Finger Nails and Obesity

All my life I have wanted pretty nails. Not particularly long talons but nails that would grow beyond the ends of my fingers and that I could file into a nice shape.

Never happened, unless I paid or bought false ones that stuck on my nails and turned the nail underneath into soft tissue paper!

As regular readers here will know I started taking Evening Primrose and Borage oil supplements just before Christmas last year. I now take 2500gms to give me 350mg GLA each day. I take this with Vit E but I only take my fish oils Omega 3's in the evenings as I believe the GLA and Omega 3's compete for the enzymes needed to process these fatty acids.

The books say it takes 6 to 7 months for a finger nail to grow from the nail bed to the end of the finger so I was not expecting to see any finger nail growth till towards the middle of the year. But surprise surprise it is only 3 months and already I have nails that are so much stronger and more flexible and dont flake and tear and they are just beyond the end of my fingers now. Today they have red nail polish on them! They dont look like my nails!

I have been deficient in essential fatty acids all my life. I dont know if I have not been consuming the mother fatty acids needed to make these, or if my body does not make the enzymes in enough quantity to process the Omega 6's in my diet. I dont use a lot of grain/bean oils so it could be 6 of one and half a dozen of the other.

What I do know is when I take the EPO and Borage oil, on its own, my appetite is completely normal. I no longer get cravings in the afternoon and evenings. I no longer binge. I can eat my supper and then stop eating and dont even think about food for hours at a time.

I never want to be so out of control around food again. It was not hunger it was a deficiency.

Buy the book

Obesity, A deficiency Disease? available now from Amazon for your kindle.

Essential Fatty Acids in Children's Diets

Here is an email I have just written to my Daughters and daughter in law.

EFA have been forgotten in children's diets because of the anti fat anti obesity drive.

I believe the 2 things are linked. The anti fat drive has caused the obesity!

'I am doing more research on essential fatty acids. These are essential
fats that our body is not able to make and must come from food every
day.

Unfortunately the modern diet does not contain foods with good sources of EFA.

These would be grass fed milk, meat and butter.
Omega 3 enriched eggs
Tinned fish in their own oil ( not soya or veg oil)
Fresh oily fish

When I was a child I was given cod liver oil every day ( I hated the
fishy taste!) it was provided free for all children on the NHS in UK.
Dad was also given cod liver oil and malt every day.

I have now bought cod liver oil and malt from Link and Dawns kids are
starting to get accustomed to taking it!

Many of the formula milks available are also short on EFA. The
importance of these fats was not understood and soya oil or corn oil
were added to formula milk instead of the saturated fats ( coconut and
palm) that used to be added.

Can you supplement all the children with sources of EFA?

Give them cod liver oil and malt.

Use butter ( kerrygold) instead of margarine.

Get full fat cheese and milk and not low fat anything!

Try and give them fish once in a while!

Cut back on the use of vegetable oils, soya sunflower etc and increase
extra virgin oil oil use.

good fats and oil are very satisfying so children should be less
hungry between meals!

This is what I studied at college but we never looked at the
importance of fat! Rather it was the less fat you eat the better!'

Fat Fast Dana Carpendar

Just downloaded Dana's new book. It is available on Kindle only within USA so I had to get the PDF version.

Have printed out the introduction which is the first 27 pages, With recipes it is 96 pages so will only print out those ones I need.

Basically it is a short sharp shock to the metabolism to break a stall. Five snacks a day ( you cant really call them meals) high in fat and low in protein and veg.

I have not tried it yet as I am still happy with my weight loss. The GLA and fish oil capsules are still doing the job for me. Stops me snacking and binging in the afternoons and evenings.

Also download

Obesity, A Deficiency Disease?

Onto your kindle.

Michelle

Obesity is fixable

Finally got the book out there. Now available for Kindle

Obesity A Deficiency Disease if you are in UK

Obesity A Deficiency Disease if you are in USA.

What the book says is that cravings and binging are not caused by normal hunger. They are caused by a deficiency. The deficiency is fatty acids, the ones needed to make the hormones. 

The body is not a very precise machine and instead of sending messages craving specific fats Gamma Linolenic Acid it send a message craving for sugar ( the body does try to make GLA from sugar!). 

If you take GLA as a supplement ( Evening primrose or starflower  (borage oil) then the cravings just stop. They no longer happen and you no longer binge on sugar in the afternoons and evenings.

Buy the book to find out more.

Michelle

Obesity, A Deficiency Disease?

Now available to download to your kindle!

Link is here

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Obesity-A-Deficiency-Disease-ebook/dp/B00BE7RI9O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360641919&sr=8-1

This is the book description

What if the calorie theory is wrong? What if your metabolism is making and keeping you fat? What if it is possible to change your metabolism by what you eat and what you don’t eat? What if eating low fat, high carb, low calorie foods makes the deficiency worse? What if you could finally understand why you binge and learn how to stop binging tomorrow? What if your body is unable to make one vital fatty acid and drives you to eat carbs to compensate? The GLA diet plan (Gamma linolenic Acid) teaches you about your body. You will learn how to work with it, to get your eating under control and finally slowly lose the excess pounds. This eating plan is for people with a BMI of 28 and above who have yoyo dieted for years. This is a medium fat, medium protein, low carb diet with vital supplements. You must get enough essential fatty acids in your diet every day or you will struggle, as you have with other diets. Eat healthy nourishing meals, 3 times a day, and watch the numbers on the scale decrease. Then keep that weight off, for ever!

I have finally got into the 29BMI range. I have not had cravings, binging or nibble need for nearly 2 months.

The low carb diet is only half the answer. The other half is the EFA that the modern diet is missing.

Try this if you are a yoyo dieter.

Up to Amazon now

Uploaded the book about 2 days ago so waiting on Amazon. If they say eating plan does not meet the Government guidelines of 6 to 11 portions of starchy carbs per day they will be absolutely right!

Checked back on last years weight loss graph. I was this weight about June 2012. Got another 0.9kg to go to get under that 30BMI again and then another 0.5kg to get to last years lowest weight. Then it is free wheeling downhill to under 70kg.

Six big plastic containers arrived via Amazon yesterday. 2 of cod liver oil and 4 of omega 3 fish oils so I should not run out any time soon.

I am taking omega 3 and omega 6 for life now as I never want to be so out of control around food again. Got a trip to UK planned for Sept so aiming for 70kg by then which would be great.

Obesity A Deficiency Disease?

That is the working title for my kindle book. Hope to get it ready to be downloaded within the next 4 weeks or so. Only thing that worries me is the cover as I am not very artistic and have not got photoshop and cant afford $'s to get someone to do it for me!

My eating is no longer punctuated by these eating jags ( binges) when I find I am eating everything in sight in the afternoons.

Since just before Christmas when I started this I have lost 5kg or 12lbs. My eating is under perfect control. I can forget about food in the afternoons and get on with projects until it is time for my next meal. I no longer snack at all. Not even low carb snacks. I dont need them. I dont find myself eating a couple of hours after a meal and I no longer feel the need to finish everything off!

Why has no one been looking scientifically at the process of binging to try and understand what is really going on and what the body really wants when you are driven to consume vast quantities of sugar and carbs in the afternoon? I know I am not alone with this battle, there are millions of you out there!

New Year New Diet

Dieting book is almost ready to be published. Just got to do some editing and tweaking.

Is amazing how the binging has just stopped. From day one on this I have had 3 nice meals each day with no snacks and no desire to binge. After 50 years of feeling out of control around food that is a first for me.

Lost 2" off my hips and 1" off my top half so its all good. Finding I have so many more productive hours in the day. Hours when I can start new projects and complete them. Something I found impossible in the afternoons before.

Obesity is a deficiency disease.

Started the book

Finally made a start on the ebook this last weekend. Not sure how long it will take me to get it ready to be uploaded to Amazon. I would guess it will be ready Feb/March 2013.

I was thinking the other day of how to tell if your eating is under control. First thing is that you dont crave carbs in the afternoon and you are in control of your eating habits. You can comfortably go for 4 to 5 hours without eating. You are not obsessing about where you next meal is coming from and what it is going to be and whether you will get enough on your plate! You can fit into the same pair of non elasticated trousers for months and years at a time and they are not outsize!

I am still a work in progress but I can fit into the same trousers I bought in July this year. So that is 5 months at a steady weight. Before I would either be wearing my smallest trousers for about a couple of weeks and then find I could not get them on again.

You dont have pads of fat at the back of your neck, on the inside of your knees and a roll around your liver.

These are all signs of an insulin imbalance. Watch this space for more news on the book that may change your life.

Going to write an ebook

Got the programs downloaded to start writing an ebook on weightloss and weight maintenance.

Been on holiday and put on 2kg of which 1kg has gone already so I feel that I have finally got a handle on my weight problem.

Nice to go into regular shops and buy nice clothes that will do up round the waist!

Until we are given the right information about how we get fat and how we can get unfat and obesity problems will just continue.

supplements that work

I have never been a big believer in taking supplements. I usually take a multivit and that is about it.

I have been reading up about serotonin and how it gets into the brain. It seems that binging is one way of ensuring the brain gets enough serotonin. To put it simply when you eat a lot of carbs the insulin produced sweeps all the other amino acids out of the blood stream into the cells and leave the one amino acid, tryptophan in the blood stream which then gets a first class ticket across the blood brain barrier. Of course the binging has other side effects, obesity, depression feeling of being out of control around food.

So there is a better way. First thing is the 5 HTP is the mid chemical between the amino acid and does not need a ticket to cross the blood brain barrier so I take it 40 mins before lunch and supper. 200mg per day.

The brain also reabsorbs the serotonin and ginko keeps the serotonin in the synapse instead of it being broken down again. So a capsule of ginko in the morning also helps.

The third new supplement I am taking is coenzyme Q10 which is needed by every cell in the body for energy production.

For the first time in my life I think I know what normal feels like. I can easily go all afternoon with no extra food or snacks.

I am keeping up with the scandinavian low carb high fat diet and am now waiting to see the kilos start going again.

The warning say dont take 5 htp or ginko if you are on drugs for depression as they dont work well together and it can be dangerous to your health.

5 HTP

I have been reading up about Serotonin and how a lack of serotonin or serotonin receptors can cause problems with overeating and obesity.

Also the amino acid that is made into 5 htp can also be made into another substance called kynuenine which cannot be used a serotonin and also cannot be changed back. The more insulin you produce the more kynuenine you make and the less serotonin. I got this from a book called Boost your Serotonin levels by Michael Murray.

I believe now I have been self medicating for years with carbs trying to make more serotonin but the insulin production has been halting the process. That is what causes binging.

The other thing that 5 HTP helps with is depression and sleep. I did not think I suffered from depression until I started taking 5 HTP and found my brain has another gear I never knew about. I am also getting 2 hours more sleep each night and I found that from the first evening I took a capsule.

I am now taking one capsule at lunch time and one in the evening. Decided I did not need to take one during the morning as I never overeat in the morning and am not planning to sleep.

Am keeping on with this experiment and now have enough 5 HTP for 4 months at the rate of 2 a day so will see where this takes me.

So far all signs of binging and cravings have gone and no nibble need after meals. I feel more satisfied after my meal and dont think about food till the next one.

Window reflection

Spent most of last week staying at a hotel and doing business. Sorting out contracts and insurance. Went with DH which was nice.

Had 9 meals that I did not prepare myself so knew that even if I made good choices I would still find a weight gain when I got back. I now call that travelling weight and plan for it. Usually about a 2lb gain which I expect to go over the next 3 or 4 days.

I enjoyed watching my image in the shop windows as we walked past. Such a change from the reflection I used to see.

Was so nice to enjoy the moments and not be worrying about where the next meal was coming from or whether there would be enough. I did use my olive oil spray on some salads as I asked for no dressing as the dressing often contain sugar. So I would just spray the salad with my own oil.

Fading away

Went to our local show yesterday. Was a long day and I was tired by the end but DH wanted to stay for the fireworks and they were splendid so glad we did. Got home at 9 having left at 9 in the morning.

Tried to make good food choices. Had chicken burger with extras for lunch and no bun. Extras were bacon and cheese and more salad. By 5 I was hungry again so this time had a beef burger with the same. When I got home I fixed some veg with tinned salmon and melted some cheese on top of it. Did not get on the scale this morning. I only drank water.

Got some nice comments about how I looked. One girl has known me since I got married and she was asking me what I was doing. She said I though you could only do that for a week. I said no I am going to be doing this for the rest of my life as it is the only thing that has ever worked for me except for starvation and that never lasted very long and would end in a binge!

One lady was selling skin products so I bought a selection of her range to try. If I like it I may ask if I can be her agent her and sell for her. I have been looking for a nice beauty product I can trust and have a hobby with.

I am not fading away still got over 40lbs to go but I am a lot narrower round the hips. Lost 5" there since January.

Under 13st

Have been battling a bit this month. With the trip away weight has not been going steadily down. I did add the loss today to June so that is 1.9kg for June so over 4lbs.

I ordered some 5 htp and started taking that a week ago. I think it is helping with the afternoons and I am feeling better with it. Got enough for 2 months and then will order more. The book about it has not turned up yet.

Had a trip to town this week and bought a nice black sparkly cardigan which will go with black and white dress as well as black trousers. Also found some cheap T shirts in various colours. They have a very nice neckline but long sleeves so bought one in each colour and will make them short sleeves.

Finally into the 12sts. I expect to be here for about 4 months. It seems to be taking me that long to lose 14lbs. But for the first time I am not dieting down as hard as I can in order to get to the point where I am going to stop dieting. I have accepted now that I am always going to have to not eat grains and sugar if I want to have a normal figure. But I can eat fat and cream and enjoy nice meals. I am happy with that.

I am finding it strange to be getting more male attention these days. As a grandmother who has always been obese and not used to attracting attention it was a very unexpected thing to happen!

'Calling' the scale weight

I find it very difficult to call my weight each morning. On previous low cal low fat diets I would know that if I was 'good' then I would be rewarded with a weight loss. On this diet with high fat and high calories my weight the next morning has been a complete surprise. Sometimes it is a nice surprise but the past 4 mornings it has been a nasty surprise. The number on the scale has been increasing every day till I was 900gms higher than 5 days ago.

I was beginning to get frightened that this would be a relentless gain and I would carry on seeing the weight gains ( or not seeing it if I gave up weighing again) until I was over 200lbs again.

I did not eat less than usual or watch my calories but ate my usual LCHF meals. This morning 500gms have gone. Had I tried going back to my low fat low calorie approach yesterday then I would have attributed the weight loss to that. Fortunately I did not do that.

I do need to get walking again. Been too busy recently and also watching Wimbledon on TV. I know the low carb high fat approach is right for me because the binging episodes are no more. They are not just under control, the urge has left me.

Reading Tales from the Scales and am seeing where I have come from. these girls weighing over 300lbs are just the same as I was. I am so relieved I have finally found this way of eating and my appetite is going to be normal.

Garden of Eden

Had 3 days away in the Zambezi Valley below Kariba dam. Have never been down there and it is beautiful. Later in the year it would be very hot but it was just a pleasant temperature with a bit of chill in the evening. I would love to go there again. So peaceful with the river drifting past the open door of the rondaval.

I made the best food choices I could. Did have a couple of gin and tonics before dinner. Had the full sugar tin and shared with husband. Skipped the starters as they were very carb heavy, pasta and rice. Did not have the dessert and ordered coffee while everyone else had their dessert. Kept to mainly meat salads and veg with olive oil. Breakfasts were full english and I asked for no beans. We went out on the river at least twice a day. Saw elephants and plenty of hippos, crocs and some Kudu. A lovely trip.

Feel much better about the shape of my body. Managed to get in and out of boats with ease. They did not tip too much!

Noticed nails are growing out again. Maybe the effect of adding fat and oil back to my diet 5 months ago. Will see if they start flaking and breaking again but maybe this diet is what my nails have been needing as well.

Forgot my weight!

Had to check my phone to see what weight I was 2 days ago. Thought when I got on the scale I had gained 200gms but have actually lost 100gms! Was surprised as I have never done that before. Perhaps my weight is becoming less important in the great scheme of my life!

Was reading a book yesterday and resting it on my midriff realised I could read to the bottom of the page without any difficulty!

Started on the life coaching course yesterday, they say a year but I hope to complete it in 6 months as being retired I have more time. I like working in the early morning as my brain is fresher then. But I am finding since starting on the fat diet that I can also work on things in the afternoons. All I used to want to do in the afternoons was read or watch TV and eat. Now I go for a walk with my little kettelbel and finish jobs that I might have started in the morning. Life is far more productive.

Kettlenetics

Got a set of kettlenetics with the weight last week. Had a go at the basic dvd and also the upper body exercises yesterday.

My arms ache when I pick up the kettle full of water! Will keep on with this as it is focussing on my core muscles and my arms. Legs are getting a workout when I walk but upper body is a problem area.

Putting chicken thighs, with the skin, into slow cooker for lunch. Plenty of onion and garlic and chilli. Is winter here now so hot food is very welcome.

Well under 84

Scale went to 83.7kg this morning so well under the 84 I was yesterday. This way of eating just keeps on working without starving or struggling or depriving myself. Looking forward to getting under 13 stone again. Should manage that in the next couple of weeks. I am expecting to be above 12 st when I go to UK in Sept but should be on the lower side of 12 and a half.

Had no birthday cake yesterday even though it was on offer. Did not even lick my fingers when I was cutting a piece for gs and got icing on my fingers!

I just do not want to go back to living in a glucose/insulin fog where everything is so much effort and I never get things completed and my afternoons are just a washout as I try to stay out of the fridge and pantry.

Did some exercise yesterday. Kettlebel in the morning for about 20mins and a walk with the dogs for 40mins in the afternoon.

Looking forward to my eggs and butter in a few hours time. Until then coffee will keep me going!