A couple weeks ago I went for a check up and got a bunch of blood work done and now the results are in…so I’m going to share them with you.

I got all kinds of different blood markers tested…I haven’t had a chance to look up all of them yet, but I’ll go over the major ones we all kinda know about here.

Fasting Glucose: 4.7 (normal range is 3.9 – 5.5)

Cholesterol 4.25 (below 5.18 is ‘desirable’)

LDL 2.48 (less than 2.59 is ‘optimal’)

HDL  .99 (1 – 1.3 is associated with average risk of heart disease)

Triglycerides 1.75 (1.7 is normal, between 1.7-2.2 is ‘boarderline high’)

Blood Pressure: 61-101

Heart Rate: 66

Liver enzymes looked good and everything else seems to be in normal ranges from what I can tell at this point.

So I’m pretty happy with these numbers, nothing seems out of the ordinary…I suppose I could try to bump HDL up a bit if I wanted to…this is typical of the north american diet being chronically low in omega 3 fatty acids which ends up translating in many cases to a lower HDL level.

Other than that I can’t see any reason to intervene in the way I’m currently eating/living.

so the point of showing you these numbers is to explain that my blood markers of health as a whole are in a good position and I don’t go out of my way with my diet to make it that way. I eat whatever I want whenever I want…just not too much of it. There is simply far too much emphasis and fear surrounding diet and the way we eat without enough talk of your overall lifestyle.

What you eat just really doesn’t matter as much as the amount of food you eat.

Once you get your total volume of food under control then and only then would changing anything specific really matter at all.

Specific changes for specific results (such as supplement omega 3 oils in order to influence HDL level) would only matter if everything else stayed constant.

In other words it wouldn’t make sense for me or anyone to revamp their diet in order to find ways to raise HDL if it caused something else to change in a negative way.

This is part of the problem that happens when people get caught up worrying about very specific items instead of the bigger picture.

In reality the numbers I’ve presented here are general categories for most people that describe potential risks of getting certain lifestyle diseases (cardiovascular disease and diabetes being the two biggies)

My overall numbers put me in a good range and I’m happy with them. And there is certainly no reason for concern or stress or a big shake up in the way I’m living or eating.

John

This is a pic that goes with the others from dec 14th during my cut down. I’m at around a 1.5 AI index in this pic. I still have about an inch to drop from my waist in this pic.

I’ll do some more pics to show the smaller waist.

JB

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and she brought up the most interesting thought experiment for weight loss.

No weight gain for no weight loss?

Imagine you were granted the power right now to never gain another pound of fat for the rest of your life no matter what or how much you ate? Would you take it? <– I think the answer for most of us is a resounding YES…but then she threw a little twist into it…and it goes like this…

BUT, this same power also makes it impossible for you to ever lose another pound of fat for the rest of your life.

In other words, would give up your ability to ever lose fat again for the power to never gain fat again from this day forward no matter how much food you eat?

Do we have a deal?

Please answer in the comment section.

John

#7 – Rapid weight loss from severe calorie restriction will ‘damage’ your metabolism and cause you to regain all the weight and possibly even more weight once you stop the diet and go back to eating for weight maintenance.

Answer: FALSE

First of all there is no such thing as ‘damaging’ your metabolism.

“Metabolism” simply refers to the sum of all processes going on in your body at a given time. So this can never be damaged. It’s just a description of process.

Even people in severely wasting disease states will be functioning normal after they recover.

Unless you have a diagnosed metabolic disorder that actually changes the normal way your body processes fuel (this is very rare, and you’d know it if this was the case) then you’re body is processing food/fuel just like everybody else.

Weight gain seems to happen over longer periods of time, but weight loss almost always happens quickly (10-16 weeks)

There is also good research indicating people who have lost significant weight are functioning perfectly normal all the way through and at the end of their weight loss.

John

When it comes to your own body shape and image we all tend to get a bit self centered. After all you’re the star of your own show.

The diet a fitness industry marketers know this and key on this narrow view and in doing so insult and disrespect a lot of people along the way. I’m talking specifically about the use of the word “starvation” and the phrase “starvation mode” as well as the word “hungry” and “hunger”.

We have learned, and it has become socially acceptable to describe the way we feel with all of these words.

I feel as though it is wrong and we should learn to remove these words from our vocabulary about ourselves, and I’ll tell you why.

I’ve been doing Eat Stop Eat for over 3 years. In other words, I’ve added 24 hour fasts on a weekly basis for the past three years.

I’ve done a few 48 hour fasts, a bunch of 30 and 36 hour fasts, and I’ve even tested out a 72 hour fast <– pretty boring.

And at no point during any of these fasts have I ever felt what I would call true hunger.

If you haven’t gone more than 3 days without food then I don’t think you have any idea what true hunger feels like. Even after 72 hours without food I didn’t feel anything I would describe as hunger. In fact, my craving or desire for food was much greater within the first 12-18 hours of my 72 hour fast, after that I was on cruise control for the next two days.

This brings me to my point for today.

And that is about the word “Starving” and the word “hungry”.

It absolutely makes my blood boil when I hear people say “I’m starving”…even though they have just eating a few hours ago, or at least have eaten within the past 8-12 hours.

Even after 24 hours I don’t feel anything that I would describe as “hunger” let alone “starving”.

I think the cavalier use of the word “starving” in our pop culture is a complete and total insult and lack of respect for the millions (and billions) of people who are in fact currently starving to death as you read this.

And if you’re reading this, then I can almost guarantee there is no way you know what “starvation” or true “hunger” feels like.

My request is that you stop and think before you ever use the word “starving” or “hungry” in reference to yourself ever again.

If you think my opinion is too harsh have a look at the pictures below of what real starvation looks like. Take a good long look, because these pictures are an example of what people are going through right now.

These are the only people who know what true hunger really feels like. And they sure as hell have every right to say “I’m hungry” and “I’m starving”. You on the other hand have no right to utter these words in reference to yourself unless you are in a similar state as these unfortunate children.

Just imagine walking up to one of these children and saying to them “man I missed lunch, I’m starving”. I hope the thought of saying such a thing to one of these people disgusts you, because it does to me.

The point of today’s post is just for a little perspective.

You and I don’t EVER eat because we’re hungry, or because we’re “starving” (man do I ever hate this expression).

You and I eat because we CHOOSE to, and are fortunate enough to have the luxury to do so.

I’m issuing a challenge to you to remove the words ‘hungry’ and ‘starving’ from your vocabulary as it relates to you.

In other words, from now on, try not to refer to yourself as “hungry” or “starving” but rather admit to yourself that you would like to eat, or would enjoy eating now. <– this second type of statement is much more accurate to reality and might just help us all appreciate what we have a little more.

Oh and if you want some weight loss advice….Eat Less.

John