Welcome back to the Daily Dumbbell, the only health and fitness newsletter brave enough to tell it like it is. Imagine your favorite newsletter but then replace the writers and editors with a pack of alpha wolves who learned english from watching the Fast & Furious movies.

Sprinkle in some Harry Potter references and typos & you have the Daily Dumbbell.

Let’s dive in!

Framework Friday

This EXCELLENT post of 10 lessons from Max Lugavare on Instagram.

Some highlights.

• There’s no evidence that vegan diets or carnivore diets are optimal. Prioritize both nutrient dense plant & animal foods. Build your plate around animal proteins as well as plant based carbs, fruit & veg. A balance of animal & plant fats seems optimal as well.

• Calories matter. But so do the quality of those calories. Eating less works but so does eating “healthier”.

At the DD we prefer a balanced strategy using both. Balance will always be better than trying to pick only one. For example, say you usually go to McDonalds for lunch on Friday. Your go to:

• Protein is king. It rarely gets stored as fat and it’s helpful to start here when trying to lose fat/build muscle. 1.6kg/g of BW of your ideal weight is a good starting point.

• Fiber isn’t an essential nutrient, but it seems important. If you end up in a low carb/keto/carnivore rabbit hole you might find yourself questioning the need for fiber. Don’t. It is linked with a whole host of good health outcomes. Too many to ignore.

• You can find “evidence” to support almost any claim, and diet zealots know how to wield this power very cleverly and effectively. Stick with people who are always learning and use words/phrases like “may” and “possibly” and most of all, “I don’t know”.

This is the most important lesson you can takeaway from this post and from the Daily Dumbbell in general. If we could only pick one principle to impart on our readers, it would be this one.

Gurus and influencers weaponize cherry picked links and sources to back their claims. We’ve gone through and broken down how the Carnivore MD, Paul Saladino does this in the past. But all of the most famous influencers in the space have been guilty of it. From Dave Asprey and his Bulletproof Coffee nonsense, to Rob Wolfe and Paleo, and Dr Greger’s vegan dogma. They are all masters at cherry picking studies that work for them and ignoring all the other evidence.

If you can keep your dietary preferences separate from your identity, you can learn and grow and avoid nearly all of the traps out there.

And Lastly

• Don’t major in the minors. Prioritize sleep, nutrition, exercise, and mitigating stress. Prioritize consistency over all else and you’ll be 90% of the way there before you even know it.

The same is true in nearly every aspect of life. If you work hard, save more money than you spend, invest 5-10% of your income into boring ol index funds, and don’t live beyond your means, you’ll be in an excellent place financially.

The big rocks are obvious. Don’t fall for the tips and tricks and hacks that claim to get you there twice as fast. More often than not, their shortcut will end up adding time to your journey.

Framework Friday:

Why are we so easily enticed by every new diet that floats our way? What is it about the latest fitness fad that beckons us with irresistible charm? The answer lies not just in the promises of weight loss or health benefits but in how these trends eventually wrap themselves around our very identities.

Consider this: you start with a diet, maybe it's Paleo, Keto, or the Whole 30. It begins as a simple nutritional regimen, a set of rules guiding your eating habits. But somewhere along the line, it begins to morph into something more profound – an identity. You don't merely follow a diet; you become a devout follower, a crusader for your chosen way of eating.

This diet being good for you isn’t enough. It is clearly superior to all other approaches. Why can’t other see this? They might not yet… but they will. Oh they will…

*menacing music plays*

Why does this happen? At some point, it stops being solely about what you eat anymore; it's about who you are. Diets, in all their restrictive glory, provide us with something more than just guidelines for consumption. They offer an identity, a sense of belonging to a specific tribe with its own set of rituals, lingo, and shared experiences.

CrossFit has tapped into this better than any other workout/diet plan out there. Very few people would say they simply like to do Crossfit. They ARE CrossFitters. They are part of that group and that says something about them. It signals something important to other people. Both in the group and out.

Humans are drawn to identity like moths to a flame. We want to be part of something bigger, to have a label that sets us apart from the crowd. We yearn for that nod of recognition, the smile that says, "Ah, you're one of us." This desire for belonging turns diets and fads into more than just meal plans; they become cultural movements with dedicated followers.

But as we immerse ourselves in this newfound identity, a subtle shift occurs. What was once a personal choice becomes a marker of who's "in" and who's "out." We create an in-group, complete with its own ideals, practices, and even a touch of superiority. Suddenly, it's not just about what you eat; it's about being part of an elite club that has cracked the code to health and wellness.

Yet, the allure of an in-group brings with it a shadowy companion – the out-group. As our identities solidify, we might unintentionally cultivate disdain for those who don't adhere to our chosen path. This division isn't limited to diets; it seeps into every facet of human interaction. We start viewing the world through tinted lenses, where our way is the only right way and any other perspective is misguided.

This, my friends, is where the seductive charm of diets and fads dance on the edge of peril. It's crucial to remember that while an identity might bring a sense of belonging, it also has the power to build walls that separate us. And dangerously, in many cases keeps us from seeing the truth. We cling tightly to our beliefs in the face of overwhelming evidence because it isn’t just a thing we believe. It’s who we are.

The challenge lies in retaining the camaraderie of our chosen path while acknowledging the validity of other routes.

Your beliefs and opinions often act like creeping ivy. They will slowly but surely grow and wrap itself around your identity if you let it. And the longer you allow it to grow unchecked, the harder it will be to ever uproot it. This may sound dramatic, but the people who have been sucked into the Carnivore diet trend and the people who have been wrapped up in QANON or the Anti-Vax movement aren’t so different.

Luckily, the solution is fairly simple. Instead of wearing your opinions and beliefs like patches on a vest or badges of honor, displayed proudly on your chest for all to see, treat them like trinkets and souvenirs. A coffee mug with a funny slogan on it. Pick it up, take a sip of the deliciousness that is your in group and set it back down.

You can show your friends and family but then leave it behind. There’s no need for your preferred workout routine, diet, or political candidate to become your whole personality.

After all, it's not just about what you eat/how you live; it's about who you become in the process.