FOX Seattle Goes SANE for Summer with Jonathan Bailor

Interviewer1: Warm weather just around the corner. Are you in shape for summer?

Interviewer2: Got to be. Local fitness author Jonathan Bailor’s new book The Smarter Science of Slim and he joins us in studio this morning. Thanks for being here.

Jonathan: My pleasure. Thank you.

Interviewer2: Looking fit too by the way.

Jonathan: Trying.

Interviewer1: Well, he practices what he preaches. So, Jonathan let’s talk about — we talk a lot about an obesity epidemic in this country. What do you see as the overall health of our country?

Jonathan: There is no question, an epidemic, obesity and diet related illness has actually surpassed tobacco as a leading cause of death in our country and it counts for one in every five healthcare dollars we spend and we all know there is a healthcare crisis in the country and that’s directly attributable to incorrect diet and exercise information.

Interviewer1: All right, just to break this down for us, you got The Smarter Science of Slim which is really kind of an odd thing because eating is so emotional.

Jonathan: Absolutely.

Interviewer1: There is a science to it. You got this in your book and tell us how this is different from all the other books that are out there.

Jonathan: The Smarter Science of Slim is a compilation of over 1100 research studies simplified into a lifestyle where it actually proves that just eating less and exercising more as we are all told harms our health and leads to fat gain. What the research actually shows is that if we eat more, but of the right kinds of foods and do less but higher quality exercise, we can fundamentally heal our metabolism and enable our bodies to work more like they used to or like naturally [indiscernible 01:21]

Interviewer1: I think about it too because you are starving yourself all this time. That’s not really a good thing at all.

Jonathan: It’s not good at all.

Interviewer1: Some of the diets out there, you have to starve yourself.

Jonathan: Short-term weight loss is really not what we are after. We are all after long-term health and fitness and that which we do to achieve a long-term health and fitness, in some ways it’s in sharp contrast to what we do to lose weight short-term.

Interviewer1: Wait a second, back up a second. You said eating less and exercising more to lose weight is really the wrong way to do this?

Jonathan: Yes, studies show about 95.4 percent of the time we end up worse off. If we just eat less of our existing diet and do more traditional exercise.

Interviewer: So, it’s really more about what we are putting in and what we are putting out.

Jonathan: The research unequivocally shows that it’s about the quality of food we are eating and about the quality of the exercise we are getting, but that’s not what we are told.

Interviewer2: All right, there you go. So, it’s all about the diet. You say 80 percent [indiscernible 02:13]

Jonathan: I would say it’s about 80 percent healthy foods and about 20 percent getting high quality exercise.

Interviewer1: Okay, so what do I need to change right now? If there is one thing that I need to be putting more in my body and what time of day I should be putting that and what should I be doing?

Jonathan: Focus on filling yourself with so many non-starchy vegetables — things you put in salad and lean proteins like any kind of seafood or organic grass fed beef and natural fats, just eat so much of that that you are too full for filler such as starches and sweets.

Interviewer2: What about taking things out of your diet. It is so hard because you are so engrained to sit there and temptation gets you. How can you train yourself to say “I am not going to do it?”

Jonathan: Have you ever been too full for dessert?

Interviewer2: No.

Jonathan: [indiscernible 02:56] really that’s what the research shows that if we just continuously keep ourselves too full for dessert, we don’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t mean we can never have dessert, but if it’s treat and if otherwise — let’s just double down on our vegetables, double down on our lean protein and enjoy natural fats and just be too full so that those temptations are easy to avoid.

Interviewer2: What do we need to eliminate from our diet today?

Jonathan: Sweetened drinks and refined starches. Really if there is one thing, sweetened drinks, don’t drink calories.

Interviewer2: When you say refined starches, list those foods.

Jonathan: Really anything that is dry. So, think about potatoes, breads, pastas, rices, and then of course anything with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, any kind of caloric sweetener.

Interviewer2: You can get your carbohydrates from other sources besides those.

Jonathan: Yes, carbohydrates are not bad. There are bad carbohydrates just like there are bad proteins and bad fats, but getting your carbohydrates from non-starchy vegetables and fruits will have a dramatically positive impact on your health.

Interviewer2: Okay, so we have done all that, go ahead.

Interviewer1: Can we cheat on our diet and still be okay?

Jonathan: You absolutely can and I hope it’s not a diet. It’s just eat more of these non-starchy vegetables, lean protein and natural fats and then when there is a celebration or when you want to have a treat, do it, but make it something special, make it a treat. Don’t just unconsciously drink soda or just when you are in the office grab a donut, make it a celebration.

Interviewer2: All right, we are looking forward to just eating right. If you can just eat those right things, that’s when a lot of people get in shape in the summer but then they slack off when it gets cold again. I can see this now because you always want to look good for that summer, but when it gets cold again, you kind of let it go.

Jonathan: The beautiful thing about eating more smarter and exercising less but smarter is one, it doesn’t take a lot of time and it makes you feel great. Traditional diets are terrible. They make you tired, they make you feel lethargic and that’s why we stop doing them, but if you eat and exercise in a way that just fundamentally revitalizes your metabolism, makes your skin glow, makes your eyes shine brightly, makes you sleep better, makes you mind clear, you won’t want to give it up.

Interviewer1: I am sold right there. You just told food for thought.

Jonathan: Food for thought, absolutely. It’s only hard if it’s hard. If it’s not hard, it’s not hard.

Interviewer1: All right, we just have a few seconds left. What will be a really good starting exercise with somebody that wants to get out and get up a program going?

Jonathan: I would say stop running. Ironically enough, it’s not about doing more, but less intense exercise. It’s about finding ways to increase the resistance you are using while exercising, but safely. So, if you haven’t tried resistance training, try it and do it very slowly.

Interviewer1: Okay, good stuff Jonathan Bailor. Thank you so much for stopping by.

Jonathan: My pleasure. Thank you.

Interviewer1: [indiscernible 05:25] you can find The Smarter Science of Slim and much more info at JonathanBailor.com.

Interviewer2: Good news, we can start it on right away.

Interviewer1: Just about 40 minutes to go.