The Results so far

Graph of my weight (blue), and the 2nd order polynomial trend line (red), which describes more than 94% of the variation in weight for this 3 month period.

So far, the low carb diet seems to be working for me, with a total weight loss of 32 lbs over 3 months (ie. 2.5 lbs. per week).

 When I look at the trend line and the least squares regression equation, I see that my weight is gradually approaching a limiting value.

Is this limiting value the point where the low carb diet stops being effective for weight loss, and switches to weight maintenance?

So far, the weight loss has occurred while I continue being a couch potato (ie. no exercise whatsoever).  Do I have to add exercise to my day to get an even lower equilibrium weight?  I need to do some more thinking and investigations.

St. Patty's Day Disaster

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.

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.

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.

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. 

My Typical Low-Carb Diet

Breakfast

• Coffee with a little cream, no sugar
• 2 hard boiled eggs, salt & pepper to taste
• Some meat (salami slices, back bacon, pork sausages, etc.)

Coffee on way to work (Cream only)

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)

Dinner

• 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.