What Do You Have To Gain?

We have previously promised a three-part series about changing one’s weight:

1. Losing weight (specifically, losing fat)
2. Gaining weight (specifically, gaining muscle)
3. Gaining weight (specifically, gaining fat)

There will be, however, no need for a “losing muscle” article, because (even though sometimes a person might have some reason to want to do this), it’s really just a case of “those things we said for gaining muscle? Don’t do those and the muscle will atrophy naturally”.

Here’s our first article: How To Lose Weight (Healthily!)

While some people will want to lose fat, please do be aware that the association between weight loss and good health is not nearly so strong as the weight loss industry would have you believe:

Shedding Some Obesity Myths

And, while BMI is not a useful measure of health in general, it’s worth noting that over the age of 65, a BMI of 27 (which is in the high end of “overweight”, without being obese) is associated with the lowest all-cause mortality:

BMI and all-cause mortality in older adults: a meta-analysis

Here was our second article: How To Build Muscle (Healthily!)

And now, it’s time for the last part, which yes, is also something that some people want/need to do (healthily!), and want/need help with that.

How to gain fat, healthily

Fat gets a bad press, but when it comes to health, we would die without it.

Even in the case of having excess fat, the fat itself is not generally the problem, so much as comorbid metabolic issues that are often caused by the same things as the excess fat.

So, how to gain fat healthily?

• Obvious but potentially dangerously misleading answer: “in moderation”
• More useful answer: “carefully”

Because, you can “in moderation” put on less than one pound per week for a few years and be in very bad health by the end of it. So how does this “carefully” work any differently to “in moderation”?

The key is in how we store the fat

Not merely where we store it (though that’ll follow from the “how”), but specifically: how we store it.

• When we consume energy from food in excess of our immediate survival needs, our body stores what it can. This is good!
• When our body is receiving energy from food faster than it can physically process it to store it healthily, it will start shoving it wherever it can instead. This is bad!

This is the physiological equivalent of the difference between tidying a room carefully, and cramming everything into one cupboard in 30 seconds just to get it out of sight.

So, you do need to consume calories yes, but you need to consume them in a way your body can take its time about storing them.

We’ve written before about the science of this, so we’ll share some links to that in a moment, but first, here are the practical tips:

• Do not drink your calories. Drinking calories tends to be the equivalent of injecting sugars directly into your veins, in terms of how quickly it gets received.
  • See also: How To Unfatty A Fatty Liver ← this is highly relevant, because the same process that results in unhealthy weight gain, results in liver disease, by the same mechanism (the liver gets overwhelmed).
• Eat your greens. No, they won’t provide many calories, but they are critical to your body not being overwhelmed by the arrival of sugars.
  • See also: 10 Ways To Balance Blood Sugars ← the other 9 things are also helpful for not putting on fat unhealthily, so using these alongside a calorie-dense diet can result in healthy fat gain as needed
• Get more of your calories from fats than carbs. Fats will not overwhelm your body’s glycemic response in the same way that carbs will.
  • Again this is about getting calories while not getting metabolic disease. See also: How To Prevent And Reverse Type Two Diabetes as the advice is the same for that, for the same reason!
• Consider going low-carb, but even if you choose not to, go for carbs with a low glycemic index instead of a high glycemic index.
  • For reference, see: Glycemic Index Chart: Glycemic index and glycemic load ratings for 500+ foods
• Need healthy fats in a snack? Enjoy nuts (unless you have an allergy); they will be your best friend in this regard. As an example, a mere 1oz portion of cashew nuts has 157 calories.
  • See also: Why You Should Diversify Your Nuts
• Need health fats for cooking? Enjoy olive oil, as it has one of the healthiest lipids profiles available, and is a great way to increase the calorific content of many meals.
  • Learn more: All About Olive Oil, And: Is Extra-Virgin Worth It?

Lastly…

Be patient, enjoy your food, and stick as best you can to the above considerations. All strength to you.

Take care!

Stay Safe From Heat Exhaustion & Heatstroke!

For most of us, summer is upon us now. Which can be lovely… and also bring new, different health risks. Today we’re going to talk about heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

What’s the difference?

Heat exhaustion is a milder form of heatstroke, but the former can turn into the latter very quickly if left untreated.

Symptoms of heat exhaustion include:

• Headache
• Nausea
• Cold sweats
• Light-headedness

Symptoms of heatstroke include the above and also:

• Red/flushed-looking skin
• High body temperature (104ºF / 40ºC)
• Disorientation/confusion
• Accelerated heart rate

Click here for a handy downloadable infographic you can keep on your phone

What should we do about it?

In the case of heatstroke, call 911 or the equivalent emergency number for the country where you are.

Hopefully we can avoid it getting that far, though:

Prevention first

Here are some top tips to avoid heat exhaustion and thus also avoid heatstroke. Many are common sense, but it’s easy to forget things—especially in the moment, on a hot sunny day!

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
  • (Non-sugary) iced teas, fruit infusions, that sort of thing are more hydrating than water alone
  • Avoid alcohol
    • If you really want to imbibe, rehydrate between each alcoholic drink
• Time your exercise with the heat in mind
  • In other words, make any exercise session early or late in the day, not during the hottest period
• Use sunscreen
  • This isn’t just for skin health (though it is important for that); it will also help keep you cooler, as it blocks the UV rays that literally cook your cells
• Keep your environment cool
  • Shade is good, air conditioning / cooling fans can help.
  • A wide-brimmed hat is portable shade just for you
• Wear loose, breathable clothing
  • We write about health, not fashion, but: light breathable clothes that cover more of your body are generally better healthwise in this context, than minimal clothes that don’t, if you’re in the sun.
• Be aware of any medications you’re taking that will increase your sensitivity to heat.
  • This includes medications that are dehydrating, and includes most anti-depressants, many anti-nausea medications, some anti-allergy medications, and more.
  • Check your labels/leaflets, look up your meds online, or ask your pharmacist.

Treatment

If prevention fails, treatment is next. Again, in the case of heatstroke, it’s time for an ambulance.

If symptoms are “only” of heat exhaustion and are more mild, then:

• Move to a cooler location
• Rehydrate again
• Remove clothing that’s confining or too thick
  • What does confining mean? Clothing that’s tight and may interfere with the body’s ability to lose heat.
    • For example, you might want to lose your sports bra, but there is no need to lose a bikini, for instance.
• Use ice packs or towels soaked in cold water, applied to your body, especially wear circulation is easiest to affect, e.g. forehead, wrists, back of neck, under the arms, or groin.
• A cool bath or shower, or a dip in the pool may help cool you down, but only do this if there’s someone else around and you’re not too dizzy.
  • This isn’t a good moment to go in the sea, no matter how refreshing it would be. You do not want to avoid heatstroke by drowning instead.

If full recovery doesn’t occur within a couple of hours, seek medical help.

Stay safe and have fun!