Thoughts on weight management

 So... what does this have to do with sewing? Maybe not much, but hear me out!

(This is a wordy post - read as much or as little as you want!) 

I have never considered myself 'fat' or 'overweight', and people often assume I am fairly trim. I am active. I eat well - preparing most meals at home. Most of what I drink contains no calories (barring my Saturday morning café au lait, and weekend beer with meals.)

salad at nearly every meal

BUT I have always had a bigger belly than I like, and this has expanded in the last couple of years. I never really knew what to do about it. About ten years ago I recorded all of my food intake for a few months, having heard that that was a great technique for losing weight. But it is a real slog.

A series of serendipitous occurances coalesced in my mind to set me on a path that has seen success, and in the past few months I have lost a noticeable amount of belly fat, without any dramatic changes to my eating habits. I started a new food log, but then... as part of the process described below abandoned that.

So... what has happened?

• A pair of pants made with beautiful cashmere suting was a bit snug (in spite of using a tried N true pattern.)
• A conversation with a friend about how I did not feel I had any low-hanging fruit in my eating habits.
• A beautiful, 'healthy' cook-book made its way into my home.
• A few members of my online sewing community (Sewing Pattern Review) mentioning that they were losing some weight.
• A specific comment by one member about a specific method and a link to a website (No Naked Carbs, and 'food order matters'.
• (Let's say that the sceptic in me just put that at the back of my head)
• Results from a blood test (as part of the Ontario Health Study) that showed my blood glucose level (glycosylated hemoglobin, HbA1c) was in the 'at risk' level.
• Picking up a book from a display while waiting for a prescription to be filled at the pharmacy (The Glucose Revolution by  Jessie Inchauspe) and skipping to the section that explains why food order matters... then reading the entire book (from the library).
• Picking up another book (The Diabetes Code, by Jason Fung) at the same pharmacy while waiting for another prescription, then reading it, and, well, why not, reading the same author's 'The Obesity Code'. (I am on the wait-list, or is that weight list?! for his next book 'The Hunger Code'
• Doing follow-up reading on the internet to see what others were saying about these books and their claims.
• Somewhere in the middle of this (actually, while reading The Glucose Revolution) I started making simple changes to my eating habits.
• ...And seeing results.

As I stated - I am a bit of a sceptic, and I also read a lot about food and nutrition - it interests me. I am not interested in deprivation, but I realized that I could make simple changes to my eating without harming myself, and it all makes a lot of sense... maybe not always for the reasons these authors discuss, but more on that later. Most of the changes suggested in these books seemed easy to implement, and were not harmful. So why not try it?

overnight oats

Let's start with some of the lessons learned. (And there may be contradictions, I will try to keep it straight.) Both authors rely on scientific articles and studies to back their claims, and also on personal case studies. Yet - nutrition is notriously difficult to study, and all kinds of competing claims can be made.... scientifically!

Inchauspe's bottom line is that the order in which we eat food groups can cause or minimize or maximize blood glucose spikes, which, in turn can increase insulin spikes. These spikes lead to creation of belly fat (fat that grows in and around vital organs), can also cause us to overeat, and overeat the wrong stuff.

Fung's premise is that too much insulin in our system, and insulin resistance (the inability of insulin to do its job properly) are the cause of weight gain. He eschews the calories in/calories out, or "Eat less move more" approaches to weight loss, positing that in spite of these approaches to weight control we have seen, in North America, increases in rates of obesity. What has changed - processed food, and added sugar. (His assumption being that people actually follow that advice of eating less and moving more...)

Inchauspe has a series of 'hacks' that one can follow in order to diminish glucose spikes, and conversely lose weight. 

WHAT CHANGES HAVE I MADE

• Fibre first I am beginning each meal with vegetables. Not fruit (which contains fructose, which is sugar). How do I make this easy? I have another cookbook (Every Salad Ever by Greta Podleski) with some great salad vinaigrettes, and I now always have one ready. I also keep salad mix at hand (which I am lucky to buy at the farmer's market) ready to make a quick salad. I also keep broccoli ready to go. In the mornings, raw red peppers are my veggie.
• Protein second - in the morning I have a quail egg after my veggies! When eating other meals I try to have most of the protein before any carbs. (carbs includes fruit - they come at the end)
• No snacking I had been in the habit of a snack immediately upon getting home from work (cheese and triscuits, or cheese and home made oatcakes). This always turned into a generous snack. Now I am trying to become comfortable feeling hungry, and waiting until dinner. If I really can't wait I have a veggie (raw carrots, for ex) and a few pecans (protein.) 
• no snacking part 2/delayed gratification I am learning to avoid thoughtless snacks. A colleague brings in Timbits to share once a week. Even though doughnuts are something I love, I don't need one. My new mantra is There will be more treats sometime in the future
• limited processed foood There was already not a lot of processed food, but I have cut out most of the rest. (see no snacking part 2, also!). When we have pasta I am mixing whole wheat pasta (which is probably only marginally more wholesome than white pasta!)
• limiting carbs/cutting added sugar Here is where I need to be careful. I need to have enough carbs. I don't want to get into the trap where I have cut my calories so much that my body compensates to burn fewer calories. (Fung explains this trap very well). I also need enough energy to work and swim, and just be!

WHAT I AM NOT DOING

• no deprivation I don't believe in depriving myself; that would not be sustainable. At a recent family gathering honouring my late MIL I ate a few veggies before we went out, then I enjoyed the full Italian meal, including dessert. I tried to organize my eating along the lines of food order, but I was not stressing about it. It was delicious. I also enjoy my weekend café au lait, with sugar. I have some recipes for meals which call for sweetener (usually my favourite food of all time: maple syrup), or processed ingredients (eg. maple glazed salmon; home made chicken fingers, maple syrup in the vinaigrette...). 
• not cutting out oatmeal: Inchaupse is not a fan of oatmeal, suggesting that they cause glucose spikes. I have decided that home made overnight oats with flax, hemp seeds, almonds, a few berries (and a few other ingredients) makes a satisfying breakfast. I believe that the incrased fibre in the oatmeal is beneficial, and that I do need some carbs! (Got this recipe from that health book that made its way to my home - (Eat to Love by Mikaela Reuben)
• I am not doing intermittent fasting which is highly recommended by Fung. (E.G. 24 hour fast once or twice a week) If I were obese, or diabetic (type II) I might consider this. I just don't think it is compatible with my lifestyle. There is a popular doctor who focuses on older women, (Dr. Stacy Sims) who says that fasting is not a suitable approach for women. (I have no opinion on that.) But there does seem to be consensus on a longer daily fast (between dinner and breakfast). I am unable to lengthen that window at the moment, however.
• drinking vinegar; both Inchaupse and Fung mention that consuming vinegar before eating reduces glucose, and insulin, spikes. I will have vinaigrette with my salad, and hope that is enough vinegar!

THOUGHTS ON THE READINGS

My thoughts on these two authors are a bit muddled. I found Inchaupse very encouraging, and nothing she suggests is 'faddish' - in that you don't need to buy any special supplements, and it is all compatible with sensible eating. As a result of her book I am eating more vegetables and fewer potatoes. I was surprised that I have seen results with some of her hacks, even though I had, as I said, few low-hanging fruits.

Fung is very convincing, but comes across as dogmatic, evangelical, even. So as I read it I wondered how much of an outlier is he. He is a medical specialist, and runs a weight management clinic, and sees results. But I wonder about some of the contradictions or near contradictions.

He vehemently discounts the calories in/calories out approach to weight loss and managment. He explains (using published studies to back it up) how our bodies have a set weight, and any changes to our calory consumption and expenditure evens out, so, as studies show, people using a calorie reduction approach reach a plateau then their weight climbs back up.  Our bodes compensate. We have, it seems, attained our set weight gradually over the years. He also ridiculed some approaches in a list, which included, for example, 'eat more fibre', saying 'how can you eat more and lose weight?" That seems like a calories in calories out argument. What he chooses to ignore is that by 'eating more fibre' someone might be eating less carbs and therefore fewer calories.

And, it seems, he does have his critics.

CONCLUSIONS

SO...  my pants are loose on me now; I need to put a new hole in a belt (I have not worn a belt in years). In about three months I have seen results. I can't say I have more energy, or other magic results, but the one thing I was hoping for has happened: my belly fat is diminishing.

BUT - what is causing this?

I am not hungry after a meal; I get hungry for the next meal, but I don't feel deprived.

Have I cut my calories? Am I at risk of plateau-ing then inching back up, as Fung suggest can happen in a reduced calory approach? I don't think so... I think I have altered WHAT I eat, rather than how many calories I eat (which might come out to the same thing, which is where I wonder if there is a contradiction in Fung's case).

Last word - quote Michael Pollan:

Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.

Eat food: to me this means - avoid ultra processed 'food' which is beyond food! Eat 'real' food!

Mostly Plants:  plants are food - and I think that my 'filling up first' with veggies is pushing me to eat mostly plants. I have not cut out meat, nor even cut down - but I am frontloading the plants.

Not too much: it is so easy to eat too much when the food is ultra-processed - we don't get full, it is more calory-dense. Again, I am trying to get comfortable with not being 'stuffed' at the end of the meal. I am satisftied, but not more.

I know this post is wordy, but I really wanted to reflect on this. For the first time in many years I feel that my belly size is in a better place, and I don't feel like I am starving to get there. I truly hope I can maintain this (even if it means I need to remake all my clothes!)

Thanks for reading! I look forward to a respectful conversation about this!