Starvation Mode
- POSTED ON: Apr 07, 2011

                      
Here is a picture of the men who were in "Starvation mode
during the famous 1940s Minnesota Starvation Research project of Dr. Ancel Keys.

People online tend to throw around the term "starvation mode" quite a bit. I've done a great deal of research on this issue,and as a result of my study,  I agree with the Experts who say that "starvation mode"...as it is commonly defined...is a Dieting Myth. Starvation mode doesn't happen until one is actually starving.

Bottom line, unless you are genetically like one of those Zucker rats that Gary Taubes talks about in "Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It"if you have more body fat than the picture above, you aren't in "starvation mode".

I very much like this quote from Brad Pilon, author of Eat Stop Eat, on the Metabolism issue:

"Unless you have a degree in human biology…and in many cases even if you do…you do not understand what ‘metabolism’ means.

Eating Less Calories isn't Dangerous for your Metabolism,

This word gets thrown around the fitness and diet media and is used to scare people into thinking there is a dangerous level of calories that will destroy their metabolism. This of course is a false premise considering your ‘metabolism’ isn’t a thing that can be destroyed or sped up or slowed down (not without drugs).

“Metabolism’ is just the sum of the processes of your body on a cellular/systemic level...that’s it…that’s all it’s ever been…nothing more. So what…who cares. Why do fitness marketers keep talking about it?!  I’ll never know.

And there is virtually nothing you can do to change this. Eating at or below your actual BMR isn’t going to ‘damage’ your metabolism any more than eating above it. And speaking of which, why don’t marketers suggest that there could be ‘metabolic damage’ when people overeat!?…anyone…anyone?

Right, just what I thought, this lie doesn’t lead to lucrative weight loss products.

The following claims are false, and are your best way to know that a person is clueless about biology and physiology and nutrition if they say:

"Eating too few calories is going to ’slow’ your metabolism" (unless they’re referring to people who are starving to death…and are in fact about to die)

"That there are foods that can ‘damage’ your metabolism"

That you can speed up or slow down your metabolism (without drugs…and that this would be a good thing in either direction)

That a slow metabolism is responsible for weight gain

That a fast metabolism is responsible for weight loss

That you have any control whatsoever over your metabolic rate

That your meal timing ...


Habit vs. Willpower
- POSTED ON: Apr 06, 2011

 

 

 

                 

 
Successful weight-loss requires establishing new eating Habits.
For successful maintenance of that weight-loss,
one must create a new “normal” which is based on those Habits.

A Habit is a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior.
Specifically here, a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition
that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance; and
an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.


Habit comes from repeated behavior.

Willpower is defined as energetic determination.

Willpower and Habit are related.
because Habits are ESTABLISHED…
i.e. brought into existence via some act of will…
…..one’s choice or determination…
and it initially takes willpower to establish a habit.

...


Body Mass Index: What about the BMI?
- POSTED ON: Apr 04, 2011

                                         
No one wants to be in the "Obese" category,
because that label goes past a little bit "Overweight",
and defines one as actually too "Fat".

The numbers I previously posted in  "Normal, Overweight, or Obese"
are standard BMI (Body Mass Index) numbers.
BMI categories are:

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
• Overweight = 25–29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

Many athletic people who are carrying a lot of muscle under their fat strongly
protest that their muscles make them an exception,
and therefore they don't fall into the standard BMI categories.

However the following quote from Bodybuilding expert, John Barban, is very on Point about this issue. 
 
QUOTE:        

BMI chart – What is all the Fuss About?

I was reading a blog about the BMI (Body Mass Index) chart the other day and noticed that many people were saying that it’s not accurate and is an outdated measurement and needs to be replaced/revised.

So I started to think about why anyone would say this. The BMI chart was created over 100 years ago as a way of charting body ‘fatness’ or ‘thinness’. With the influence of Ancel Keys (visionary scientist way ahead of his time) BMI became a prominent tool in the 1970′s for assessing population health risks.

There is a criticism that the BMI doesn’t account for different ‘frame’ sizes of people (endomorphs and ectomorphs) or athletes who have built up their muscles to a much larger degree than the regular population. Both of these criticism’s seem to be weak as true ecotmorphic or endomorphic people are very rare…in other words, for MOST of the population the BMI works just fine, and that was the point in the first place.

The athlete argument doesn’t hold much water either, as they represent a very small percentage of the population and many of them at all levels use steroids and other drugs that artificially elevate their lean body mass. In other words, the BMI was never meant to be applied to people taking steroids and GH.

So what about ‘natural’ athletes and bodybuilders who don’t use drugs but just build lots of muscles? Surely they wouldn’t be in the ‘normal’ BMI range…right? Wrong!


Food Addiction
- POSTED ON: Apr 03, 2011

                                    
Some people believe that food addiction is more a matter of psychology than of physiology. I find the question interesting.  Are those cravings for sweets and starches REALLY a problem of the mind, or are they problems of the body?

I, myself, have spent a lifetime considering this issue a psychological one.

My personal experience with this involves about 20 years of Therapy while working to overcome that problem,....to no avail.

With professional help, I've dug into my psyche on the "whys"; I've taught myself most of the "hows"...in fact... I've learned and incorporated most all of the various recommended Behavior Modifications.  Numerous "mindful" eating behaviors have become Habits for me.

For many, many years, my pattern has been not to label foods "good" or "bad", but to allow myself to have a little of anything I want, including the occasional sugar-laden dessert.

Those techniques have helped me RESIST the cravings, but they have NOT REDUCED or ELIMINATED the cravings. There are quite a few “Experts” who feel that the term "addiction" is not helpful, when talking about food, and they tend to avoid using it for various reasons.

At this particular moment, I have finally reached the point where I am willing to seriously consider the possibility that these cravings may have a strong physical element,rather than being merely psychological.

I've begun to think that new way, due to my exposure to Good Calories Bad Calories (2007) by Gary Taubes, and his recently released book, Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It (2011) which is now featured for discussion here on BOOKTALK.

Perhaps many of us DO have a physical intolerance for certain food substances....  Perhaps the physical tolerance for them varies between individual, just like some people have bodies that are allergic to peanuts... and to varying degrees...., maybe there is something to the Theory about Insulin and Carbohydrates too. 
  I don't know.  

I DO know that psychological treatment won't resolve a physical problem. All the therapy in the world won't let those who have a severe peanut allergy, eat peanuts without side-effects.

This year I began a personal experiment to see what a lengthy Low-Carb commitment will do in my body. I am especially interested to see whether or not a total elimination of sugar and refined grains, and a serious restriction of whole grains, starchy vegetables, and fruit will eliminate or greatly reduce these cravings in my own body. This is a day-by-day experiment...wh...


Hunger vs. Appetite
- POSTED ON: Apr 02, 2011

         
There is a difference between Hunger and Appetite.

Hunger is the "body's call for nourishment".

Appetite is the "desire for gratification of some want, craving, or passion; therefore appetite is eating and drinking for relaxation and pleasure.

But...of course...Cravings and Urges don't ONLY originate in the Body. Some, due to conditioning, originate in the Mind.

The craving for Alcohol by an Alcoholic seems to have a physical element, and these cravings are reduced and even disappear via abstinence. Low-Carbers believe that cravings for carbs--especially refined sugars and starches
have a physical element, and that these cravings are reduced and even disappear via carb-restriction.

 The Low-Carb position is: Insulin is what drives physical Hunger. A reduction of carbohydrates is a reduction of insulin. Therefore, reducing carbs...and thereby reducing insulin... will reduce the physical craving for excess food.

Research studies have proven that the Human body will SURVIVE and THRIVE without carbohydrates. While the Body can USE Carbohydrates, it does not NEED them.

Furthermore, Low-carb eating is only a reduction, not a total elimination, of carbs.  Almost every low-carb plan includes green leafy vegetables, and other low-starch vegetables like green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers...and father along, nuts and berries etc., all of which have carbs.

Even those hard-core, zero-carb people get a few carbs from their eggs, cheese, yogurt, trace amounts of onion, garlic and spices for seasoning.

I find it interesting to note that studies clearly show that meat and other animal products contain,
every single vitamin and mineral...except for vitamin C, and in much larger amounts than what is found in fruits and vegetables.

These studies also indicate that eating a high amount of sugar and starch actually DEPLETES the body's vitamin and mineral supply. and that this process actually causes the body to need more of them, including vitamin C.

For example--the famous scurvy that English seamen got which was remedied by eating lemons ..citrus fruit..., only happened to those whose diets were Very High Carb, while the seamen who ate higher protein with few carbs did not suffer from scurvy.

So WHY aren't these dietary facts commonly known and understood? I think this becomes very clear when we are wise enough to..
FOLLOW THE MONEY.  

By the Way, while thinking about APPETITE,you might want to check out my new video Six Cereal, B...


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