Quick Fat Facts

A few months ago, I was pointed to primalmeded – a burgeoning blog in this here paleosphere.

Regretfully, I just added her to my rss reader and let the posts pile up (oops). Well I just got around to reading some of her stuff today, and am quite impressed. Ok, that’s enough pumping the tires.

After reading her wonderful two-part series on fat (1, 2), I thought I’d drop by and highlight a few points made. (more…)

August 28, 2011

Random Vacation Musings – Weight Loss Dulls Hunger

I’m spending a few weeks out of the office with a nice view.

Except that it’s raining today, so I thought I’d stop and drop a few thoughts. Less of a cogent blog post, more like scribbling on a bedside pad in the middle of the night, half awake from a strange dream.

(more…)

August 25, 2011

Headaches Resolution

First two parts in the series are here and here.

This post is long overdue, but better late than never.

A quick rundown of the history:

  1. Headaches occurred during benchpress and chinups.
  2. Tried eliminating some things from diet with no relief.
  3. Doctor friend suggested I may have a herniated disk and recommended I see a neurologist.
  4. Neurologist said my spine/nerves are totally fine and hypothesized “vascular headaches,” recommending a brain scan.

That brain scan was prescribed two months ago and I never got it. (more…)

August 10, 2011

On Set Point and Carbohydrate Requirements

A while back, I wrote a post about set points and what I was calling “settling points.” Since then, I’ve learned a lot about set points (mostly from Stephan’s amazing series on food reward and obesity) and I’ve come to believe that what I wrote really missed the definition of “set point.” Live and learn.

Contrary to the way many people use the term, a set point is not a permanent feature of a person. The set point is, instead, the fat mass one’s body is aiming to achieve at any given time. I’ll get into how to manipulate your set point in much more detail in a later post – for now let’s just assume that you can.

A quick review: If your set point is lower than your current body fat, you’re body will attempt to force fat loss with neat tricks like appetite suppression and increased energy expenditure. If your set point is higher than your current body fat, you’ll be extra hungry and your body will strive to reduce expenditure until your body fat reaches your set point. Obviously, if your body fat and set point are the same, your body will do its best to maintain equilibrium.

(more…)

July 26, 2011

Cortisol and the “I’m Over It” Method of Therapy

Chronic stress is a nasty beast. Stress elevates cortisol and chronically elevated cortisol contributes to disease and illness in a major way (not too mention making you pudgy).

Read more about cortisol here: 1, 2, 3.

Image Credit: TrollCats

This summer, I’ve been working full time, and as such, am finding it harder to manage my lifestyle to reduce stress. In my opinion, a big part of managing stress effectively is doing your best to optimize what you can (sleep, overtraining, diet), and releasing what you can’t (workload in the office, politics). Jump for more.

(more…)

1 comment July 22, 2011

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