Get Gary Fit

The type of calories consumed do affect weight gain. The body balances itself out. If you ever have felt that you had “pent up energy” and wanted to run about… well it was pent up. Personally, I’ve noticed that if I load up on Paleo foods that I will feel like I have more energy. This is the body’s way to balance and expend excess calories consumed.

However, as with carbohydrates, they are stored as fat instead of being converted to usable energy. Then with a  low calorie, low-fat, high carbohydrate diet then this is a triple hit. I’ve experienced this in my life. I’d lose a little bit of weight, most of which muscle, and watch my “belly” grow. The once off the “diet”, gain back what I lost and then some. Often looking fatter.

The body is hungry, and one eats carbs which are then stored as fat. Little of those calories are converted to usable energy. The body conserves energy being used to compensate for such. On top of that, one is consuming less calories and instinctively metabolism slows and the body tries to conserve energy being spent.  A cycle that repeats to “fatten” one up.

What has been working best for me is to eat plenty of naturally fatty grass-fed free-range meats, vegetables, and fruit. Meanwhile ending / limiting the consumption of flour, sugar, processed snacks, potatoes, pasta and other carbohydrates.

More to come.

Two years ago, in 2009, I had a lipid panel taken. My triglycerides were 336. “Normal level” should be about 130. My doctor told me to eat a low-fat diet and exercise. The problem about the low-fat diet, is that it will lower both HDL and LDL. Both of mine were low.

However, a low HDL will raise triglycerides. It was making it worse. I remembered the days of me trying The South Beach Diet so I went that route. It helped. My weight dropped. I was eating very little carbohydrates, cooking with olive oil, and ate no processed food.

Little did I know that the oleic acid found in olive oil raises HDL while lowering LDL without consuming more carbohydrates. And as an added benefit your triglycerides go down because HDL went up. I’ve scheduled a doctor’s appointment on August 11th, will try to get another lipid panel done to monitor any improvements. Gotta keep fit.

People would tell me, “Oh, it’s just water weight.” when I would start eating a low carbohydrate diet. This would be said to make it sound “easy” or dismiss my diet changes. I then would feel guilty, thinking it was unhealthy dehydration.

To the contrary. Endocrinologist Edward Gordon and Walter Bloom of Atlanta’s Piedmont Hospital both noted that carbohydrates, which spiked insulin, caused one to retain sodium and water. Thus lowering carbohydrates also lowered sodium. And lowering sodium caused the kidneys to no longer hold on to salt but to excrete it via urine. Since water was needed to balance high sodium levels in the body it too was excreted as no longer needed. Balance.

I for one am glad and proud to have lost water weight. My body is adjusting itself. To me, no bloat is better.