We attended our church supper for St. Patrick's Day, offering a delicious stew, salad, and dessert. I had a bowl of stew with big pieces of beef, thick gravy, potatoes, and carrots. I realized the stew wasn't legal for low carb, but I was not prepared to eat just salad (am I too cheap, needing full value for my money?).
I had a plate of salad, and skipped the dessert. I wisely chose a second helping of salad instead of more stew. I left full, but not over full. Late that night, I had cravings & the munchies, and got into peanut butter on Triscuit crackers. Was this the carbs talking, where the rush of insulin crashed blood sugar, causing me to need to eat?
The next morning I woke up to find myself 4.6 lbs heavier than the day before. Ouch!
I ate 100% on low carb that day.
Next day, when I weighted in, I had lost 6.2 lbs. This means I lost the 4.6 lbs I had gained the previous day, plus another 1.6 lbs. Thank goodness!
That was quite the rollercoaster. Has anybody else had a similar experience. Can I assume that the diet violation really packed on the weight, then I lost it again really quickly? The scale's %fat and %water shows that I gained 1.89 lbs of fat from St. Patty's Day feast, plus 1 lb of water.
It is a known feature of carbs in a diet that they cause you to gain & retain water.
So if I gained 1 lb of water and 1.89 lbs of fat, for a total gain of 2.89 lbs, how come the scale went up by a total of 6.2 lbs? Is the only other component bone mass? I suspect we are seeing inaccuracies in the scale for weight, %fat, %water, or all three.
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Saturday 19 March 2011
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Debate Taubes + Ornish + Amer. Heart Assoc.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdBDQdOKbJQ&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caGN3UMqOBM&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPGh56KdBo4&feature=related
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2JvMAXyvpE&feature=related
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aceqVKGX1ZY&feature=related
Excellent video where Gary Taubes, Dr. Ornish, and Dr. Howard (American Heart Association) discuss obesity and dieting.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caGN3UMqOBM&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPGh56KdBo4&feature=related
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2JvMAXyvpE&feature=related
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aceqVKGX1ZY&feature=related
Excellent video where Gary Taubes, Dr. Ornish, and Dr. Howard (American Heart Association) discuss obesity and dieting.
Low Carb Diet Proven Best
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eREuZEdMAVo
Chris Gardner PhD, Stanford School of Medicine speaks about a 1-year study on 4 different diets (A - to- Z, Atkins, LEARN, Ornish, and Zone). Their press release is here http://nutrition.stanford.edu/documents/AZ_abstract.pdf
The research paper as a pdf can be obtained here http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/297/9/969.full.pdf
Not only was Aitkins diet better in weight loss, it was also better for HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. Those who are insulin resistant make out best of all on Aitkins diet (ie. low carbohydrate).
For those who are highly sensitive to serum insulin levels, Aitkins diet was less important, and all the diets were close to being the same for these people.
Drinking 8 glasses of water per day, as Aitkins suggests, is felt to be helpful.
Other related studies discussed in the video say that diluting the food content (ie. make soup, then cut the soup concentration by 75%, 25% added water), and reducing serving sizes were both significant in helping reduce caloric intake and improve satiation for people, maximizing weight loss achieved.
Chris Gardner PhD, Stanford School of Medicine speaks about a 1-year study on 4 different diets (A - to- Z, Atkins, LEARN, Ornish, and Zone). Their press release is here http://nutrition.stanford.edu/documents/AZ_abstract.pdf
The research paper as a pdf can be obtained here http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/297/9/969.full.pdf
Not only was Aitkins diet better in weight loss, it was also better for HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. Those who are insulin resistant make out best of all on Aitkins diet (ie. low carbohydrate).
For those who are highly sensitive to serum insulin levels, Aitkins diet was less important, and all the diets were close to being the same for these people.
Drinking 8 glasses of water per day, as Aitkins suggests, is felt to be helpful.
Other related studies discussed in the video say that diluting the food content (ie. make soup, then cut the soup concentration by 75%, 25% added water), and reducing serving sizes were both significant in helping reduce caloric intake and improve satiation for people, maximizing weight loss achieved.
Monday 14 March 2011
Misleading Studies
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/weight-loss/cochrane-report-on-low-carb-diets/?replytocom=50064#respond
Excellent article by Dr. Eades on poorly designed and misleading studies, or ones that distract to focus on minor details while missing the main point that effect most people.
Excellent article by Dr. Eades on poorly designed and misleading studies, or ones that distract to focus on minor details while missing the main point that effect most people.
My Typical Low-Carb Diet
Breakfast
Lunch
- Coffee with a little cream, no sugar
- 2 hard boiled eggs, salt & pepper to taste
- Some meat (salami slices, back bacon, pork sausages, etc.)
Lunch
- Meat (tuna fish + mayo, or bologna, or roast beef, etc.)
- Salad (green leafy lettuce, green peppers, cucumber, zucchini, onion) plus home-made oil+vinegar+mustard dressing
- Cut-up veggies (green peppers, zucchini, green onions, snow peas, etc.)
- Large thermos of boullion or stewed tomatoes (crushed tomatoes + onions + spices)
- Piece of chicken with skin
- Salad (see above)
- Cole Slaw (green cabbage, onion, snow peas, mayo dressing)
- Coffee (cream, no sugar)
- After dinner coffee (cream, no sugar)
Cancer and Serum Insulin Levels
I was reading some medical research reports today http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11773152 They show that women have a greater chance of breast cancer, and men have greater chance of enlarge prostrate (which sometimes leads to prostate cancer http://www.oncolink.org/resources/article.cfm?c=3&s=8&ss=23&Year=2009&Month=8&id=16422) based on the serum insulin levels after fasting. When fasting for 6 to 8 hrs, insulin should be very low or non-existent. High serum insulin levels after lengthy fasting would indicate that you have high insulin levels 24 hrs per day. Every cell is constantly bathed in insulin. All cells have receptors for insulin and other hormones. High insulin levels after fasting would indicate insulin resistance.
For prostate cancer, fasting insulin levels correlated with 2.5 times the risk for prostate cancer. Ouch! For 100,000 men, this means the difference between 154 to 354 men getting prostate cancer. That's significant in my books.
Lowering carbohydrate consumption should lower insulin levels.
Unfortunately, for those who have over-consumed carbs for too long, for some there is no turning back. They have a positive feedback mechanism, like a car coming down a mountain road with no brakes, there is no way to stop. Eventually, the pancreas gives up, and you become Type II diabetic.
Hopefully, I have achieved awareness and took action before I joined this helpless out-of-control insulin group.
So far, I have lost 28 lbs. and feel great. I find that dieting the low carb way is very painless. I have had few to no cravings.
A year ago, if a tray of desserts were somewhere in the building where I was located, I would be endlessly distracted by looking at the sugar desserts, thinking about them, planning on how I could get to the desserts with minimal embarrassment or non-detection. A lot of mental energy wasted.
Starting about 2 to 3 weeks after joining the low carb society, the cravings were dissipating. Today, I can look at a tray of my former favorite desserts with the same interest I pay to a pencil on a table. I see it, take note of it, but it's not of any special interest.
That's quite a change for a guy who used to sneak a shot of pancake maple syrup into my mouth (and then another 10 minutes later, etc.). I learned the only way I could stop chain eating was to brush my teeth and gargle. For some reason, that was able to give me relief in the old days. Now, I no longer need that coping mechanism.
For prostate cancer, fasting insulin levels correlated with 2.5 times the risk for prostate cancer. Ouch! For 100,000 men, this means the difference between 154 to 354 men getting prostate cancer. That's significant in my books.
Lowering carbohydrate consumption should lower insulin levels.
Unfortunately, for those who have over-consumed carbs for too long, for some there is no turning back. They have a positive feedback mechanism, like a car coming down a mountain road with no brakes, there is no way to stop. Eventually, the pancreas gives up, and you become Type II diabetic.
Hopefully, I have achieved awareness and took action before I joined this helpless out-of-control insulin group.
So far, I have lost 28 lbs. and feel great. I find that dieting the low carb way is very painless. I have had few to no cravings.
A year ago, if a tray of desserts were somewhere in the building where I was located, I would be endlessly distracted by looking at the sugar desserts, thinking about them, planning on how I could get to the desserts with minimal embarrassment or non-detection. A lot of mental energy wasted.
Starting about 2 to 3 weeks after joining the low carb society, the cravings were dissipating. Today, I can look at a tray of my former favorite desserts with the same interest I pay to a pencil on a table. I see it, take note of it, but it's not of any special interest.
That's quite a change for a guy who used to sneak a shot of pancake maple syrup into my mouth (and then another 10 minutes later, etc.). I learned the only way I could stop chain eating was to brush my teeth and gargle. For some reason, that was able to give me relief in the old days. Now, I no longer need that coping mechanism.
Wednesday 9 March 2011
Statistics
I'm 6' 3" tall, and just a while ago, I tipped the scales (or broke them) at 345 lbs. I used http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ to calculate a BMI of 43.1 Ouch! The link says that "normal" is a BMI from 18.5 to 24.9
Do they not adjust for male/female? What about big boned, husky men?
Another site http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/bmi_dis.htm provides some interpretation of my current risk level. I learn that I am currently in Obesity Class III. Whether my waist measurement is above 40" or less than 40", I have "Extremely High Risk" of Diabetes Type II, hypertension (high blood pressure), and CVD (cardio vascular disease ie. heart attack or stroke).
So far, so good. No wonder I feel a need to change for the better.
When I measure my waist as I'm seated (ie. no cheating as my gut naturally sticks out no matter what I do), my waist, when measured over my belly button and hipster "love handles" is 57.5".
If I measure while standing up, sucking in my gut (as I have learned to do for at least 8 hrs a day when I'm around others) is just 51.75". Not bad eh? A savings of 5.75"
Unfortunately, the BMI doesn't seem to care.
I bought a new scale that weighs me, as well as taking my total fat (46.7%) and total water (37.1%). I'm not sure if that is good or bad.
Using the % Fat, that means that I'm carrying 161 lbs of fat.
Using the ideal BMI at maximum of "normal", I should weigh no more than 199 lbs. for a BMI of 24.9 This means that I need to lose 146 lbs. Since the scale estimates that I have 161 lbs available to lose, this all seems to make sense.
For the minimum BMI without being underweight, I should weight 148 lbs. Ouch again. To me, that seems way too low. I'd be skin and bones. When I left University in 1977, I weighed 200 lbs. and I was in excellent shape, running 5 miles every day. Ahh, those were the days.
Back to the calcs. For minimum BMI, that would mean that I would have to lose 197 lbs, even though I only have 161 lbs of fat, so I'd have to lose water too. Again, doesn't seem too reasonable.
I think my target should be 200 lbs.
Do they not adjust for male/female? What about big boned, husky men?
Another site http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/bmi_dis.htm provides some interpretation of my current risk level. I learn that I am currently in Obesity Class III. Whether my waist measurement is above 40" or less than 40", I have "Extremely High Risk" of Diabetes Type II, hypertension (high blood pressure), and CVD (cardio vascular disease ie. heart attack or stroke).
So far, so good. No wonder I feel a need to change for the better.
When I measure my waist as I'm seated (ie. no cheating as my gut naturally sticks out no matter what I do), my waist, when measured over my belly button and hipster "love handles" is 57.5".
If I measure while standing up, sucking in my gut (as I have learned to do for at least 8 hrs a day when I'm around others) is just 51.75". Not bad eh? A savings of 5.75"
Unfortunately, the BMI doesn't seem to care.
I bought a new scale that weighs me, as well as taking my total fat (46.7%) and total water (37.1%). I'm not sure if that is good or bad.
Using the % Fat, that means that I'm carrying 161 lbs of fat.
Using the ideal BMI at maximum of "normal", I should weigh no more than 199 lbs. for a BMI of 24.9 This means that I need to lose 146 lbs. Since the scale estimates that I have 161 lbs available to lose, this all seems to make sense.
For the minimum BMI without being underweight, I should weight 148 lbs. Ouch again. To me, that seems way too low. I'd be skin and bones. When I left University in 1977, I weighed 200 lbs. and I was in excellent shape, running 5 miles every day. Ahh, those were the days.
Back to the calcs. For minimum BMI, that would mean that I would have to lose 197 lbs, even though I only have 161 lbs of fat, so I'd have to lose water too. Again, doesn't seem too reasonable.
I think my target should be 200 lbs.
Genesis
I have been overweight for most of my life.
I've gained weight, and lost weight. Sometimes I had great willpower, usually I didn't. Most of the time, I had little awareness of why I was eating, or what I was eating.
A year ago, I stumbled upon Dr. Lustig's video on YouTube Sugar: The Bitter Truth. Now that was interesting! I started to research more. The more I investigated, the more interesting it became. By the time I re-watched Dr. Lustig's video about 15 times, I could successfully describe it to others in conversation.
By the end of the month, I decided to give up all pop and fruit juice. My wife wanted to have a rye & ginger ale now and again, and we eventually switched to diet ginger ale. After reading some more about how Splenda is made from real sugar that is reacted with chlorine gas, I decided that diet pop is not acceptable.
It seem that I've been making a lot of changes lately, and they are accumulating into quite a significant change when they are grouped together.
I discovered Gary Taubes when I was searching again for Dr. Lustig. A mis-labeled YouTube video alleged they had a huge fight and argument, so I clicked and watched. In reality, they seem to be soul mates.
I bought Gary's two books Good Calories, Bad Calories available from Amazon.ca here and Why We Get Fat available here. I'm only 1/4 way through the first, and have skimmed the second, and have started using the low carb diet in the Appendix of the second book. This last event is what has prompted the start of this blog.
While I was driving home last night, I started to think about the movie Julie and Me, where a lady (Julie) blogged about her passion for Julia Child, the American who was trained as a French chef, and wrote the book on it. Perhaps blogging about my voyage of discovery could help me, as well as others.
I've seen this orange background with the stylized "B" around here and there, decided that many others had used that Web application, so I got an account, and started typing.
That's about it. As we go along, I'll fill in more and more details on the back story about me, why, when, etc.
The other major event that launched this blog was when I saw today a news article (and it's also mentioned in passing in Taube's book) about how Alzheimer's is linked to excess serum insulin levels.
We have an epidemic of Alzheimer's today, as well as obesity, diabetes, cardio vascular disease, etc. and the most we get from the medical community is that we are all gluttons (we eat too much) and sloths (we are lazy), and if we were to mend our evil ways, we would all live long, healthy, and happy lives.
I used to buy that. I have felt a great weakness of character since I was eight years old when it came to food and TV. However, maybe Dr. Lustig and Mr. Taubes have a different take on things that is a little easier on the self-esteem and may be more worthy too.
I've gained weight, and lost weight. Sometimes I had great willpower, usually I didn't. Most of the time, I had little awareness of why I was eating, or what I was eating.
A year ago, I stumbled upon Dr. Lustig's video on YouTube Sugar: The Bitter Truth. Now that was interesting! I started to research more. The more I investigated, the more interesting it became. By the time I re-watched Dr. Lustig's video about 15 times, I could successfully describe it to others in conversation.
By the end of the month, I decided to give up all pop and fruit juice. My wife wanted to have a rye & ginger ale now and again, and we eventually switched to diet ginger ale. After reading some more about how Splenda is made from real sugar that is reacted with chlorine gas, I decided that diet pop is not acceptable.
It seem that I've been making a lot of changes lately, and they are accumulating into quite a significant change when they are grouped together.
I discovered Gary Taubes when I was searching again for Dr. Lustig. A mis-labeled YouTube video alleged they had a huge fight and argument, so I clicked and watched. In reality, they seem to be soul mates.
I bought Gary's two books Good Calories, Bad Calories available from Amazon.ca here and Why We Get Fat available here. I'm only 1/4 way through the first, and have skimmed the second, and have started using the low carb diet in the Appendix of the second book. This last event is what has prompted the start of this blog.
While I was driving home last night, I started to think about the movie Julie and Me, where a lady (Julie) blogged about her passion for Julia Child, the American who was trained as a French chef, and wrote the book on it. Perhaps blogging about my voyage of discovery could help me, as well as others.
I've seen this orange background with the stylized "B" around here and there, decided that many others had used that Web application, so I got an account, and started typing.
That's about it. As we go along, I'll fill in more and more details on the back story about me, why, when, etc.
The other major event that launched this blog was when I saw today a news article (and it's also mentioned in passing in Taube's book) about how Alzheimer's is linked to excess serum insulin levels.
We have an epidemic of Alzheimer's today, as well as obesity, diabetes, cardio vascular disease, etc. and the most we get from the medical community is that we are all gluttons (we eat too much) and sloths (we are lazy), and if we were to mend our evil ways, we would all live long, healthy, and happy lives.
I used to buy that. I have felt a great weakness of character since I was eight years old when it came to food and TV. However, maybe Dr. Lustig and Mr. Taubes have a different take on things that is a little easier on the self-esteem and may be more worthy too.
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