Current Weight: 413.8 lbs
Starting Weight: 440.2 lbs
Weight Loss This Week: 8.4 lbs
Weight Loss Total: 26.4 lbs
Other than yesterday, when I got caught away from home and no options for fish but Long John Silver's low cal menu (still really salty), my overall diet was excellent. I made it to the gym a couple of times, but I have had a cold since Wednesday, so I couldn't do too much in terms of exercise as I couldn't breathe that well, so there is still room for improvement. Overall I am really happy with this week.
Evolved Sensibilities
I have been seeing, and reading when I can, a lot of articles lately about the evolutionary aspect of the human metabolism. A great article I read recently discussed how the human body is still stuck in the hunter gatherer lifestyle our minds outgrew thousands of years ago. This giant brain we evolved as our main genetic advantage has made humans so successful as a species that our bodies cannot keep up. We get joint pain because we are still not fully adapted to walking upright. We get fat because our bodies are built to survive a long time on little food and to store it up when we get more than we need. That is why it is so important for those of us who need to lose weight to eat smaller meals more frequently. The body thinks it is likely to starve whenever you don't eat frequently and "grazing" so to speak lets the metabolism know the body isn't in danger of going without food, so it doesn't work as hard to store fat. As long as I continue to eat less calories than I burn I will burn body fat.
That is not to say I am taking up the paleolithic diet. We live a whole lot longer than cavemen for a reason. Our bodies also have caught up to modern food in terms of digestion. There is a reason the appendix is vestigial. It is just that people who weren't fabulously rich didn't get fat in large numbers until fairly recently. I want to utilize every tool I can to keep my body burning fat as efficiently as possible. If it is better to eat 1600 calories over five sittings than at once, of course that is how I will do it. I just find it interesting to have a scientific explanation for why it works better.
Thanks once again to everyone who reads the blog. If you leave comments and you are not signed in to a service Blogger accepts please sign your posts unless you want to be anonymous. Thanks again and keep reading.
I dunno if you have read "You On a Diet":
ReplyDeletelink: http://www.amazon.com/YOU-Revised-Owners-Manual-Management/dp/1439164967/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267298197&sr=8-1
Overall as a book, it is so-so, but it does have a lot of information on how your body works, including things like you have talked about here. It's worth the read just for that.
And you did great this week! Huzzah!
It was good hanging out last night. Keep up the good work. You've inspired me to reduce some of the sodium in my diet. You da man!
ReplyDeleteChase, We are so proud of you, though we knew you could do it when the desire set in. Everyone in the family is cheering you on and praying for your stamina to continue. Just think of the things you can do and WILL do!! Somebody "up there" is smiling, too. Love you more than anything. Guess Who
ReplyDeleteCongrats, buddy! Glad to see it all moving along for you, and I'm even happier to see that, for the most part, it's been a pleasant and empowering experience thus far. I've known plenty of people who started diets and then immediately began feeling awful in one way or another, so it's great to hear you've found a system that works so well for you.
ReplyDeleteAlthough its very hard, lots of elements to the "caveman diet" are good. I have a long list of really helpful tips and meals that go with the caveman diet, so just post if you want more information on it.
ReplyDelete