What “Ripped” People Do To Look Like That

Jonathan: This is Jonathan Bailor and April Perry, and we are back in action with another SANE show. What’s going on, April? How are you doing today?

April: I’m doing so well, wearing my SANE t-shirt. It’s amazing, I feel the SANE power right there with me. It’s fantastic!

Jonathan: I love it. The SANE power. May the SANE force be with you.

April: I love it.

Jonathan: What is on the docket for today’s show, April?

April: We’re doing a mailbag today and we’ve got some really good questions that we’re going to be zipping through, but the main idea of this mailbag is to help each person who is here with us think about your SANE questions, and think about how we can move forward, eating more healthfully, taking care of ourselves, and becoming stronger and happier in that process.

We’re going to start out with some specific questions on exercise. People who will enjoy this mailbag are mostly likely people who are already familiar with SANE. If you have no idea what SANE is you’ll probably want to go to sanesolution.com, go check it out, get a little feel for what it is, and then we can talk more about this. But one of the best things is, in The Calorie Myth, Jonathan’s best selling book, he writes about how we can exercise Smarter.

We’re talking about eccentric exercises. Here’s a question that came in talking specifically about legs, because what I learned from Jonathan is that when we can really work our leg muscles well, that can give us huge benefits overall. This question came in that said, “For the leg press machine, do you have to do one leg at a time? What if we’re in a hurry? Can we just hold it at the top of the exercise, or do the reps slowly?” And the same with leg extensions, etc. I know I need to go look in the book more, but if I could do both legs at the same time that would be awesome. So, help us out here, Jonathan.

Jonathan: Twice as efficient. Both legs. Two for one. It’s shampoo and conditioner in the same bottle. The only reason that I recommend the one leg at a time is because doing it eccentrically, you’re lowering more weight than you can lift. So if you lower more weight than you can lift with two legs, you’re going to be stuck at the bottom. It’s not one leg at a time because one leg at a time is somehow better than two legs at a time. It’s one leg at a time because you are lowering with one leg, and then it’s physically impossible for you to push up with that leg, so you have to use your other leg to push it up. So actually, this question may indicate that you may not be using enough resistance, because if you can push up with one leg then you’re not actually doing the eccentric exercise. You’re doing a standard repetition rather than an eccentric repetition.

April: I’ve gotten on the leg press to about 250 pounds. I’ve stopped there because I’ve had some ankle issues and you told me not to have one leg do more weight than the other leg, so about 250 is where I go, but I can’t possibly lift the 250 with one leg, so I have to get both legs, push it out, and then – do you put one leg down while you do that, or do you just kind of lift it off of the little press area?

Jonathan: I like to life it off the press, like you’re saying, because you don’t want to throw your hips all out of whack. So the natural position for your body is going to be to have your legs both up on there in the same position, but you just don’t want to use one of them to exert force on the way down. It’s only going to exert force on the way up.

April: Okay, I love that. This is kind of a random question, but what are the ripped people at the gym doing? Can you just, in two sentences, explain what they are doing, because as you’re seeing people who are super muscular, what is that whole process? Should we even look into that?

Jonathan: Yes, the number one thing is, especially if this is a man, they’re on anabolic steroids. I know that sounds like, “That’s crazy!” But I work out at Gold Gym, which I love. I absolutely love it. And if you look the way some of those people look, they’re on steroids. And they’re not necessarily crazy, bad people. They’re just taking steroids. A lot of people are on steroids. And if they’re not on steroids, they’re on other – you would be surprised – I used to be in the fitness industry, I know how these things work. There are a lot of people, there are a lot of females, that snort cocaine. These are not pleasant things to talk about, but no one’s going to talk about it, and it’s incredibly common, and if you see someone who looks like they are getting unnatural results, it’s very likely because they’re doing unnatural things. Now, not everyone who looks that way is snorting cocaine or taking steroids.

April: We’re not going to go start pointing fingers. “Jonathan said…”

Jonathan: What they doing, likely, in addition to those things, or in place of those things, there is usually a very high amount of money that is being spent on athletic nutritional supplements. And then when it comes to eating, it’s very, very simple. With females, they’re usually eating about 1200-1400 calories per day, coming from purely vegetables and proteins, six meals per day, the same things, we’re talking like a can of tuna and a quarter of an avocado at 3:00 p.m. – period. Every day, no exceptions. No sauces, you’re not eating out. It’s counted, you’re weighing your food – period. And that’s what gives you those results.

And with men, it’s going to be the same thing, it’s just going to be more calories, because usually they need way more calories, so it’s going to be six meals a day, the same thing, every single day, no exceptions – period. If you’re a professional, this is your job and you do everything you can to be the best in the world at your job. That’s what a lot of these individuals do. And there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s not a criticism. But if you’re a professional heart surgeon, hopefully no one at the gym is going to look at you and think, “Oh my God, I hate myself for not being good at heart surgery.” You’ve dedicated your life to being a wonderful heart surgeon and that’s what you do. When you see these other people at the gym and they have 3% body fat, they’ve dedicated their life to that and that’s what they do, so please don’t hate yourself for not being them.

April: Or even just comparing yourself in a way that really isn’t fair. I really appreciate that because it’s true. Sometimes you’re looking around and you’re thinking, “Well, they’re using the same machines I’m using. Should I be doing something different?” Okay, I think that’s great.

Next question is about food and feeding kids. We’ve talked about this in the past in different episodes. We’re going to talk about it a little bit more. Here’s what it says. “What are your best ideas for getting lots of real food into little bodies? I better understand now why so many parents resort to non-food. Children are not apt to sitting and eating large portions of any food throughout the day, and it makes sense why bread is so common. It’s a quick way to get full. It takes a lot of veggies and quality protein and fats to get full, and even when my kids love something, they don’t go back for seconds. I have to make an effort to get a large portion of veggies in my body every day, any ideas on how to help kids get their large portions of greens?”

They’re working on good conversations and questions at the dinner table to keep everyone sitting longer. What are other suggestions? I know you don’t have children at this point, but hearing that, what are some first thoughts that come to your mind?

Jonathan: Two big wins here. One is going to be nuts. Nuts are a real easy way to get calories into your body really quickly. They’re really convenient, don’t require any cooking. The other one is going to be smoothies, primarily because it’s blended, and it’s way easier to drink calories than it is to eat calories. For example, if you’re trying to get more calories into a child, you’re going to be able to take a little bit more liberty with making these creamy avocado, nut butters, with a little bit more natural xylitol or erythritol in there. It’s not hard to get 1000 calories in an eight-ounce glass of a smoothie with a lot of healthy fats in it. And it’s delicious. You could even make it really thick and freeze it a little bit and make it like ice cream. I think blending and thinking about nuts and whole food fats is going to be a really easy way to get the healthy calorie count up for growing individuals, as well as athletes.

April: That’s especially on my current projects list because I told you in a previous episode I have a daughter who has a really, really fast metabolism, and she’s playing sports all the time, and she’s hungry all the time. She loves smoothies, so I think it’s just kind of playing around with different nut butters or coconut milk, and having a variety of different whole food fats in that is going to make a big difference. Where do you recommend going to find recipes or more ideas to help parents with more of that?

Jonathan: Unfortunately, there isn’t a recipe book that I’m aware of that is how to eat the most SANE calories for your child because usually individuals are focused on reducing their body composition rather than increasing it. But here is the general rule of thumb. Take things that are high in calories and that are SANE. So think nuts, nut butters, coconut milk. Put it in a blender, add some fruit. Press the power button. That’s going to sweeten it, with the fruit. This will empower you to not say, “Oh, I can’t do anything because I don’t have the list of recipes.” I want you to have the flexibility and the ability to have options, and then to customize it, because I could give you a recipe that requires strawberries, and then you might say, “Oh, my three-year-old doesn’t like strawberries.”

So here’s what you do. We’ve got vegetables, we’ve got proteins, we’ve got fats, we’ve got fruits. You could call fruits sweeteners, you could call fats the good source of calories, and vegetables are, of course, essential. So if we’re looking to just dial up calories then we’re going to look at the whole food fats, and we’re going to sweeten those up to make them delicious with fruits. So we’re going to leverage the whole food fats as a creamy base, so coconut, shredded coconut, coconut milk, macadamia nuts. Pick a nut, just get started. Throw some water in there, throw your favorite fruit in there. Blend it up, try it, and then adjust it over time to find the perfect formulation for your specific scenario.

April: That sounds so much easier than what I was thinking. And I’m sure we could still google it. I’m sure there are lots of parents out there already doing it, so I’ll take a look. But I love that.

Next question: “What are your favorite toppings or sauces for vegetables to make them more exciting?” What do you do with vegetables? Do you put any toppings on yours?

Jonathan: I don’t, but that should in no way influence what you do. You can use butter, you can use bacon drippings, you can use salsa, you can use all-natural marinara sauce that doesn’t have added sweeteners or high-fructose corn syrup in it. Salt and seasoning is good, but for a lot of people, it’s usually just two categories, you’re either going for a buttery fat type topping, or you’re going for a tomato-based topping, which would be an all-natural salsa or an all-natural marinara sauce.

April: Now, what about those grill-mates? We were doing a little grocery store tour when you guys were down here. We were talking about how some of these seasoning packets that work for meats, you could use some of those with vegetables, too, would you think?

Jonathan: That’s exactly right. Seasonings are your best friend – herbs, spices. The only thing to watch out for with certain seasoning blends is make sure there is not crazy unknown substances in the ingredients list. You can find Mrs. Dash or Mrs. Dash derivatives that are just seasonings, not crazy chemical unknown thing. As long as it doesn’t have that in there you should be good to go.

April: And I’m even thinking things like, I have fajita seasoning packets that I use. If I were just grilling onions and peppers I could do that, right?

Jonathan: That’s exactly right, and when it comes to vegetables, unless you’re deep-frying them, it’s going to be pretty difficult – anything you can do to get more vegetables into your body, within reason, and anyone who is listening to this show is a reasonable person, but pretty much anything you can do to get more vegetables into your body is going to be a net positive for your health.

April: Yes. So I started thinking about things like, when I go get Thai food, there is red curry, or there is peanut sauce, not the sugary one. Or with Indian food, there are a lot of different spices and sauces that work with any of those dishes that you could do strictly with vegetables or work as well if you’re adding chicken or something like that, too.

Jonathan: That’s exactly right. You could even go with a lower sodium, non-MSG based soy sauce. One of the cool things about a SANE lifestyle is, sometimes we might not be able to provide the exact answers that you’re used to getting from exact programs that don’t ever work. And that’s why they don’t work, because life isn’t this exact checklist thing. If someone told you, here’s the checklist to have a great marriage, or here’s the checklist to follow that will handle every circumstance you will ever face while raising children, you would say, “That’s crazy.” Being a good parent is a set of principles and a set of beliefs that you adapt and customize over time. That’s how most things in life are.

So how do you top vegetables? You don’t put toxic hydrogenated oils on them, but pretty much other than that, whatever you like. If you like the taste of strawberries, maybe you puree some strawberries in the blender and put them of top of your vegetables. I don’t know, it’s something to experiment with. You have this beautiful canvas of foods. We’re just saying, don’t eat stuff that’s addictive and toxic, so who knows? You could put some desiccated beef liver on top of your vegetables if you really want to.

April: That’s from the previous episode, if you’re not quite sure what Jonathan’s talking about. So funny. I like that.

Next question. “I am a teenager going SANE alone. My parents support my decision, but don’t want to do it themselves. What would you recommend to make this process easier?” Interesting. Jonathan I know that when you were a teenager you started getting really into eating healthfully, even doing things that were unique from what the rest of your family was doing, right? So, you’ve kind of already done this.

Jonathan: That is correct. Yes, I’ve [Inaudible 14:47] on numerous occasions because I wanted to do my own workout routine, I didn’t want to follow instructions. I went to a pretty strict Catholic school so I had some run-ins dues to my desire to do my [Inaudible 14:59]. First, maybe, depending on how old you are, what I’ve seen a lot of teenagers have success with is, while your parents may not want to eat the way you’re eating, you can make requests for certain purchases from the grocery store, or even, “Can I do my own grocery shopping? Is that okay?” The good news is, I was SANE through college, as well. There are various convenience foods.

The number one difference is, as a teenager you may not have your own steady source of income so you simply may need to ask your parents – don’t expect them [Inaudible 15:35] to be with you but possibly if they could just financially support your SANE decisions by either purchasing SANE groceries for you, or empowering you to purchase your own SANE groceries, that would really help.

April: Yes, and I would just add that I don’t know of any parent that if a teenager said, “I really want to be healthier, and here are the foods I would like to eat. Can we buy more vegetables? Or can we buy some of these types of proteins?” I don’t know any parent who would say, “No, sorry, you’ve got to go eat the frozen pizza. That’s all you’re going to get.” If the parent has a concern with cost, then the teenager could say, “Could I help alleviate the burden in other areas, or do some extra things for you around the house to help compensate for that?” Or, “Is there anything I can do to make your life easier so that this wouldn’t be a burden on you?” Parents are, for the most part, that I see, really reasonable and want their children to be healthy.

And the other thing I’ve noticed is that when I have spoken with some parents whose children are making different decisions – I have a really good friend who is a vegetarian. Her mom is not a vegetarian, but her mom will go out of her way to help make sure there are vegetarian options for her daughter to eat. From what I see, parents typically really want to support their children as they’re becoming individuals and as they are making decisions for their own life. I think as long at the teenager is making the request in a way that is not, “Mom and Dad, you guys are eating a bunch of junk, and I deserve better, and here’s what you’d better buy for me,” if you say it like that, your parents are going to get a little frustrated. But if you say, “Hey, this is my goal, and here’s what I’m working on. How could we work together to make this possible?” Then I think that’s a really good way to approach it.

Jonathan: One of the most encouraging things here, too, is that I think the cost and the financial aspect could be perceived as one of the largest hurdles, but this is actually sometimes one of the most common misperceptions about SANE eating, that it costs more. For example, you could eat very inSANEly at Whole Foods and spend a whole lot more money on your organically grown, locally sourced grass-fed, hormone-free, inSANE toxic food bought at Whole Foods. You could become really diabetic and really overweight shopping at Whole Foods. You can also achieve a very healthy weight and avoid all major diseases buying only conventional foods – period.

When we’re saying go SANE, we’re not saying buy grass-fed, locally sourced, Kobe beef only – period. We’re saying, make the most nutrient-dense choices you can. So even from a cost perspective, I know from firsthand experience that SANE eating isn’t that you have to buy organic, you have to buy local, you have to buy grass-fed. It isn’t that. SANE eating is Satiety, Aggression, Nutrition, Efficiency. Those things are not talking about shopping at Whole Foods. They’re not. So hopefully, the request you’re making to your parent is not, “Hey, I want to go buy these groceries that cost eight times more than the groceries we’re buying right now.” It’s just a modification of the conventional sources of food that you get at your conventional local grocery store.

April: All right, I love it. I think that’s good for today. I’m super-excited about it, and I feel like these things that we’re learning, how to exercise well, how to move forward on our goals and help our families to be able to support us in that, how to get creative with how we’re making smoothies, and also recognizing that we’re not here to compare ourselves with other people. I think that’s huge.

Just one other thing I have to share before we close up, I found this journal. I was cleaning out my bookshelf the other day. Don’t they look so great in back You can see my bookshelves, they’re so organized. I did that for fun. I know, crazy. But I was doing that and I found this journal that I started about six months before I found SANE. I was like, this is the first day of the rest of my life, I’m going to exercise and eat healthy. This was like the journal that was saying, I’m done having issues, because I was just stressed. I was gaining weight, I didn’t like how my body looked, I was hungry all the time, so this was kind of the journal saying, “I’m really going to starve myself this time and it’s going to work.” But it was so interesting because I looked and found one of my food journals, what I was eating. And this was thinking I was super-healthy.

I’m just going to read it to you and just share briefly, because this is a huge change. I had a spinach smoothie for breakfast with banana and berries. Then I had some oatmeal with raisins and walnuts. That was my breakfast, noticing that there was no protein at all in the breakfast – interesting. Then I had a salad with avocado and just some dressing from the grocery store, but again, no protein, at lunch. I had a kale, walnut, apple salad that was some greens and some fats, but that was about it. Then I had an apple, a nectarine and three healthy cookies (laughs) that were probably made with whole wheat flour and applesauce or something like that.

I looked at that and I just thought, “Oh, my gosh, that’s what I was eating. That was what I thought was healthy. As I looked at that, I was probably within my 1200 calories, or something like that, but I don’t know, what do you think when you hear that, Jonathan?

Jonathan: I think what I love is that there were a lot of green vegetables in there. So let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. But this really illustrates why SANE works long term whereas starvation dieting doesn’t. What we would essentially do with what you just described is say, “Take the oatmeal and replace it with nutrient-dense protein, and then just eat more protein. So everything else is the same, just eat more.” So it’s not marketing when I say, “Eat more, exercise less, lose weight, and live better.” We would essentially just replace some of the starches that you were eating with nutrient-dense protein, and you could eat more and you would get better results over the course of a year, and then two years, and over a lifetime, than you would if you [Inaudible 22:12] life-sustaining food.

April: Yes, and it’s amazing when I look at that. I had some green vegetables. I had some spinach and some kale, but I’m probably eating six or seven times as many vegetables now as I was then, I’m eating protein at every meal, so I’m full, and my whole body changed. So my before and after – this is my before, this is exactly what I was eating, written down, to the date, that’s what I was eating in my before picture. And my after picture, it was like my body just changed. Thank you, Jonathan. It changed my life. That’s why I wear my SANE shirt. I wear it roller-blading all over Corona. It’s really fun.

Jonathan: What I love about what you just said, April, and really a common thread I’ve noticed throughout this episode is a message of empowerment, the idea that we have this canvas of foods that we can choose from and enjoy and eat in abundance. And when we do that, it’s not about food lists, it’s not about always do this, never do that, very specific. It’s about something that is going to empower us and enable us to do this for the rest of our life, to live the best of our life. Because we can do any crazy gimmick, fad thing for two weeks. We’ve done that. We’ve done that for decades and it hasn’t worked. And if it worked, it would have worked. So it doesn’t work, we know it doesn’t work. So just having these options and this flexibility, saying that food is our friend, not our enemy, and healing that relationship over time, I think, yields some amazing results, so it’s always a blessing to be able to share this information. Thank you for giving me that opportunity.

April: Absolutely. So next actions. We were kind of all over the board with this mailbag, asking tons of questions. What would you say is your final advice or final, maybe, stretch, for those listening today?

Jonathan: I do think that SANE smoothies are the lowest hanging fruit way to help with a lot of this stuff. People always ask about vegetables, people ask about how do I give the appropriate number of calories to my kids, how do I make things deliciously, how do I make things easily? I think the more you can become familiar with your blender, the more you can get familiar with the paint-by-numbers approach that we promote on the SANE Solution website of non-starchy vegetables, nutrient-dense protein, whole-food fats, low-fructose fruits, and applying that to a blender, just can take your life and simplify it so dramatically. You’re not going on a liquid diet, that would be nonsense. But it is a great way to simplify getting in veggies, getting in your whole-food fats if you’re trying to help younger kids. If you’re a teenager, what do you take in your lunch bag to school? What are you eating for breakfast? It is a common denominator that I’m a big fan of.

April: All right, I love it. This has been so much fun being together today. Thank you so much, Jonathan, and those of you who are here, I hope that you’re excited about living your SANE lifestyle. Thank you for being part of this community, and remember to stay SANE.