I bring you greetings from my people...

So as I continue to lose weight I have become an ambassador to friends and family.  Not an ambassador of "Black People" (although, I do bring greetings from them too ;)  ) But instead, it seems I now represent all Low Carbers.

When you decide to go all low carb, you are a very confusing person to a great many people. Some immediately curse you and your black magic (I kid you not. Some people who hear how I eat have the most negative reaction I've ever seen. You'd think I'm on the "Smoke Crack" Diet or perhaps the "Sacrifice Carbs to Satan" diet) and others will volunteer their inability to follow the low carb lifestyle, because OBVIOUSLY I really wanted to know that they couldn't POSSIBLY live with out carbs. That's what "No thank you" to the cake they offered me ACTUALLY means. 

I am soon asked many questions about my people and our customs. What if I were on a desert island and there was only loafs and loafs of bread.  What would I do? Aren't I afraid that I'm going to get fat in a month or 2? ATKINS DIED FROM EATING TOO MUCH FAT! 

Lord.

I assure you, this is just the tip of the iceberg lettuce. (Get it!?)  But alas, this is your new life when you low carb it.  What I've learned to do is explain to people this isn't a phase or wacky idea. This is a lifestyle choice. I don't fear getting fat because I'm not doing anything to get me fat. I'm not "dieting" per say. I'm eating whats best for me. You can't say a man who just had a rib eye steak for breakfast "dieting." It's just not possible. 

I don't have the energy to educate everyone I run into who watches too much Oprah or "has a friend who's a dietitian who says that low carb is dangerous! Ketosis can KILL YOU!" I know, I know. I'm on deaths doorstep.  That's why I'm losing all this weight! It's because I'm DYING! It's like AIDS, but worst.  Thank God someone was smart enough to tell me about it otherwise I might continue this horrendous life of perfect blood glucose readings and weight loss. 

Sorry. My sarcasm meter is on HIGH today. I will make sure to update more often so that when i do show up here I'm not so mean ;).

Not losing weight while IN KETOSIS? There's a few good reasons...

So I've been on a fairly steady downward spiral when it comes to weight loss.

I've been ecstatic. The whole low carb thing has been really working out for me. I was 252.8 in the beginning of February and now, NOW, I'm 225 - even. And? I've been 225 even for a few days now. It's driving me nuts.

I've read numerous places that a plateau is somewhere around 3 weeks or less. A weight loss stall is around 4 weeks or more. I realize 3 or 4 days isn't something to freak out over but seriously...WTF?

I've been searching the web to explain to me how can I be so ketogenic - my Ketostix have been virtually black - but my weight loss has completely stopped. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE.

Enter Dr. Michael R. Eades.

From The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D. - Low-carb and calories - 5|27|08
"On a low-carb diet your body burns fat for energy. But it doesn’t care where this fat comes from; it can come from the diet or it can come from the fat cells or it can come from both. If you are consuming enough fat to meet all your body’s requirements, your body won’t go after the fat in the fat cells no matter how severely you restrict your carbs. You will burn dietary fat only and no body fat."

Jesus. I totally wasn't thinking about that.

I've been so strict with my carbs. SO flonkin' strict that I came up with a cream based glaze for my pork ribs instead of the regular BBQ stuff for fear of carbs. But you know what pork ribs have a ridiculous amount of? FAT. Delicious, awesome, fat. It tastes spectacular after being slow cooked. But again, really, really fatty. I can easily understand my body running on that as opposed to the my fat stores. Eating ribs for days at a time, plus some steak, eggs, cheese and other wackiness has not raised my weight but definitely stopped everything.

I understand that once you drop that first 10 percent of your body weight things can get tough. It's argued that if you've ever maintained at a particular weight your body remembers that and tries to do it again on the way down. 225 was the lightest I've been in my Adulthood and that could also play a part in my being stuck. I'm not taking any of these answers laying down though. I'm cutting fat, upping protein, but above all else NOT DROPPING CALORIES. Last thing I need is to lower my metabolism. I've gone to the gym for the past 2 days and will be in there tomorrow with some serious weight training. I don't take things lying down!

TO BE CONTINUED.

New England Journal of Medicine can suck it.

Yes, I am very mature, thank you.

So in the past few months I've read a ridiculous amount of information on weight loss, obesity and more. Also, I've argued quite a bit when it comes to the virtues of the Low Carb diet. (Strange how that works) What I've run into time and time again is one argument in particular. The idea that a diet, is a diet, is a diet. It's not about what you eat, its about your calorie intake. That. Is. It.

I now will re-state what has been stated more articulately than me but, my God it's been driving me nuts sooooo, here I go.

The NEJM sites a study that uses what it calls a Low Carbohydrate diet. 35% of daily calories come from Carbs. In the study it "proves" that no matter what type of diet you choose to go with in the end its really all about the calories. So all you Low Carbers, why don't you go get a life and stop constantly expousing on the virtues of the Low Carb lifestyle. How it helps you lose weight cause its now proven to be ALL CRAP! Take THAT Low Carbers...

Ahem, guess what? That's NOT a Low Carb diet. Why do people LOVE to keep saying that? A low carb diet keeps carbs under 100 grams a day. Some even suggest 50 grams. The idea is to get into some sort of ketogenic state. But they didn't want to do the whole Low Carb thing CORRECTLY because...

The study compared high quality, heart healthy diets and "not the gimmicky popular versions," said Katz, who had no role in the study. Some popular low-carb diets tend to be low in fiber and have a relatively high intake of saturated fat, he said.

Ah, THATS why you didn't actually use a real low carb. It wasn't HEART friendly. Got it. That's reasonable right? Right? Because ACTUAL Low Carb diets are gimmicky. You know how gimmicky they can be, with their reducing cholesterol, Triglycerides and LDL( ugh. dumb ass Low Carb, life extending diets.

So in my first declaration of sucking it, but i'm sure not my last, here's to you New England Journal of Medicine. Not because you've never put out solid science, (NEJM has actually pointed out in the past that low carb diets do in fact work! )but because you should have known better. Of all people you guys should know what a Low Carb diet is.