Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Hello, hello . . . is anyone there?

(note: this one turned out grouchier that I had intended. Oh well, something to grouse about next time)
Only 6 page views last time. Considering that this is essentially a personal journal more than anything else how many people read it shouldn't matter. Then again I am a bit of an exhibitionist and was jazzed that so many people read the one about my old friend Curt. I have only gotten a couple of comments so far on the posts about what I am doing. It could be that what I am writing about is boring or the way I am writing about it is boring.

One comment from another dear old friend was "May I put my two cents in? Eating right is not about fad diets. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables (mostly vegetables) and protein. But you also must exercise. The two go hand in hand." What she says is the simple common sense approach. I have clearly failed to get across what my process is and why I am doing things the way I am. I have rejected most of pop culture since I was a kid. That doesn't mean everything in pop culture is wrong or bad or useless. It is just shallow. What it does have to offer can lead to better things. I believe I did say that I am eating mostly vegetables and protein with a little fruit and even a little carbs in the form of gluten free bread and sweetener for drinks. I also said that my exercise will increase as I am able to do so. I think the problem is also that this is typed out and I am a verbal person. I need to start recording these posts to add in the inflection and pauses that I hear when I am typing it in. Written and oral communication are two different things.

 The way my mind works is to over analyze and over analyze and over think things to death. To resist this is to invite trouble. By occupying my mind with all the variables and possibilities and letting it cipher and decipher on all the questions, is for me, a way to keep on point. Thinking about nutrition and how human need met with human greed has lead us to a place that is killing us by the tens of thousands while providing others the chance to exist at all, is more than enough to make me think before I bite. (Now that's a run-on sentence). Just to have a little bit of throwing back in your face; losing 20 or 30 pounds over and over again with the simple common sense approach is a world away from losing over 150 pounds for good that have been there for decades.

 I mentioned before that this is the first real weight loss I have done since I did Weight Watchers in 1972. In 1977, I think it was, I did do a crazy diet I'll talk about later. I have dabbled in others from time to time. I have signed up at fitness centers a couple of times. In 2006 I started going to 24 hour fitness and was clear that it didn't have to do with losing weight. That is what I kept saying, I think other people heard something different. It was about feeling better. I went 4 or 5 times a week and did feel better. This was before I figured out what the Statin drugs were doing to me and in a fit of depression I stopped going. What makes this weight loss project different from before has to do with what I posted in the first one of this series 6 weeks ago. I am not really attempting to change my behavior. I simply can't eat the way I had been eating before. The position I am in now is more like being on a strange planet and having to do endless trial and error to find out what is edible. Some things that taste good are really toxic. Things like vegetables that are for the most part quite tasty never come to mind when it's time to eat. Go figure.

On from the tedious part to the really tedious part.

Part of the reasoning behind why to avoid wheat has to do with one of the proteins in the gluten, Gliaden. Dr Davis put it this way.
"Gliadin is a more powerful opiate–The changes introduced into the gliadin gene/protein make it a more potent opiate. While the digestive byproducts of gliadin bind to the opiate receptors of the brain, they lack the pain-relieving and euphoric effects of heroin and morphine, but 'only' provoke addictive eating behavior and appetite stimulation. People who consume wheat consume, on average, 440 more calories per day, 365 days per year."
I found this in looking for exdence of the opiate effect of Gliaden in wheat. I found a pdf of an actual study done in 1978. The ratio of gliaden in the hybridized wheat grown now is much higher than ever before. This accounts for why I don't feel hungry and craving food all the time like I was before.

The other aspect of the new eating is the ketosis effect of low carb high fat. I have seen lots of examples of it working. I want to dig into the science a little more and try to understand why. Next week.

I'll be thinking about other posts to this blog that aren't so much of a personal journal. My absurdist view of the world needs some exercise. We all can ride the Bri bus to adventures in awareness. They don't call me the Center of the Universe for nothing. If nothing else I have a unique perch to see the universe.

Today's weigh in. 331.9    
Down another 3.2          
Total lost so far 21.8        

I really am at the weight most people remember me being the last 20 years. Going forward we break new ground.

3 comments:

  1. Congratulations on teh 3.2 weight loss! Every pound you lose is a fabulous step in the right direction. I didn't mean to offend you in anyway when I said that exercise and diet go hand in hand, but I honestly belive that. Changing the way you take care of yourself will become a life style. It's so easy for Americans to grab "fast food". Thats why we are all so overweight and out of shape. Doing the right thing takes work and perseverence. Something a lot of lazy americans don't have anymore. Sad. Keep up the great work Brian! I look forward to next week when you are down another 3.2. Baby steps sweetie!

    Take care

    Laurie

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    1. Thanks Laurie, I'm not offended. I need to know what other people think. It's just that the process that works for me and keeps the goals and the new behavior on my mind is to continue investigating. Also the literal pain in my ass makes it hard to be upbeat all the time.
      I am exercising a little at a time. Like liking vegetables, making exercise SOP for me is the really hard part of this. I am having to just be persistent and keep trying new things. I actually like the taste of most vegetables. I like the feeling in my muscles of pushing weights till I break a sweat. I am sure that over time the right pattern for me will fall into place.

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  2. So happy that you lose weight and the most important thing you discovered is what statins can do to your health. Now that you know it's harmful to your health, it's better if you can share it to others so that it won't happened to them.

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