#1023 Your Visceral Fat

How’s It? (Know: It’s the #1 Predictor of Ick)

This morning I was looking through my stack of notes on potential +1s.

As I looked at my stack, there were a few ideas I knew I wanted to reflect on soon.

Such as: “The Choice of Hercules.” “Pleasing vs. Serving.” “Winning by Losing.”

And…

There was one I kinda knew I needed to create next: “WHtR.” (As in “Waist-to-Height Ratio.”)

But…

I was kinda avoiding it because it’s a sensitive and complex issue.

Then I might have opened up a little Google Sheet we created to capture some testimonials from our first class of HeroicCoaches and guess what I saw?

The most recent testimonial was from a Hero named Fabian Hidalgo. His full testimonial (which brought me to tears) is below.

He started by saying: “The Heroic Coach program has helped transform my life in a short period of time. I have lost 50 lbs. since starting the program and people often tell me how great I look and some have even commented that I look like a completely different person.

I said to myself, “Wow. That’s amazing.” And… “Okay, Universe. I get your hint.”

Then my 1,000-second timer went off so I got up and did some burpees. (I’m actually doing some modified step-back-to-plank burpees these days because I pulled my pec a bit doing those 300 burpees not too long ago. 😲)

Then I went to pick up a book that had fallen on the ground last night when the kids and I were playing a game we call “Spider”—which features me laying on the ground and them running around me in circles like flies as I try to catch them with my arms and legs and then wrap them up in my web (of love). (lol)

In our epic game of spider last night (or, as Eleanor calls it “Spy-dah”), Emerson and Eleanor might have crashed into my books stacked up against the wall. A bunch of them fell. They picked them all up.

All of them but one…

So… I pick up that one fallen book off the ground.

Guess what it is?

Fat Chance by Robert Lustig.

Get this.

That’s the book that convinced me of just how important our waist circumference is and how dangerous visceral fat is.

At which point I laughed out loud and said, “Okay, Universe. You win. I’ll create a +1 on WHtR.”

And, here we are.

Well, technically, we’ll talk about WHtR tomorrow. Today we’ll focus on visceral fat.

So…

Robert Lustig is one of the world’s leading endocrinologists. He’s a researcher and professor at UCSF. He wrote Fat Chance, sub-title: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease.

Let’s get right to the point.

Lustig tells us: “When it comes right down to it, it’s all about your middle. This whole obesity/health/longevity question centers on your abdominal, visceral, or ‘big belly’ fat—at least statistically.

He also says: “In a nutshell, your body fat is your biggest long-term risk for infirmity. Nothing correlates with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer better than your fat.

And: “Visceral fat is the fulcrum on which your health teeters.

Finally: “The simplest and cheapest surrogate for determining your health status is your waist circumference, which correlates with morbidity and risk for death better than any other health parameter. This is arguably the most important piece of information in your entire health profile because it tells you about your visceral fat. A high waist circumference translates into the ‘apple’ shape that tips physicians off to risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

That’s Today’s +1.

How’s your waist circumference? We’ll add some nuance tomorrow, but Lustig tells us that the easiest way to get a sense of your waist circumference is via your belt size.

He tells us that more than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women is a likely indicator of visceral fat.

Private question time: What’s YOUR belt size?

Time to Optimize?

If so, all good (of course). What’s ONE thing you KNOW you could do to get on that?

-1. -1. -1 for the +1. +1. +1 win.

P.S. Here’s that note from our Fabian I mentioned above.

(btw: It’s astonishing how many people in our Mastery Series/Coach program have Optimized their Energy/weight. If that’s something you’d like to Heroic in 2020, join us and let’s do this.)

The Heroic Coach program has helped transform my life in a short period of time. I have lost 50 lbs. since starting the program and people often tell me how great I look and some have even commented that I look like a completely different person.

Heroic Coach does a great job of distilling a ton of wisdom into a structured, week-by-week instructional program that is grounded in science. The multitude of exercises, reflections, and worksheets help you move from theory, to practice, to mastery. The program begins by helping you to get clear on who it is that you want to be, and what it is you want to accomplish in life. The program then helps you build the motivation required to get you started on your hero’s journey and provides the tools to help you become the person you know you are capable of being.

Below are just a few of the many positive outcomes I’ve experienced since starting the program:
• Increased energy levels
• Increased productivity at work
• Increased ability to manage stress
• Reduced anxiety, including social anxiety
• Increased confidence
• Improved relationship dynamics
• Increased connection with people

The bullet points above don’t do the program justice since they don’t convey the extent of the changes experienced. Just know that that they are all very drastic changes and improvements. I’m now excited to see where my hero’s journey takes me next as I find myself being more courageous every day, where previously I was completely driven by fear. I’m especially excited to start the next chapter in my life as a first-time father. Brian and the Heroic Coach has impacted my life so dramatically that we will be naming our daughter (that is due next month), Brianna, after Mr. Brian Johnson.

I highly recommend this program to anyone that is looking to change their lives and is not afraid to put in the requisite work. If you’re thinking of doing the program, stop thinking, seize the moment and just sign up. You won’t regret it!

Sincerely,

Fabian Hidalgo

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