I am probably going to be shot for talking about this on here but here goes
My medical diagnosis a few years ago now lead me down a journey on trying to find what worked for me and what allowed me to go back to doing the kinds of things I used to when i was fit and healthy. The end result is that I have gone semi vegetarian which means eating veggie and vegan meals to reduce the inflammation in the gut. It must be working because I had my weekly allowance of meat last night and I felt wretched, and I had to take some pills to cope with the side effects
Ironically the spicy veggie curry I had on Monday had no detrimental effect on me, I am even considering giving up meat all together
On this journey I stumbled up on a guy called Joe Cross who made this film called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. A shortened version was on TV on tuesday night (Ch5) but the full version can be watched online for free (if you look for it in the right place
). Long story short, years of working as a futures trader had seen his lifestyle ruin his health. He was taking medication which has worse side effects than mine and he decided to change things. Not being short of a bob or two he decided to film his journey through a 60 day 'reboot' where he ate nothing but juiced veg and fruit.
I was in London last night where he was giving a talk and explained how it works. I gave it a try earlier this year but because of the Ironman training I wasn't taking on enough juice and started to pass out. But in 5 days I had dropped 7kg, I put 2kg back on once I started eating normally again but the rest stayed off. I started again last week but then my juicer broke so while it is being fixed I am back on the solids but 4.5 kg lighter.
Basically what happens is that you force your body to go in to ketosis (where your body burns fat at an amazing rate). You are still getting all the goodness and nutrients the cells in your body needs which means once you get past the conversion (between 2-4 days) you stop feeling hungry. You still crave things, especially with all the advertising on TV
but you don't get hunger pangs. I did not know this but what causes hunger is basically your cells sending signals to your stomach that it needs nutrients, this in turn sends a signal to the brain. If you are eating lots of processed food your body will digest it, take all the protein and carbs and store it for leaner times and then ask for more nutrients (because the processed food is low in what the cells require) hence a cycle of over eating.
Eating processed also means you are imbibing all sorts of chemicals which are used to artificially enhance the colour and flavour, many of which have been reported to be pretty dangerous. Their effect on people with IBD (crohn's and UC) is amplified, if I drink a diet coke I will feel ill and develop gut pain.
The reason I am talking about this on here is that I have met a lot of people off the forum and because I like you (except Pinky, he's a wierdo
) and I would like you to be around a bit longer. I think the loss of Paul hit home for many of us. It is thought that 50-70% of all deaths are caused by our lifestyle, something worth pondering.
Getting to ketosis is not easy. For those 2-4 days (3 for me) your body makes you feel like crap. You are hungry and detoxifying, plus some pretty nasty stuff comes out of you while your body gets rid of the rubbish and excess mucus in your gut, but once you get past it, you feel much better and your energy levels go up.
I have since found some pro athletes who juice and compete. They have given me some tips and ideas to make it easier next time I juice and train.
Right I'll jump off my soapbox now, for those who want to find out more:
http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/https://www.facebook.com/groups/277289009070952/
Author
Topic: Fat, sick and nearly dead (Read 2146 times)