On Thu, 25 May 2000 23:20:37 -0400, Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>But there is
>clearly more to the puzzle of obesity and weight loss than just
>this. But beyond the simple but tedious restriction of calories,
>I haven't figured it out yet.
AFAIK, the main factors are insulin level (already mentioned) and thyroid level.
Low thyroid hormone function symptoms are:
- Cold intolerance
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Sleepiness
- Muscle weakness
- Brittle fingernails and hair
- Elevated cholesterol
- Dry skin
- Weight gain
Interestingly, both the elevated cholesterol and the weight gain that you report
are on this list.
Thyroid production is enhanced by cyclic AMP, while it is reduced by higher
levels of cortisol.
Previously, Todd Moody stated:
" For one thing, gluconeogenesis is triggered
by the stress hormone cortisol, which is released when blood
glucose levels drop too low. But cortisol has undesirable
effects as well, so it's not such a bad idea to use dietary
carbohydrate to keep blood glucose up. "
It seems to me that there might be a reason that the two diets that are
successful for losing weight are Atkins and the Zone (with Protein Power merely
having an initial Atkins phase, followed by maintenance on the Zone).
On the Zone, you eat just enough carbohydrates to prevent gluconeogenesis. On
Atkins, you are in full blown ketosis, which seems to work differently (this is
not the place for a pro and con discussion of full ketosis, since that seems to
produce threads that are 1000 messages long !).
However, if one is halfway in between, ie not in full ketosis, but not consuming
enough carbs to prevent gluconeogenesis, you may end up with the worst of both
worlds, ie elevated cortisol and lowered thyroid.
Thus, I think that perhaps the reason that you reached your lowest bodyfat
percentage on the Zone was that it balanced your insulin, cortisol and thyroid
levels.
PS If you haven't already, you might want to read the Will Brink article on
thyroid and weight loss that Justin mentioned, again for reference it is at:
http://www.brinkzone.com/thyrolean.html
--
Cheers,
Ken
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