So, I’m back from a crazy busy three weeks, getting caught up on things. Tonight, I’m intrigued by this post from Keith Norris, Chasing Performance…at the Expense of Health:
The gist of the idea is … that health and performance track quite nicely up to a certain point (point A), at which time further increases in performance — let’s call it “sporting proficiency” at this level — do nothing to make an individual any healthier.
You should check out Keith’s post for more, but what intrigues me is this:
The other major point of significance here is that while 95% of Strength & Conditioning brain-power and know-how is directed unabashedly toward that heady land of peak performance in the C-zone, the vast majority of American citizenry is floundering helplessly somewhere beneath the “point zero” bottom left on this graph.
My question: are “point zero” newbies floundering helplessly in part because they are getting too much information directed at (or provided by) hard-core C-zone types?
Case in point: Chris Kresser’s Move Like Your Ancestors post. For those of us on the initial steep slope of the health curve, Chris’ post is (IMO) a very, very useful approach to fitness — and a nice counterpoint to the Bob & Jillian-style trainer abuse/chronic cardio that seems to be the norm.
But Lord help any newbie if they check out the comments! It’s great for the well-meaning but hardcore evangelists (or zealots — your mileage may vary) to debate, but is there a risk that this winds up creating a “paradox of choice” effect?
Body By Science resonated with me (a point-zero if there ever was). So reading “I know of no respected strength coach that recommends using machines for anything other than minor assistance work” gave me a moment of pause. And then I started doing BBS because it was the right fit (and I am loving it)!
This is just one example of course. Wade into a paleo forum and you’ll find similar discussions on dairy (or not) or saturated fat (or not) and so on.
Anyways, there’s probably a lot more to be said about this topic, but I’m going to leave it with the idea that content and audience need to match — from both the developer *and* consumer points of view.
Weight Maven is written by Beth Mazur. Beth believes that obesity is more symptom than cause and that the real problem is our Western diet -- especially sugar, refined grains, and industrial oils. Beth writes about nutrition, ancestral health, & food policy. And cats! 
I find this really interesting. I just keep studying it.
Change the word “Performance” in the graph to “Pounds lost.” Extend the X axis further over time. What then happens to the lines? Hmmm.
Well, for the sake of optimism, let’s create a flat plateau in the pounds lost line that continues for several happy years. But then what?
The “Health” line presented here assumes a gradual, measured challenge to the health — osteoarthritis setting in, for example. As time continues in this paradigm (and we elongate the declining health hump), and exercise becomes more and more challenging, that “Pounds lost” line is going to make a bend downward and leave its plateau. How far will it go? My theory: the body applies additional endocrinal resources to try to get it all the way back to ground zero — maximum established weight. But this can be fought. And maybe one can plateau at the “A” point. But shooting for that “A” plateau, me thinks, is like leaping into a white-water stream, aiming to land on the one stable rock in the center. (And, of course, it’s covered in slippery, wet moss, so holding your landing is also a challenge.) What a conundrum.
I think I shall look for a fat, fallen tree trunk and lay it down from the shore to the rock and walk carefully one foot at a time to the center of the stream and place myself on the “A” rock, paying all due respect to the slippery moss.
Another scenario might have the “Health” line take a dramatic plunge — a busted hip. When exercise is eliminated abruptly, then the “Pounds lost” line is likely to stay on its plateau briefly (during the time when recovery restricts food intake), then it will make a sharp bend downward as food intake normalizes but exercise cannot keep up. A lot depends on how long the recovery period and how incomplete the repair. Moreover, there’s that blasted endocrine pushing doggedly, trying to get you back to your highest established weight. It’s pretty certain most people (even me, I fear, if I find myself in that situation) will return to ground zero.
This graph could be very useful in discussing loss and maintenance with a trainer early on in loss (isn’t that where you are Beth?). Clearly the Jillian Michaels’ model will lead to a plunge in the top line sooner or later. You cannot pour on the exercise at Biggest Loser intensity forever. Either a gradual or sudden health event will prevent that.
If I weren’t where I am now. If I were close to the beginning of my weight-loss period again, then I would take this graph, and all my variations, to a trainer and say, “this is our goal”: to make both the “pounds lost” line and “health” line ascend to the “A” point (which may not be anywhere close to the “healthy” BMI range) then plateau together for as long as we can. Your job, Trainer Friend, is to make me continue to feel good about claiming the “A” plateau, despite all the cultural mythology that will try to push me into “C” land and lose more weight, but at the expense of both health and the longevity of the weight loss itself.
Wish me luck, Beth. I’m making my way back to the “A” rock with my arthritic limbs. Pray that I stop firm and don’t get swept away in the stream, finding myself beached at ground zero. You’re in a better strategic position than I, me thinks.
Oh, Beth, I envy you for being able to do strength training. I’m starting to miss it (recovering from surgery and more surgery is soon on the way.)
I liked the way my muscles made me feel capable and strong. There’s something exciting about being able to lift a bit more each month…comparing that to when one first started lifting and realizing, “By god, I really AM getting stronger!” Plus, it just feels terrific to flex and experience the immediate ZAP! of strength-hiding under the surface- and ready to spring into action upon request.
It will probably be another 6 months before I can start doing strength training on upper body again, I suppose I could do some leg stuff but it’s just not the same thrill. So, until then, it’s just me and the open road…walking, not running. (A little dancing here and there, a quick sprint to break things up, both are nice, occasional treats, but walking has its own unique pleasures when taken out the door and into actual nature. You know, where birds chirp and fly, and rain falls, and wind blows…mmmm, yeah, I’m hooked.)