Ty's Tidbits

The Truth About Dopamine, How to Lose Over 100lbs, and How Biochemical Individuality Explains Why All Diets Suck.

1. The Truth About Dopamine.

Dopamine, among other neurotransmitters is a pretty hot topic in todays world. Rates of mental illness have skyrocketed in the last 5 years and people want to know how they can feel better. First, let’s take a quick look at exactly what dopamine is.

Dopamine is a chemical messenger. Your body makes it, and your nervous system uses it as a way to communicate between nerve cells. It is made in the brain via a two step process that looks something like this: The brain changes an amino acid called Tyrosine into a substance called Dopa, which is later converted into the super hero neurotransmitter, Dopamine.

Tyrosine (amino acid) —> Dopa —> Dopamine

Many people think of this neurotransmitter as some secret sauce that keeps us upbeat and happy, but that is a flawed view of what it actually does. It serves many important functions in the body ranging from learning, motivation, heart rate, kidney function, sleep, mood, attention, and movement. Needless to say, it’s important. But why are levels so low? Why are so many people struggling with ADHD, poor motivation, inability to stay on task, and depression?

The answer is probably a multitude factors relating to diet, exercise, relationships, environment, genetic predispositions etc. However, low levels of dopamine are not the issue. It is how we get our dopamine that matters most. Here is a beautiful quote by Andrew Huberman.

“The problem is not pleasures. The problem is that pleasure experienced without prior requirement for pursuit is terrible for us”

What is this expert on neuroscience telling us? Let’s take a look.

We can get an infinite amount of dopamine hits in todays world. We can watch porn, use recreational drugs, stream Netflix for hours, scroll Instagram and TikTok, fill our mouths with cake, pastries and ice cream all while drowning ourselves in what our favourite influencer is currently vlogging about. There are no shortage of pleasures in todays world. Odd then, that we now struggle more than ever with issues related to low levels of dopamine…

This is because, as Dr. Huberman stated above, pleasures are not the issue. When we experience pleasure without any prior effort, we trick our brains into thinking that we should always feel this way. Our brains don’t understand that we are skipping the most important step; effort. The best thing you can do is learn to self regulate. This doesn’t mean you can never watch a Netflix special ever again, or turn down cookies for the rest of your life. But it does mean that you need to learn how to self regulate.

You need to look at the things you gain pleasure from and be honest with yourself. How many of those require effort, and how many don’t? The better you are at balancing that spreadsheet, the better off your life will be.

“Pain evokes dopamine after the pain is over”

The idea of intentionally implementing small amounts of discomfort to achieve a heightened state and more resilience to your environment is known as hormesis. For example, an ice bath can increase levels of dopamine by 250% and can stay that high for up to 2 hours. Fasting has shown to help clear old dead cells and helps us have better control over our blood sugar. And I hope we all know by now the beneficial effects you feel after a tough workout. Even something like getting that paper done you have been putting off, all of these release dopamine, but they require effort to do so. And that, is the magic you need to know about.

2. How To Lose Over 100lbs.

I have helped multiple people lose over 100lbs in my career. It is an amazing experience for both me, and the person I am working with. It doesn’t happen overnight, and watching this person feel committed and motivated enough to overcome the odds is something I will always carry with me. But how do you go about conquering such a big goal? I will keep it simple, and honest. Let’s take a look.

1. Exercise. By far this is the most important aspect. You need to burn more calories then you consume, and starving yourself typically isn’t a plan that lasts for most people without a host of other issues showing up. What kind of exercise though? My clients performed three 45 minute strength workouts each week accompanied by one low intensity, longer duration cardiovascular activity (aka walking for 45-90mins).

2. Abandoning Diets That Weren’t Working. If you’re an adamant vegan, but you’re also 100lbs overweight, your beliefs surrounding what diet is best for you might need to be revisited. People who struggle with weight typically are the people buying diet books and reading stories about what worked for other people. I really like elements of certain diets such as keto, gluten free, carb cycling and calorie tracking. But you need to know when to apply specific principles, exactly why you’re applying them, and you must have the tools to determine if it will be a good fit for you. Keto can make you lose weight, but it can also make you sick. The carnivore diet (where you only eat meat) has helped loads of people overcome some serious autoimmune disorders and health challenges, but it is certainly not right for everyone. Here is what I have seen work in the past. Start with calorie tracking. If you’re only burning 2000 calories a day, but consuming 5000, good luck losing weight. Again, not a permanent solution, but is very helpful for the first 1-3 months. Second, consider your heritage. People from northern communities are going to eat much different than people by the equator. I use Primal Typing (or Metabolic Typing Survey Online) as a means of determining what ratio of proteins, carbs and fats could be best for my clients.

3. Learn How To Manage Your Stress Better. The effects of stress on the body could fill an entire library. The changes in cortisol, suppression of important hormones, spikes and drops in blood sugar levels, insulin sensitivity, mental focus, mood, etc. The list truly goes on and on. Stress is not bad, poorly managed stress is bad. Here are three tips I use to manage my stress better with myself and my clients.

   1. Bring More Awareness to Your Breath. I like box breathing for this. Inhale for 4 seconds through your nose, pause for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, pause for 4 seconds. Each cycle take 16 seconds and can be used as much or as little as you need. Free medicine.

   2. Spend time in nature. This could be as simple as staring at the morning sun for 5 minutes in the morning or scheduling a weekly hike with friends and family. But nonetheless, make it a priority to get outside. Side note: leave your phone on airplane mode. It makes a huge difference if you’re not texting, taking photos and phone. calls along the way. Be present.

   3. Work on Your Sleep. I put this last for a reason. The first two will help you get better at sleep. In fact, try the box breathing method when you get in bed. Four to six cycles of this can make a big difference in your ability to get to sleep. And yes, sleeping better can 100% help you lose weight.

3. How Biochemical Individuality Explains Why All Diets Suck.

I know we touched on diets a little bit already, but here I want to explain it through the lens of biochemical individuality; a concept developed by a man named Roger Williams.

“There is no such thing as the average person - we are all genetically and biologically unique. But when the sperm meets the egg, our characteristics are not locked in stone. Bad genes do not cause disease by themselves - nutrition and environment can alter the outcome.” - Roger Williams from the book Biochemical Individuality

In his book, he shows how there are wide differences among the human species ranging from different sizes and shapes of our hearts, livers and stomachs, all the way to the unique bacteria in our guts, how many and what kinds of enzymes we produce and responses to supplementation like vitamin A, C and D. Long story short, there is no one size fits all approach.

Factors such as our environment, genetic makeup, exercise programs, sleep, the climate we live in and an endless host of other considerations we don’t think about while googling “the best diets for weight loss”, have massive implications as to what our bodies will respond best to.

All of this must be considered when formulating a program that will work best for you. And if you work with the right person, it isn’t really that hard to figure out where to start in most cases. Here a few examples of why the one size fits all approach doesn’t work.

1. People with a CBS gene variant can suffer adverse results from sulfur rich foods like kale, chicken, oats and broccoli.

2. Some people harbour intestinal bacteria that produce ample amounts of vitamins C, A or B and don’t need to supplement with these at all.

3. Some folks produce heart-damaging amounts of calcium and phosphorus deposits in their blood while supplementing with vitamin D.

4. People who are unable to break down fatty acids will typically respond very poorly to a ketogenic diet and experience more brain fog, less energy and issues with blood sugar regulation.

An important thing I always like to highlight is that all diets worked for someone at one point or another. There is no bad diet nor are there good diets. Even watermelon fasts or other crazy ideas have proved beneficial to someone, somewhere, at some point. Remember that as you buy your next diet book. Your job is to learn about, or work with someone who can help you learn about your own genetic makeup, hear about your history and assess you holistically to formulate a plan that will be successful for you over the long term.

This is where true long-term health resides.

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Ty.