Life After Carbs

A real person eating (mostly) real food

McGovern defeats Nixon!

By

As we gear up to elect a U.S. president next year, I'm thinking about the first presidential contest in which I took part. I had a small part. I voted. It was 1972, George McGovern  vs. Richard Nixon. The fate -- and as it turned out, the weight -- of the nation hung in the balance. Nixon won in an epic landslide. He was the incumbent, and viewed as a pragmatic centrist, if oily. McGovern was viewed as a left-wing pacifist weenie -- seldom a winning image in American national … [Read more...]

Of mice and strawberries

By

This year, after adopting a low-carb way of eating, I've eaten more strawberries than ever before. That's ironic since strawberries are sweet and sweet things are generally unwelcome when eating low-carb. But a half-dozen large strawberries have only about 35 calories and 6g net carbs (8 total carbs - 2 grams of fiber). Add some heavy cream, and you have a tasty, nutritious, low-carb dessert. Now comes news that eating 37 strawberries a day could lessen the risk of complications from diabetes. … [Read more...]

Leveling off is aggravating

By

Sooner or later, it seems to happen to every dieter. After a period of steady, or even spectacular, weight loss, the downward trend halts. You have landed on a plateau. Weeks go by, and the needle on the scale refuses to budge. This appears to be my situation. Back on August 27, I weighed 216.8 pounds. Yesterday, September 17, I weighed 215.6 pounds -- up a few tenths from the previous week. Granted, it isn't much of a plateau -- yet. I've read of others who have been stuck at a weight … [Read more...]

Governor wants Michiganders to shape up, will track fat kids

By

I live in Michigan, a beautiful state with a weak economy and a whole lot of fat people. Our governor, Rick Snyder, sees a connection between our economic and waste-line problems. He may have a point. Technically, I'm one of the fat Michiganders. My current body-mass index (BMI) puts me in the "overweight" category.  I've improved from obese, and am still losing, but for the moment I'm overweight, at least according to my BMI. (See my latest progress report.) About two-thirds of Michigan's … [Read more...]

Obesogenic: a new word for an old idea

By

A commentary by Jane E. Brody in yesterday's New York Times has a promising title: Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause. You have to admit, there's logic in that approach. There's logic, too, in Brody's central claim that we live in an environment that encourages, or at least enables, frequent eating and discourages, or at least enables the avoidance of,  exercise. But is that environment "obesogenic" as Brody and some of her sources claim? Does the modern world … [Read more...]

Study: lifetime “dose” of obesity linked to diabetes risk

By

My old alma mater is famous for a football stadium that seats (or at least wedges in) about 113,000 people, give or take a couple thousand. If the current obesity trend continues, it will get progressively harder to squeeze all those spectator butts into Michigan Stadium without the liberal use of butter. This lends special urgency to the research into the causes, consequences and cures for obesity, some of it being conducted across town in Ann Arbor at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. A … [Read more...]

Eating ancient wheat

By

I fell off the wagon one night, landing mouth-first in a small serving of pasta with meat sauce. Actually, I didn't fall off so much as hop off briefly. It was a calculated act, not a moment of weakness. My wife and I decided to try some fusilli (corkscrew pasta) made with einkorn wheat (a variety now considered a relic, first having been cultivated 12,000 years ago). I had read about this ancient wheat in reviews of Wheat Belly, a new book by Dr. William Davis. (For instance, see the reviews … [Read more...]

Progress Report 9-5-11: Six months on a low-carb diet

By

After half-a-year eating the low-carb way, I have good news to report on my weight and other health factors.  Last Friday I had my annual physical exam. The doctor's scale confirmed that I was 44 pounds lighter than at my physical a year ago, and 47 pounds lighter than my all-time highest recorded weight.  My doctor characterized my blood lipid numbers as "the best ever." "I'd prescribe a lot fewer meds if my patients just lost weight like this," he said. He noted that my Body-Mass Index a … [Read more...]

Helping the President raise awareness about childhood obesity

By

Happy National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month! That's right, September 2011 has been so proclaimed by President Obama. The President notes that a third of American children are obese or over-weight and urges "all Americans to take action by learning about and engaging in activities that promote healthy eating and greater physical activity by all our Nation's children." I can't find a place on the proclamation to leave a comment, so I'll do it here. Mr. President, I'm with you on the … [Read more...]

Low-carb omnivores of the world, unite!

By

Over the months that I've been eating a low-carb diet, my views on what that diet is have evolved considerably. First, at the start, I thought my goal was simply to lose weight, and that any improvements in my health would be the result of eliminating the beach ball of blubber that was my middle. Second, I thought that eating a low-carbohydrate diet meant eating lots of meat relative to other kinds of foods. In other words, being more carnivore than omnivore. Now I see better health as my … [Read more...]