The Strategy Room

As most people do, I've studied many weight loss strategies.

While on vacation, I went to Borders, grabbed a few weight loss books and parked myself in a comfy chair for a few hours. I read part of the "21 Pounds in 21 Days." I didn't realize it at the time, but the author is Dr. Roni, who has been on Howard Stern several times. She's Robin's colon cleansing doctor. Needless to say, it was a very interesting read.

I am NOT shoving something up *that* end, but in reading what Dr. Roni has to say about detoxing/colon cleansing, she made a lot of sense. (Side note: She claims that most people have several pounds of poop waste collecting in their colon. SEVERAL POUNDS. Just sitting in there. Being Disgusting. And Stinky.)

The other book I picked up was The Core Diet. I had previously taken the hormonal profile and according to this book, my adrenals need my attention first. According to the Women-to-Women website:

The basic task of your adrenal glands is to rush all your body’s resources into "fight or flight" mode by increasing production of adrenaline and other hormones. When healthy, your adrenals can instantly increase your heart rate and blood pressure, release your energy stores for immediate use, slow your digestion and other secondary functions, and sharpen your senses.

My profile indicates that my adrenals may be overworked and therefore, negatively affecting my cortisol levels:

Sustained high cortisol levels destroy healthy muscle and bone, slow down healing and normal cell regeneration, co-opt biochemicals needed to make other vital hormones, impair digestion, metabolism and mental function, interfere with healthy endocrine function; and weaken your immune system.

I've also been a follower (and HUGE fan) of Dr. Bill Davis, a Wisconsin Cardiologist. He spends so much time educating readers about various factors that contribute to heart disease and he's one in a million. Literally. He's one of the good guys in medicine. He's not paid big bucks by drug companies to pimp their product. He's a genuine, very down-to-earth, and reasonable man and a fantastic member of the medical community.

Dr. Davis is a true believer in eliminating wheat products from the diet. He explains the wheat addiction cycle:

But wheat addicts immediately know who they are. They are the ones who can't resist the warm dinner rolls served at the Italian restaurant, need to include something made of wheat at every meal, and crave it every 2 hours (matching the cycle of blood sugar peaks and valleys, the "valley" triggering the craving). When they stop the flow of immediately-released glucose that comes from wheat (with blood sugar peaks that occur higher and faster than table sugar), irresistible cravings kick in. Then watch out: They'll bite your hand off if you reach for that roll before they do.

Break the cycle and the body is confused: Where's the sugar? The body is accustomed to receiving a constant flow of easily-digested sugars.

Once the constant influx of sugars ceases, it takes 5-7 days for metabolism to shift towards fat mobilization as a source of energy. But along with fat mobilization comes a shrinking tummy, reducing the characteristic wheat belly.

When you consume too much wheat (or any wheat according to Dr. Davis), your body gets all of its energy from the constant supply of wheat. When this happens, you body doesn't ever burn stored fat for energy. Excess "energy" that your body doesn't need then gets stored as fat and the cycle persists.

Eliminate wheat and after a few days, your body adjusts and begins obtaining it's energy from your fat storage.

Followers of Dr. Davis comment and attest to their success stories when they completely eliminated wheat from their diets.

He also recommends intermittent fasting in the form of significant caloric reduction for a period of 3 days by eating only vegetables. He has a great post on how to spice up the diet during these few days (dip veggies in hummus, salsa, bean dip, etc). One can expect to lose about 1/2 lb/day while "fasting."

In addition, there is the ever present argument about which physical activities are best for weight loss: cardio vs. weight training. Cardio is very beneficial for your heart, but weight training helps sustain long term weight loss because it increases your metabolism by creating more muscle.

Wheat or no wheat. Veggies. Fasting. Hormone imbalances. Cardio vs. weight training. Small but continuous meal eating. THERE'S SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.

Whats my strategy?

I'm not sure. That's what I'm figuring out.