Why Am I Not Losing Weight on LCHF? (Pt.4 - Effect a Change, a.k.a. The DIScomfort Zone)

Since I might not have been clear about things in the previous posts in this series on stubborn fat loss, allow me to clarify something before we add another post to the pile:

When I talk about carb and caloric intake, nutrient deficiencies, and thyroid function as factors that may be interfering with body fat loss, please know that I’m writing for the folks with significant amounts of body fat to lose: 30, 50, 100 pounds, or more. This series isn’t really intended for people who are looking to get rid of “the last ten pounds” (or five!). Of course, some of the concepts I write about might well be applicable to people who are in the home stretch, and if so, great. But to be honest, getting those last few pounds off—and keeping them off—may require slightly different methods than those that led to an initial, much larger loss. (Most of us recognize it’s very hard to lose those last few pounds, so if that’s all you’re trying to lose in the first place, you might face an even tougher battle than someone who wants to lose 100 pounds, but for whom the first 75 melted off relatively quickly.)

That being said, some of the general principles I’m going to address today could apply to anyone who’s struggling to lose body fat. Those among us who are working very hard to lose weight, but who aren’t making any headway, sometimes claim we’ve “tried everything.” We’ve “done everything” to lose weight, and “nothing works.”

Really?

Really?

You’ve tried everything?

Every single thing under the sun?

ITIS -- It's the Insulin, Stupid (pt 7/8)

Seven down, one to go!

 

As of this writing, the first post in this series has 5316 views, and part 6 has just 739. Quite a decline in readership there, so my sincerest thanks and appreciation to anyone out there who’s still with me. (If I am extremely verbose in written media, you’d be amazed how quiet I am in person.)

Last time, in part 6, I introduced my interpretation of the chain of causality regarding metabolic/endocrine dysregulation and the accumulation of body fat. Conventional medicine and nutrition hold that people get fat accumulate excess adipose tissue because they are lazy, greedy, gluttonous, and too sedentary. They eat too much and move too little. These shortcomings in willpower, discipline, and good morals lead to overweight & obesity, and overweight & obesity subsequently lead to diabetes, hypertension, infertility, heart disease, and more.

But you’ll recall that I believe differently. I believe it works like this:

Blood glucose & insulin dysregulation (hormonal/endocrine issues) ---> preferential use of glucose for energy + storage of excess energy (from carbohydrates and fat) in adipose tissue + inhibition of 
lipolysis ---> accumulation of adipose tissue.

In my theory, metabolic and hormonal abnormalities come first, and the accumulation of body fat is the result. I like that much, much better than the chain of causality that looks like this:

Laziness, greed, gluttony, sloth, character flaws ---> accumulation of body fat ---> "diabeetus"

Better than 80/20 - Exercise

(Warning: Remember to disregard what I said about writing shorter blog posts until after this one's done!)

Here it is, the last installment in my update on things going better than they were back when I posted about 80/20 being an improvement. We’ve already covered supplements and diet. Today’s focus: exercise. But the thing is, I hesitate to call it exercise, as I’m beginning to think of it more as movement. (To loyal reader P, pat yourself on the back.) I am “working out” less, but moving more. (But still working out. Keep reading and this will make sense.)

I saved this one for last because while I fully recognize the importance of regular physical movement for good health, I believe that for me, diet and supplementation are currently getting me the biggest bang for my buck. However, movement is not negotiable. At all. (And it is certainly getting me some bang for my buck.) If we think of health as a three-legged stool, diet and supplementation are only two legs, and without this critical third one, that stool is gonna fall down.

(I’m not going to get into specifics, like I do this many planks for this many minutes, or do this many sets of this many reps with this much weight. I’m not qualified to give advice about that, and also, I don’t want anyone laughing at me if I’m “doing it wrong.” I’ll give you the general stuff I do and why I do it. But you best believe nothing I do involves pink dumbbells.)

Book Review: The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance

Volek and Phinney. Good ol’ Jeff and Steve. I don’t know them, personally, but sometimes I refer to them by their first names in my head, because I’ve read enough of their work that I feel like I do. If you’ve never heard the names Jeff Volek and Steve Phinney, let me ask you one question: just how big is the rock sugar-and corn-syrup covered mass of bread you’ve been living under? I say this because these two men are among the most influential and prolific researchers in the world of low carbohydrate nutrition, and if you have no idea who they are, I can only assume you’re still eating Frosted Flakes for breakfast (with skim milk, of course, because we all know the fat will kill you).

Don’t believe me? Do a little PubMedding and you’ll get the idea. (Yes, I just turned PubMed into a verb. Hey, if people can do it with “Google,” then surely I can do it with PubMed. Here are the results for Jeff Volek and here are the ones for Steve Phinney. These guys ain’t no slouches.)

These two partners in crime awesomeness are the dynamic duo behind the book, The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living (which I will refer to as “Living”). Along with Dr. Eric Westman, they also authored The New Atkins for a New You. So yeah, these guys know their stuff.