Well, we did it. We made it to the weekend of week 8. For those who joined me, big thank you. For those who find this after the fact, also thank you. On Sunday I’ll put up some going forward ideas. I too got overwhelmed these past two weeks so there will be some backfilling of posts Sunday as well.
Dig in to the Biochemistry behind Keto here: KetoSchool fair warning, he seems to push out full length posts then hides different ones. The whack-a-mole version of writing. Not consistent as a resource, but good when it’s open.
I like their stuff because they really get into the biochemistry without making it too complicated and they include good diagrams for those who want to get even more technical. Build muscle, reduce fat, better sleep, etc. all with the science – our best understanding so far – to back it up.
A big push for me to try this experiment was hopes that there would be a more obvious, more helpful approach to diet that my aged and sick friends and family could be convinced to try. We put a lot of ppl in the ground over the past 3 years due to cancer (and car accidents – but that’s not likely diet related) and had a few more with the C that are now C free, but . . . one wonders about recidivism rates of those nasty cells.
Eating dietary fat proved too much to handle for many. It seems to be “a little column A, a little column B” in that the struggle was adding fat to the diet due to a lifetime of the low fat mantra, mental blocks are strong, and reducing carbs because they’re easy find and tasty. So, most folks did nothing. That’s hardly surprising. That’s the norm for any intervention.
A few funny bits did come up along the way. My favorite was the “I run so I can drink” mantra of some of my old running buddies. I’m not saying don’t drink – come on y’all – but let’s let go of that myth once and for all.
Basic math (yes, we’ve done this before)
Lean female: 110#, earns 50cal/mile for every level mile walked/run
Lean Male: 180#, earns 100cal/mile
5oz glass of wine (small pour these days…): 120 cal
12oz Blue Moon Beer (std light): 170 cal
1.5oz Tequila soda: 100 cal
FYI, 2012 study found that Americans consume on average 100cal from beer/wine/liquor daily. But we know better. Almost 60% of Americans consume essentially zero alcohol annually. The better way to think of this is among those who drink, the average is 300cal/day.
So using that 300cal/day, the woman needs to cover 6 miles and the dude 3 miles to “break even” on booze vs running. Or put it in terms that are a bit more jarring – given that consumption often doubles Friday/Saturday night, our little runner friend would need to run 48 miles a week. Almost 2 marathons.
Her knees would collapse long before that happened.
So, drink if you’re going to drink, but let’s separate the food and beverage consumption from the physical workouts. Having seen far too many beautiful creatures struggle with eating disorders, tying any form of consumption to your athletic pursuits makes my skin crawl. And it’s just flat out irrational. That’s not how your body works and that’s not how math works.
Drink because you enjoy the drink and the company. Workout because you want to build a stronger body, better mind. But do not conflate the two.