When you said you were going to download to your PDA I thought, “Good luck!”

I don’t think I could read it from a PDA so you are more man than I. But then again, I’m a women so either way you slice it……

It’s a tough read but gets better as you get towards the end. I liked it so much though that I even read the acknowledgments! It’s interesting that he starts out with his research believing that low-carb is a bunch of hooey and is convinced otherwise.

I attempted the cinnamon trick I’d read about online while researching ways to reduce one’s blood glucose. Supposedly, a study was done (in Pakistan, if I remember correctly) that indicated the consumption of a nominal amount of ground cinnamon daily had the effect of lowering blood glucose levels, and additionally lowered the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the study group. Three weeks prior to having my blood work done, I took one gram of cinnamon in the morning every day. When the test results came back, my blood sugar reading was 110! This obviously was not the answer, not for me, anyways. I stopped taking it, and my next tests were back to 107 and then 105. Go figure.

If anybody is interested, Good Calories, Bad Calories is available for downloading to your PDA. Check out http://www.ereader.com. I’m getting my copy tonight.

So, I find, as I age and become increasingly insulin resistant due to abuse of carbs, it is more difficult to lose at the same rate as I did even just a year or two ago.

From The Schwarzbein Priciple, Atkins, and other sources I can’t remember but including GC, BC, I believe that we can heal metabolic syndrome as long as we do not go back to carb abuse. There is one study he sights in GC, BC where obese children were put on a low-carb diet and lost all of their weight and then after 11 or so months completely lost a desire or craving for sweets at all. And Schwarzbein says it may take up to a year or more to heal metabolic syndrome, depending on the severity, from mild to full blown diabetes (this is not to say that diabetes is curable, but that it is the ultimate case of metabolic syndrome and hyperinsulinemia).

Additionally, GC, BC also mentions the other hormones in our bodies besides insulin that have an affect on fat storage and release.

No, he never said, “The second or third time will be more difficult”. But my impression was that we become more insulin resistant as time passes, noticed by our beer bellies, and that this increased insulin resistance takes it’s toll not only in health but also in the ability to release fatty acids back into circulation for oxidation and use.

I think this is common knowledge though – that insulin resistance increases with continued carb abuse. But the science behind it it’s effect on fatty acid mobilization was explained in detail in GC, BC and even understood by likes of me! At least I think I understood it…….

What did you find in the book that explained why it’s more difficult the second time around? I don’t remember that (one of the reasons I’m rereading it again).

Regarding the ’1 golden time’ – I don’t believe it. I think it’s perception – we remember being fat, then being thin, and forget the looooooong time in between. It took me a year to go from 260 to 195, then I stalled for a year before I went to 180. That first year I lost, on average, 1.25 lbs. per week, which is an entirely realistic and safe weight loss rate.

While this time I lost 20 lbs in a little more than 2 weeks, I’ve stopped cold. But – if I take the long view, it takes me 16 weeks to lose 20 lbs. So even if I stall for 14 weeks – I’m still on track.

As I’ve decided to go from 215 to 170 – 45 lbs – at 1.25 lbs per week, I need 36 weeks to get to my goal. I started on Dec 31, so it will be in some time in *August* (if I counted the weeks correctly) before I’m there.

August seems way far away as I shiver here in January, but is *is* realistic.

I don’t want to do a hatchet job – my reason I haven’t posted a review yet.

Have you thought about doing a book review on Good Calories, Bad Calories? It would be nice to see here on the site. It’s a fantastic book about the science of high-carb eating, the science of insulin, blood sugar, triglycerides, hyperinsulinemia, and metabolic syndrome and the non-science of the U.S. Food Pyramid, dietary guidelines and the low-fat industry. It is a must read for anyone questioning the low-carb, high-fat approach and why they may not be losing as much weight this time around. I highly recommend this book. Even if you don’t love science and research it’s good info and good motovation.

Yes, this too shall pass…I keep that as my personal mantra because I get obsessive about too many things. When I’m dwelling on something I remind myself that eventually something else will have my attention. Hope that makes sense.

Hang in there – plateau or not, you WILL lose again if you are in induction. Get thee some keto-stix and start celebrating ketosis!

T.