Sarcopenia, Net Carbs, Ammonia Sweat | THRR048

Last Few Lbs, Net Carbs vs Total Carbs, Ammonia/Urea Sweat, Help for a Cop, Sarcopenia

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Endotoxin May Not Be the Major Cause of Postprandial Inflammation in Adults Who Consume a Single High-Fat or Moderately High-Fat Meal LPS may not be the major cause of postprandial inflammation in healthy adults consuming a moderately HF meal (36% kcal fat, similar to the typical American diet) or a HF meal (60% kcal fat). Plasma FFAs may modulate postprandial inflammation. The prevailing concept of HFD-induced metabolic endotoxemia requires careful re-evaluation. 

1. Last few lbs [15:38]

Brad says:

Hi Robb and Nikki,

I've been following you guys since around 2012 and largely attribute my improved health and fitness since that time to the information I've acquired through your information regarding the paleo diet. A bit of background: I'm a 35 year old male, 5'7 height and hover around 138-140lbs most of the time. For exercise I lift 4-5 days per week using a pretty standard bodybuilding "bro split" and also walk a few miles per day.

While I've been quite happy with where I am fitness-wise, I've never managed to get below around 12-13 percent bodyfat, despite eating a protein-dense, relatively low carb paleo diet most of the time. To get more granular about things, I eat essentially the exact same things 6 days out of the week, including:

1) 2 spinach salads with chicken breast and 2  tablespoons of high fat, low carb dressing (approximately 400 calories each for a total of about 800/day)

2) Chicken breast with steamed broccoli and a low cal/carb stir fry sauce (approximately 350 calories)

3) Two measured-out servings of frozen blueberries, totaling 150 calories.

All of the foods I eat are fairly standardized in terms of quantity, and assuming the information on the nutrition labels is correct I should be taking in about 1300 calories per day and just slightly under 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight. On the rare occasion that I snack on something beyond these standard meals I am mindful to burn off the excess calories with walking, assuming a burn rate of about 75 calories per mile.

Where things go a bit off the rails is the weekly Sunday cheat day, during which I allow myself to eat whatever decidedly non-paleo foods I feel like, provided that I get a good whack of protein and I don't go over 3000 calories for the day.

Based on every calorie calculator I can find it seems that I should be pretty consistently in an overall calorie deficit and losing the last remaining bits of belly chub, but despite having eaten this way for years it's just never quite panned out and I'm wondering what the likely culprit may be? I assume I'm not severely under-eating to the point of 'starvation mode' since I'm able to maintain a pretty solid amount of muscle mass, and it doesn't seem that a once-per-week intake of 3000 calories would be enough to offset the other 6 days of low calorie eating, so I'd be very interested to know your thoughts on what might be preventing me from losing those last bits of stubborn belly fat. Thanks very much for your consideration, you guys rock!

-Brad

2. Net Carbs vs Total Carbs [20:27]

Kaleigh says:

Hi Robb and Nikki!

I'm wondering if you can clear up some information about fiber in aid of carbohydrate digestion. Some people in the keto community count net carbs while others count total carbs in their macros. Ive heard experts talk about this on both sides of the spectrum favoring either clean eating or "dirty" keto. Ive never gotten a clear picture of how added fibers to foods,such as protein bars, help or hinder the digestion of carbohydrates. From my understanding the added fibers are synthetic fibers and I am curious if they take on the same metabolic pathways as natural fibers. Since carbohydrates begin to be digested in the mouth and soluble fiber isn't digested until the large intestine, does fiber actually play as big of a role in digestion as dirty keto-ers suggest? I guess im just kind of iffy on where to stand when it comes to fiber. Anyways, thank you Robb and Nikki for all the incredible work you do! I have been loving the new podcast!

3. Ammonia/Urea Sweat [24:33]

Bennett says:

Robb and Nicki -

During morning workouts, I have noticed that my sweat has a distinct ammonia odor. From non-scientific and some scant scientific articles, I have gathered that this has to do with protein metabolism and excess UREA (although my labs are well within normal ranges). My diet is lowish carb (