Myth Busters with JJ Virgin

Three Common Beliefs That Can Prevent You From Making The Progress You Want

By Jackie Wicks PEERtrainer Founder




In this call with JJ Virgin, we discuss three things that people commonly do or believe to be true- that in most cases is really not helping them. At the bottom of this page, you can click on a link and download the full (unedited) interview to iTunes.

We have also outlined  the key points of the call right on this page. Here are the notes:

Myth #1: You Should Eat Every 2-3 Hours To Lose Weight

This is a biggie. According to JJ, If you are doing this, you are burning sugar, not burning fat. This does not lead to stable blood sugar. When you eat a diet with "loads" of non-starchy vegetables (like high nutrient greens!), low amounts of slow carbs (like lentils), ideal amounts of healthy fats, a little "clean and lean" protein- you create an environment for stable blood sugar.

When you eat, your blood sugar and insulin rises- it has to. When insulin is up the "message" to your body is that you don't have to burn stored fat because food is coming in. So when you eat every couple of hours you are shutting off fat burning and teaching your body to fuel on sugar. You want to teach your body to access stored fat for food.

What are healthy fats? Olive oil, avocado, coconut milk are great examples.

You should go 4-6 hours (or be able to) between eating. If you need to eat before this, you are out of balance. This can be "healed" in a couple of weeks. Research shows that when you eat a 400-600 calories breakfast- you burn more calories and keep it off.

Think about this- if you eat a big dinner, you are going to go out and do what?

Sidebar: How Stressed Are You? People who are stressed have higher fasting blood sugar. Says JJ: "Our body is not a bank account, it is a chemistry lab." Most of us think in terms of calories in and calories out, but you have to know what gives you energy (healthy fats play a key role here), and what is proven to improve your health long term (high micronutrient intake from non-starchy vegetables.)

Tip: Drinking 8 ounces of water between meals- you are likely thirsty, not hungry.

Breakfast: Oatmeal is all carbs and sugar, like a candy bar. Some is ok, but we load the carbs and sugar because most breakfast foods tends to stacke the sugar and carbs. We tend to miss the protein, the healthy fats. Example: Coconut milk, blueberries or raspberries, some seed (chia, hemp, flax etc). Green smoothie is another great example if you eat it with some avocado. 

Key Point>>> Breakfast sets the metabolic tone for the day!!

Don't Eat Dessert For Breakfast!! Sets you up for more dessert. A muffin is a cupcake! It even has a muffin wrapper.  Sets you up for a sugar crash and a sh***ty mood. Muffins and Yogurt are a nightmare. Sugar fuels gut bad bacteria as well.

Myth #2: "Healthy" Sweeteners Are Ok  (And Why You DON'T want to fight your sweet tooth if you have one)

There are different types of sugar (fructose, glucose, lactose etc), and you HAVE to be especially careful with fructose. Research has shown that when you want to give a lab rat hypertension.. you give them fructose!

I ask JJ about Agave in particular, and she had a very interesting comment about the overall "halo effect of health food stores." You walk into Whole Foods and you think everything is ok. Agave is NOT a health food, it is "horrible." It has higher fructose than high fructose corn syrup!!

If you were eating the Agave plant you'd be getting the fiber and the phytonutrients.  But with Agave, and other sweetners, sugar is sugar.

However, JJ brought up a very interesting point:

Research has shown that a "sweet tooth" is highly genetic. Interesting. Tip: Don't fight the sweet tooth. Don't fight it, find better options. Your evil twin will get you every time. Cinnamon, vanilla, berries are excellent. Start to experiment.

Tip: Keep a food journal. For those of you who don't like to do this, try it for 7 days. You can't escape what is in front of you. JJ does not do private clients any more, but would fire clients who did not this.

Myth #3 You Have To Do Endurance Cardio For Weight Loss

While research does show there is a genetic component to how much exercise people needs, as a general rule people simply need to move more. This is not news. When you move good things happen. However, JJ says there is an important distinction between moving and exercise.

Exercise is hot sweaty and it needs to hurt a little. The BIG QUESTION is how much? At a minimum, do 4 minutes of bursting, 3 times a week. Nobody does not have time for this.

That said, the "big irony" is that many people need to exercise less to help them lose weight. JJ uses the example of when she was running a weight loss contest on the Dr. Phil Show several years ago. (The person who ended up winning, she had counseled to exercise less. And this person won.)

The reality is that some interval training as opposed to endurance will help you lose more weight. A combination of walking with several 30 second bursts is ideal. Her example is when you were running on the playground as a kid. All out for 30 seconds, easy for 60. Lactic acid helps trigger a hormone which essentially "de-ages" you. And you want to apply this to all areas of your life.

Real World Application: Most sports are stop and go if you think about it. This is why you HAVE to do sports you love- you will do them, and they will help you burn fat. Goal is to move an hour a day. Fidget, walk, move. Pedometer equals movement. Research has shown that kids will watch an hour less of TV a day if they are given a pedometer!

Goal: As a baseline you should aim for 4 minutes of total bursting though out the day, three times a week.

**Important Note** An important note though, is that if you are already eating a super high nutrient diet and are super active, this is likely not going to help you. But the reality is that most people are nowhere near this point, and are really struggling with the "sugar eating and sugar burning" cycle.

Related PEERtrainer Program: 14 Day Fresh Start Cleanse
Related PEERtrainer Article: How To Lose Weight (The PEERtrainer Formula)
Related PEERtrainer Recipe: 3 Minute Pumpkin Pie (For The Sweet Tooth!)
Related PEERtrainer Download: A Simple System To Help You Load Up On Veggies



In the call we discuss:
• How endurance training can make you fat and age faster
• Why six meals a day makes you a better fat storer
• Why a big breakfast is essential to fat loss and how to avoid eating dessert for breakfast(hate to say it but that is what most people are having for breakfast)
• Why just checking body weight is not enough
• The simple tool you can use to help you move more all throughout the day

Plus we included simple action steps you can start immediately to help you lose the bloat, get energized and ‘de-age’ practically overnight.

Here is the link:

http://www.peertrainer.com/mp3/jjvirgin_jw_myth_busters_series_1.mp3

1. Simply click on the link to listen or to download.
2. You will be prompted to Save file. Click Save and the file will be saved to your desktop or other location of your choice on your computer.

We had so much fun recording this that we have decided to make it a series(plus we totally ran out of time!) so after you listen to this one, let us know if there is a health myth out there you would like us to bust for you. It would be our pleasure!

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