OFM - Why Metabolic Health Matters

49. Longevity and Peak Performance at age 54 with Bree Lambert

This week we are interviewing Vespa / OFM Ambassador Bree Lambert Sanders, who is a nutritionist and coach in the San Jose area. Bree who, at 54 years young, still competes at the elite level including winding up with an overall win or a place on the podium .  

 

In this interview, Bree explains that she has always had a passion for fitness and nutrition. Her business, Live Well Finish Strong, focuses on nutrition and movement for business executives and athletes in Silicon Valley.  After several years of watching the consistent performance of fellow ultrarunners Bree made the switch from a high carbohydrate approach to using Vespa and adopting the OFM protocol. She shares her experience including how her performance, recovery and overall health/longevity have benefited in spite of being a “Woman of a certain age”. We also discuss the longevity aspects of making the switch to fat based fuel. 

 

Bree discusses the benefits of being metabolically healthy in the podcast.

 

Here are some of the talking points:

 

• How Vespa and OFM have helped Bree with performance and recovery.
• The combination of Vespa and the OFM protocol has been shown to help prevent cellular damage and aid recovery.
• How and why OFM Athletes like Jeff Browning are able to keep  doing something big every six weeks due to the rapid recovery of OFM and Vespa, which is actually due to the prevention of damage from burning glucose.
• Research from the Western States Study showed how fat-adapted athletes' cell wall fatty acid levels returned to pre-race levels within two days after Western States, while the conventional fueled athletes were still struggling to normalize a week after the event.
• How the effect of proper sun exposure is necessary to generate vitamin D, referencing Andrew Huberman who discusses the importance of rest, good nutrition, and sunlight to achieve wellness.
• Carbs and Calories - why people need calories, but they don't need as much as they think they do, especially if they're fat-adapted.
• Women are designed to be the ultimate fat burners. While they have more sensitive hunger triggers and store more fat easily, females have to be self-sufficient during late gestation, childbirth, and lactation.
• The effect of stress and how it can be just as detrimental to health as too many carbs in the diet.
• How being metabolically healthy makes people less prone to illnesses and chronic diseases as they don’t have a compromised immunity system and metabolism.

48. Healthy Aging and Performance Gains discussion with Tony Konvalin

In this episode of the OFM (Optimized Fat Metabolism) podcast, host Peter Defty welcomes Tony Konvalin, an OFM ambassador and a lifelong athlete, who has excelled in different sports such as football, running, cycling and soccer. 

Tony shares his journey to higher health and peak performance beginning with his experience of running in high school and college and how he was a late bloomer. Eventually he became the number two man on his team during his senior year. He also talks about running with famous athletes, such as Henry Rono, and getting lapped by the world record holder in the 10-K. 

In the podcast Peter and Tony discuss the challenges and execution of staying healthy and fit as one grows older, and how OFM can help people start their journey to a healthier lifestyle.

 

Some of the topics discussed:

• The benefits of being fat-adapted, including:
  • Improved endurance 
  • Weight maintenance/ loss
  • Better overall health
• Biggest tips for staying motivated to exercise;  getting out the door and starting the workout is the hardest part.
• How Tony rides 100 miles fasted  regularly and why this is possible.
• Skepticism around optimizing your fat metabolism (OFM) and what part carbohydrates play in high-intensity exercise.
• The body's dependence on carbohydrates is largely due to dietary habits and that it is possible to train the body to use fat as its primary fuel source.
• That most people are running their bodies below the fat-burning threshold and that training the body to use fat as fuel can have numerous health benefits.
• When the body is burning fat instead of carbohydrates, it is not only burning fat but also metabolizing it, which is critical for cell walls and mitochondria.
• High-carbohydrate diets can lead to insulin resistance and a host of other health challenges.
• The numerous health benefits to using fat as the primary fuel source.

47. Dr Linda Frazier discusses the benefits of Metabolic Health in longevity and fighting chronic disease.

Pediatrician, Marathoner and “Liver of Life” Dr. Linda Frazier and I got together for this conversation. Linda has been in practice since 1984 and continues to do fill-in work at a youth detention facility and participate in medical mission trips overseas, most recently doing Pediatric Care in an orphanage in El Salvador, Central America. 

Linda is living a life fully aligned with her biology as a wife, mother, grandmother, and caretaker, and that she has a positive attitude towards life. Linda also coaches the buffalo chips youth program and recently participated in the Metabolic Reset Program before heading to Central America to do her volunteer work..

Talking Points:

• Linda's journey; 
  • High Carb/Low Fat and the ‘unintended consequences’
  • Adoption of Primal
  • OFM
  • Lifetime PR at the Marathon Distance at the age of 64
• The importance of getting rid of stress and enjoying life while still eating good food
• The benefits of fat adaptation and shifting away from the traditional carbohydrate-centric mindset
• The science behind fat oxidation during exercise and the studies that have shown the benefits of fat adaptation.
• The importance of maintaining Metabolic Health in order to prevent viral infections and other health issues.
• In the US, people consume too many carbohydrates and, physically,  do too little and how this eventually leads to a predisposed metabolism towards glucose, which can increase the risk of viral infections.
• The link between sugar and white cell function, and how high sugar levels can make white cells "lazy" and less effective in fighting off infections.
• The link between sugar and cancer, and how cancer cells require sugar to grow. Linda also mentions some research from UCLA on ovarian cancer and the benefits of a ketogenic diet.
• This is a program for anyone and not extreme athletes

Linda is a living, breathing example of what life can be when you get your body back to burning fat as your fuel the way Nature intended so you can achieve “Higher Health & Peak Performance.”

46. Jeff Browning gives us a breakdown of his Moab 240 Win - fueling, strategy, everything

Today's podcast guest is Jeff Browning, a professional ultra runner who is one
of the top five elite mountain ultra specialists at the 100 mile plus
distance. He recently ran the Moab 240s, a 240 mile plus distance and not only
won  but set a course record. In this Podcast Jeff discusses:

• the challenges faced during the race.
• the importance of strategy in ultra running, including logistics,
  crew and pacers, sleep, and hydration and electrolyte balance.
• the physical effects of the race.  .
• his fueling and hydration strategy,
• how he has been able to recover quickly after races by following
  the OFM protocol.
• the benefits of the OFM approach, including feeling clear headed and
  having consistent energy levels.
• thoughts on the carnivore diet and its benefits, including improved
  recovery from exercise and weight loss.
• the negative effects of a high vegetable diet, specifically the
  toxic load of certain vegetables, and the importance of ruminants in the
  natural ecosystem.
• the use of fruit as a "Strategic Carb"
• the use of Vespa and how it can help with recovery and fat oxidation.

Peter and Jeff recommend using Vespa as a supplement during training and
racing, and suggest reducing overall calorie intake while using it. They
also recommend using Vespa on harder training days as well as for longer duration
workouts.

45. Taking Control of YOUR Health, Avoiding Chronic Disease and Living Strong with Dr. Cathy

OFM: The new model of normal for the busy professional

I sat down this week with Dr Cathy after her recent Ironman finish for a conversation on Metabolic Health

Cathy discusses how she can comfortably complete an Ironman even though she is a busy professional, 

In this podcast we talk discuss:

• The sad state of  what 'normal' human health has devolved to and what the model for real human health should be
• How health & performance are embedded into our DNA
• How, if your Metabolic Health is on point, something such as running a marathon is not superhuman it is simply normal 
• How athletes like Cathy, Jeff Browning and others are redefining the boundaries of health and longevity not simply athletic performance
• How emergency patients are getting younger and unhealthier and why
• How the medical & healthcare industries are not helping us to get healthy and what you can do about it
• The lie told to us about chronic disease and how you can avoid ever seeing an ICU for chronic issues

This conversation will blow your mind on what is truly "normal" and what is a disease state. Most of all it provides valuable insights into how you can move from fear to empowerment to reach your potential for 'Higher Health & Peak Performance!

Click here to see it.

44. Beating The Bonk With VESPA - Roundtable Discussion with Jeff Browning and Peter Mortimer

In this roundtable podcast with Ultra champions Jeff Browning and Peter Mortimer we discuss how they use VESPA in their training and racing. In it you will learn:

• What VESPA is
• How using VESPA increases fat metabolism 
• How increasing fat metabolism dramatically reduces the reliance on external calories 
• How VESPA dramatically reduces the risk of the Gastrointestinal (GI) challenges so common in endurance sports
• Recovery: The VESPA recovery paradigm shift: Through MINIMIZING the DAMAGE from the oxidative stress and lactate load of burning too much glucose you minimize recovery time and maximize 'Training Effect'
• VESPA for focus, coordination and overall stability to perform in any situation
• VESPA for youth sports
• The VALUE of VESPA

Click here to experience the same benefits champions like Jeff & Peter obtain from VESPA, a natural catalyst to tap into the limitless energy you have locked inside!

43. Discussion with Derrick Lytle about Metabolic Health and his journey of discovery traversing The Arizona Trail

In this podcast/video I sit down with photographer, videographer and filmmaker  Derrick Lytle and have a conversation about OFM, Metabolic Health and science. More so, we talk about how building your metabolic capacity allows us to not only reach our potential but how it drives and supports our epic dreams. Today Derrick is embarking on one of his Epic Dreams, a traverse of Arizona on The Arizona Trail. He is on a journey of discovery and will be documenting his steps across Arizona in photography and video to be made into a video.

This conversation is part of that journey and the listener/viewer for you the listener to help you understand your journey to Higher Health & Peak Performance. 

42. Round table discussion with Peter Defty, Jeff Browning and Peter Mortimer on all things OFM with elite mountain ultrarunners

A few days before the iconic Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run I had the opportunity to record a round table discussion on all things OFM with elite mountain ultrarunners, Jeff Browning, Peter Mortimer.  This includes metabolic test data that confirms their success is based upon a fat fueled physiology!

Despite Jeff entering his 50's and Peter his 40's  they WIN races. Jeff recently won and set the course record for the Scout Mountain 100 Mile while Peter won the HURT 100 earlier this year. As you will learn in this video one of the main reasons for their success is OFM.

As Jeff and Peter share their personal  journeys  to optimal fat metabolism yours truly provides the context and scientific basis to give you "The Why" to understand how OFM is the pathway to attaining the higher health and peak performance athletes like Jeff, Peter and so many others enjoy!

41. Dr. Lori Gerber DO interview with Peter Defty on Voice America Health & Wellness Live Radio Show

On April 14, 2021 Dr. Lori Gerber DO interviewed VESPA GM & OFM Pioneer on the optimizing fat metabolism and VESPA and their implications for health, performance and longevity. 

Dr. Lori has a successful practice as a functional medicine doctor and is also an IronMan Triathlete who has experienced fully the benefits of OFM and VESPA and has incorporated them into her practice. 

40. Successfully & Safely Hosting Races in the Age of Corona

Read the rest of this entry »