I got the chance to sit down with Ben Bocchicchio, PhD, author of "15 Minutes to Fitness." Dr. Ben has been a pioneer in the field of exercise physiology and obesity research for nearly 50 years. In this interview we talk about strength, health, and things you can do to age successfully. Check out Dr. Ben’s work at www.drbenbo.com and my newsletter at www.unremarkablebrain.comEnjoy! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unremarkablebrain.substack.com

Dr. Mary Newport is the author of the new book, Clearly Keto for Healthy Brain Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention. She’s one of the groundbreaking researchers on the use of a ketogenic diet and ketone supplements for brain health, and in this episode we chat all about lifestyle changes that you can make now to preserve your cognitive function well into old age.If, like me, you have someone in your family who suffers from dementia or cognitive impairment, please share this one. It might just change their lives for the better.You can find all of Dr. Mary’s latest research on www.coconutketones.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unremarkablebrain.substack.com

As a special event for my Substack subscribers, I asked Vinnie Tortorich, author of "Fitness Confidential," to spend some time with us and answer our questions. He generously did so, and what happened next is incredible! We were spontaneously joined by Low-Carb experts Mary Newport, MD, author of "Clearly Keto," Ben Bocchicchio, PhD, author of "Fifteen Minutes to Fitness" and even Jim Abrahams, creator of such Hollywood hits as "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun," and founder of The Charlie Foundation. It was an amazing time, and I hope you enjoy! For more writing, podcasts, and other fun stuff, sign up for my blog at www.unremarkablebrain.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unremarkablebrain.substack.com

Hi gang! One of the most popular of my "Healthy Happy Hour" YouTube series was my chat with Vinnie Tortorich. Vinnie is a celebrity fitness trainer, podcaster, author, filmmaker, and entrepreneur — basically, the guy does it all, and amazingly, he does it all well.I highly recommend that you check out his book Fitness Confidential, his podcast of the same name, his three movies, Fat: A Documentary, Fat a documentary part 2, and Beyond Impossible. And if that leaves you hungering for high-quality vitamins and snacks, then check out his three companies, purevitaminclub.com, purecoffeeclub.com, and NSNGFoods.com. (I know it sounds like I must be sponsored by the guy, but in fact, I’m not — I’m just a big Vinnie fan.)Vinnie was the one who first introduced ME to a low-carb way of eating, and I really have him to thank for my book, my blog… all of this. In this interview, we talk about his many years in the fitness game, the origins of his NSNG — no sugars, no grains — lifestyle, what it takes to be the founder of your own company (or two, or three), and lot more. I hope you enjoy!And don't forget to check out my blog at unremarkablebrain.com, as well as My Unremarkable Brain the book! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unremarkablebrain.substack.com

This week is another of "Big Dave's Small Bites," a quick, focused interview with an expert in the field of health and wellness with takeaways that you can apply in your own life. I'm once again joined by Dr. Ben Bocchicchio. A recent inductee into the National Fitness Hall of Fame — where he keeps the company of such greats as Charles Atlas and Arnold Scharzenegger — Dr. Ben has PhDs in both exercise physiology and obesity. He’s published over 200 articles, collaborating with medical researchers at places from Johns Hopkins to Arizona State University.His book, 15 Minutes to Fitness is a very comprehensive, very readable introduction to the low-carb diet and to exercise, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Check it out at www.drbenbo.comThis week, we talk about- How much exercise to you really need to improve your metabolic health?- Why resistance training is the key to better metabolism.- How do you know you've reached your personal exercise threshold?...and much more.To read more about this topic, check out the accompanying article on my website, www.unremarkablebrain.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unremarkablebrain.substack.com

Hey Folks! I got to sit down with Amy Berger, founder of Tuit Nutrition, and author of the books “The Alzheimer’s Antidote: Using a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease, Memory Loss, and Cognitive Decline,” “The Stall Slayer: Seven Road Blocks to Keto Fat Loss and What to Do About Them,” and co-author of “End Your Carb Confusion,” written with Eric Westman, MD.She's a voice of reason in the wilderness of conflicting dietary advice, and I love her tagline: "Keto without the crazy."In our talk we cover a bunch of interesting topics, such as:Her upbringing and discovering Atkins100 years of ketoOverview of how low-carb worksFinding your way through the “noise” of online dietary adviceKeeping it simpleTrigger foods and living in the real worldKeto for Alzheimer’sKeto for epilepsy, mental health and more!Find Amy’s website, including links to her books, here at www.tuitnutrition.comAnd if you haven't yet, subscribe to my newsletter at www.unremarkablebrain.com Thanks! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unremarkablebrain.substack.com

This week, we’ve got another Big Dave’s Small Bites podcast episode: short, easily-digestible mini-interviews with experts in health and fitness. Once again, I chat with Ben Bocchicchio, PhD, an expert in exercise physiology and obesity research, who has literally written the book (along with hundreds of academic papers) on exercise and weight loss.We all know exercise is important, but what kind should we be doing? Some people swear by HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training); others swear at it. After all, the name conjures images of sweaty sprints, box jumps, and the dreaded burpee.But Dr. Ben says we’ve got it all wrong. He says going slow, not fast, is the best — and safest — way to up the intensity and maximize our results in the gym, and he’s built his SMaRT (Slow, Maximum Response Training) system to take advantage of that fact. Listen in to learn more about:- Why slow reps are the way to go- How to make your workout more efficient so you can get MORE results with LESS time at the gym- The difference between “training,” “exercise,” and “activity”Dr. Ben’s book, 15 Minutes to Fitness is a terrific introduction to the low-carb diet and to exercise, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Find it, and lots of other info, at www.drbenbo.comPlease don’t forget to rate, review and recommend this podcast. And check out all the good stuff going on at www.unremarkablebrain.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unremarkablebrain.substack.com

Which is more important for weight loss — diet or exercise? Ask ten experts, and you’ll get ten different answers. Recently, I got a chance to catch up with fitness expert Dr. Ben Bocchicchio to find out what he thinks on the matter, and his answer kind of surprised me.Dr. Ben is a giant in the field of health and fitness. A recent inductee into the National Fitness Hall of Fame — where he keeps the company of such greats as Charles Atlas and Arnold Scharzenegger — Dr. Ben has PhDs in both exercise physiology and obesity. He’s published over 200 articles, collaborating with medical researchers at places from Johns Hopkins to Arizona State University.His book, 15 Minutes to Fitness is a very comprehensive, very readable introduction to the low-carb diet and to exercise, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Find it, and lots of other info, at www.drbenbo.comIn this episode:* The importance — and difficulty — of sticking with an eating plan* Why controlling carbs is key* Why calories do count* The synergistic effect of adding exercise to your dietDon’t forget to rate, review and recommend this podcast. And check out all the good stuff going on at www.unremarkablebrain.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unremarkablebrain.substack.com

Welcome! In this short “intro” episode, I give a brief overview of what The Unremarkable Brain podcast is all about — namely epilepsy and the ketogenic diet, but also food, health, and thriving in general.In this episode:* Who is Big Dave Robinson?* Why “unremarkable?”* How can we take control of our health?* and more!Be sure to check out my book and my website, www.unremarkablebrain.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unremarkablebrain.substack.com

Hey, gang!It’s been a busy couple of weeks here in Big Dave’s world. The start of another mid-pandemic school year has kept me pretty busy, but I’m trying hard to stick to my eating and exercise plans — and sometimes I even succeed!Unfortunately, my tricky brain had its own things going on, and that old stalker Epilepsy caught me off-guard last week. As I mentioned in my book, I’ve been using a combination of medication and diet to try to control my seizures for the past three years. My doc switched me to a new medication earlier this year, and after this latest seizure, upped the dosage a bit. It’s sort of a trial-and-error process, really. Here’s hoping we’ve finally got it.getting my keto mojo workin’Then last weekend was the Low Carb USA conference, which I attended online. There were lots of great talks from the most influential names in the world of low-carb eating, including some of the folks that I’ve interviewed on my Healthy Happy Hour YouTube series, and each did a lengthy Q&A after their talk. It was a great way to recharge my mojo at a time when I really need some motivation.One of the things that I’ve decided is to really start tracking seriously — I’d become a bit lax over the summer. My collection of gadgets has grown now to include a Freestyle Libre continuous glucose monitor (CGM), an Oura ring to track my sleep, and a Keto Mojo to measure my blood ketones. Now if I can just keep them all straight, I’ll be in business!I’ll do reviews on each of these in the coming weeks, in case you’re interested in hearing about the life of the so-called quantified self, but let’s start with the CGM.sweet, sweet bloodCarbohydrates — whether from the crystallized juice of a sugar cane or from the starch inside a potato — are turned into glucose by the digestion and transferred into the bloodstream. When there’s too much of that glucose floating around, it’s turned again into fat and stored in the gut or the butt. As I’ve said before, the whole idea of the low-carb diet is to cut off the supply and keep this from happening.But how much glucose is too much? I've always been curious about measurements (for example, how did the "bucket" become a standard unit of chicken?), so I decided to dig into this thing a little further.According to trusty ol' WebMD, pre-diabetes occurs when fasting blood sugar is measured to be above 100 mg/dL. Diabetes proper starts at 126. But what does that mean, really? As a proud and ignorant American, I don't speak the language of grams and liters, not to mention milligrams or deciliters. (Come on, now, science!)So I did some scrounging around, and I found newhealthguide.org and this visual of 1 gram of sugar:100 milligrams is 0.1 grams, or 10% of the amount pictured above. Ok, so what the heck is a deciliter of blood? Turns out it's about the size of a dixie cup. ...In other words, we’re really not talking about a lot of sugar. Try sweetening a small cup of coffee with 1/40 of a sugar packet, and chances are you'll barely taste a difference. Now for a little fun with algebra (uh oh!): The average body has around 5 liters of blood — something you likely don't think about unless your name is Dexter. That means if your blood sugar is 100mg/dL, your entire circulatory system, head to toe, is holding only about one teaspoon of glucose!It really makes you appreciate what a finely-tuned system the body is. The difference between “normal” blood glucose and full-on diabetes isn’t cupfuls or even spoonfuls of sugar. It’s basically a matter of whether your one teaspoon is level, rounded, or heaping.la dolce vitaMy own fasting blood glucose often comes in around 105 — not an emergency, but certainly not ideal. So my doc agreed to write a prescription for a CGM (even as she warned me that my insurance probably wouldn’t cover it).A trip to the pharmacy, a little puzzling over the directions, and I managed to stick the small plastic disc to the back of my upper arm, where its tiny needle will sip at my blood day and night. An app on my cell phone enables me to check it any time I want just by holding the phone close to the disc.The result? Information like this:I can see from this graph, for example, that during my high-intensity SMaRT workout, my body turned some of my fat stores into blood glucose in order to fuel my maxed-out muscles (just as Dr. Ben said it would). I can also tell that I didn’t actually get away with that dark chocolate I snuck just before bed.It’s a great accountability tool, but as he shared in his Low Carb USA presentation last weekend, Dr. Brian Lenzkes takes it one step further. Not only do his patients check their own CGM data, but that same information syncs remotely to Dr. Brian’s phone, so he gets pinged any time one of his people goes off plan.  “I can call them up right away,” he says, “and ask them what’s going on.”Always kind and understanding, Dr. Brian helps them troubleshoot their diet and lifestyle. “The elephant in the room?” he says, “Stress.” He shared that patients will sometimes see a blood sugar spike of 30 points or more, simply from a stressful meeting or presentation. Other times, stress will drive people to eat something sweet, and that shows up too. Dr. Lenzkes also uses the CGM as a teaching tool: in his talk, he tells the story of a patient who asked which she should eat for breakfast, oatmeal or cereal. She tried both, and saw right away that cereal caused a much larger glucose spike (188) than oatmeal (143). “The right answer was none of the above,” he says. “The right answer for her was eggs,” which caused her blood sugar to remain flat. She went on to lose 22 lbs just by making that switch.This combination of high-tech and high-touch is, I think, the future of medicine. Lifestyle diseases like obesity and diabetes respond well to lifestyle treatments like diet and exercise, but only when the patient is able to stay the course. And let’s face it, in our current, sugar-soaked food environment, staying the course is tough! Having a Jimminy Cricket right in your phone can be a powerful tool to keeping things going in the right direction.If you’re interested in diving deep into low-carb knowledge, it’s still possible to register and access the recordings at lowcarbusa.org. But for a taste of what Dr. Brian is all about, click above for a “Big Dave’s Small Bites” podcast taken from my interview with Dr. Lenzkes.Thanks for reading, and I look forward to more fun with data soon! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unremarkablebrain.substack.com