Embrace New Science

The nice thing about science is...it is always changing. Just because the experts spouted the "standard/accepted wisdom" from years ago as the accepted weight-loss science, just know... THINGS CHANGE!!!!!

I am losing approximately 3- 4 pounds a week. The only time I don't lose is when I decide to add sugar to my diet (sugar is addictive, but that is a separate discussion). I've been told I'm losing too fast and I won't keep it off - REALLY? Why should the speed of my weight loss make a difference in how long I keep it off. I figure the thing that could trip me up is to go back to eating the way I did before.

People who are trying to lose weight frequently ask me how I am doing it. I tell them that I eat almost exclusively fruits and vegetables- raw and cooked, no sugar, no alcohol, very little meat (less than twice a month will I have a dinner or lunch with any meat - and that includes chicken and fish), I only eat when I'm truly hungry. And I avoid the trap of eating "small meals" throughout the day.

That last part is the advice that got me in "trouble". The old wisdom is to eat small meals throughout the day to keep you fueled and staves off "hunger". What it really does is keep your blood sugar up and your insulin too. Too much insulin and you don't burn your fat, you can't. Also, the studies find that when you eat all those meals throughout the day is you tend to underestimate how much you are eating and you eat more than your body needs.

The other part that got me in "trouble" is that a study that says if you want to burn fat you need to exercise on an empty stomach. Again, not the accepted wisdom, but I read about the study. (The same book also gave me some advice about exercising smarter, but again, that is for a separate discussion).

I love reading. I love learning. I love the fact that things change. I found something that works for me and my husband and has worked for others just as easily, but it is "unconventional" because it is new science. Embrace the new science.