We get our emotions to tied to what the scales says sometimes. It is good to see actual evidence in pounds in response to our efforts on the one hand. On the other hand, we have to guard against allowing the scale to control our emotional well being.

If you are in this group of people who have a significant amount to loose, I think that it's important to change your thinking about this thing we call "LC". See, I don't call it a diet anymore. A diet to me is a temporary shift in ones food consumption behavior, aimed at producing rapid weight loss. Well, I been on diets and they don't work. What I have come to understand is that there are two factors working against me.

First, my Metabolism. I have a body, that adapts entirely to quickly to minor changes in activity level. Ideally, I probably should be a lumberjack or someone who works outside 12-16 hours per day. I was designed to work long hard hours between meals, my Metabolism being lower would sustain me through periods of not eating. As my energy expendature level drops off, as it does because of my job - I am in the Computer Field, not many physical demands, my Metabolism, also drops. So, I am faced with having to regulate my Metabolism by adding Exercise to my daily activities.

So lesson number 1. Exercise is not an option, especially if I want to loose weight, not just maintain.

Second, I have a system that does not responds much to efficiently to Insulin spikes. Well, this may seem a bit technical it's useful to understand what happens in our bodies. Our body is a wonderful mechanism whose purpose is to maintain specific levels in order to keep us alive. One of these functions is the regulation of blood sugar levels. Most of us have a very narrow range of blood sugar levels that our bodies work to maintain. All carbohydrates that enter our system get convert into glucose - blood sugar. When the glucose level rise, i.e., we eat a decent dose of carbs, our body reacts by secreting Insulin, a hormone, into our blood stream. Isulin causes cells, including fat cells to absorb excess glucose from the blood stream. Now, glucose is absorbed into muscle tissue and the liver, however once these stores are full, most glucose is stored to fat cells. Insulin continues to be secreted until the glucose levels drop.

What happens to many of us, is we consume highly process carbohydrates, bread, pasta, candy, other sugars, which almost immediately cause a spike in glucose levels, cause our bodies to dump Insulin into our blood, the fat cells suck up the glucose, and we get fatter.

So therefore the keys to success are 1) Regulate your Metabolism by exercise and 2) Control Insulin spikes by following a "LC" eating lifestyle. Now, Carbohydrates are not bad, they provide fast energy to our muscles, Athletes learn how to use carbs to improve their performance, you just need to understand what carbs, how many, and how long you can consume them to refill muscle and liver stores, before excess glucose starts to be stored by fat cells.

Since I just switched over to CKD, I am going to try and stay away from the scale. I am going to be adding muscle, which is denser than fat, burns more calories than fat. For the next month, I am going to let the holes in my belt tell me if I am making progress.

Regards,
Lux