I Thought I Knew
I frequently listen to this podcast called, “Make Me Smart”. The host always asks guest this question: “What is something that you thought you knew, but later found out you were wrong about.”
Let that sink in for a few minutes. When I am honest with myself, I find that I have a lot of opinions, but often I am wrong. They are my opinion. I try to get the facts, but I fail too often.
I’m going to used food as an example. Yes, Food. Wikipedia says this about food:
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for an organism. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells to provide energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth.
Historically, humans secured food through two methods: hunting and gathering and agriculture. Today, the majority of the food energy required by the ever increasing population of the world is supplied by the food industry. (Source: Wikipedia).
I think I always ‘knew’ this about food. It was what I ate to get by until the next meal. Sometime around 2002, I decide to loose weight. I was focused on a moderate macronutrient mix that was low in fat, and with plenty of protein. Coupled with lots of heavy weights and cardio, I was able to achieve some lofty goals. My body fat was around 5%. I didn’t feel great, but I was lean.
I remember thinking I understood how to get lean. I knew how to lose weight. I heard about many other diets, but this has to be the best way.
Fast forward to about 6 weeks ago. I had my annual doctor wellness exam. I was chucked with the results: elevated blood glucose levels. It was 140 to be exact. I knew it was the food I was consuming, but what was I going to do about it.
Given my intolerance to lactose, many of the foods I had eaten to get lean before would not work. My son Ben had recently discovered this book on Food (by the same title). I read it, and decide to give it a go. Why? Because one of main ideas in the book is to eliminate sugar. It also had me eliminate gluten, starchy carbs and processed foods in general. I jumped in with everything I had.
The results: I am down 15 lbs and my glucose is down to 101. That was in 5 weeks. What is more interesting is that the pain I have had in my knees for years is gone. Some of that could be due to weight lost, but it happened in the first few days. I believe it is due to the anti inflammatory nature of the foods I am eating.
As it turns out, I am in ketosis. I heard about ketogenic diets in the 90s and would never consider such a a diet. This is where I was wrong. I can’t believe how good I feel. I will have another blood test in a few weeks and we will see how I am progressing. I will be monitoring my cholesterol levels (good and bad) and other risk factors, but so far, I am impressed.
It may not work this way for everyone, but I am having no cravings. No Sugar cravings, no chocolate cravings ... nothing.
I am not about to lower my bodyfat to low levels like I did 13 years ago. I am going to continue eating unprocessed foods. I am not counting calories . I am just eating clean and enjoying good food.
To learn more, here is the book that got me started. Food: What the Heck Should I Eat
Now what else was I wrong about .. that’s a long list.
~ Rick
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