I'm about to start listening to her Audible book today! As a regular listener to her podcast (and yours) not sure if I'll learn anything new, but we'll see... I found your post yesterday about how crucial biotin is for those of us following a high-protein diet to be one of the most thought-provoking additions to the high-protein space for a VERY long time. I imagine Dr Lyon will say in her book that there is no documented downside to very high protein intakes (as per the Jose Antonio protein overfeeding studies.) But it seems that your cutting edge research into biotin actually throws up some real caveats about how to properly support a high protein diet. So whilst I am glad her 'don't fear protein and strength training' message is getting out there, it could lead to future health issues if it does not incorporate your advice on biotin - so a bit of a 2-edged knife so to speak... It's up to you Chris to get your biotin message out to all those of us who have become high-protein converts! No pressure!
I like Dr Gabrielle Lyon's thinking and have enjoyed listening to podcasts that have interviewed her recently about her book. Her muscle-centric message is both empowering and inspirational. Having downloaded and listened to several hours worth of content, however, I think she would have done far better to get a professional to read the text.
Jumprope and bicycle riding are what I like. Long walks a few times a week.I am 60. Gotta do somethin, but am squeamish about any gyms and can't pay the fees. Recently my car died, and boy that was a blessing, I had been missing my bike. Dusted it off, pumped up the tires, happy again.
OK, I'm just about to start to listening to 'Forever Strong'. Here are my predicted practical take-aways (which I already advise to all my health coaching clients!) but I'm hoping something new will emerge too: 1.) Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight, distributed fairly evenly over at least 2 meals but ideally 3 or 4 per day. Ideally in the form of high quality animal protein, but plant protein OK if it contains all the essential aminos and is highly bioavailable. 2.) Eat no more than 50g of natural wholefood carbs per meal if sedentary, but titrate upwards depending on exercise intensity/ duration. Avoid all processed, refined carbs. 3.) Fat - eliminate added fat and processed/ refined fat as much as possible and focus on low fat/ high protein dairy and lower fat cuts of meat. Benefits of consuming sufficient Omega 3 fatty acids and possibly benefits of a minimal amount of EV olive oil each day. 4.) Heavy resistance training (weights or bodyweight) to close to failure 3 times per week. 5.) HIIT cardio 2-3 times per week. 6.) Zone 2 cardio (AKA very brisk walking) 30-60 minutes per day, ideally distributed around meal times. I'm not anticipating anything on the upper limits of protein consumption though AKA the Raubenheimer & Simpson studies (their view is that excessive protein intake shortens lifespan in animals & humans). Also not anticipating anything about biotin requirements on higher protein diets! If I do pick anything else up from the book I will drop it in the comments!
OK, just finished listening to 'Forever Strong'. My verdict? Great if it gets out into the general population, but for those of us in the nutrition space, it doesn't really add in anything new. In addition to the points above, the area I did find interesting was Dr Lyon's view on carbs, particularly 1:1 or lower carb:protein ratio (similar to Dr Ted Naiman's PE ratio, which I prefer). I like her recommendation of up to 30g of carbs per meal for those who are sedentary, titrating upwards depending on how much moderate/ vigorous exercise you do each day. Most clients I deal with find it way too onerous to count carbs though (it's all I can do to get them to count protein) so I prefer the heuristic of try to only eat natural, minimally-processed carbs and avoid all wheat products, refined grains, juices/ smoothies and added sugars which is much simpler to comply with. Not always easy though when starting out!
Yep - I can listen to books on Audible much faster than I can read them! Perhaps I was a little harsh on 'Forever Strong' in my previous comments - I'm guessing it's not primarily aimed at people like us in the nutrition space, but more of the general population who are struggling downstream with the lack of quality protein/ resistance training in their lives. As such the book is perfectly pitched at that audience. Personally though, I found it much more interesting to hear her discussion on Melanie Avalon's podcast where they took things to a much deeper level. The thing that actually interests me by far the most with this approach is the beneficial effect of myokines. I've even restructured my bodyweight resistance training schedule to abbreviate the volume down to no more than 30 minutes - just so I can do it more frequently and get more frequent expression of myokines! Same thing I am recommending to clients - but even briefer bodyweight resistance sessions just to ensure compliance...
Chris, do you agree with her thinking, that most everyone will benefit 1:1 protein to carbs and lower fats. I heard her say, that she can never get into ketosis, that is why she does not like fat - but it does not mean other people cannot do fat :-)
she also likes powders. I have done her private group and she said she does not really eat lots of veggies, a lot of it comes in powder forms, which I found interesting. She is also a promoter of 1Phorm protein that are not great quality in my opinion:-) But I am looking forward to reading a book. I agree very much with the Protein and muscle hypothesis.
I've just finished it. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great. I learned some new things about protein and reinforced a few other points along the way. As Rob Hardy says in his comment, there is far more to protein consumption than harming the kidneys and - like most other doctors who write for a lay audience - Dr Lyon skims over the depths of biochemistry that CMJ followers might be familiar with. Whether Dr Lyon herself knows as much as she could about biochemistry I can only speculate.
The book itself could have been 1/3 the length without the recipes and marketing of the Lyon Protocol/Method/whatever. I make my living as a strength coach getting ordinary people (non-athletes) to lift weights for their health. As such I don't think Dr Lyon's recommendations for strength training go far enough but then I think the same of the WHO guidelines that inform medics the world over. Resistance Exercise Training (RET) does not equal training for strength and strength is what appears to of paramount importance for health. But that is my pet peeve and I will probably have to write my own book on that subject in due course...
I think she's had lots of exposure to the biochem given her working under Layman, but I think doctors in general do not keep immersed in biochem unless they specialize in inborn errors of metabolism due to the demands of seeing patients and meeting them where they are. Your critique seems fair. My impression is she's trying to target the large mass of people who need to get from zero to one on strength training and protein, not the high-level optimizers, and you might be working somewhere between those two points.
Hi Chris - one other thought: if you do manage to get Dr Lyon on your podcast would you be up for playing 'devil's advocate' to some extent? I've read the book and heard her on the usual podcasts promoting it, and a very similar message is being repeated each time. What if you turned things on their head a bit and pushed her a bit on some of the more contentious aspects. Things I would love to hear her response to which no-one has asked her yet include the following: if we should be eating 1 gram of quality animal protein per pound of ideal bodyweight is that not potentially dangerous advice if people are not being advised how much glycine they need to also supplement with in order to overcome the observed life-shortening effect of consuming that much methionine? Same thing with biotin - as per your recent posts? And what about the 2 researchers in Australia, Raubenheimer & Simpson, who came up with the 'protein leverage hypothesis' which states that we will cary on eating until we have satisfied our appetite for protein - why do they say that we must avoid eating too much protein and that it has been shown to reduce lifespan in all animals and humans they have studied? In fact in their book 'Eat Like the Animals' they highlighted a high-protein diet as the least desirable out of all possible diets! Don't get me wrong though - I'm all-in on Dr Lyon's recommendations, but surely it would be extremely irresponisible to let them loose on the general population without some pretty clear caveats of other mitigating actions that are required concurrently? Otherwise we will potentially solve some problems whilst causing many others... What do you think?
I don't have much patience for advertising in my mailbox. You can do what you like with your mailing list; just a fair warning that people exist who may quickly unsubscribe if you continue this route of low-content marketing material.
I'm about to start listening to her Audible book today! As a regular listener to her podcast (and yours) not sure if I'll learn anything new, but we'll see... I found your post yesterday about how crucial biotin is for those of us following a high-protein diet to be one of the most thought-provoking additions to the high-protein space for a VERY long time. I imagine Dr Lyon will say in her book that there is no documented downside to very high protein intakes (as per the Jose Antonio protein overfeeding studies.) But it seems that your cutting edge research into biotin actually throws up some real caveats about how to properly support a high protein diet. So whilst I am glad her 'don't fear protein and strength training' message is getting out there, it could lead to future health issues if it does not incorporate your advice on biotin - so a bit of a 2-edged knife so to speak... It's up to you Chris to get your biotin message out to all those of us who have become high-protein converts! No pressure!
I like Dr Gabrielle Lyon's thinking and have enjoyed listening to podcasts that have interviewed her recently about her book. Her muscle-centric message is both empowering and inspirational. Having downloaded and listened to several hours worth of content, however, I think she would have done far better to get a professional to read the text.
Jumprope and bicycle riding are what I like. Long walks a few times a week.I am 60. Gotta do somethin, but am squeamish about any gyms and can't pay the fees. Recently my car died, and boy that was a blessing, I had been missing my bike. Dusted it off, pumped up the tires, happy again.
OK, I'm just about to start to listening to 'Forever Strong'. Here are my predicted practical take-aways (which I already advise to all my health coaching clients!) but I'm hoping something new will emerge too: 1.) Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight, distributed fairly evenly over at least 2 meals but ideally 3 or 4 per day. Ideally in the form of high quality animal protein, but plant protein OK if it contains all the essential aminos and is highly bioavailable. 2.) Eat no more than 50g of natural wholefood carbs per meal if sedentary, but titrate upwards depending on exercise intensity/ duration. Avoid all processed, refined carbs. 3.) Fat - eliminate added fat and processed/ refined fat as much as possible and focus on low fat/ high protein dairy and lower fat cuts of meat. Benefits of consuming sufficient Omega 3 fatty acids and possibly benefits of a minimal amount of EV olive oil each day. 4.) Heavy resistance training (weights or bodyweight) to close to failure 3 times per week. 5.) HIIT cardio 2-3 times per week. 6.) Zone 2 cardio (AKA very brisk walking) 30-60 minutes per day, ideally distributed around meal times. I'm not anticipating anything on the upper limits of protein consumption though AKA the Raubenheimer & Simpson studies (their view is that excessive protein intake shortens lifespan in animals & humans). Also not anticipating anything about biotin requirements on higher protein diets! If I do pick anything else up from the book I will drop it in the comments!
OK, just finished listening to 'Forever Strong'. My verdict? Great if it gets out into the general population, but for those of us in the nutrition space, it doesn't really add in anything new. In addition to the points above, the area I did find interesting was Dr Lyon's view on carbs, particularly 1:1 or lower carb:protein ratio (similar to Dr Ted Naiman's PE ratio, which I prefer). I like her recommendation of up to 30g of carbs per meal for those who are sedentary, titrating upwards depending on how much moderate/ vigorous exercise you do each day. Most clients I deal with find it way too onerous to count carbs though (it's all I can do to get them to count protein) so I prefer the heuristic of try to only eat natural, minimally-processed carbs and avoid all wheat products, refined grains, juices/ smoothies and added sugars which is much simpler to comply with. Not always easy though when starting out!
Wow that was fast. Cool!
Yep - I can listen to books on Audible much faster than I can read them! Perhaps I was a little harsh on 'Forever Strong' in my previous comments - I'm guessing it's not primarily aimed at people like us in the nutrition space, but more of the general population who are struggling downstream with the lack of quality protein/ resistance training in their lives. As such the book is perfectly pitched at that audience. Personally though, I found it much more interesting to hear her discussion on Melanie Avalon's podcast where they took things to a much deeper level. The thing that actually interests me by far the most with this approach is the beneficial effect of myokines. I've even restructured my bodyweight resistance training schedule to abbreviate the volume down to no more than 30 minutes - just so I can do it more frequently and get more frequent expression of myokines! Same thing I am recommending to clients - but even briefer bodyweight resistance sessions just to ensure compliance...
Chris, do you agree with her thinking, that most everyone will benefit 1:1 protein to carbs and lower fats. I heard her say, that she can never get into ketosis, that is why she does not like fat - but it does not mean other people cannot do fat :-)
she also likes powders. I have done her private group and she said she does not really eat lots of veggies, a lot of it comes in powder forms, which I found interesting. She is also a promoter of 1Phorm protein that are not great quality in my opinion:-) But I am looking forward to reading a book. I agree very much with the Protein and muscle hypothesis.
I do not agree with any statement about nearly everyone benefiting from an macronutrient ratio.
I've just finished it. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great. I learned some new things about protein and reinforced a few other points along the way. As Rob Hardy says in his comment, there is far more to protein consumption than harming the kidneys and - like most other doctors who write for a lay audience - Dr Lyon skims over the depths of biochemistry that CMJ followers might be familiar with. Whether Dr Lyon herself knows as much as she could about biochemistry I can only speculate.
The book itself could have been 1/3 the length without the recipes and marketing of the Lyon Protocol/Method/whatever. I make my living as a strength coach getting ordinary people (non-athletes) to lift weights for their health. As such I don't think Dr Lyon's recommendations for strength training go far enough but then I think the same of the WHO guidelines that inform medics the world over. Resistance Exercise Training (RET) does not equal training for strength and strength is what appears to of paramount importance for health. But that is my pet peeve and I will probably have to write my own book on that subject in due course...
I think she's had lots of exposure to the biochem given her working under Layman, but I think doctors in general do not keep immersed in biochem unless they specialize in inborn errors of metabolism due to the demands of seeing patients and meeting them where they are. Your critique seems fair. My impression is she's trying to target the large mass of people who need to get from zero to one on strength training and protein, not the high-level optimizers, and you might be working somewhere between those two points.
It is always a tricky balance to provide enough info to your readers without going overboard. My general tendency is towards the latter.
Hi Chris - one other thought: if you do manage to get Dr Lyon on your podcast would you be up for playing 'devil's advocate' to some extent? I've read the book and heard her on the usual podcasts promoting it, and a very similar message is being repeated each time. What if you turned things on their head a bit and pushed her a bit on some of the more contentious aspects. Things I would love to hear her response to which no-one has asked her yet include the following: if we should be eating 1 gram of quality animal protein per pound of ideal bodyweight is that not potentially dangerous advice if people are not being advised how much glycine they need to also supplement with in order to overcome the observed life-shortening effect of consuming that much methionine? Same thing with biotin - as per your recent posts? And what about the 2 researchers in Australia, Raubenheimer & Simpson, who came up with the 'protein leverage hypothesis' which states that we will cary on eating until we have satisfied our appetite for protein - why do they say that we must avoid eating too much protein and that it has been shown to reduce lifespan in all animals and humans they have studied? In fact in their book 'Eat Like the Animals' they highlighted a high-protein diet as the least desirable out of all possible diets! Don't get me wrong though - I'm all-in on Dr Lyon's recommendations, but surely it would be extremely irresponisible to let them loose on the general population without some pretty clear caveats of other mitigating actions that are required concurrently? Otherwise we will potentially solve some problems whilst causing many others... What do you think?
Sounds great!
I don't have much patience for advertising in my mailbox. You can do what you like with your mailing list; just a fair warning that people exist who may quickly unsubscribe if you continue this route of low-content marketing material.
Well I didn't make any money from that...