have a very cool interview for you today with a guy named Casey Cricci about a very cool book. And it's called Super Health, The Last Diet You'll Ever Need. I would highly recommend you listen in to this interview. It's not often that I recommend diets, so this might be once in a blue moon.

After you listen, be sure to tune in towards the end of this episode where I'm going to tell you how to score a free book from Casey. As a matter of fact, I'm going to tell you how to score the very book that we're talking about for free. It'll be pretty easy to do. So stay tuned to the end of this podcast, and let's get started into the special announcements.

I mentioned this last week, and I'll remind you again. On April 12th, I am hosting a live free video webinar called The Shocking Truth About Vitamin D and Fish Oil. Dr. Rick Cohen from BioLetics is going to be in on that video seminar, and I've got a link to it in the show notes to this podcast, podcast number 139 Just go over to bengreenfieldfitness.com, click on the show notes, and you'll be able to RSVP for that. It's free. It's going to be very cool. Dr. Cohen has a ton of research I haven't seen before that he's going to be releasing that day about vitamin D and about fish oil. So, I highly recommended, whether or not you're actually taking those supplements, this would be a very good one to sit in on. So that's going to be on Tuesday, April 12th at 6 p.m. The other special announcement is going to be saved for the end of this podcast. So let's jump right in to this week's listener Q&A.

SPEAKER_3 (3:03)

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SPEAKER_2 (3:33)

Listener Q&A.

Ben Greenfield (3:38)

So if you have a question, you can just use the Ask Ben form on the podcast show notes over at bengreenfieldfitness.com. You can also ask a question through the iPhone app or the Android app. Both are free and you can download them over on the right side of the page at bengreenfieldfitness.com. The other way you can ask a question is via Twitter. You can just Twitter to at Ben Greenfield to ask your question, or go follow at Ben Greenfield if you want more tips from me during the day. All right, let's go ahead and go to this week's first question, which is from listener Violet, who says, I have always had large calves and no matter how much weight I lose, they don't change. I don't want the muscle any bigger. I just want to lose fat, especially the fat right under my knee. I've done calf raises on the stairs, but is there anything else I could try?

Also, I don't know if this has anything to do with it, but I'm very hypermobile, especially in my knees.

Well, first of all, as far as the last part of that question, flexibility and hypermobility really aren't going to affect fat deposition in a certain body part or body area.

But in terms of reducing toning or losing fat in one body part, the issue with that is that basically your body has to be put into a state where it actually has incentive to mobilize that fat, in this case, the fat that's around your knee. That's storage fat. And the only way that your body is going to have incentive to mobilize that fat is if it's put into a state where it has to burn that as a fuel, where it has to rely on it as fat. And some people tend to burn storage fats more predictably or more favorably in certain locations and find it easier to lose fat in those locations. And the women who are listening in know what I'm talking about and find it frustrating when the very first place they ever lose fat when they begin to lose weight is the chest. And a lot of women don't want that to happen. But as far as the knee goes, you should be coming at this from a nutritional and a workout program standpoint and not a targeted exercise standpoint. And the reason for that is that doing things like squats and calf raises, those might improve the metabolic activity in that area just slightly. Just slightly improve heat, fat burning, etc. But they're not going to hold a candle to what you'd be able to achieve by getting your diet dialed in, taking into account a lot of the dietary recommendations that I give out on this show, and also getting things like, you know, unfed cardio sessions in in the morning, doing higher intensity cardiovascular intervals in the afternoon, making sure to incorporate weight training so you get that hormonal response to fat loss. All those types of things will help. Now, in terms of actually reducing the size of a muscle, that's an issue where you're literally having to cannibalize your body's own lean muscle tissue. Now, some people are born with larger calves than other people, and that's just pure genetics. But in terms of actually cannibalizing some of that lean muscle mass, the issue is that whenever you start to tap into your body's own lean muscle mass, it's stressful on the body, it can suppress your immune system, so you want to do it rather slowly.