Thursday, October 16, 2014

meanwhile ... you got older

You can find some really nonsensical claims about low-carb diets online.  They "wreck your thyroid" (untrue), or "bring on menopause" (also untrue), or "cause you to be more carb-sensitive" (true in the short term, till your system switches the enzymes it's making...).

Cuz ya know what DOES cause some of those things?  GETTING OLDER.  While you were living life and trying to get thinner and fitter, time kept a-marchin' on.  This was a point that Jackie Eberstein (Dr Atkins' assistant) made on our first LC cruise, which impressed J and me so much.  People used to complain to the doc that they had a hard time losing like they used to and often had to be reminded that -- hey, you're NOT twenty-five anymore!  You're not even ... the age you were, five years ago (duh).  Time makes a HUGE difference, especially to women.

Even though people in the fat-loss field are fond of discussing hormones in isolation, not only do a lot of them do more than one thing, they also do their jobs in combination with each other.  And the estrogens are VERY fond of exerting their nasty sneaky ways on various glands -- thyroids, for a prime example.

Whereas estrogen acts to positively modulate the behaviors of insulin and cortisol in our youth, when it starts to diminish (beginning in one's THIRTIES), those two "weight-gain bullies" run amok ... and it grows worse as time progresses.

This is why the vast majority of middle-aged women in the west are overweight.  EVERYTHING mainstream sources tell us to do is counterproductive:  starve ourselves on restricted quantities of healthywholegrains, and get lots of exercise!  RAISE them cortisol levels!!!

NO.

Middle-aged women are more carb-sensitive than they used to be.  That's an endocrinological fact.  We each have our own tolerance limits, depending on how our genetics predispose us and how much we've pushed our limits in the past.  No matter how high or low it was before, it's less NOW.

We're more easily stressed, too, for the same reasons.  Stress not only makes us less happy, it encourages visceral fat storage, which is never a good thing.  No matter how easy-going (or not) you were in the past, under the same conditions you're MORE stressed NOW.

Do yourself a favor -- admit you have to live your life a little differently than you used to.  You don't have to "take it easy" but you should probably take it easiER as time goes by.  You don't have to go full-on low-carb (if you still tolerate them decently) ... but you should probably go lowER.  Realize that you need to be a little more careful, because (at the same fitness level) you can now injure more easily.  You possibly need more protein, as well as more vitamins and minerals (or more absorbable forms of them), because you don't absorb them as well as you used to.

None of us WANT to acknowledge that we're on a downhill slope, but when you're at my place in life, the fact is forced upon you.  It's just the way it IS.  "Aging well" is one of the main reasons I do the things I do -- watch my carbs, watch the Neolithic Agents of Disease, watch my stress levels....  I KNOW i'm not the physical specimen I was at twenty, or thirty, or even forty.  But at sixty, I anticipate being a better specimen than I was, before I started all these amendments!

10 comments:

  1. So true...I had a few years of per menopause where I had the LUXURY of eating crappy thing....then I hit a large thick wall of zero-estrogen. I tried the progesterone tx by Ray what's his name...it was a huge disaster. Not only did I gain 10 pounds around my middle I had total loss of breast tissue and atrophy in other places. Painful!!!
    I got to my family doc and said hit me with HRT right now!!! She did. I highly recommend it. oh boy...I'm so much better now. Still have 6 pounds to get off. But at least now I'm hopeful. ;)

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    1. making the mental adjustment gives us our own permission to do what we NEED to.... :-) it wasn't easy to say "i'll never do that again," or "it'll have to wait till my next life," but on the other hand, "letting go" is very freeing!

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    2. HRT makes a big difference. I noticed that without it even without a weight-gain fat migrates from normal places like butt and upper arms and legs on the trunk and a menopause hump starts growing. There are mental symptoms as well.

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    3. i found pregnenolone to be helpful, but during one of my "simplifying" phases i discontinued it -- i should really do a n=1 test to see if it helps with weight loss....

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  2. Can I make tee-shirts, banners, big signs, and bumper stickers that say this:

    Do yourself a favor -- admit you have to live your life a little differently than you used to.

    HOLY BATGIRL....that says it ALL.

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    1. thank you, Gwen! :-) it may not be t-shirt worthy as i phrased it, but i can see you "get" my point of view!

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  3. The CICO people must think that people just turn gluttonous and lazy around age 35 to 40...and that 20-somethings live on chicken breast and kale.

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    1. :-) people like you and Exceptionally Brash were such a learning-experience for me (as is Fred, ... and others too). no, we don't change a lot -- it's LIFE that changes US! when i was younger, merely eating less and exercising more DID get results, but now the subtleties rule when it comes to diet and exertion.

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  4. Grow old gracefully and don't fear getting older as many people do. Embrace each decade, eat wisely, exercise wisely and don't be afraid to sleep well too ....even 'a power nap' can make all the difference, if you have the opportunity of course!

    The one other thing I find helps, whatever age you are, through life's ups and downs and everything in between, do your best to smile more than you frown.

    All the best Jan

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    1. you're a wise woman, Jan! :-) no, aging doesn't have to be scary, but keeping an eye out for pitfalls pays off!

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