Low Carb (Coffee Drinking) Thoughts...

In one of the LC forums I find myself visiting often someone mentioned that Dr. Atkins was opposed to caffeine consumption as it provoked an insulin response. I thought that surely couldn't be correct - as I have lost weight consuming probably vaster amounts of coffee and caffeine-laden diet sodas than most. But I checked online and as they say... "Sho Nuff", I found studies saying just that. Not grocery store checkout line publication types of "studies", but real honest to goodness doctor/scientist type of studies. Wow!

I started really drinking lots of coffee once I read a study that in Finland (I think) where they drink more coffee than anywhere else - they have lower incidents of circulatory problems and diabetic issues than elsewhere. Having my own personal issues with circulatory problems in my legs - I jumped in with both feet, becoming a very important contributor to Starbucks (and other places serving bean juice) annual revenues.

Now I am about silly with with IV lines running from our Starbucks Barista stainless steel coffee maker direct to my veins (JUST KIDDING - DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!)!!

I am not sure what to do as I don't want worse circulatory problems than I have, but I also want to whoosh on down to new lows if I can - and would hate to slow that down.

Also, I wonder if I am really low on carbage and glucose producing sugars if it is really that significant of a factor for me to even worry about it. Any ideas? Weigh in with your thoughts!

I may run my own highly unscientific 2 week test and just drink water and see the difference and if it is measureable or significant in the difference.

Links to a couple of the coffee & insulin response studies I found online:

Caffeine ingestion elevates plasma insulin response in humans during an oral glucose tolerance test

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=11478588&dopt=Abstract

Caffeine ingestion increases the insulin response to an oral-glucose-tolerance test in obese men before and after weight loss1,2,3

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/80/1/22

One other thought - at least one of these studies showed that excercise actually works the other way - decreasing the insulin response. Maybe that would cancel the caffeine effect out? Or maybe the effect is so short lasting and of so little consequence when there is little sugar in the system that it doesn't matter. Or maybe the sugars from gluconeogenisis is enough to be elevated. Or... maybe the increase in metabolism from caffeine is enough to offset the effects?

Before Going Low Carb: Fear of Scales

BEFORE LOW CARB: Fear of XXXXXXXL Pants

Before Low Carb Phobias - Fear of Crowded Elevators

The Last Post Got the Ol' Artistic Juices Flowin...

I know, I know. "Keep your day job", you are thinking!

Leonardo DaVinci I am not!

But I thought that the last post wasn't complete without perhaps an additional drawing of a similar phobia I hope to conquer at some point in the future. I am not quite there yet, but at least there is hope....

Fear of breaking flimsy chairs....

Sigh...

I guess I will leave off here. I am tempted to do "Fear of Splitting One's Pants While Tying One's Shoes", but this is a family rated blogsite, and that is a little over the top (or under the bottom) anyhow....

Kewl-Ness of Weight Loss!

Well, I am almost down about 80 lbs. Not yet, but almost! I have been on-plan (or mostly always on-plan) since November 1st, 2006. No significant cheats or carb binges, or falling off the wagon as of yet. A couple minor indulgences here and there, but nothing really out-of-bounds so far.

We went out to eat tonight as a family. For YEARS, I have always asked restaurant staff for a "Table and Chairs, ...Not a Booth". Fear of booths has been a constant thing for me since I have had to jam my too big body into someplace way too tiny, and try to look like I am eating comfortably. What a scene I must have made....

Anyhow, that is one phobic tick about me that is seemingly going away with the weight loss, as I progress further and further towards a more normal weight for my bod. It used to be that my wife would ask (in recent weeks) "Are you SURE you want to sit in a booth?", and lately I have been bravely trying to see if I could make it work. And lately, more and more of the time it is no big deal. I fit comfortably, and can eat well, and enjoy my meal.

Tonight was the first night my wife didn't ask, "Are you SURE...??"!

So here's to smallish victories and improvements in the quality of my life!! I now fit into most booths, without a problem! That probably doesn't mean much to you if you have never had the problem I have had over the past years. It means alot to me, and it is a significant landmark on my journey to eat healthier and get healthier on a low carb life!

My drawing at the top is a tribute to the award winning graphics featured on the "Lovin Low Carb Life:By Sparky's Girl'" lowcarb blog... if she can draw pictures of herself there, well ...then I can too!!! [smile!] :)

Sure these are low-budget graphics no-doubt, but hopefully you get the point of the picture... It can be a tight fit when you get too out-of-whack with your bod and sometimes have to fit into smallerish places like the typical restaurant booth!

Getting Others to Jump In to Low Carb

In something of a surprise to me, my brother in-law has decided to jump in to eating low carb. I am very excited about this and hope he has the commitment to really do this with no cheats. I am sure he will see major results if he does! Rather than commit to a goal of losing X-number of pounds in Y-amount of time, he is planning on committing to this way of eating for 52 weeks. That would be awesome if he did so! I really think that this is the way to go, and the way to long term weight and health improvement.

I have been hoping to have an influence on a number of folks but so far have been striking out. My stepson went on and off the program in a couple days time. I was hoping he would be motivated enough to really truely try it, but no. My wife has been teetering, but hoping that something other than watching what she eats will do the trick and suddenly result in massive weight loss (She is somewhat invested in the CPAP breathing appliance, as some sleep center doctor told her that folks who use it lose weight. I wonder if she asked this doc if it would make her breasts larger or her IQ higher if he wouldn't have told her it would do that too....).

I hope that someday my wife will also join me in this way of eating, as I know it would make her feel so much better, and would better regulate her blood sugars and all - and would probably result in weight loss, better cholesterol numbers, and more.

My brother, who was one of the few folks who originally inspired me to do this (he had lost about 80 lbs on Atkins) has since gotten off the way of eating and back to high carb eating, and has regained much of his weight. Even after I threw down the gauntlet and proclaimed him the new heavyweight champ of the family, he has still struggled. For some reason he will eat low carb all day, then eat donuts or some cake or the like. It's almost like - why bother? I suppose restricting some of the carbs and sugars is beneficial, but the whole deal is to get into and stay into a ketongenic state - ketosis. If you are avoiding ketosis by filling your body/liver regularly with sugars, it seems like nonsense to me. But my bro has the same body type as me & my dad and I am pulling for him, and hope that he too can get motivated to get on this plan again 100%.

Anyhow, I am getting to the point where I want to stop and tell everyone that I meet who are grossly overweight (severely morbidly obese) that they don't have to be that way - that there are pretty easy ways to avoid that way of life if you want to. But I've been biting my lips a bit. The few times I have spoken to folks they haven't really gotten it, or don't want to get it. I feel like maybe like me, they need time to get to the place where they too are ready to commit to this way of life and way of eating.

Ah well,.... I am still:

Keeping on keeping on. Staying the course. Keeping the faith. On plan and on target.
Hanging in there...