When the twinkie diet hit the front page of every media outlet back in 2010, it was essentially a big fat middle finger to nutritionists and medical professionals around the world.

The diet pretty much said that it’s possible to eat twinkies every day and still lose weight, and let’s just say that pissed off quite a few people.

But if you’ve been living under some sort of messed up rock with no internet access for the past 2 years, here’s an overview of the controversial diet.

Who’s Mark Haub and what’s the twinkie diet?

Mark Haub is a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University.

In 2010, he decided to embark on a 10 week  journey to a land where no fitness professional has ever been. Mark decided to prove once and for all that weight loss was simply a matter of calories in calories out and nothing else.

But to lose weight, Mark decided to take calorie counting to a whole new level and decided to only eat foods that were considered “junk foods.” These foods included Doritos, Oreos, and of course Twinkies, which Mark ate every 3 hours.

But in addition to the steady stream of junk food, Mark also ate a serving of vegetables, a protein shake, and a multivitamin every day to help combat against any potential vitamin/mineral deficiencies.

Mark’s calorie intake was approximately 1800 calories per day, down from the 2600 calories it takes to maintain his weight. This created an 800 calorie deficit per day.

Main points:

• Diet lasted 10 weeks
• Daily calorie intake = 1800
• Majority of calories came from junk food (mainly refined carbs)
• A multivitamin, protein shake, and a serving of vegetables were consumed as well

Did the twinkie diet work?

Well no shit it worked.

By the end of the 10 weeks, Mark was able to lose to lose 27 pounds. But not only did Mark lose weight, he also:

• Lowered his BMI from 28.8 (overweight) to 24.9 (normal)
• His body fat percentage dropped from 33.4% to 24.9%
• His bad cholesterol (LDL) dropped 20%
• His good cholesterol (HDL) increased 20%

Data taken from CNN article.

But it’s not healthy… right?

Now I’m not saying that the twinkie diet is the ideal solution for everything health and fitness, but I’m still surprised by how many people continue to bash it like every other fad diet out there.

Mark’s whole goal with the diet was to show that weight loss is simply about eating less calories. He was very upfront about that.

And seeing as though he lost 27 pounds, I would say Mark succeed with flying colors, don’t you agree?

Being overweight and having excess body fat is one the main reasons that people get high cholestorol, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

And because Mark lowered his cholesterol levels, he also more than likely lowered his risk for those nasty aforementioned diseases.

So is it healthy?

In my opinion, it’s healthier than any diet that has you eating in a caloric surplus but because the diet is predominantly made up of refined carbohydrates, there are a few things that need fixing.

How to optimize the twinkie diet for everyday use

What is this? Are you saying that I can twinkies every day and still lose weight?

Why yes, but not in the matter that Mark Haub did so.

While Marks original diet was okay, it had a couple of flaws including:

• Not eating enough protein (he only drank 1 protein shake per day which is only about 20 grams of protein)
• He only had 1 serving of veggies and no fruits
• He didn’t have any essential fatty acids

Introducing the Twinkie Diet 2.0

With the twinkie diet 2.0, you’ll do the following:

1) You still need to track your calories, so multiply your bodyweight in pounds by 10-12 kcals to get your daily calorie intake to lose 1 pound per week.

2) Aim for about 0.6 grams of protein per pound of bodweight per day. But don’t worry if you can’t hit this amount every day.

3) Take 6-10 grams of fish oil (I take krill oil) every day.

4) Take a multivitamin every day.

5) Eat at least 2-3 servings of fruits and veggies

6) After covering the above 4 steps, fill in the rest of your calories, with twinkies, Ding dongs, ice cream, or whatever else your heart desires.

And there you have it. By increasing the protein intake, adding in some fruits, veggies, and EFA’s while still maintaining the overall calorie deficit, you now have a long term dieting approach that still lets you eat your damn twinkies every day.

The post The Twinkie Diet 2.0 – Optimizing The Twinkie Diet For Everyday Use appeared first on FitMole.

When it comes to steak, I like mine medium rare.

If you eat your steak well done, then you seriously need to reevaluate your life.

I also like my steak to be grass-fed. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some amazing tasting steaks that were grain-fed, but grass fed steaks will always come out on top.

For those who don’t know, grass fed beef comes from cows who are naturally raised on a grass-only diet, which is their natural diet. On the other hand, grain fed beef comes from cows who are raised on processed food diet consisting of grain, corn, soy, and other stuff I can;t even pronounce.

The result of these 2 diets is that grass fed beef is healthier and better tasting while grain fed beef doesn’t taste as good. However, there are some pros and cons to each kind of beef, which I talk about below:

Grass fed beef

Grass Fed Beef Pros

• Grass fed beef has much less fat and calories. A 6 ounce serving typically has 100 less calories than its grain fed counterpart.

• Its cleaner. Grass fed beef is almost always produced on smaller private farms. Therefore the farms are much cleaner, unlike multinational food corporations such as Tyson Foods which have a reputation for unsanitary meat production.

• It tastes soo much better. In my opinion, grass fed beef is leaps and bounds above grain fed beef in terms of taste quality. Its so much more tender, leaner, and juicer when compared to grain fed beef. There is no comparison.

Grass Fed Beef Cons

• Its hard to find. Most of supermarket chains like Alberstons and Vons don’t always sell grass fed beef(at least in my experience). However, I know that markets such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes definitely sell grass fed beef. Also, don’t forget to check out your local farmer’s market, since they usually buy from local farms in the area.

• Its expensive. Grass fed beef is typically more expensive than grain fed beef, but if you look around you should be able to find a reasonable deal.

Grain fed beef

Grain fed pros

• Its cheaper and easier to find, which is good if you’re on a tight budget since the majority of  beef you find at traditional super markets are grain fed.

Grain Fed Cons

• Many view grain fed beef as unhealthy and unsanitary due to the nature of which the cattle were raised, although very few people actually get sick from eating it nowadays.

• Compared to grass fed beef, grain fed beef tastes like crap.

So Which one Should you Eat??

Personally, the only reason I would purposely eat grass fed beef is because it tastes a helluva lot better. Honestly, I don’t really care too much about the fact that it’s “cleaner” for you or that it has more viatimins and whatnot.

You can argue with me all day about how grass fed beef is more ethical more animals and how it’s better for the environment, but you all know my stance on that.

Do you eat grass fed or grain fed beef? Let me know below.

The post Grass Fed Versus Grain Fed Beef: Which One’s Better? appeared first on FitMole.