[podcast flashvars=”titles: ‘Reinhard Engels'”]http://traffic.libsyn.com/llvlcshow/llvlc265-reinhard-engels.mp3[/podcast]
Hello and welcome back to The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore!
Today Jimmy shares a conversation with a colleague from his earliest days in podcasting, Reinhard Engels. Reinhard is the creator of The No “S” Diet, a model of simplicity aimed at leveraging the psychology of diet with the utility of simple systems. Jimmy and Reinhard began podcasting together in 2006 on Chris Brogan’s “Fat Guy Gets Fit” podcast, and then the Health Hacks Podcast, hosted by Jimmy’s current producer, Kevin Kennedy-Spaien.
Because there is nothing inherently pro or con to the low-carb dietary approach in The No “S” Diet, it can be used as a tool for low-carbers, low-fatties or almost anyone intending to lose weight. It has the added advantage of boosting one’s sense of self-discipline through simple and minor changes applied consistently.
Reinhard also shares his ab-ripping exercise technique known as “Shovelglove” which works by spending 14 minutes a day role-playing as a 19th century farm laborer–with a sledge hammer wrapped in a sweater! Odd though it may sound, it really works! Enjoy this rather peculiarly interesting conversation today.
LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 265
– CLICK on the “Donate” button to the right to support this podcast!
– The No S Diet: The Strikingly Simple Weight-Loss Strategy That Has Dieters Raving–and Dropping Pounds
– Official “No ‘S’ Diet” web site
– Reinhard Engel’s Everyday Systems web site
– Reinhard Engel’s Everyday Systems podcast show
– Jimmy Moore’s book review of The No “S” Diet
Back in the day, I actually did an experiment for the Health-Hacks Podcast where I simultaneously followed Atkins, No S AND the Shangri-La diets. Obviously for the Shangri-La I used olive oil and not sugar water!
I had no problem integrating them all and it worked to get me out of a stall as I recall, so give it a try, y’all!
Hmmm. There is a link on his site that goes to a report on CNN claiming that low-carb diets are dangerous. I know he said that this plan wouldn’t be right for everybody. It may be fine for teens or young people in college who are active, but I think my body is too far gone, metabolically speaking, for this to work.
Eeeek! A quote from the website:
“The forbidden foods diets are patent nonsense. They contradict one another, go in and out of fashion every ten years, and never seem to gather any serious scientific support. You won’t stick with one of these because not being able to eat whole categories of food is a real drag. At the outset, it might seem worth it to trade pasta for unlimited steaks (or vice versa), but it gets old fast. And it might even make you sick.
It’s funny that these diets masquerade as scientific, because psychologically they rely on the most primitive magicism: magic potion foods that are good for you and can be gorged on with impunity, and cursed poison foods that corrupt with a mouthful (carbohydrates and fat are the two biggies, alternating roles).”
Ok, I’m done.
“You could even do No-S plus Atkins, or No-S/Zone if you want to hedge your weight loss bets (though I think it’s becoming increasingly clear these last two examples are emphatically *not* going to help you in the nutrition department, if at all).”
What either wasn’t mentioned, or I missed in the interview, is that Reinhardt’s book was co-authored by Ben Kallen who has written articles for Men’s fitness, Shape, Muscle and Fitness, etc. All Weider publications, and all tout a low fat, high carb approach. So, I think in the chapters that you see anti-Low Carb rethoric your reading Kallen. In fact the whole No S diet could have been written wothout mentioning any diet whatsoever. The truth of the matter is I follow this plan as much as possible, it works. So, before you through the baby out…sit back, think about what he is saying, eat three meals a day, don’t snack, don’t eat sweets and don’t have seconds. I think looking at his discussion on the podcast today, anthropologicaly he is correct, you don’t have to go to Stone Age man to look for a “diet” that works. Take a look at your great grandparents. Very few people 50-100 (and beyond) were corpulant like they are today.
Now having said that, do bad carbs cause weight gain and metabolic issues, Syndrome X, Diabetes, etc. I believe they do, and current research agrees. So if you are on a low carb plan, and finding success, why change?
J.
Yes, I do see the silver lining (eat in moderation, less sugar, etc.), but the thundercloud surrounding that message (you’re fat because you eat too much and move too little, LC has little nutritional advantage, absolutely ignoring the role of insulin in fat storage) is pretty darn big. Most young, relatively active people would lose weight fairly rapidly if they simply cut out all of the sugar they consume, esp. in the form of soda, so there would be benefits to be had should they decide to follow this. I’m just dismayed at the stereotypical bashing of low carb plans coupled with no acknowledgment of the vast health benefits that can be attained by reducing insulin levels. BAD carbs? What are GOOD carbs? Unrefined grains? Fruit? They all metabolize as sugar. It’s the amount, not the kind.
This guy claims Low carb- atkins style is dangerous. His diet is just reducing calories with scheduled cheat days. I have yet read a new diet book where the author doesn’t rip every other diet plan before theirs. And Atkins is everyone’s favorite. I wouldn’t waste my time with this.
Katy, Jon Z, and pjnoir are right. True, avoiding sugar is sage but failing to avoid starch can be – usual is – disastrous. Stick to Taubes, Wolfgang Lutz, the Drs. Eades, Mary Vernon, et al. Jimmy, are you putting on a guy like this just to test us? Come on; this clown isn’t a low carber. Why be so agreeable toward him? And please – everybody – do take stock of Gary Taubes’s discussion of the never ending attempt to turn the problem of overweight into a head problem. It’s NOT psychological. It’s your pancreas producing insulin in response to carbohydrate ingestion. Got it? Stop eating carbohydrates in the form of starches and sugars. Stop trying to find the ultimate low carb brownie. It’s infantile. Grow up; learn to like lamb chops.
THANKS sss and everyone else. As you may or may not know, I feature a wide variety of guests on this podcast show who may not necessarily fall in line with the tenets of the healthy low-carb lifestyle. That’s not to say they don’t have any merit whatsoever with the message they are conveying. Glean from the guests you disagree with what you can and dismiss the rest. It’s all a part of continuing the education about what is right for your particular circumstance.
True, Jimmy, but I would have liked to hear you at least challenge his anti-low carb views a bit, not in a hostile way, but sort of like you did with Dr. Ornish. I was just taken by surprise when went to his website, not expecting to see the proclamation that LC is “magic” and dangerous.
I would have challenged him in the interview, Katy, but he didn’t bring up any of those views in the interview. 🙂
Hi everyone, I’m new here and all of this information seems great but a lot to digest…can anyone tell me the best place to get started? I have gained 20lbs in a year for no apparent reason. My diet is the same as ever (which admittedly, is not that healthy) but I am ready for a lifestyle change. I am a 39 year old female, relatively active although not sporty. Thanks!
stop eating starch and sugar…entirely. be prepared to feel a bit strange – maybe – and be prepared for that to persist anywhere from two weeks to two months. meanwhile, don’t shovel any snow. get the books. taubes, wolfgang lutz…mark sisson’s sounds good. listen to his podcast, above. do eat meat, eggs, some greens if you want and maybe some hard cheese and real nuts if you want. meat, fish, fowl and eggs. don’t kid yourself thinking brown rice, whole grains, and such are healthy and different fundamentally from their refined/more refined counterparts. they’re not. don’t eat any starch or sugar.
As it relates to the Atkins diet, I’m a little warry about trying it. I just went to the doctor today and they told me that I was about 40 pounds over weight (this is something that I already knew). The mentioned to them that a best friend of mine lost about 30 lbs over the span of 2 months on the Atkins diet. My doctor told me that although its quite possible to lose weight like this, they did not recommend this because I was at risk of high cholesterol :-(.
Is there any other diet that you guys can suggest that would be ideal in my case?
get a better doctor and read the first part of taubes’s gc,bc and malcolm kendrick’s the great cholesterol con about the fraud that is the cholesterol/lipid hypothesis of heart disease. and don’t use my identifier when you post – thanks.
I like this easy concept! Most people are not able to stick to complicated diet concepts and quit after a few days! With the No-S-Diet they don’t have to alter all of their eating habits but they do learn moderation, and that ceratinly is effective!
Admittedly low-carb is more effective, but not everybody is able to change to that lifestyle.
I learned the hard way that if you cut out sugar and don’t do something about the carbs, you’re wasting your time. I was in my 30’s before I realized that carbohydrates are broken down into sugars!
Jon Z: “What either wasn’t mentioned, or I missed in the interview, is that Reinhardt’s book was co-authored by Ben Kallen who has written articles for Men’s fitness, Shape, Muscle and Fitness, etc. All Weider publications, and all tout a low fat, high carb approach. So, I think in the chapters that you see anti-Low Carb rethoric your reading Kallen.”
I don’t know where you got the impression that “all” Weider publications tout a low-fat, high-carb approach. There certainly wasn’t any editorial mandate for that when I was writing there. (Not that you appear to have bothered reading anything I’ve actually written.) In any case, my goal in assisting with The No S Diet was to help convey Reinhard’s ideas, not to alter them to suit myself.
Jon, I believe your key word is “tool” for dieters. I have so many models come to my studio who binge and starve as I call it. Wish they would find a healthy way to stay fit. Just my .02 worth.
Bob
It’s a cute idea… BUT it’s nonsense :]
this guy has no medical or scientific back up for his “diet” so his advice shouldn’t be taken seriously.
As I kept reading I was amused by his glaring distaste towards low-carb WOL as well as other silly remarks that just go against everything I’ve worked so hard to be informed about!
The thing that made me laugh the most was this: “I don’t count alcoholic beverages as esses. I usually have a drink or two a day, which I’ve read is supposed to be very healthy.”
TWO ALCOHOLIC DRINKS PER DAY IS VERY HEALTHY?!
Is this guy insane or just stupid?…
There’s also this: “What about vacation?
This isn’t much of an issue for American wage slaves like myself; there just isn’t a whole lot of damage you can do in a mere two weeks.”
Honestly?… I’ve seen this first hand, it can take me 3 months to lose 10 pounds and, forget two weeks, 3 days! to gain it ALL back! And that’s only if I eat a little bread and one dessert per day! Sheesh!
I think he’s too conceited to actually think and research before he makes statements like that. He is ALWAYS talking about what has worked FOR HIM, never about what could and could not work for the general public.
No doubt, a miniscule amount of people will lose weight – I mean of course, if they cut back some of the crap they’ve been eating, but will they ever achieve health? or a healthy weight? Nah-ah.
I’m only 21 but allowing myself even a gram of “real” sugar would be metabolic suicide. I’ll be climbing up the walls and having wet dreams about anything chocolate!
Not to mention the dangers some folks with eating disorders have raised…
Blah.