{"id":5951,"date":"2014-06-30T16:00:01","date_gmt":"2014-06-30T16:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fitproblog.mysites.io\/shedding-the-fat-myth\/"},"modified":"2014-06-30T16:00:01","modified_gmt":"2014-06-30T16:00:01","slug":"shedding-the-fat-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/shedding-the-fat-myth\/","title":{"rendered":"Shedding the fat myth"},"content":{"rendered":"

FitPro reporter Olivia Hubbard<\/strong> gains comprehension on the \u2018fat myth\u2019 from FitPro Live presenter Sam Feltham after the Smash the Fat founder spoke to Australian cricket team captain Shane Watson live from India about his dietary experiences. Watson followed the controversial high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet after watching the film Cereal Killers, which FitPro reviewed back in March before interviewing the creator Donal O\u2019Neill. FitPro delves deep, asking Watson how his athletic performance was really affected as a result of literally \u2018gorging on fat\u2019.<\/p>\n

The cornflake anger<\/h2>\n

\u201cA cereal killer is me, myself and I against big food, big farmers and conventional wisdom.\u201d<\/em>
\n \u201cI\u2019m going to gorge on fat.\u201d<\/em>
\n \u201cLet\u2019s start a real food storm, one cornflake at a time.\u201d<\/em>
\n \u201cI\u2019m just going to get to the bottom of how I can drop dead healthy.\u201d<\/em>
\n These are a few of the bold statements Donal O\u2019Neill makes in the documentary Cereal Killers.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"SamFeltham<\/a>Meet Donal O\u2019 Neill, a man\u00a0who at the beginning of 2014 wasn\u2019t imagined lying cocooned in the base of a coffin, drowning in nothing but our Tuesday morning finest cornflakes.<\/strong> We were told to consume our grains and pour those cereal bowls full with the sugary crunch, which is now described as a milky bowl of lies. \u201cLies\u201d is how Donal\u2019 O\u2019 Neill describes the \u201cmyth\u201d of carbohydrates.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Carbohydrate has been rooted in our nutritional discourse for the past 30 years as being the most dominant food group.<\/strong> This view was derived from the Seven Countries Study, which was formulated by Ancel Keys in 1958.<\/strong> Seeking to understand further, O\u2019Neill attempted a one-month challenge to cut out all carbohydrate in the form of wheat and sugar from his diet. How much fat? O\u2019Neill\u2019s diet consisted of 70% fat to be exact and the 41-year-old ex high jumper was consuming 100,000 calories in total.<\/strong> The one-month diet plan was implemented to tackle the threat of type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease and explore the relationship between fat intake and metabolic syndrome. O\u2019Neill\u2019s father, a fit ex sportsman who pruned bushes and was known to have the odd cigar, suddenly had a heart attack<\/strong> and, struggling to comprehend how his father could suffer from type II diabetes, O\u2019Neill began his challenge. O\u2019Neill\u2019s story sparked debate internationally and was simply one man\u2019s quest to hack his genes.<\/strong> This one man has inspired professional athletes around the globe to follow suit and gorge on fat too. Here,\u00a0Sam Feltham\u00a0meets one of those sportsmen: cricketer Shane Watson.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s just not cricket<\/h2>\n

A well-known face, Shane Watson is every bit at ease while on video link from India. The cricketer takes respite from the burning 40\u00b0C heat and the field to share how his life has been totally turned on its head.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been incredibly lucky throughout my whole career to have the opportunities that I have had. I\u2019ve always loved playing cricket. I try to be the best I can be and I am constantly discovering new ways in which I can improve,\u201d<\/em> Watson says.<\/p>\n

He goes on to add, \u201cThere is such a wide range of diets out in the mainstream nowadays and I\u2019ve seen firsthand what it can mean if someone is given the wrong advice. My own father has now suffered with type II diabetes for the past five years now.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Watson took on board advice from Australian cricket team doctor Peter Brukner around 15 months ago, after he witnessed incredible results in the team doctor\u2019s health. Brukner lost around 12kg and handed Watson Gary Taubes\u2019 groundbreaking article titled \u2018What if it\u2019s been a big fat lie?\u2019<\/strong>, which suggests that the earlier belief of eating less fat and consuming more carbohydrates was the reason behind America\u2019s rising obesity epidemic.<\/p>\n

Scattered regularly in the press, Watson is known to have struggled to keep his weight at a balanced level. Before games, the athlete would opt for pizzas and pasta dishes; the problem was \u2013 he wasn\u2019t expending that energy. One of the biggest challenges he wanted to overcome was to not feel \u2018hungry\u2019 all of the time. This factor proved a constant battle for the cricket captain and was a key distinguishable part of the fat-finding mission<\/strong>. Intrigued by the recent evidence that painted \u2018carb-loading\u2019 in the foggiest light, and with the help of Brukner, Watson began the challenge to decode the myth that states \u201cdon\u2019t eat fat, as you will get a heart attack!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fat takes an unjust back seat<\/h2>\n

Feltham, now in full swing, fires the questions, asking how the diet really altered his training and whether the earlier myths regarding the diet can be defused. He asks, \u201cSo, we all know that peer pressure can play a massive part while experiencing a diet such as this one. Did you feel under any pressure at all? I mean, obviously, you\u2019re in India \u2013 how have you escaped the naan breads and pilau rice?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

After a relaxed chuckle, Watson replies, \u201cOf course there was some pressure. I think having the support that I had from Peter Brukner definitely helped me a lot. It was very helpful to be with someone who has undergone the same experience, but it certainly was strange not to be tucking into the naan breads. This was most definitely something I would choose to do before \u2013 carb load again and again before a big game.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Not all faces were smiling\u00a0at the news of Watson\u2019s changed diet. The Australian cricket team\u2019s nutritionist was apparently not overwhelmed by the news of more and more cricket players opting for this\u00a0said-to-be-proclaimed \u2018radical\u2019<\/strong> dietary choice.<\/p>\n

Opting for bacon<\/h2>\n

Watson is not the only teammate to opt for a tempting two omelettes for breakfast, and bacon and eggs. Fellow cricketers Mitchell Johnson and David Warner, for example, decided to push the naan bread to one side also and settle for cottage cheese and macadamia nuts<\/strong> pitch side. Since following the diet, Johnson<\/strong> has bowled 150km consistently for the last 12 months without injury.<\/strong> Watson tells Feltham he can\u2019t believe he is able to eat all of the foods he loves so much!<\/p>\n

Watson\u2019s father was said to be \u201cdisappointed\u201d<\/strong> after a first glance at the earlier dietary claims, so Feltham asks, \u201cHow have your parents responded to your diet change?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watson replies, <\/em>\u201cI feel that the older generation can perhaps be stuck in their ways a lot more and it was a slow progression for my father to realise there was a diet alternative to what he had been told previously.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Watson bowled over\"Shane_Watson_2009_fielding_copyright_free\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Since Watson\u2019s father began to listen and take heed of the new information and began following the diet himself, his sugar levels<\/strong> have become more controlled<\/strong> and his doctors<\/strong> were \u201cblown away\u201d<\/strong>. The sportsman\u2019s mother also decided to follow suit and has lost weight from consuming more fat and ditching the carbs.<\/p>\n

Watson adds, \u201cIt is just a real shame that this information was hidden away for so long and was kept out of the public domain.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Feltham concludes the subject by stating, \u201cWatson\u2019s father can now control his blood sugar levels a lot better through diet and not through drugs.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Should everyone live the bacon and egg dream?<\/h3>\n

FitPro wished to find out about the technicalities of the game, so we asked Watson how the diet has altered his ability. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI would say the diet hasn\u2019t specifically altered my game,\u201d<\/em> he replies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIn fact,\u201d he adds, \u201cit has altered my life. <\/strong>I have far greater energy levels than I ever used to. Also, I don\u2019t even waste an hour hunting around for lunch because I simply don\u2019t need it. I will eat eggs, bacon, omelettes and that will keep me going until late. The key ingredient of choice for me is macadamia nuts<\/strong>, which provide me with enough energy to sustain me right the way through until dinner time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to keep spreading the word. I think the food industry<\/strong> needs to listen<\/strong> and answer<\/strong>. The sad fact is, my father may have never suffered from type II diabetes if we knew then what we do now.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, there it is: another personal story and another handful of macadamia nuts.<\/strong> To watch the full interview, visit Smash the Fat\u2019s website: http:\/\/www.live.smashthefat.com\/low-carb-high-fat-diet\/<\/a><\/p>\n

For a closer insight into the research that got Shane Watson bowling for three days straight in 40\u00b0C heat and still having \u2018energy to burn\u2019,<\/strong> click here: http:\/\/www.garytaubes.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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