Lately I’ve been intermittent fasting. I basically lowered my caloric intake significantly by only eating between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., but yet I am not losing any weight.
Why is that? How is it possible to eat only two small meals per day, exercise daily, and still not drop a pound?
I was online surfing through YouTube videos when I stumbled upon a video by a Doctor Jason Fung, a nephrologist, and he was explaining that traditional treatments for diabetes have been ineffective and that there is a better way of treating people with the disease.
The video caught my interest because I know many people, family and friends, who are living with diabetes believing there is no cure and that it is their lot in life to prick their fingers regularly.
According to Dr. Fung, diabetes is treatable and curable. He is an avid advocate for fasting. Now this is not the reason I am fasting. I’ve been doing it for quite a while now but became frustrated with the lack of positive results. I figured there has to be something else going on in my body to explain why it is such a challenge reaching my weight-loss goals.
After watching a couple of Dr. Fung’s videos I began watching another video by Dr. Steven Gundry, the author of the Plant Paradox which happened to follow Dr. Fung’s videos.
As I stated earlier, I had questions as to why I’m supposedly eating healthy and I’m exercising regularly but yet I’m not losing any weight.
Dr. Gundry explained that there are certain elements in the foods we eat that can at times can cause more harm than good.
One such element is a protein he identified as lectin (with a C), not to be confused with the hormone leptin (with a P).
In his video, which was actually an advertisement for supplements he markets, Dr. Gundry is explaining what lectin actually does in the intestinal tract.
He says the protein creates tears in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract causing toxins which should be expelled from the body to leak out back into the bloodstream, causing other problems throughout the body like itchy skin, acne, allergic reactions, inflammation, among other unpleasant things.
The toxins in the blood taxes the immune system, rendering it virtually ineffective.
I decided to put Dr. Gundry’s Plant Paradox to the test, which means there are a lot of foods that I love to eat that I will have to do without for a while to see if this actually works for my body. As I approach 50 I am recognizing my body is changing and the best thing to do is to flow with the changes and determine what works best. I know that I cannot eat the way I used to twenty-five years ago so now I have to figure out what I can eat and design a diet that works for my body and my lifestyle.
I will be chronicling my findings as I proceed forward. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions or even to share your own experiences with weight-loss and just overall dietary health.
