Welcome back to the Daily Dumbbell, your cool and charismatic Captain, smoothly steering you through the wild waves of your fitness odyssey. With a laid-back attitude, carefully curated nuggets of wisdom, and sporadic intercom dad jokes.

Today we’re exploring the increasingly popular world of plant based diets, taking you under the hood to examine common claims.

And as promised last Monday, we’ll take a closer look at the SRA Curve and how it can help you in your workouts.

Let’s dive in!

Meatless Mondays Unmasked:
Miracle Diet or Mere Myth?

Plant based living has been gaining traction as more and more celebs and fitness influencers tout the health benefits and environmental impact. But with the rise in popularity comes a tidal wave of claims that can sometimes feel a bit...overzealous.

Today, we're going to take a closer look at some of these health claims. We’ll leave the environmental claims to a newsletter more focused on emissions. (Betcha can’t wait to read that one!)

If you want to increase your plant based food intake, more power to you. Everyone would be better off eating more fruits and vegetables.

However, the nutritional fear mongering has reached presidential election levels in recent years and we want to clear up a few things: for the good people on both sides.

Claim: Plant based diets are lacking in protein & B12.

Truthiness Meter: Partly True

This is more of an issue for vegans than it is for vegetarians because of dairy. When you cut out all animal products it can make getting sufficient protein quite difficult. But fear not, if it’s something you’re passionate about you can get all the protein you need with some planning.

The B12 part isn’t really debatable. If you’re truly vegan, take a supplement.

TLDR: If you wing it, you’re going to have a bad time. But it can be done without too much hassle.

Claim: Plant protein is inferior to animal protein

Truthiness Meter: Mostly True

While the quality of protein is higher and more bioavailable in animal products, you can overcome that by eating more plant protein. If your goal is to get 100g of protein per day and you’re only getting plant based protein, you might want to shoot for closer to 120g.

These infographics are from the Muscle PhD who wrote a great deep dive into animal vs plant protein here. His conclusion?

Said another way, animal based protein is the Miami Heat with Lebron James and Dwyane Wade. You’re not going to beat them one on one. But a super deep team that plays well together like the San Antonio Spurs could equal their talent on the court.

Claim: Eating meat increases your risk of cancer

Truthiness Meter: Mostly False

Here’s what we know: processed red meats containing nitrites and nitrates are carcinogenic. Probably best to limit those foods. Unfortunately this information became warped through a game of telephone into being “all meat” and is now trumpeted from the rooftops for all to hear.

There’s so far, no real evidence in humans to suggest any other animal products increase your risk of cancer. Some studies suggest an association, but when you control for activity and fruit/veg intake the association disappears.

Claim: Plant based diets are superior for health & longevity

Truthiness Meter: Pants on Fire

This might surprise you, but we’re not a fan of absolute statements here at the Daily D. Have plant based diets been shown to have a positive impact on people with diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers? Absolutely.

Unfortunately, this claim can be made (and is made ad-nauseum) by every single popular diet on the market; paleo, mediterranean, keto, fasting, the list goes on. What’s more is they each have their own studies to back this up.

Pop over to Google and search “[Insert diet here], diabetes” or “fasting and cancer”. It turns out that literally any diet intervention leads to improvements compared to the Standard American Diet.

The acronym is SAD for a reason.

TLDR: The vast majority of health benefits are derived from eating more fruits and vegetables. Not from eating less meat/dairy.

Populations who have made a significant lifestyle change (i.e. vegans or yoga instructors) are more likely to exercise and take other health improving behaviors, this can confound a lot of the science when comparing diets.

Takeaway: Every diet under the sun touts health benefits and the promise of a longer life. It's all the rage these days. Want to cut back on meat? More power to you! Ready to embrace full-on veganism? We're totally on board.

But if you're considering this lifestyle switch solely out of fear that it's the only way to stay healthy and cancer-free, you can go ahead and breathe a sigh of relief. That worry can be safely tossed out the window.

Curve Your Enthusiasm

Last Monday we talked about plateaus and the importance of the SRA curve. This week we’re going to unravel the secret sauce of progress in the gym (and beyond) by taking a deeper look into the science behind this tricky lil graph.

That's right, the Stimulus, Recovery, and Adaptation Curve is your golden ticket to leveling up your performance, and we're Willy Wonka, here to guide you through the wonderful world of progress.

Or are we the Oompa Loompa’s? It’s not like we’re getting paid for this thing…

What is it: The SRA Curve is the underlying principle behind progressive overload and skill acquisition in general. It's a simple yet powerful concept that, when applied correctly, can unlock your true potential in any area of life. Think of it as the formula for improvement that you never knew you needed.

Explain it to me like I’m five: It’s the Goldilocks Rule. If you do too damage much, you can’t recover in time to get positive adaptations. Plus, you’ll likely burnout/get injured.

But, if you don’t do enough damage your body won’t trigger changes. You have to find the amount that’s just right.

This idea consists of three main components:

1. Stimulus

2. Recovery

3. Adaptation

Each of these elements plays a crucial role in helping you make continuous progress, whether you're pumping iron in the gym, running, or perfecting your painting skills. By understanding and harnessing the power of the SRA Curve, you'll be well-equipped to tackle any challenge that comes your way.

Stimulus: Exposing your body or mind to a challenge that forces it to work harder than it's used to. In the context of fitness, this could mean lifting heavier weights, running faster, or doing more reps. The key is to push yourself just enough to create a demand for improvement.

After you've subjected yourself to a challenging stimulus, your body needs time to recuperate and repair the damage.

Recovery: is when the magic happens – your body rebuilds itself to become stronger and more resilient, ready to face the next challenge. Recovery is crucial, and it's important not to overlook it. Ensure you're getting adequate rest, proper nutrition, and managing stress to optimize this phase.

Adaptation: This is the result of the previous two steps – your body has now adapted to the stimulus and is better equipped to handle it. You've leveled up! But here's the catch: in order to keep making progress, you need to keep providing a new stimulus that challenges your improved capabilities.

This cycle of Stimulus, Recovery, and Adaptation is an ongoing process, and it's the key to unlocking your full potential.

The easiest way to implement this in your training routine is to make sure you’re training close to failure. Training to failure every time is too much. Never getting close won’t get your body to change. Getting 1-2 reps shy of failure and occasionally pushing yourself all the way there is juuuuuust right.

Happy training! Remember to keep pushing yourself, recovering smart, and sharing each edition of this newsletter with your friends and family.