The Health & Nutrition Evolution: A Conversation with Tyler Nicholson

The Warrior Monk Podcast

The Warrior Monk podcast, founded and hosted by Lace Radford, is dedicated to sharing personal philosophy and experiences that empower listeners to enhance their mind, body, and spirit. With a focus on balancing the warrior and monk within, this podcast offers practical insights and practical wisdom to help individuals on their journey of self-improvement. Through honest conversations and relatable stories, Lace Radford guides listeners toward achieving inner harmony and unlocking their full potential.

About Lance Radford

Lance Radford, a South Florida native, graduated with a degree in molecular biology from the University of Central Florida in 2010. After college, Lance embarked on an extraordinary path that led him to serve in the Air Force for nine years. Throughout his adventures and experiences with diverse cultures, Lance shaped his perspective and gained valuable insights. Now, as he transitions back into civilian life, he is eager to share his stories, philosophies, and healthy lifestyle habits through his podcast, while seeking collaborative opportunities with like-minded individuals. Through the Warrior Monk podcast, Lance aims to spark impactful conversations rooted in a passion for wellness and entrepreneurship that resonate with his listeners. Check out the Warrior Monk podcast to listen for yourself.

Episode 38 - A Conversation with Tyler Nicholson

“In this podcast, Lance speaks with fellow strength and conditioning coach and health enthusiast Tyler Nicholson. Tyler is a seasoned coach with over a decade's experience within the CrossFit, fitness, performance, and nutrition worlds. Topics of discussion include Tyler's approach to transforming health, misinformation and misconceptions regarding nutrition, and his new 12-week Transformation Program.”

What Makes People Fat? Breaking Down Weight-loss Stereotypes

For decades, the conventional wisdom has held that overeating and a sedentary lifestyle are the primary causes of obesity. This view has been reinforced by countless public health campaigns, diet books, and weight loss programs. But what if the conventional wisdom is wrong? What if we’ve been looking at the problem of obesity from the wrong angle? After more than a decade of helping people solve that problem firsthand, I will argue that the real culprit behind the obesity epidemic is not overeating or lack of exercise, but the processed carbohydrates in our diets.

The idea that carbohydrates, particularly those in the form of sugars and refined grains, are the main driver of obesity is not a new one. It has been championed by a number of scientists who have been challenging the conventional wisdom for years. At the heart of this argument is the role of insulin in the body.

Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels by instructing cells to take up glucose from the bloodstream. When we eat carbohydrates, particularly processed carbohydrates like we find in fast food or breakroom snacks, our blood sugar levels spike, and insulin is released to bring them back down. Over time, repeated spikes in blood sugar and insulin can lead to insulin resistance, a condition in which the body becomes less responsive to insulin signals.

Insulin resistance is a key factor in the development of obesity. When the body becomes resistant to insulin, much the way it does over repeated exposure to many drugs, the pancreas produces more insulin to compensate. This excess insulin promotes the continued storage of fat in adipose tissue and inhibits the breakdown of stored fat for energy. As a result, people with insulin resistance tend to gain weight and have a harder time losing it.

The conventional wisdom when it comes to weight loss has been that calories in = calories out. This idea is based on the First Law of Thermodynamics, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. In other words, if you consume more energy than you expend, you will gain weight, and if you consume less energy than you expend, you will lose weight. But this view ignores the fact that different macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) have different effects on the body’s metabolism and hormones.

When we eat processed carbs, they are quickly broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream. This leads to a rapid spike in blood sugar and insulin levels, which can promote fat storage and inhibit fat burning. In contrast, when we eat a diet that is low in carbohydrates and high in fat, insulin levels remain low, which prompts the body to burn fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. This can lead to rapid weight loss and improved metabolic health.

In conclusion, the idea that overeating and a sedentary lifestyle are the primary causes of obesity is a myth. The real culprit is the processed and refined carbohydrates in our diets. By reducing our intake of carbohydrates and increasing our intake of healthy fats, along with keeping high levels of protein intake, we can reverse insulin resistance, promote weight loss, and improve our overall health. It’s time to rethink the conventional wisdom and embrace a new approach to nutrition and weight loss.

Introduction to Ice Baths

Getting started with ice baths:

Why would anyone willingly get into an ice bath? This a reasonable question, and one that I think many people are asking these days after seeing the proliferation of the habit on social media.  Suddenly fitness influencers, meditation gurus, and self-improvement aficionados are hopping into tubs filled with ice water, and mountain streams, and occasionally cutting holes in the odd frozen lake to gain access to…. What exactly?

Cold exposure does seem to have substantial physiological benefits including improved circulation, accumulation of brown fat (this is a good thing for metabolism and longevity), and immune function. But none of these, in my opinion, account for how quickly the habit is spreading.  

I’m personally drawn to the ice bath not for some longer-term intangible benefit, but for the immediate psychological and emotional boost.  I’ve heard it described by one of my close friends after an ice bath session as “bringing on a calm and quiet of the mind” he had never experienced before. And I’d say my individual experience corroborates that.  It’s like a supercharged form of meditation.  But you’ve gotta go through some discomfort to get there. 

Here’s how it works:

Ice water is a non-harmful noxious stimulus that puts your body into a full stress response without the risk of causing any physical harm. Theoretically getting chased by a bear would do the same thing physiologically, but I find my acceptable risk for mauling too low to test the comparison.

So there you are, getting into the ice bath, and your body panics. Learning to control this panic is the real fruit that cold exposure bears, pun intended.  That skill of controlling stress response is transferable, as it turns out, to the rest of life. Many of the people I’ve had the chance to cold tub with report a substantially reduced baseline level of anxiety during everyday life, and a notable resilience to acutely stressful events.

For me, that resilience presents itself in a way that feels like a pause, a still moment where you have a choice in how to respond.  It’s the difference between getting cut off in traffic and shaking your fist in road rage, or instead shaking your head chuckling to yourself that someone must be in a hurry. While the calm in the hours following each ice bath is remarkable, the reduced overall amplitude of reaction to stressful stimulus seems to be persistent. 

For those interested in learning more, here are the basics of trying it out:

Start in your bathtub (if it’s deep enough) or a stock tank where you can submerge your whole body up to your neck. At 6’4” I don’t fit in any common bathtub so I have a 150-gallon stock tank. More reasonably sized humans will do fine in a 100-gallon version. 

Add water and enough ice to bring the temperature to ~ 42-46°F. You can go colder after a few sessions if you want but this is plenty to get the response you’re looking for. Going warmer may work for the cold-averse (raynaud's sufferers etc.), but in my opinion, maybe too mild to really get the job done. I now prefer ~41-42°F. 

Start with a two-minute session. Set your mind, and a stopwatch, for two minutes, no more no less. Committing to two minutes is an important part mentally. When you get in, do so quickly but smoothly, all the way up to your neck. This will be uncomfortable, but remember, you’re only going to be in a short time and it can’t hurt you. 

As you get in your breathing will quicken as your body starts a stress response.  This is going to feel a little intense. You may even feel like you lose control of your breathing.  To start to regain control, continue to breathe quickly (you won’t have much of a choice) but start deepening your fast breaths. 

Respiration will still be quick, but deepening your breathing will allow you to gain control back. Then, start to slow the cadence of your breathing, taking longer inhales and exhales while pulling air deep into your belly and chest. Once you are breathing slower and deeper, then switch to breathing exclusively through your nose. Close your eyes if you want to and focus on slow, calm, deep breaths,

At some point, while you were focusing on your breathing the panic will have stopped and you will now be calm, albeit maybe a little physically uncomfortable.  You may feel like “this is kinda chilly in here” instead of the initial “I HAVE TO GET OUT NOW!” panic.  

It’s possible that you might even gain enough confidence through your breath control in this first bath to push your time longer than you had planned for your first session. I don’t recommend going longer than two minutes on this first one. As Dan John once said, “The goal is to keep the goal the goal”. 

You can push your time longer based on how you feel in the future, but for now, by staying in too long you risk your core body temp staying low for longer which isn’t dangerous but can be unpleasant when it takes hours for your core body temp to come back up. 

In the process of doing chronic cold exposure over repeated sessions, you’ll learn to control your stress response and better apply it outside the tub. I find my mind gets noticeably quieter when I am “tubbing” regularly. 

Once you’ve done a session for two minutes, for your next session progress the stimulus. By increasing the amount of time you’re in. For those just starting their journey, I would recommend modest increases in time for each subsequent exposure.

As follows is one way to progress:

• 1x 2:00

• 1x 2:30

• 1x 3:00

• 2x 2:00 with a 6-8min break

• 2x 2:30 with a 7-9min break

• 2x 3:00 with a 9-12min break 

• 3x 2-3min with 6-8min breaks

And then start to freestyle with what seems to challenge you, but doesn’t take you too long to warm up afterward. Lower the temperature a few degrees, dunk your head when you get in, or hold your breath underwater for a brief period. If you’re going to hold your breath underwater, do it with an attentive buddy and be safe!

Lastly, while doing cold baths with company can be great for camaraderie, bonding, and support, avoid turning it into a competition. Each individual body progresses at its own rate, not to mention day to day your tolerance for cold may be more or less than it was last time. 

For beginners, shivering can be a sign it’s time to get out. For those that have some significant experience, it can be worthwhile to try to calm your body and control your body’s shivering.  That being said, uncontrolled shivering in the tub is a sign you’ve exceeded the dose necessary for physiological benefits and are simply training mental toughness.  Do so with caution and understand the risks associated with doing so that are beyond the scope of this post. 

If you do use this primer to try out ice baths I would be very interested in your experience! Please don’t hesitate to share what it was like and if there was anything else that would have been helpful. Happy tubbing and enjoy the calm!

Gear I Use

• 100 gallon Rubbermaid Stock Tank or 150 Gallon Rubbermade Stock Tank for the larger individuals out there

• Stock Tank Heater - this is critical for keeping your ice bath from freezing solid in the winter. I use it in conjunction with an Inkbird Temperature Controller. I’ll set it to heat up to 43 degrees which keeps my tank ready for plunges any time.

• Pool Thermometer - If you’re adding ice to an indoor bathtub, or in a warmer outdoor climate a simple pool thermometer allows you to know how much ice to add