It has been a year since I did my second version of Jack Kruse's leptin reset.
This week, I found and read through a little notebook with notes on the reset. At the time, I had planned several trips out of town, and so I wanted a compact format. This was also at the time when I started having lots of trouble with those [redacted]people, so I was reluctant to rely upon either them or any other computerized tracking system. After my trips, I abandoned the little notebook, so it was fun reading through it again.
I had started the leptin reset in the summer of 2011 when my lowish carb diet wasn't working well. In May, I started a couple of days of strict low carb, and then Drs. Eades free Metabosol came in the mail. I did the Metabosol throughout the first weeks in June, but after a few pizza meals, I was back to where I started, even up a couple of pounds, so I decided to abandon that plan and start the leptin reset in earnest in July.
By the beginning of that August, I had lost around 5 pounds on the leptin reset, was feeling much better and controlling carb cravings like never before. But, the success was short-lived, and I resumed my difficulty with carbs and gained all the weight and then some by fall.
In January 2012, I did the leptin reset again, this time for about 6 weeks before starting back in with the exercise. I lost more weight this time, and a total of around 15 pounds by the end of the "Paleo on 100 dollars a month challenge" in March. By this time, I had also started CT.
Throughout the summer, I added in a few more carbs, and quit monitoring my food and weight so regularly. The result was that I gained back the weight. By the beginning of 2013 I was exactly the same weight as I was the year before, but with some differences.
No chronic cardio, no regular strength training. I just live my regular active life, go on hikes here and there, and stretch if I feel un-stretchy.
Work like crazy to get wheat out of my diet. I realize now how delicate my improvements are, and how easy it is to get completely out of balance.
Eliminated the need for sleep medication. I started using progesterone, which has helped in so many ways. Even though it has contributed to my weight gain, it has made me much more accommodating to all types of stresses, like from heat and exercise. I also respond to carbohydrates differently, which can be alternatively a good thing and a dangerous thing. I think I am much more careful with carbohydrates while on progesterone because, while I can take a few more hits, when things go south, they go south much more rapidly.
Better body proportions. I weigh more but my clothing fits differently. People say I look better, younger and my skin is much better.
CT around once or twice a week. This usually involves going to the beach at least once a week and getting in the water for quite a long time, taking mostly cold showers and being in cold air some part of the day except for in the summer.
Moving back more towards a macrobiotic-but-grain-free diet consisting of more seafood, sea vegetables and seasonal food. I was never on strict epi-paleo. My carb and vegetable consumption is much higher. Not as high as what Dr. Wahls recommends, but much higher than what Jack recommends.
Lab-free. I haven't been sick, haven't been to the doctor for awhile, and I don't even know what my cholesterol levels are. I have my blood pressure measured when I give blood, and it is at high-school level (110/70).
I know how to get back on track. When the diet is hard to follow and I am craving carbs, I know I have moved from fat-burning territory back into carb-burning. The best way I have found to get back is to use Metabosol for a few days and also some CT.
Here are the conclusions I have made about the leptin reset:
1. The results are not permanent. I need to continue to be vigilant about diet. ANY higher-carb diet that I eat to satiety results in weight gain.
2. CT does not work for weight loss.
In the coming months, I'll be eating a basic whole foods low carb diet, with seasonal fruits and vegetables. I plan on a lifestyle of "deep seasonality". During the past months, while reading up on macrobiotics in prep for some blog posts, I really did see how much many similarities between where paleo is going and where macrobiotics already is.
During the past few weeks, I have also noticed that in the vegan, low carb, and Kruse-world communities, despite the advances in diet choices, lots of people are still mean and nasty. I found the Optimal Health Cave, but I immediately started having problems with some very difficult people on both sides of the current argument over the validity of some of Jack's EMF theories. So, I am trying to pull myself out of all that muck while I unfriend or "foe" certain people, and try my best not to be that way myself.
While I am not following the Leptin Reset to the letter anymore, I do think that while Dr. Kruse's understanding of physics and electronics seems atrocious, I think there is really something to the idea that EMF is polluting. I will continue my research and experimentation on this subject, but mostly off-line. I really agree with Jack, that there were some "askholes" on his site, and I am just not going to deal with their crap, so the best way to do that is to keep in touch with my IRL friends who know quite a bit about grounding and faraday cages. But, I was extremely disappointed in Jack's responses to many other participants, who had deep and real questions and concerns that I think need to be dealt with. Jack needs to understand that if his theories are so mind-blowing, groundbreaking, and life-changing, then why is he still a Jackhole? Slamming people on minor technicalities alternating with the posting of pithy motivational phrases lifted from others indicates he still has some balance work to do. It is true, people who insist that they have all the answers to the universe are held to a higher standard of behavior.
Recently, dealing with some of these people was like dealing with some of the Paleo/lc debates. I am not into debate, I am into inquiry, discussion and exploration, and finding things that work. Sooner or later, any fine discussion gets taken over by the high school debate teams, full of those pimply-faced nerds who couldn't even get on the "C" basketball team, which muck it up for every true seeker. I think nothing is ever settled by debate, only things torn down.
That means I'll be reconnecting with that neighborhood nerdy kid who became an astrophysicist, that radio guy who builds faraday cages as a hobby, and others who effing love science.
Showing posts with label macrobiotics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label macrobiotics. Show all posts
Friday, March 1, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
Slouching Towards Macrobiotics - Who thought of it First? Part 2
I love how a blog series drives up my traffic!! Today's quiz will be easy for most of my dear and faithful readers.
This diet was promoted by a concerned fellow citizen of the world who felt that our diet was ruining the planet. Not ecologically, necessarily, but spiritually, or morally, well not sure on that. Of course, the experts thought all that was bunk....
To correct the imbalance, food was supposed to be grown, harvested, prepared and eaten in a natural state. Meats were to be a small item on the table, and all food was to be gently prepared by steaming, braising and cooking with low heat.
Food was not to be seasoned with gobs of sugary and chemical-laden sauces purchased from the grocery store, but was to be carefully seasoned with tiny amounts of natural ingredients or home-prepared condiments. Most foods were to be eaten plain, with no seasoning added at all. Herbs and spices were discouraged, and reserved only for special occasions, like illness. Herbs and spices were seen more as a drug, and with unintended consequences (like lack of balance, or even obesity) if consumed regularly.
OK, you're probably thinking right now, trick me once, but never twice, 'cause you can tell by the title that this is the same sort of trick that I tried to pull when I used that title the last time.
And....DING DING DING DING DING... you are correct. This is a trick blog post. Who is this guru? It's Michio Kushi again. Not Dr. Guyenet. By the way, I eventually gained weight on this macrobiotic diet, so not only is Dr. G wrong, he's not even first! Not good for a PhD, not good at all, to not be first, that is. And to top all of that, a REAL doctor from a REAL school like Harvard has declared macrobiotics to be a fad diet and many of its fans to be eating-disordered, at least more disordered than paleo.
And here's a little end-note, to educate some of the experts. People who flock from fad to fad are just seekers who haven't found the diet that is right for their situation. Maybe some of the anxiety is caused by brain chemicals, but I'll suspect lots of the anxiety comes from the trashy way society treats fat people, and the un-ease fat people feel about their continued placement in that fat camp. So, it is good that Dr. Emily continues to clarify her position on eating disorders, and I hope she continues to herd the tribe towards a suitable and civil response to the camp.
This diet was promoted by a concerned fellow citizen of the world who felt that our diet was ruining the planet. Not ecologically, necessarily, but spiritually, or morally, well not sure on that. Of course, the experts thought all that was bunk....
To correct the imbalance, food was supposed to be grown, harvested, prepared and eaten in a natural state. Meats were to be a small item on the table, and all food was to be gently prepared by steaming, braising and cooking with low heat.
Food was not to be seasoned with gobs of sugary and chemical-laden sauces purchased from the grocery store, but was to be carefully seasoned with tiny amounts of natural ingredients or home-prepared condiments. Most foods were to be eaten plain, with no seasoning added at all. Herbs and spices were discouraged, and reserved only for special occasions, like illness. Herbs and spices were seen more as a drug, and with unintended consequences (like lack of balance, or even obesity) if consumed regularly.
OK, you're probably thinking right now, trick me once, but never twice, 'cause you can tell by the title that this is the same sort of trick that I tried to pull when I used that title the last time.
And....DING DING DING DING DING... you are correct. This is a trick blog post. Who is this guru? It's Michio Kushi again. Not Dr. Guyenet. By the way, I eventually gained weight on this macrobiotic diet, so not only is Dr. G wrong, he's not even first! Not good for a PhD, not good at all, to not be first, that is. And to top all of that, a REAL doctor from a REAL school like Harvard has declared macrobiotics to be a fad diet and many of its fans to be eating-disordered, at least more disordered than paleo.
And here's a little end-note, to educate some of the experts. People who flock from fad to fad are just seekers who haven't found the diet that is right for their situation. Maybe some of the anxiety is caused by brain chemicals, but I'll suspect lots of the anxiety comes from the trashy way society treats fat people, and the un-ease fat people feel about their continued placement in that fat camp. So, it is good that Dr. Emily continues to clarify her position on eating disorders, and I hope she continues to herd the tribe towards a suitable and civil response to the camp.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Slouching towards Macrobiotics - Who thought of it first? - Part 1
It seems like there is this common pattern.
Passionate guru/longevity-expert bursts on the scene, after some serious revelation, filling the world with his ideas for getting healthy, staying lean, and living the (real) high life. Some aren't impressed, especially the food fascists like dietitians, who declare the recommended diet to be unhealthful because "it eliminates too many healthy foods", particularly fruits and vegetables and even dairy.
But soon, sick and forgotten groupies flock to the program, and they feel better for doing it, despite the sacrifices. It is said to cure or eliminate cancer.
It is not just a diet, but it is a lifestyle. In addition to the diet rules, which are based on a balance of cosmic and earth energies that science cannot seem to prove or disprove, participants are told that where they live matters in respect to their health, intelligence and reproductive fitness. They follow an organic whole-foods seasonal diet, make fermented foods, enjoy plenty of the fruits of the sea, cook on a gas or wood stove (no microwave here, ma'am!). They keep their homes simple, full of natural stone floors, simple furnishings, natural heating methods, natural lighting. There is no room for plastic shoes, plastic take-out containers, plastic clothing, plastic anything, really. Clocks, TV, other electrical appliances, well, not in the bedroom please, and no eating right before bed. There should be fresh air and time spent outdoors every day, and of course, no fluorescent lights when indoors, and TV and computer use is strictly limited, because electro-magnetic radiation is unhealthy, unless of course, you're playing at an ocean beach.
It is weird. The participants buy weird food, eat weird, dress weird, live weird. Their families can be supportive, or not. All the regular gurus are not supportive. It is a dangerous fad. This guy is nuts. It is fake. Don't do it. Yes, you can eventually get down to two meals a day, but who cares?
The guru was fond of admonishing his followers for not following local, seasonal activities, but then his proclamations were made based upon his own locale. Still, there was not alot of wiggle-room on the rules, no matter where participants lived. Of course, abut the worst thing one could do is eat a banana in winter in Canada. The second worst thing would be to eat a banana in the summer in Canada.
Some of the controversial conclusions of the guru involve the differences between men and women, and the differences (including intelligence) between people's living at different parts of the globe. This belief results in the intention of the participants to move to different parts of the globe and to look down on other cultures as less in intelligence and certainly health. Some lament, why can't it just be about a few diet rules? Why do I have to remodel my whole house, re-do my cooking equipment, or move altogether? And then there is all the accompanying woo-woo philosophy...Cosmic and earth energy raining down (and up?) on us, encouraged or discouraged by our food choices....syncretic adoption of Asian spirituality....dependence on mountaintop retreats and revelations...circles and spirals of improvement, just like the tides.....and that stupid idea that any participant/groupie had to run anything up the guru flagpole in order to find out if it was safe to eat, wear, whatever......it will all be revealed shortly.....
If you think I am talkin' about Jack Kruse, here, you'd be wrong. It's about Michio Kushi, a popular choice for the founder of modern macrobiotics. Hey, but what about the others? Ever heard of Dr. Hufeland? I never heard of him either. Michio is the guy who wrote some books about it more recently and started the expensive seminars. I guess that is why he gets to be the guy who takes all the credit. Certainly not Don Matesz.
P.S. as for the shameless title theft, thank you Dr. Feinman. And, of course, This.
Passionate guru/longevity-expert bursts on the scene, after some serious revelation, filling the world with his ideas for getting healthy, staying lean, and living the (real) high life. Some aren't impressed, especially the food fascists like dietitians, who declare the recommended diet to be unhealthful because "it eliminates too many healthy foods", particularly fruits and vegetables and even dairy.
But soon, sick and forgotten groupies flock to the program, and they feel better for doing it, despite the sacrifices. It is said to cure or eliminate cancer.
It is not just a diet, but it is a lifestyle. In addition to the diet rules, which are based on a balance of cosmic and earth energies that science cannot seem to prove or disprove, participants are told that where they live matters in respect to their health, intelligence and reproductive fitness. They follow an organic whole-foods seasonal diet, make fermented foods, enjoy plenty of the fruits of the sea, cook on a gas or wood stove (no microwave here, ma'am!). They keep their homes simple, full of natural stone floors, simple furnishings, natural heating methods, natural lighting. There is no room for plastic shoes, plastic take-out containers, plastic clothing, plastic anything, really. Clocks, TV, other electrical appliances, well, not in the bedroom please, and no eating right before bed. There should be fresh air and time spent outdoors every day, and of course, no fluorescent lights when indoors, and TV and computer use is strictly limited, because electro-magnetic radiation is unhealthy, unless of course, you're playing at an ocean beach.
It is weird. The participants buy weird food, eat weird, dress weird, live weird. Their families can be supportive, or not. All the regular gurus are not supportive. It is a dangerous fad. This guy is nuts. It is fake. Don't do it. Yes, you can eventually get down to two meals a day, but who cares?
The guru was fond of admonishing his followers for not following local, seasonal activities, but then his proclamations were made based upon his own locale. Still, there was not alot of wiggle-room on the rules, no matter where participants lived. Of course, abut the worst thing one could do is eat a banana in winter in Canada. The second worst thing would be to eat a banana in the summer in Canada.
Some of the controversial conclusions of the guru involve the differences between men and women, and the differences (including intelligence) between people's living at different parts of the globe. This belief results in the intention of the participants to move to different parts of the globe and to look down on other cultures as less in intelligence and certainly health. Some lament, why can't it just be about a few diet rules? Why do I have to remodel my whole house, re-do my cooking equipment, or move altogether? And then there is all the accompanying woo-woo philosophy...Cosmic and earth energy raining down (and up?) on us, encouraged or discouraged by our food choices....syncretic adoption of Asian spirituality....dependence on mountaintop retreats and revelations...circles and spirals of improvement, just like the tides.....and that stupid idea that any participant/groupie had to run anything up the guru flagpole in order to find out if it was safe to eat, wear, whatever......it will all be revealed shortly.....
If you think I am talkin' about Jack Kruse, here, you'd be wrong. It's about Michio Kushi, a popular choice for the founder of modern macrobiotics. Hey, but what about the others? Ever heard of Dr. Hufeland? I never heard of him either. Michio is the guy who wrote some books about it more recently and started the expensive seminars. I guess that is why he gets to be the guy who takes all the credit. Certainly not Don Matesz.
P.S. as for the shameless title theft, thank you Dr. Feinman. And, of course, This.
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