Guy Lowers His Cortisol To The Lower Limit Of Normal And Doubles His T By Hiking 10hrs A Day

[brigadierbarty]

for 29 days

This Is What Happens to Your Body on a Thru-Hike

tldr:

The last table is his fat/carb burning ratio at various exercise intensities. The crossover point is when you hit 50/50. Would have been interesting to see how his TSH and BMR changed. He noted that at the end of the hike he occasionally felt woozy while standing up fast, suggesting perhaps some thyroid suppression.

Endurance exercise gets a bad rap these days, but it should be stressed that the "cardio" most people do these days is not really aerobic exercise. It has an aerobic component, but it also has a large anaerobic component. It's the latter which is stressful. This Peat quote is relevant.

I’m not sure who introduced the term “aerobic” to describe the state of anaerobic metabolism that develops during stressful exercise, but it has had many harmful repercussions.

I wonder how much walking one can do to reap these benefits without causing thyroid suppression. Obviously 10 hours a day is overkill, but maybe 2-3 hours? I also wonder to what extent the hike was anaerobic for the author. The Colorado trail involves a total ascent of over 16 miles, which I guess could introduce an anaerobic component depending on how well/poorly developed your aerobic system is.

Have any of you done strictly low intensity aerobic exercise (eg heart rate under, say, 120 at all times)? How did it impact your health and labs? I've been reading a lot about Phil Maffetone's ideas recently and I'm thinking about incorporating an hour or two of walking daily. One big area where Maffetone and Peat differ is on fat/carb burning. Maffetone believes burning fat is healthier. Not sure how much I agree with that, but his ideas on exercise are interesting and seem consistent with Peat's to a large extent.

 

[paymanz]

It should not be too intense,under the lactic acid production threshold .You should be able to speak during exercise.as I understand that is where your workout becomes anaerobic.

Glycogen storage is important too, but in that article you posted he burns mostly fat,and that's not a good thing in ray's view!

And I'm not sure how his cortisol is lowered?!

 

[Wagner83]

Let's say we all quit day time jobs, sedentary lifestyle and living in natureless cities to go on a hike in the sun (for hours a day) in the middle of nature with a lovely lady all of us would improve our health and why not lower cortisol if the exercise is not too tiring for how fit we are. I'm not sure how important the burning of fat vs carb is.

 

[mujuro]

Looks like a kind of supercompensating phenomenon, like the mythical Bulgarian weightlifting programs.

 

[raypeatclips]

He said he spent 8 hours a day sat down in front of a computer screen at work I believe. Simply getting into the outdoors, no stress of work, doing something you enjoy, getting more light could probably account for a lot of the benefits.

 

[Tenacity]

Wouldn't his low heart rate suggest hypothyroidism?

 

[Ras]

I would like to have seen the change in his Vitamin D.

 

[brigadierbarty]

Wouldn't his low heart rate suggest hypothyroidism?

Yes and no IMO. I think this is one area where Peat and most on this forum are a bit wrong.

Athletes have a greater stroke volume (volume of blood pumped per heart beat). That means that for the same level of oxygen/nutrient consumption - the same level of metabolism - an athlete will have a lower heart rate. This is just basic math.

In other words, when Peat and the rest of us talk about heart rate, we are using it as a proxy for blood flow, which is a proxy for metabolism. So no, IMO a lower HR does not always reflect hypothyroidism or a poorer metabolism.

However, I do agree that intense exercise can induce hypothyroidism and slow the heart rate, and that perhaps most athletes are somewhat hypothyroid. So when looking at any individual person, you really have to look at the whole picture. The low HR of athletes probably reflects a combination of hypothyroidism and increased stroke volume.

For those of us with various health problems and pre-existing low thyroid function, best to be careful with exercise, especially intense exercise. Once someone is healthy, a moderate amount of low intensity exercise (eg walking) and a very small amount of intense exercise (eg sprints) may be beneficial.

 

[James IV]

This is basically the lifestyle of a laborer. I am often on my feet and moving at a low pace, (squatting, bending, lifting, moving) for 8-10 hours a day.

I think activity is vital for health. You can drink all the superfood aspirin milk thyroid ice cream milk shakes you like.
But if you're sitting all day... good luck.

 

[Wagner83]

This is basically the lifestyle of a laborer. I am often on my feet and moving at a low pace, (squatting, bending, lifting, moving) for 8-10 hours a day.

I think activity is vital for health. You can drink all the superfood aspirin milk thyroid ice cream milk shakes you like.
But if you're sitting all day... good luck.

I've made similar observations myself, eating a lot of carbs at the right time and then being physically active can make me feel great and warm, I sweat , am full of energy etc.. If I have to sit , stay next to a computer etc.. the big carbs meal feel much less positive. Of course positive interactions with people make a tremendous difference too, it can turn bad mood into a great one pretty quick.

 

[Tarmander]

This is basically the lifestyle of a laborer. I am often on my feet and moving at a low pace, (squatting, bending, lifting, moving) for 8-10 hours a day.

I think activity is vital for health. You can drink all the superfood aspirin milk thyroid ice cream milk shakes you like.
But if you're sitting all day... good luck.

Can I get some superfood aspirin milk?

I agree mostly, but CO2 can do wonders. If you are at high elevation, you can basically sit all day and your metabolism can't stop won't stop.

 

[delysid]

I think activity is vital for health. You can drink all the superfood aspirin milk thyroid ice cream milk shakes you like.
But if you're sitting all day... good luck.

I agree with this. You can get away eating a lot of "nasty" stuff if you throughout the day you are outdoors moving, getting natural light and socializing. (And not checking out Ray Peat Forum in the middle of the day like I am doing right now)

 

[KalosKaiAgathos]

Check forest bathing on PubMed. Some studies that show that it helps.

Additionally: Very good lighting environment with the hiking, instead of being in front of blue light the entire day at the job

 

[CoolTweetPete]

This is basically the lifestyle of a laborer. I am often on my feet and moving at a low pace, (squatting, bending, lifting, moving) for 8-10 hours a day.

I think activity is vital for health. You can drink all the superfood aspirin milk thyroid ice cream milk shakes you like.
But if you're sitting all day... good luck.

I have to second this. I worked at a desk for nearly 10 years and even after finding Dr. Peat's work I never truly began to heal until I got out of that chair for 8 hours a day. Our bodies are made to constantly move.

Sitting all day, hunching over cell phones, craning our necks to see something on a computer screen -- these things alter the kinematics of our muscles and make it more likely that someone will sustain an injury when they do get out and move. Coupled with lower lymphatic flow and compact fluorescent lights, our society has created a recipe for disaster.

 

[paymanz]

Yes some athletes or peoples that are very healthy may have stronger heart , better vascular system with better elasticity... So they need lower heart beat. That is how I see it but in ray view he see it different.idk what is his reasoning for this.

Maybe his view doesn't apply to those extremely healthy strong people!?

 

[James IV]

I don't think the physiological changes that create lower HR, in highly trained athletes, are beneficial outside of athletics. Most adaptions that create "efficiency" (economy) would likely be considered negative in a Peat prism.

With athletics, as with most things health related, the poison is in the dose. Activity is beneficial to a certain degree, but can easily reach a point of diminishing returns. Especially with humanity's current trend toward extremes.

 

[Constatine]

Just move every day until you are tired. The body is great at regulating itself.

It would be interesting to see if someone could get a blood test done after just being outside for 10 hours while sitting around (without sunglasses).

 

[Steve]

Yes some athletes or peoples that are very healthy may have stronger heart , better vascular system with better elasticity... So they need lower heart beat. That is how I see it but in ray view he see it different.idk what is his reasoning for this.

Maybe his view doesn't apply to those extremely healthy strong people!?

Just reading this as I'm getting ready to go for a hike. I just wanted to add that I was listening to a Ray Peat interview recently, and a lady called in & asked about Butekyo breathing & how it lowered her heart rate. I paraphrased Ray's reply in my notes:
More CO2 relaxes the blood vessels so it decreases peripheral resistance so the heart is able to pump blood more easily (bigger stroke volume). So lower heart rate is a good sign in this case.

So that was just another reminder to me to be very careful in interpreting what Ray says. He has a different way of communicating which you have to be careful with.
Ok, off to hike!

 

[paymanz]

Just reading this as I'm getting ready to go for a hike. I just wanted to add that I was listening to a Ray Peat interview recently, and a lady called in & asked about Butekyo breathing & how it lowered her heart rate. I paraphrased Ray's reply in my notes:
More CO2 relaxes the blood vessels so it decreases peripheral resistance so the heart is able to pump blood more easily (bigger stroke volume). So lower heart rate is a good sign in this case.

So that was just another reminder to me to be very careful in interpreting what Ray says. He has a different way of communicating which you have to be careful with.
Ok, off to hike!

Very good point,

Thanks!

 

[Constatine]

Just reading this as I'm getting ready to go for a hike. I just wanted to add that I was listening to a Ray Peat interview recently, and a lady called in & asked about Butekyo breathing & how it lowered her heart rate. I paraphrased Ray's reply in my notes:
More CO2 relaxes the blood vessels so it decreases peripheral resistance so the heart is able to pump blood more easily (bigger stroke volume). So lower heart rate is a good sign in this case.

So that was just another reminder to me to be very careful in interpreting what Ray says. He has a different way of communicating which you have to be careful with.
Ok, off to hike!

Very true. Context is everything with Ray Peat.