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Fast Diet, Fast Exercise, Fast Improvements
Plus: which comes first, cardio or weights?
The 10almonds Team
June 11, 2024
Today’s almonds have been activated by:
How many different plants do you eat in a week? Getting in your “five a day” doesn’t get as much mileage if it’s every day two bananas, one apple, and some lettuce and tomato (wonderful as each of those foods are).
Nature loves diversity—on all levels, from global phytogeography right down to your gut microbiome. The food on your plate is an important middle step there, so make it diverse!
In A Rush?
Today’s 30-Second Summary
If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:
Intermittent fasting is a well-evidenced way to improve many metrics of health for most people
Today’s main feature, a tribute to Dr. Michael Mosley who died in tragic circumstances recently while vacationing, shares Dr. Mosley’s recommendations for 5:2 intermittent fasting (amongst other things)
Add-on features include a tweaked Mediterranean diet, and an 800 kcal allowance on fasting days
Muscle loss is normal as we get older, but normal does mean good—or necessary.
Today’s sponsor, XWERKS, have a high-protein low-carb solution, which extra branched-chain amino acids too (that’s good).
Today’s featured recipe, “balanced energy cake bars”, gets that name because unlike a lot of commercially available products, these bars won’t spike your blood sugars in the same way—they’re packed with fiber, as well as protein and healthy fats. And that’s just the start of their benefits, so check them out!
Read on to learn more about these things, or click here to visit our archive
A Word To The Wise
Watch and Learn
High Histamine Foods To Avoid (And Low Histamine Foods To Eat Instead)
Prefer text? The above video will take you to a 10almonds page with a text-overview, as well as the video!
Tuesday’s Expert Insights
Diet & Exercise, Optimized
This is Dr. Michael Mosley. He originally trained in medicine with the intention of becoming a psychiatrist, but he grew disillusioned with psychiatry as it was practised, and ended up pivoting completely into being a health educator, in which field he won the British Medical Association’s Medical Journalist of the Year Award.
He also died under tragic circumstances very recently (he and his wife were vacationing in Greece, he went missing while out for a short walk on the 5th of June, appears to have got lost, and his body was found 100 yards from a restaurant on the 9th). All strength and comfort to his family; we offer our small tribute here today in his honor.
The “weekend warrior” of fasting
Dr. Mosley was an enjoyer (and proponent) of intermittent fasting, which we’ve written about before:
However, while most attention is generally given to the 16:8 method of intermittent fasting (fast for 16 hours, eat during an 8 hour window, repeat), Dr. Mosley preferred the 5:2 method (which generally means: eat at will for 5 days, then eat a reduced calorie diet for the other 2 days).
Specifically, he advocated putting that cap at 800 kcal for each of the weekend days (doesn’t have to be specifically the weekend).
He also tweaked the “eat at will for 5 days” part, to “eat as much as you like of a low-carb Mediterranean diet for 5 days”:
❝The “New 5:2” approach involves restricting calories to 800 on fasting days, then eating a healthy lower carb, Mediterranean-style diet for the rest of the week.
The beauty of intermittent fasting means that as your insulin sensitivity returns, you will feel fuller for longer on smaller portions. This is why, on non-fasting days, you do not have to count calories, just eat sensible portions. By maintaining a Mediterranean-style diet, you will consume all of the healthy fats, protein, fibre and fresh plant-based food that your body needs.❞
Read more: The Fast 800 | The New 5:2
And about that tweaked Mediterranean Diet? You might also want to check out:
Knowledge is power
Dr. Mosley encouraged the use of genotyping tests for personal health, not just to know about risk factors, but also to know about things such as, for example, whether you have the gene that makes you unable to gain significant improvements in aerobic fitness by following endurance training programs:
On which note, he himself was not a fan of exercise, but recognised its importance, and instead sought to minimize the amount of exercise he needed to do, by practising High Intensity Interval Training. We reviewed a book of his (teamed up with a sports scientist) not long back; here it is:
You can also read our own article on the topic, here:
Just One Thing…
As well as his many educational TV shows, Dr. Mosley was also known for his radio show, “Just One Thing”, and a little while ago we reviewed his book, effectively a compilation of these:
Enjoy!
Our Sponsors Make This Publication Possible
Grow Stronger, At Any Age
It’s normal to lose muscle mass as we get older, but normal doesn’t mean good—or obligatory.
One of the keys to maintaining muscle mass is getting enough protein, but that can be tricky, especially if one’s appetite isn’t up for eating steaks every day!
Here’s the easier (and healthier!) option: XWERKS Grow protein powder is made with 100% whey protein isolate from grass-fed cows in New Zealand (home to some of the healthiest cows in the world).
With each scoop containing 25g of protein and 6g of branched-chain amino acids (that’s good), with minimal lactose, carbs, and fat, this is a trim way to good health and strength.
Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free
A Quick Question
As we get older, should we exercise less? |
This Or That?
Vote on Which is Healthier
Yesterday we asked you to choose between egg noodles and rice noodles—it was close, but we picked the egg noodles (click here to read about why), as did 40% of you!
Now for today’s choice:
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Click on whichever you think is better for you!
Bonus (Sponsored) Recommendation
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Recipes Worth Sharing
Balanced Energy Cake Bars
Unlike a lot of commercially available products, these bars won’t spike your blood sugars in the same way—they’re packed with fiber, protein, and healthy fats, by way of their gut-healthy, heart-healthy, brain-healthy ingredients.
They’re also genuinely delicious, unlike a lot of protein bars that are called things like “decadent caramel double chocolate and cream” and then taste like sawdust. You deserve better; you deserve these:
Click below for our full recipe, and learn its secrets:
One-Minute Book Review
Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?: Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise – by Alex Hutchinson
This is a book of questions and answers, myths and busts, and in short, all things exercise.
It’s laid out as many micro-chapters with questions as headers. The explanations are clear and easy to understand, with several citations (of studies and other academic papers) per question.
While it’s quite comprehensive (weighing in at a hefty 300+ pages), it’s not the kind of book where one could just look up any given piece of information that one wants.
Its strength, rather, lies in pre-emptively arming the reader with knowledge, and correcting many commonly-believed myths. It can be read cover-to-cover, or just dipped into per what interests you (the table of contents lists all questions, so it’s easy to flip through).
Bottom line: if you’ve found the world of exercise a little confusing and would like it demystifying, this book will result in a lot of “Oooooh” moments.
PS: the short answer to the titular question is “mix it up and keep it varied” 😉
Penny For Your Thoughts?
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Wishing you good, healthy life—always
The 10almonds Team
