Bulking & Cutting has been around for decades now.

We workout hard, count our macros, and eat and eat and eat, and build lots of muscle.

And… at the same time we’re building muscle, we also build body fat. And we build them at about the same rate, a pound of muscle for a pound of fat.

You’ve probably heard of the Cholesterol Hypothesis.

This is a hypothesis that higher levels of cholesterol, particularly LDL Cholesterol, are associated with higher rates of Heart Disease.

This hypothesis is so deeply ingrained in our understanding of how the body works that challenging it is almost laughable. (Even though it’s still just a hypothesis after all these decades.)

However, over the last decade, more and more scientists and doctors have been doing that for one very glaring reason: there is no evidence to support the hypothesis.

Welcome to the final week of the 30-Day Fat Loss Challenge!

During this challenge we’ve had our ups and downs as cravings came and went and hormones began to balance.

But by Week Four things have evened out or soon will.

Energy levels rise, mood may become more even, sleep becomes more restful, digestion improves, and overall health rises.

And, of course, we’ve lost a significant amount of body fat.

Let me start by saying: No, fat doesn’t make you fat. Sugars, mainly processed sugars, do. 

Fat from food is not converted to fat in the body without the presence of sugar. But due to their effects on our hormones, some fats can help us lose weight, and some make us gain it.

Now, there are many types of fat, both that you eat and your body creates, and different fats are used for various actions in your body. 

There are several things that control cravings or make it hard to get off sugar, as covered in this article here: What Causes Cravings For Sugar & Junk Food?

Causes mentioned in that article include hormones, messenger chemicals in the body that tell the cells what to do or not do, how to use energy or not, whether to build muscle or break it down, or add fat or burn it. 

“How do I get off sugar and junk food? It's so hard!” In case you feel alone in this struggle — please know that you're not. In fact, the majority of people don't succeed from mainstream diets, even when they go all out on them. Why is that? Is it because the diet or lifestyle habits to succeed are not practical? Or you might be thinking you are not determined enough or simply lazy. Though some of the factors we’ll cover will make you feel low in energy to the point you may feel it’s laziness, but no it’s not. 

There is something called “Leaky Gut”, and this is not just a funny name. It’s probably one of the most accurate labels there are, actually.

When food comes into your small intestine from your stomach it’s already mostly broken down. Here, more enzymes (bodily chemicals) are released to break it down further into truly microscopic pieces.

The digestive tract is arguably the most important pathway in the body for overall health, fat loss, muscle-building, hormones, energy, and immune system function.

Now we’re going to dive more into one aspect of it affecting a majority of the people in the US right now whether they know it or not: SIBO or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.

There is an idea that GERD, Heartburn, and Acid Reflux are caused by too much stomach acid, and idea pushed heavily by pharmaceutical companies who make quite a bit of money from antacids and acid blockers.

But while these give a temporary solution, in the long term they actually make the problem worse.

This is because it’s not high levels of stomach acid that cause acid reflux and GERD, but the exact opposite — too little stomach acid. In fact, there is no research at all showing high stomach acid to be a cause.

The ability to fully digest and absorb protein determines your body's ability to maximizing muscle gains and fat loss. It also affects your energy levels, hormones, inflammation, and overall health.

So, understanding exactly how digestion works and how to keep it, or get it, working properly is very important.

Let’s look at this.

If your cells are taking in less sugar because they’re resisting insulin knocking at their door to let in sugar, then the cells have less energy to work with. 

That sugar is there, and insulin is happily converting it to fat, but your cells aren’t getting it so of course they’re hungry and will keep telling you to eat more until they finally get some.