I’ve often wondered why a group of people who seemingly ate the same, had different results:
- Those who gained bodyfat
- Others who remained lean.
These varied results have often baffled me, and many others I know. During the course of my reading, and posting, of various nutritional updates and/or documentaries; this was in the back of my mind.
The last series of documentaries have opened up my eyes to something entirely new, something I had been close-minded to as a follower of “old school” nutrition; which aligned with the ChooseMyPlate.gov way of eating. These documentaries discuss:
- The fleecing of information.
- How various groups manipulated data so that the outcome leaned in favor of the industry, or industries, that paid for the study or perhaps a new wing for future studies.
Intrigued, I started considering a trial into eating more red meat, less grain products; I set out to changed my eating style. In 2012, after watching the movie “Fat Heads,” assisted my complete shift in my thinking, fueling intense months of further reading. These months caused me to put my fitness studies aside, shifting my focus on this new information.
What took me so long to make the change, I wondered to myself; we had a freezer full or organic field raised beef. I had been curious about it over the years, but like many humans; I feared change and worse, heart disease..
My first foray into this change of thinking came from: Fathead The Movie..
The following was pulled directly from the Fat Head webpage, which details more About the Film
“Have you seen the news stories about the obesity epidemic? Did you see Super Size Me? Then guess what? … You’ve been fed a load of bologna.
Comedian (and former health writer) Tom Naughton replies to the blame-McDonald’s crowd by losing weight on a fat-laden fast-food diet while demonstrating that nearly everything we’ve been told about obesity and healthy eating is wrong. Along with some delicious parody of Super Size Me, Naughton serves up plenty of no-bologna facts that will stun most viewers, such as: The obesity “epidemic” has been wildly exaggerated by the CDC. People the government classifies as “overweight” have longer lifespans than people classified as “normal weight.” Having low cholesterol is unhealthy. Lowfat diets can lead to depression and type II diabetes. Saturated fat doesn’t cause heart disease — but sugars, starches and processed vegetable oils do.”
Watching the FatHead documentary, started conversation about the past studies and testing procedures. Perusing their suggested reading, I researched the Sims Test done on Vermont prisoners, which really intrigued me.
To read about the Vermont prisoner Sims Test: A NYTimes article discussing this, and other studies
I wanted to learn more, so I then watched the series out of Britain called, “Why Thin People are not Fat,” again they mention the Vermont Sims study… The BBC reports have this to say about this controversial series:
“….the science of weight gain is less straightforward than the headlines sometimes suggest. Why, for example, do some people seem to eat what they like and not put on weight, while others limit their diet yet struggle to shed their bulk?
In 1967, a medical researcher, Ethan Sims, carried out an experiment at Vermont state prison in the US. He recruited inmates to eat as much as they could to gain 25% of their body weight, in return for early release from prison.
Some of the volunteers could not reach the target however hard they tried, even though they were eating 10,000 calories a day. Sims’s conclusion was that for some, obesity is nearly impossible.
It was with this in mind that 10 slim volunteers – who were not dieters – convened in more hospitable circumstances, for a recent experiment devised by the BBC’s Horizon documentary. The 10 spent four weeks gorging on as much pizza, chips, ice cream and chocolate as they could, while doing no exercise, and severely limiting the amount they walked.”
At this point I was seriously intrigued and set off to read all I could from Taubes:
- Good Calories, Bad Calories to his paired down version titled,
- Why We Get Fat.
Also reading two organic/holistic focused paleo eating styles:
- David Asprey’s “Bulletproof Executive” and
- Jason Ferruggia’s “Renegade Diet“.
This started a series of eating protocol tests starting in the fall of 2012:
- First, I started with the Renegade Diet;
- New information lead me to Kiefer’s “Carb Back Loading;“
- Joining the CBL forum brought me to “Carb Night Solution.”
(This post is only stating what I ‘ve tested, this is not a suggestion for you to follow my plan nor am I suggesting that you do it yourself. As with anything, read at your own risk and consult with a physician before starting any health, fitness, or nutritional program)
What does all this mean you ask? For starters it means that I’ve tested eating what is called an Ultra Low Carb (ULC or less than 30g of carbs) diet. At that time; my day consisted of protein, fats, and green veggies; which I consume for 5-6 consecutive days. After the 5-6 consecutive days of ultra low carb, there is one day of refeeding on starchy carbohydrates, to replenish my liver and muscles; keeping my metabolism going.
Why am I doing this? After reading all the information and realizing why the old 40/30/30 system, I had been following, wasn’t working to change my bodyfat percentages the way I wanted.
I had “If you keep on doing what you did in the past, don’t expect your future results to change,” running through my mind, so I took a leap of faith.
Why makes me think this works? I’ve read about capitalizing on our bodies hormonal responses.
- How not providing glucose to my system, in the form of carbohydrates, trains my body to turn to bodyfat reserves (fat adapted) into an energy source, which then starts a bodyfat burn.
What have I noticed since starting? While my scale weight hasn’t changed dramatically, as I was already fairly lean:
- I’ve notice my clothes fitting much better and more loose.
- Caliper readings indicate that I have been losing bodyfat while
- I’ve retained lean body mass and/or muscle tissue.
What happens next? After I reach a bodyfat percentage that I like, I will continue to eat only clean proteins and fats in the first half of my day, then will consume my carbohydrates after my strength workouts.
Carbohydrates after workouts help to facilitate storage of glycogen in muscle tissue vs storage in fat tissue.
Why have I not posted or written about this until now? This eating style took time for me to mentally adapt to. Not that I am a starchy carb or sugar eater typically, only consuming fats and red meats all day, every day, took some mental adjustment. The end of the week binge eating of things like cakes, cookies, pies, and sweets seemed so wrong. After reading the stories of those that have done it, or currently doing it, I realized this was how the process worked and I had to trust the process and give in.
Will I continue to post regarding this process? Yes, I hope to talk more about what I learned while researching the various protocols and also how this eating style has impacted me. Later in the spring I will have my blood work done to see what my numbers looks like and to see what impact it has had on my testing results.
Please post any thoughts, questions, or concerns here. Or is you know of any further reading that might fit in well with what I’ve already read, please share. I will do my best to answer and explain what I am doing and how I am feeling.
