Performance Research for April : Fat Loss and Exercise part 1

Two-fer and Twitter!
It is a 2 for 1 Friday! I was up at 4:20am today to head for the lab for some more testing in the Energy Drink study, so I am feeling a bit brain dead between Exercise Physiology labs while trying to stay away from the coffee as long as I can; so I figured it would be a great time to kick out some new studies for ya. Yes, I do read studies to relax. Scary I know.

Twitter
If you are interested in what I am doing, you can follow me at Twitter. I will have random updates and even new studies I am reading weeks before they show up here (and some never make it that far) and other tips. Feel free to hit me up there with anything you want to see also!

Click the link below and then hit the "follow" button below my mug shot.

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On to the studies on Fat Loss and Exercise

Influences of a dietary supplement in combination with an exercise and diet regimen on adipocytokines and adiposity in women who are overweight.

Fragala MS, Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, Maresh CM, Puglisi MJ, Vingren JL, Ho JY, Hatfield DL, Spiering BA, Forsythe CE, Thomas GA, Quann EE, Anderson JM, Hesslink RL Jr. Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.


The influence of a proprietary blend of modified cellulose and cetylated fatty acids (Trisynextrade mark, Imagenetix, Inc., San Diego, CA 92127, USA) on adipocytokine and regional body composition responses to a weight loss program was examined.

Twenty-two women (Supplement group (S) (n = 11): age = 36.8 +/- 7.2 years; weight = 87.1 +/- 6.2 kg; % body fat = 43.4 +/- 4.1; Placebo group (P) (n = 11): age = 38.3 +/- 6.8 years; weight = 86.9 +/- 4.7 kg; % body fat = 44.3 +/- 2.0) completed an 8-week placebo-controlled, double-blind study consisting of a caloric restricted diet and cardiovascular exercise.

Body composition and serum insulin, leptin, and adiponectin were assessed at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention.

From pre- to post-intervention, significant decreases (P < class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">leptin (S: 28.3 +/- 3.5-16.2 +/- 2.6 ng ml(-1); P: 29.4 +/- 3.2-19.9 +/- 1.1 ng ml(-1)) (P < class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">mU l(-1); P: 7.7 +/- 0.9-5.1 +/- 0.3 mU l(-1)).

Serum adiponectin increased (P < class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">microg ml(-1): 12.6 +/- 2.0-21.8 +/- 3.1 microg ml(-1)) (P < style="font-weight: bold;">

CONCLUSION: Supplementation with a proprietary blend of modified cellulose and cetylated fatty acids during an 8-week weight loss program exhibited favorable effects on adipocytokines and regional body composition.

My Notes: Interesting idea for a study, but while the results were statistically significant, dropping 1% of body fat over 8 weeks is not much. Even if you were 400 lbs that would only be 4 lbs. Again, statistically significant does not mean REAL world significant. Perhaps if you are a competitive bodybuilder in the single digits for body fat and you are looking to drop a few more pounds, than 1 lbs a week is great. These subjects were far from that group though.

Adiponectin is a "good guy" and we actually want higher levels of it, was shown here.

Speaking of it.......

Adipocytokine and ghrelin levels in relation to bone mineral density in physically active older women: longitudinal associations.

Jürimäe J, Kums T, Jürimäe T. Institute of Sport Pedagogy and Coaching Sciences Institute of Exercise Physiology and Physiotherapy, Centre of Behavioural and Health Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia. jaakj@ut.ee


PURPOSE: We investigated the relationship between the decrease in bone mineral mass (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) values with baseline adipocytokine and ghrelin concentrations in physically active postmenopausal women.

METHODS: Leptin, adiponectin, ghrelin, BMC, BMD and different body composition values were measured in 35 women (age: 69.7+/-6.0 years) before and after a 12-month prospective study period.

RESULTS: Significant (P<0.05) class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_58">FFM) (by 2.56%) and BMC (by 1.63%) and increases in adiponectin (by 14.8%) were seen in older females as a result of the study period. The independent variables that were associated with decreases in total BMC were baseline fat mass (FM) and adiponectin explaining 30.6% (R(2)x100) of the total variance. In another model, baseline FFM and leptin were the independent variables that explained 20.6% (P<0.05) class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_65">BMD value. The variables that were associated with decreases in femoral neck BMD were FM and leptin (R(2)=0.102; P<0.05), class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_68">adiponectin in the model with decreases in lumbar spine BMD as the dependent variable, and accounted for 13.1% (P<0.05) class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_70">BMD variance.

CONCLUSIONS: Initial adiponectin concentration together with specific body composition characteristics predicted loss in bone mineral mass and lumbar spine bone mineral density values, while initial leptin concentration together with specific body composition parameters determined the loss in total and femoral neck bone mineral density values in physically active older women.

My notes: Keep in mind that this is an ASSOCIATION study which means that "Hey, we saw this and this!" It does NOT mean that "This CAUSED that"

A classic example is if you observe a large fire and see tons of fire trucks there. You could INcorrectly assume that the huge number of fire trucks there CAUSED the fire (which would be untrue).

Having said all that, I am interested as we start to uncover how the body is all interconnected. It makes sense that if we have more muscle and muscle pulls on bone, great muscle mass means greater stress on the bones (from the shear weight and more likely the higher forces exerted on the bone).

Beyond that, there is some early data showing a correlation between bone and fat loss and this study provides a little more data in the area as it was looking at hormone level.

Supervised exercise versus non-supervised exercise for reducing weight in obese adults.

Nicolaï SP, Kruidenier LM, Leffers P, Hardeman R, Hidding A, Teijink JA. Department of Vascular Surgery, Atrium medical centre Parkstad Heerlen, The Netherlands j.a.kragten@wcnnet.nl.


AIM: The prevalence of obesity is rising. Because obesity is positively associated with many health related risks and negatively associated with life expectancy this is a threat to public health. Physical exercise is a well known method to lose fat mass. Due to shame of their appearance, bad general condition and social isolation, starting and continuing physical exercise tends to be problematic for obese adults. A supervised training program could be useful to overcome such negative factors. In this study we hypothesized that offering a supervised exercise program for obese adults would lead to greater benefits in body fat and total body mass reduction than a non-specific oral advice to increase their physical activity.


METHODS: Thirty-four participants were randomised to a supervised exercise program group (N.=17) and a control group (N.=17). Fifteen candidates in the intervention group and 12 in the control group appeared for baseline measurements and bought an all inclusive sports pass to a health club for Euro 10, per month. The control group just received the oral advice to increase their physical activity at their convenience. The supervised exercise group received biweekly exercise sessions of 2 hours with an estimated energy expenditure of 2 500 kJ per hour. Both groups received no dietary advice. RESULTS: After 4 months the overall decrease in body mass in the intervention group was 8.0 kg (SD 6.2) and the decrease in body fat was 6.2 kg (SD 4.5). The control group lost 2.8 kg overall (SD 4.2) and the decrease in body fat was 1.7 kg (SD 3.1). Correction for differences between groups in gender and age by multiple linear regression analysis showed significantly greater loss of total body mass (P = 0.001) and fat mass (P =0.002) in the intervention group compared with the control group.


CONCLUSIONS: Stimulation of physical activity alone seems to result in a slight short term body mass and fat mass reduction in obese adults who are eager to lose weight. Supervised exercise under supervision of a qualified fitness instructor leads to a larger decrease.

My Notes: Part of me is sad that we even have to do studies like this, but they are good to have.

Once again it goes to show you that if you want RESULTS get a PROFESSIONAL to help you!

If you get in trouble, are you going to try to represent yourself in court--I sure hope not! Do you try to diagnose yourself when you have a serious health issue--again, I hope not. So why do you think you can design and even further FOLLOW your own nutrition and exercise plan? If you want serious results, you need to get professional help.

Rock on!
Mike T Nelson

Erasing Human Fear Response? New Study

It's Coming!
Just a heads up that I will be having a very special announcement in the next few days here on my blog. Until then, it will be top secret. For coaches/trainers or neuro freaks, I have an announcement at the end here just before the latest study also.

New Videos
I am working on updating my You Tube Channel, so check it out here

The newer videos can be found on the lower left hand side and more to come, so let me know what YOU want to see.

Z Health R Phase in Minnesota this August and September
Just got word from the fine folks at Z Health, that the Z Health level 1 R Phase cert will be here in Minnesota on Aug 14-16 and the second part on Sept 18-20.

If you are a personal trainer/fitness professional in the Twin Cities area, now is a perfect time to sign up for the course. Heck, it is well worth traveling for too as I've done almost all of my Z Health certs in AZ, CA or NC. I can honestly say that I have no regrets from doing any Z Health cert and I fully recommend them.

Full disclosure: I don't work for Z Health and I make ZERO money off of recommending the certs to anyone. I do however, get some money off further certifications for myself. I will be at the 9S Nutrition course they are doing for 5 days in AZ this July to further my own knowledge once again.

Any questions about the R Phase, please feel free to email me directly. If you talk to Z Health directly, tell them hello and that I sent ya. Email me by clicking HEREl

Below is MC's excellent review of R Phase, so don't just take my word for it.

What is Z-Health R-Phase: not your daddy's joint mobility

Z Health Information on this blog

Brand New Study on Fear Response
Below is an amazing new study, thanks to Andrew Schimming for sending it to me.

I've been following this research since about 4 years ago now when I was taking an advanced neurology course here at the U of MN. A researcher in the class brought this topic as he was working on it with mice. Fast forward several years and now we have HUMAN data on it!

Why Should I Care?
In general, you can learn by 2 different mechanisms
1) Fear based
2) Positive based

Now this it not in a classical sense, it is just the way I divide them up to illustrate a point.

For fear based learning, it is primarily driven by the amygdala in the brain aka "the fear center."

An example is to have an instructor teach you a deadlift, but now he says to deadlift 315 lbs for 4 reps or else he will shoot you. Ok, so this is an extreme example, but you will probably be able to do it.

A more positive based learning experience would be for him to take you through the steps of learning a deadlift by using positive exercise cues. So instead of putting a gun to your head or yelling "YOU SUCK", the coach would show you the CORRECT way to do the lift and address areas of the lift where you can improve.


Both methods will work, but at what cost? Everything has a cost. My argument is that learning via positive based emotion will have a much lower cost and long term will be better. You may deadlift 315 lb for reps, but you may not get out of bed the next day if it is your first time and you are not Andy Bolton (world record deadlift holder who was rumored to have deadlifted 500lbs the first time he ever did the lift--that bastard!).


The amazing part about this study below is that it hints at a mechanism that may decrease the cost of fear based learning. This could have huge implications for post traumatic stress disorder also as the memories stored could be "retrieved" later with a much lower cost (less anxiety, stress, etc).


Anyone Want More? (Coaches Read Here)
If people are interested in coaching cues based on neurology, let me know. I have a whole presentation already completed. It literally took me quite some time to pull all the literature, do some experiments myself, consult with other really smart trainers and steal their ideas (hey, you think I come up with all of this stuff on my own).

If you are interested, drop a note in the comments section or email me directly. I have not seen this material presented anywhere else and feel it is very valuable.


Beyond extinction: erasing human fear responses and preventing the return of fear

Merel Kindt1, Marieke Soeter1 & Bram Vervliet1


Abstract Animal studies have shown that fear memories can change when recalled, a process referred to as reconsolidation. We found that oral administration of the beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol before memory reactivation in humans erased the behavioral expression of the fear memory 24 h later and prevented the return of fear.


CONCLUSION: Disrupting the reconsolidation of fear memory opens up new avenues for providing a long-term cure for patients with emotional disorders.

Research Review: Protein Synthesis Part I

Here are some cool, cutting edge studies below on protein synthesis for you!

A few key points to remember

• Ideally, a study would measure protein increases (fractional synthesis rate, increase in lean body mass, etc) or what is referred to as an anabolic process (which means "building stuff" and this stuff can be muscle, fat, bone, etc) AND protein break down referred to as a catabolic process ("breaking down stuff"). The balance will hopefully be positive (if we are talking protein, bone, but not fat!)

• Similar to your checking account. If you only look at the money coming in you are only seeing half of it!

In a perfect world, we would know how much muscle/strength was added (performance effect)

• Creatine kinase (CK) and other items are used to look at muscle breakdown/injury. Some injury is needed for growth (how much, when, for how long, no one really knows) but we really want to look at body composition and performance changes. Incidentally, even though CK is measured is lots of studies, is it very poorly correlated to performance changes.

Protein/carbohydrate timing is a whole book on to its self. A few key points to look for are:

• Fasting or in a fed state? Most athletes will be in a fed state prior to training
• Training stimulus? Aerobic (running), or Anaerobic (weight training) or something in-between?
• How long did they look? 30 min? 48 hrs? Some literature suggests that a response from weight training may last at least 48 hours or even longer!

Here you go! Part II will be out tomorrow with some conclusions. ACSM updates will be coming soon
Any questions, thoughts let me know
Mike N

The effects of the 5-HT2C agonist m-chlorophenylpiperazine on elite athletes suffering from unexplained underperformance syndrome (overtraining)

Conclusion: “The study suggests that this adaptation may be lost in athletes with UUPS (unexplained, underperformance syndrome): this might explain some of their observed symptoms.”

Effect of a Pre-Exercise Energy Supplement on the Acute Hormonal Response to Resistance Exercise

Conclusion: “The enhanced exercise performance resulted in a significantly greater increase in both growth hormone and insulin concentrations, indicating an augmented anabolic hormone response to this pre-exercise S.”

Co-ingestion of leucine with protein does not further augment post-exercise muscle protein synthesis rates in elderly men

Conclusion: “Co-ingestion of leucine with carbohydrate and protein following physical activity does not further elevate muscle protein fractional synthetic rate in elderly men when ample protein is ingested.”

Leucine-enriched essential amino acid and carbohydrate ingestion following resistance exercise enhances mTOR signaling and protein synthesis in human muscle

Conclusion: “The data suggest that enhanced activation of the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) signaling pathway is playing a role in the greater synthesis of muscle proteins when resistance exercise is followed by EAA+CHO (Essential Amino Acids + Carbohydrates) ingestion.”

Amino acid metabolism and regulatory effects in aging.

Conclusion: “Muscle loss with aging is associated with significant changes in amino acid metabolism, which can be acutely reversed using nutritional manipulations and exercise. Long-term, large clinical trials are, however, needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings in the elderly population, and to establish if nutritional and exercise interventions can help prevent and treat sarcopenia.”

Branched-chain amino acid supplementation and indicators of muscle damage after endurance exercise.

Conclusion: “The data suggest that BCAA (branched-chain amino acid) supplementation attenuates muscle damage during prolonged endurance exercise in untrained college-age men. CHO (Carbohydrates) ingestion attenuates CK (Creatine kinase) activities at 24 and 48 h postexercise as compared with a placebo beverage.”

Exercise- and nutrient-controlled mechanisms involved in maintenance of the musculoskeletal mass.

Conclusion: “Exercise not only stimulates protein synthesis in muscle, but also in tendon; and disuse atrophy is accompanied by marked decreases of both muscle and tendon collagen protein synthesis. Bone collagen synthesis appears to be nutritionally regulated by the availability of amino acids, but not lipid or glucose.”

Reasarch Round Up, Coconut Oil, Optimal Foods?

Research Round Up time for January. Here are just a few studies I found interesting.
Enjoy!

Gastric Banding Surgery May Help Promote Remission of Type 2 Diabetes in Obese Patients
According to the study, "of the 60 patients enrolled, 55 (92%) completed the 2-year follow-up. Remission of type 2 diabetes was achieved by 22 (73%) in the surgical group and 4 (13%) in the conventional-therapy group."
Pretty amazing difference and appears to be related to weight loss. Most likely there are more feedback loops going on than we realize! It used to be thought that fat cells sat on their collective fat asses all day and did nothing, but now we know they are involved in all sorts of regulation.
Link here

Caffeine Increases Ambulatory Glucose and Postprandial Responses in Coffee Drinkers With Type 2 Diabetes

This debate has been going on for some time now. There is evidence on both sides and diabetics are different from healthy people and there are probably differences depending if they used coffee or just caffeine. See this link for a roundtable with Dr. John Beradi, Dr. Kalman and Dr. Lonnie Lowery from 2002. Link here

Concentration of Vitamin E Linked to Physical Decline in Older Persons
The study stated, "In a logistic regression analysis that was adjusted for potential confounders, only a low concentration of vitamin E (<1.1> significantly associated with subsequent decline in physical function"
What? It means that it a study of a group of free living people, Vit E concentration was associated (does not mean that it is causative) with less issues as people aged. Score another one for Vit E (although not all studies have been positive). It appears they only looked at one type of Vit E (alpha tocpherol).
Link here

Brief, Intensive Therapy for OCD Altered Brain Activity, Improved Symptoms
Yet another study showing how incredible neuroplasticity is in the brain, especailly in this case to a cognitive form of therapy. Neuroplasticity is a fancy term that means the brain can adapt to many changes and quite quickly. It was not long ago that researchers believe the brain would not change much, especially as you age. Newer researcher is showing that this is not true.
Link here

Muscle Vibration May Retrain Abnormal Sensorimotor Organization in Focal Hand Dystonia
Score another one for the amazing ability of the body to adapt!
Link here


Question and Answer Time
Q: Should there be more attention paid to an individual's unique fuel needs to better help them stay in a healthy weight range/ avoid Syndrome X, etc..?

Maybe we should should look at appropriate food mixes (fats/proteins/carbs) pertaining to the individual (assuming you get the right amount of exercise). Thoughts?

Your question about fuel needs is a good one. I think in a healthy body, you can use some protein (generally not a lot for energy needs since it is caloric intensive) and either carbs or fats. This can be measured in the lab by looking at the RER (respiratory exchange ratio). For info on RER click here

A RER ratio of 0.7 is 100% fat, 0.85 is 50/50 carbs/fat and 1 is 100% carbs (glycogen, etc).

You are probably familiar with the crossover over theory that as the intensity of the exercise increases, the body shifts more to carb usage. What many forget is that after high intensity work, the REPAYMENT of the disturbance from homeostasis (EPOC, afterburn, etc) is almost all fat metabolism. This is the main reasons that many recommend interval work for fat loss.

Of course everyone is different and your body can change quite well from one fuel to the next over time, shown by athletes on low carb diets even doing quite well still .

I personally like the idea of Metabolic Flexibility since it may be a way to customize fuel source or show that it doesn't make any difference. We know as someone gets closer to a diabetic condition, they have a much harder time using different fuel sources and get closer to "locking into" one--they lose their flexibility. Click here for more info than you ever cared about on it!

Q: What are your thoughts on coconut oil? Should I be using it? Some say it is great and others cry that there is too much saturated fat?

Coconut Oil is mostly saturated, of that it is about 44.6% lauric acid, 16.8% myristic acid a 8.2% palmitic acid and 8% Caprilic Acid. Different types of saturated fat may have different effects on blood cholesterol levels, as is there individual differences. Click here for a reference

Jeff Volek and friends has shown that in a low carbohydrate environment, the type of fat may have less or even no effect on blood cholesterol.

Coconut oil is a major source of medium chain trigylcerides (MCTs), but I am not sold that they are amazing. If you remember back in the mid 90s, they were touted as an ergogenic aid (increases performance) but tasted like crap and were not all that effective.

Coconut oil is also lacking in high amounts of (essential fatty acids) EFAs. They are essential since your body can NOT make them. Coconut oil is fine to use for cooking since it has a relatively high smoke point, but make sure you get your EFAs first and there is nothing all that magical about it in my opinion (which is open to change at any time-hehhe).

Take away on coconut oil
Get in your EFAs first in fish oil and omega 3s like flax oil.

For all you wanted to know on fats check out this article by Dr. John Berardi The F Word.

That is all for now! Any questions, post them in the comments
Rock on
Mike N