The human body is created to survive feast and famine. It is therefore flexible in terms of the needed calories. As a 230 lbs person I could gain or lose weight on 1,600 calories. This is because when I don’t eat my body conserves energy. If I fast or go really hungry for a few days my body releases a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol has lots of effects, but one of them is to signal the body to use fat to keep blood sugars high. If then I eat 1,600 calories in a single meal my body must release a flood of insulin to use up massive quantities of blood sugar, sugar both the meal and the cortisol. Insulin removes blood sugar but it is also a growth hormone. It says to fat cells, “hey here’s extra nourishment, try to grow,” and they do. There’s a lot more to be said about how insulin and cortisol work together to keep me fat, but let’s just say I’m persuaded. Wherever western people live with the stress of relative poverty, or engage in overly demanding work lives, they have trouble with obesity as well.
If, on the other hand, I spread those same 1,600 calories out over the day, there’s no need for either cortisol or insulin. My food intake matches my short term needs. That means no signal to fat cells to try to grow. There’s also no signal to conserve calories. Then if the calories are just below what is needed for daily metabolism, fat drops. I found I could reduce my calories as low as 1,125 and still be eating well.
About this Blog
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So many people wish they could lose weight. This blog is an attempt to put together something to share about my experience. I started January of 2012 at 232 lbs and I had been trying to lose weight, probably shaving 5 lbs off my maximum, which would have been closer to 235. My last measurement showed a mere 160.4 lbs. The means over the last year I would have lost 75 lbs. In the picture from the summer of 2012 I weigh 175. I would love to get down to the 150 to 155 range over the next year. Why so slim? Mostly because if its worth doing its worth doing well. But also because arteriosclerosis runs thick in my family and if I can live at an ideal weight of course I should. I'm also fully content to live life at 160 if that's how it is to be, but I think its worth a try. This blog lets you join the adventure! The main thing was I just decided I'm in charge of my own weight. Policitians and actors do it. Why not me? Do I just did. No hocus-pocus. No hormones or any kind of pill. No extreme behavior, diets or fasting. No worries about mysterious toxins. Just a series of straight-up, science-based strategies. That why I think I have something to share. I can weigh whatever I want. Although I take what I know from science, I don't have access to scholarly libraries or time to do full scholarship on what I put here. I don't claim to have all the science right. If you know something I should know, add in a comment. This blog is a work in progress, I will keep editing the pages as I get ideas, insight and feedback. All my best -- Rob |
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