Originally posted July 22, 2013.
For decades I was a runner. My weight held at a steady 180 pounds throughout my running days. About 15 years ago, knee and lower back issues caused me to switch to walking, which today I do plenty of daily. Well, maybe it’s the fewer calories I am burning, or maybe it is my lower metabolic rate as I get older, or, more likely, it’s my addiction to carbohydrates, especially carb-packed pasta, pizza and organic health shakes (40 carbs per). But at my recent visit to my new and much liked concierge doctor in Key West, I got a report on two numbers I did not like, so I decided to rectify my situation. First, my skinny 180-pound self was, to be kind, a thing of the past. Second, my Very Low Density Lipoprotein 3 (VLDL3) reading was a couple of ticks higher than I was comfortable with. It was time for battle!
My battle commander in this endeavor is three-time Science in Society Journalism winner Gary Taubes. Gary is a contributing correspondent for Science magazine. All I would need was between the cover of Gary’s Why We Get Fat. I am preparing a mini series of insightful quotations from Gary’s great book and will begin the series shortly. Meantime, here is the fuel from Gary’s book that I am using to kickoff my weight reduction and lower VLDL3 mission.
Gary writes that the most fattening foods are the ones that have the greatest effect on our blood sugar and insulin levels. These are the concentrated sources of carbohydrates, particularly those that we can digest quickly: anything made of refined flour, liquid carbohydrates, and starches. These foods flood the blood stream quickly with glucose. Blood sugar shoots up; insulin shoots up; WE GET FATTER. Bingo, so I kicked off my plan under this guiding Taubes principle. I am avoiding such carbs and even going so far as to slap on the age-old 20 carbs per day limit (for an initial three weeks) originally proposed by Dr. Atkins.
How am I doing? I am making progress—down 13 pounds. My goal is to lose a pound a week. If you do not think a pound of fat is a lot take a gander at my graphic. After I have completed my Gary Taubes mini series for you. I will report back as to my progress deploying the science wisdom of Gary Taubes.
In closing, I know I have left you hanging on why I am so concerned about VLDL3. My next post in the series will deal specifically with this reading. If you do not know your reading, I would have some blood drawn and find out. You will be comforted, or perhaps not, that you have taken such a worthwhile preventive health initiative. If you do not like your reading, you can simply join me on my little crusade. We both have nothing to lose and lots to gain. Not weight, of course.
Warm regards,
Dick
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