This week has been a tough one. On Wednesday evening there was a terrible wreck involving children of church friends on their way to Wed. evening church activity. After jaws of life and a medflight to Children's Hospital, the worst fears are past...no spinal cord injuries or brain damage or death. These are life altering injuries, however. And then the granddaughter of another church friend is having brain surgery today to try to take care of bleeding in her brain from a fall sustained two days ago. All of this is just a reminder of how fast life can change. Something similar happened to me two years ago when my dad had a stroke. In an instant, your life is changed.
I have known all my life that we have never been promised a life of ease and no suffering, but somehow we come to expect that, don't we? It is times like these that will make or break one's faith in God. I know He can work good through evil and pray that He will hold these friends close as they are pressed to the limit.
School has started up for the fall term and I am beginning my second year of retirement. Last year I was so consumed with trying to get my dad and daughter settled that I never even noticed that I did not get up and go to work every day. Now I have the time to prioritize my days. I pray that I will put them to good use and always remember what is important.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Biochemistry and No Snacks
Disclaimer: I am not a scientist which will become obvious as I try to explain the truths I have learned about biochemistry and snacking. But I think if I can get my beliefs in front of me it will help inform my decisions better, as in, "shut the refrigerator door and go to bed!" Entire books have been written on each of these hormones and I have probably oversimplified their roles. But this is the way I see it. There is a kind of hormonal dance going on throughout our cells. The food we eat and when we eat that food is directing the hormonal dance. I know the following information should be cited, but I have just gathered notes from various books, blogs, and essays and you can google most of this information. So anyone using this material should go to primary sources.
3 Important Hormones and how they relate to the No Snacking Rule
Leptin:
Leptin sensitivity and leptin resistance determine the human energy balance. Leptin is to humans as photosynthesis is to plants. It is the most powerful hormone in the human body. What does this have to do with snacking? There is a 24 hour leptin pattern. Leptin levels rise at night, are the highest the first two hours of sleep, fall during the evening, and are lowest around noon. A high leptin level tells a person that she is full. It is normal not to be hungry after supper. Not eating after supper and going 11-12 hours until breakfast is fundamental for establishing healthy patterns of hormones. Improperly timed eating can disrupt all of our hormones and it throws the body out of rhythm. Sleep is our primary fat burning time. But this can only happen when no food has been eaten for 11-12 hours. During the night the body gradually begins to burn a higher portion of fat for fuel. The 9-12 hours after supper is when the body can access the fat stores in the buttocks, thighs, and stomach. Sounds good to me! If anything is eaten before bed, this prime fat burning time is shut off! So no snacking after supper is a good rule and it is simply a fact of biochemistry.
Insulin:
Insulin carries glucose to various cells. If we overeat at mealtime (seconds) or eat in between meals (snacks) insulin takes the glucose to the liver, muscles, etc. to be dropped off. But the cells do not need the fuel so they refuse the delivery and turn off the receptors for insulin. This is insulin resistance. And the liver can become insulin resistant. Eating between meals causes the liver to retain the calories it has in storage. A person who has a "clogged" liver suffers from fatigue, is tired easily by stress, has difficulty going 5 or 6 hours without eating, and the liver turns the calories into fat. Fatigue and getting hungry too often are evidence of an out of shape liver.
Ghrelin:
Ghrelin is a hormone produced in the stomach that signals that it is time to eat. Cells in the stomach release this hormone which is controlled by a circadian clock that is set by mealtime patterns. Scientists call this group of hormones the timekeepers of hunger. In a normal weight person, ghrelin rises before meals to signal hunger. When leptin is too high in the overweight individual, ghrelin loses its normal function. In an overweight person ghrelin levels before eating are lower than normal, and the levels will stay high after food is eaten. This stimulates excess eating and especially excess eating of carbohydrates. Eating between meals throws off the natural hormonal signals.We need to "set our clocks" by eating at meal times and not in between.
When we eat in between meals or after our last meal at night, we are messing with our hormones and their signaling to each other. There needs to be five or six hours between meals so that our wonderfully designed bodies can work their magic. When we snack, even on healthy foods, we are messing with the hormonal communication which controls our appetite and hunger signals as well as fat burning and/or storage.
So whether Reinhard (the NoS guru) knew all of this hormonal stuff or not when he said No Snacks, it is nevertheless sound biochemistry. So much for those folks who advocate eating healthy snacks between meals. They just don't know how the innocent snack interferes with our hormonal balance. Very few people have low blood sugar and need a snack. If they do, they should be monitoring there blood sugar to know for sure.
Now knowing these truths about hormones (and there is more when you add in cortisol and estrogen) I am more inspired to get them regulated. I am eating a big protein breakfast without any carbohydrates, waiting at least 5 hours for a light lunch, and then no snacking until supper which needs to end by 7:00.
3 Important Hormones and how they relate to the No Snacking Rule
Leptin:
Leptin sensitivity and leptin resistance determine the human energy balance. Leptin is to humans as photosynthesis is to plants. It is the most powerful hormone in the human body. What does this have to do with snacking? There is a 24 hour leptin pattern. Leptin levels rise at night, are the highest the first two hours of sleep, fall during the evening, and are lowest around noon. A high leptin level tells a person that she is full. It is normal not to be hungry after supper. Not eating after supper and going 11-12 hours until breakfast is fundamental for establishing healthy patterns of hormones. Improperly timed eating can disrupt all of our hormones and it throws the body out of rhythm. Sleep is our primary fat burning time. But this can only happen when no food has been eaten for 11-12 hours. During the night the body gradually begins to burn a higher portion of fat for fuel. The 9-12 hours after supper is when the body can access the fat stores in the buttocks, thighs, and stomach. Sounds good to me! If anything is eaten before bed, this prime fat burning time is shut off! So no snacking after supper is a good rule and it is simply a fact of biochemistry.
Insulin:
Insulin carries glucose to various cells. If we overeat at mealtime (seconds) or eat in between meals (snacks) insulin takes the glucose to the liver, muscles, etc. to be dropped off. But the cells do not need the fuel so they refuse the delivery and turn off the receptors for insulin. This is insulin resistance. And the liver can become insulin resistant. Eating between meals causes the liver to retain the calories it has in storage. A person who has a "clogged" liver suffers from fatigue, is tired easily by stress, has difficulty going 5 or 6 hours without eating, and the liver turns the calories into fat. Fatigue and getting hungry too often are evidence of an out of shape liver.
Ghrelin:
Ghrelin is a hormone produced in the stomach that signals that it is time to eat. Cells in the stomach release this hormone which is controlled by a circadian clock that is set by mealtime patterns. Scientists call this group of hormones the timekeepers of hunger. In a normal weight person, ghrelin rises before meals to signal hunger. When leptin is too high in the overweight individual, ghrelin loses its normal function. In an overweight person ghrelin levels before eating are lower than normal, and the levels will stay high after food is eaten. This stimulates excess eating and especially excess eating of carbohydrates. Eating between meals throws off the natural hormonal signals.We need to "set our clocks" by eating at meal times and not in between.
When we eat in between meals or after our last meal at night, we are messing with our hormones and their signaling to each other. There needs to be five or six hours between meals so that our wonderfully designed bodies can work their magic. When we snack, even on healthy foods, we are messing with the hormonal communication which controls our appetite and hunger signals as well as fat burning and/or storage.
So whether Reinhard (the NoS guru) knew all of this hormonal stuff or not when he said No Snacks, it is nevertheless sound biochemistry. So much for those folks who advocate eating healthy snacks between meals. They just don't know how the innocent snack interferes with our hormonal balance. Very few people have low blood sugar and need a snack. If they do, they should be monitoring there blood sugar to know for sure.
Now knowing these truths about hormones (and there is more when you add in cortisol and estrogen) I am more inspired to get them regulated. I am eating a big protein breakfast without any carbohydrates, waiting at least 5 hours for a light lunch, and then no snacking until supper which needs to end by 7:00.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Roots
For most of my adult life I have been on some sort of eating plan. Usually my top priority has been losing or maintaining a weight loss. However, I have always been very health conscious and never really went on any crazy fad diets. I am really angry at the dietary information that has been foisted on the public from the so called medical and science community. I spent way too many years trying to eat "heart healthy," limiting eggs, avoiding saturated fat and butter, using vegetables oils and low fat dairy.
Now my goal is to locate food that my great grandmother would recognize. Local farmers do have their beef for sale. I have a calf reserved for me this fall and a new freezer with enough room to store my half. There is no way I can get a totally pastured animal, but this is better than the feedlot supermarket choices. I have also found an egg lady. I know that her chickens are not totally pastured, but the eggs are certainly lower in omega 6s than the battery eggs that would be my other choice. I have found a local source of raw milk cheese and have found pastured butter. The local farmer's markets do have fresh produce. One grocery store carries cream that is pasteurized, but not ultra pasteurized. Imagine cream lasting for more than a month! And, by reading the fine print, I have found some Alaskan salmon that is wild and frozen in Alaska, not China. I have started making my own mayonnaise, salad dressings, and barbeque sauce. I had to find a butcher in another town before I could actually find any marrow bones to make beef broth. The grocery stores get their meat already cut up. It is almost impossible to find a piece of meat on the bone.
In one or two generations we have totally changed our way of eating so much that it is actually difficult to find real food. With the time I have left I plan to follow this "ancestral" way of eating. My collection of older cookbooks are a valuable resource. Would you believe there was a time when a recipe didn't include "a can of cream of mushroom soup?"
Now my goal is to locate food that my great grandmother would recognize. Local farmers do have their beef for sale. I have a calf reserved for me this fall and a new freezer with enough room to store my half. There is no way I can get a totally pastured animal, but this is better than the feedlot supermarket choices. I have also found an egg lady. I know that her chickens are not totally pastured, but the eggs are certainly lower in omega 6s than the battery eggs that would be my other choice. I have found a local source of raw milk cheese and have found pastured butter. The local farmer's markets do have fresh produce. One grocery store carries cream that is pasteurized, but not ultra pasteurized. Imagine cream lasting for more than a month! And, by reading the fine print, I have found some Alaskan salmon that is wild and frozen in Alaska, not China. I have started making my own mayonnaise, salad dressings, and barbeque sauce. I had to find a butcher in another town before I could actually find any marrow bones to make beef broth. The grocery stores get their meat already cut up. It is almost impossible to find a piece of meat on the bone.
In one or two generations we have totally changed our way of eating so much that it is actually difficult to find real food. With the time I have left I plan to follow this "ancestral" way of eating. My collection of older cookbooks are a valuable resource. Would you believe there was a time when a recipe didn't include "a can of cream of mushroom soup?"
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Home At Last
Finally I am home after being out of state for nearly 6 months. There is much to do, but I first have to get physical therapy scheduled. Hopefully, I can get more flexibility and strength and quit hobbling around! Over the last few months I have moved from counting calories, to low carb dieting to ancestral or paleo nutrition. I am now believing that I should not be eating grains, sugar, seed oils, or legumes. I am also limiting dairy and fruit. My weight loss has stalled, but I think that is because I have been so inactive and at the same time I have upped my calorie intake Calories still count. For awhile, I am entering data into fitday to see what my percentages of proteins, carbs, and fats are. I am still looking at the Jaminet's Perfect Diet and adjusting supplements. We'll see.
There is much to do to get the house back in order. After cleaning out a lifetime accumulation from my dad, I want to start eliminating some of my excess now and simplify my life so that I can enjoy retirement. Why oh why do we accumulate so much stuff??
There is much to do to get the house back in order. After cleaning out a lifetime accumulation from my dad, I want to start eliminating some of my excess now and simplify my life so that I can enjoy retirement. Why oh why do we accumulate so much stuff??
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
MY LIFE TAKES A DETOUR
I had great hopes for this reflective journal, but somewhere life got in the way. I went out of state to my dad's home to get it ready to rent. While stripping wallpaper, I fell off a short ladder and broke my heel. That was December 1 and I am still limping around and wearing a boot most of the time.
I have had to deal with home repairs, car repairs, elderly parents, and a child in the "launching" phase. And all of this I have had to handle away from home and without my husband's help. He has been a real trooper and very supportive, and I will say I now appreciate all the things he takes care of that make life run smoothly.
My dad's health is failing and my stepmom's dementia is a strain on my patience, but hopefully working with this has increased my patience. I haven't broken yet.
The good news is that the time away from the responsibilities in my real life has given me time to reflect on other matters. I have lost 40 lbs. since October and have gradually found a healthy way of eating after all these years. I have given up sugar, grains, and seed oils. The good news is that I don't miss any of those things. My weight loss has stalled out now and I would like to lose another 15 lbs. This may be hard since I cannot get much exercise with a broken foot. My goal for today is to try an Intermittent Fast....eat only between the hours of 2:00 and 6:00. If this works, I may try this on Tuesday and Thursday. I don't think I am ready for any longer fasts, but I am convinced that the body does need a rest from insulin production now and then. I am also going to attempt two meals a day on Saturday and Sunday.
Hopefully I can get the house finished, daughter can find a job, parents can be stabilized, and I can get back home by June!
I have had to deal with home repairs, car repairs, elderly parents, and a child in the "launching" phase. And all of this I have had to handle away from home and without my husband's help. He has been a real trooper and very supportive, and I will say I now appreciate all the things he takes care of that make life run smoothly.
My dad's health is failing and my stepmom's dementia is a strain on my patience, but hopefully working with this has increased my patience. I haven't broken yet.
The good news is that the time away from the responsibilities in my real life has given me time to reflect on other matters. I have lost 40 lbs. since October and have gradually found a healthy way of eating after all these years. I have given up sugar, grains, and seed oils. The good news is that I don't miss any of those things. My weight loss has stalled out now and I would like to lose another 15 lbs. This may be hard since I cannot get much exercise with a broken foot. My goal for today is to try an Intermittent Fast....eat only between the hours of 2:00 and 6:00. If this works, I may try this on Tuesday and Thursday. I don't think I am ready for any longer fasts, but I am convinced that the body does need a rest from insulin production now and then. I am also going to attempt two meals a day on Saturday and Sunday.
Hopefully I can get the house finished, daughter can find a job, parents can be stabilized, and I can get back home by June!
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