14/2/11
I’ve just finished listening to an audio book called “Why we get fat”. This is not a diet book. It is a scientific and historical account of
nutrition and the current obesity epidemic western society finds itself in. The author is Gary Taubes, a well respected science writer, who
cites studies from all over the world to support the hypothesis that “fat people are hungry because they are fat, and NOT fat because they are hungry”.
This theory goes against the predominantly current thinking of fatness as the result of more calories being consumed than being expended. In fact he
goes so far as to say that exercise is pointless if the aim is to control weight.
The book is fascinating and enlightening, so much so, that I have decided to adopted it’s underlying principle and have changed my eating habits.
Essentially, what we should be eating – as 99% of our ancestors have since the 2.5 million years that homo sapiens has been in existence, is meat,
fish and foul with a smattering of nuts, fruit and vegetables. What we shouldn’t be eating, is all the food that has recently (since the agricultural
revolution) been added to our diet – refined sugar and flour – i.e. carbohydrates.
Sound like the Atkins diet – sure does. But Atkins was definitely not the first to extol this idea. Anyway, if you can get hold of this book – do.
I’ve been eating like this for almost a week, give or take a couple of lapses of beer and wine (2 of the most evil no-nos according to Gary),
and sure enough have lost weight without counting or restricting calories.
www.fathead-movie.com/index.php/2011/01/13/why-we-get-fat-interview-with-gary-taubes/
Last Thursday I did the10k run again and managed to knock 1:50 of my previous time to record 53:10. I finished with a flurry and didn’t feel nearly as rooted as the week
before – so definitely a step in the right direction.
8/2/11
Fronted up to the 10k YMCA run again on Thursday night. This time minus (as it turned out) an over eager 16 year old. So started off at what seemed a
very sedate pace – almost enjoyable. The weather was hot and very humid and it didn’t take long before the sweat started pouring off me and my head
was doing its best impression of an over cooked beetroot. After resisting the temptations of running with the hounds I began to pick people up on the
second lap (3 laps of 3k plus a bit). While the first lap was comfortable, the second required effort and could be described as unpleasant. In the third
lap I noticed people were dropping by the way and I was moving up to other runners, running just behind them and passing them on a rise. With about 2ks to
go, which was a short downhill and flat, I picked up the pace and moved away from my last “companion”.
This all sounds pretty impressive as I write it, but if I’m to be completely honest I’ll have to paint the picture a little more vividly. Most of the
run I felt like I was wearing concrete shoes. When I first started to “kick’ for the finish, about 1.5k out, I really felt like I was really running,
but the I looked over at the guy I was passing, he was kind of shuffling – staggering - jogging, and it dawned on me that while I was going a bit
faster (and thought I was flying like Usain Bolt), I must look pretty much the same - so depressing.
Anyway I got to the finish in 55mins flat, with nothing left in the tank. I was so hot I was genuinely worried I was going to expire or have some kind
of meltdown. From the looks I got from the earlier finishers I was not the only one thinking that.
I have to say it was a massive effort. I walked back to the car and drove home, my body flooded with endorphins, and feeling very pleased with myself.
It’s not a great time, but I finished, and that’s a start.