Monday, June 3, 2013

induction challenge

Since we returned from the cruise, my husband has been enthusiastic about buckling down and losing weight.  Suits me!  In solidarity, i started doing the original 1972 version of Dr. Atkins' induction with him.  Of course, we do a cleaned-up version with minimized omega-6 fats, coconut milk/cream favored over dairy cream, and other tweaks of the like nature.  We're both nixing alcohol this week.  That's the hardest part!  :-)

Although he's dropped 8 pounds since we got home on the 19th of May, he's disappointed it hasn't been going as fast as it did the first time.  Every time his ketosticks are less than dark purple he feels a bit discouraged -- telling him that mine NEVER get that dark is no consolation.

I'm pleased to find that his blood glucose is in a healthy range!  J has been so prone to growing skin-tags, and i understood that they're a sign of excessive insulin levels (but have no source for the idea)....  He's been regularly checking BG in the mornings as well as using the ketosticks; both are good.

But of all the interesting things that Jackie Eberstein (Atkins' long-time nurse-assistant) said on the Low Carb Cruise, one thing sticks in my memory -- DO NOT expect your body to perform "the way it used to."  This mind-trap may affect men in our age-bracket more than women, because women tend to see the changes very clearly, and men have fewer reminders.  Age changes a lot of things in all of us, and the way we respond to dietary and nutritional input changes over time just like our responses to exercise do.  Older people don't absorb nutrients as well, for one thing.  We have to do more and try harder all the time, as our bodies actually resist our efforts at an increasing rate.

Before you say "upper 50s isn't OLD" remember that until comparatively recently it WAS considered reasonably advanced.  Hell, 35 was "middle-aged" (half of that threescore-years-and-ten, you know).  Just because 40 is the new 20 doesn't REALLY make us "young"....

We have to be more patient with ourselves, because we can't drop fat or put on muscle as well as we used to.  We haven't escaped unscathed from the passing decades.  We have to be more careful and less indulgent if we want to enjoy our retirement the way we want.  Thank the gods for the benefits of low-carbing!

So we're chugging along with our diets as we also are with our house rehab.  It's 117 years old -- no wonder it takes so long for it to start looking better!  :-)

18 comments:

  1. Good luck Tess and congrats on the successful dieting. I'm in the same boat trying to get back into ketosis. It's a struggle for me. Some people have willpower like you and your SO and then there are people like me who seem to possess none.

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  2. thank you! :-) sorry you're having to struggle! i'm such a carnivore it's no privation to eat more steaks, salmon, eggs, bacon, "good" coldcuts, etc! the book "Fat Fast" (by Dana Carpender, whom i met on the ship and liked at once) has some excellent recipes which should make it a lot easier to convert to ketone-burning, ...if you've ever been tempted to acquire it.

    i used to think i had no will-power -- then i caught on that what other people call "stubbornness" in me IS "willpower"! it's just a little ... oblique. ;-)

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  3. wrt "coconut milk" ...
    just went to the grocery store and checked out a bottle of "coconut water." Definitely not the same thing! "Coconut water" should be called "coconut sugar."

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    1. if unsweetened, i enjoy coconut water -- but i don't consider it "food," merely a pleasant beverage. coconut milk and cream are wonderful additions to the western diet, though!

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  4. Good luck with the diet to the both of you. :D

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  5. Hi Tess

    Just want to say good luck to you both. It isn't a race just keep on steadily doing the right thing. You both know your goals and I'm sure you will get there. Share any thoughts, experiences etc you know we are all on your side.

    All the best Jan

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    1. Oops, either blogger ate my reply or I failed to hit "publish." :-P. ... Thank you, Jan!

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  6. good luck! I am hard-core lc this month, too.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20464083

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    1. and best wishes for your efforts as well! thanks for the link!!!

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  7. You're a blessing to your children for taking good care of yourselves.

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    1. lol -- yeah, we'll make sure they don't have to take care of us in our old age, but we'll spend "their inheritance" ;-) i consider that fair!

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  8. Replies
    1. thanks, LE! at this point in my life i'll take all the luck i can get! :-) if there were a voodoo doll that would help me lose fat, i'd use it.... (i have one that helps protect my computer.)

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  9. I'm 51 and right there with you all on the aging issues. My husband is always comparing himself to the younger men he plays tennis with. I think you're right about women understanding the aging process better than men and having better markers (menopause for one).

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    1. hi, Susan! it's great your husband IS playing tennis with a younger guy -- gives him a "sense of outlook" as well as a good workout. ;-) yep, i'm having a hard time convincing J that i have to take better care of myself now than i used to -- he's always been a high-energy person with a great deal of endurance and work-ethic -- impossible for me to keep up with him!

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  10. Middle aged used to mean the age of maturity and responsibility, in between the two framing ages of irresponsibility and dependence. So it began in your 20s (usually when you married) and ended at your grand climacteric, 63, or thereabouts.

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    1. that last number you mentioned keeps looming closer and closer.... :-P

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