Fat

[KensCircus]

I often like to proclaim the level of feel-good that I enjoy as a result of being as diligently fat-free as I can manage. Sometimes I fear I proclaim it to an annoying degree?

Anyway, On Easter day, my wife and I were out gathering tools and materials for some construction work at our house. We stopped at a Pei-Wei restaurant for lunch before heading home. I ordered my usual brown rice and steamed vegies – dry. As always, I strongly expressed no oil, sauce or seasoning of any kind. When the food arrived, it looked great. The veggies all looked nice, clean and dry. While eating, my wife and I were in deep conversation about the construction work. About two thirds into my bowl, I come to realize that the spinach leaves, deep in the middle, were dripping soaked in oil – just the spinach, but by then it had spread into the rice. Yes, I should have been more observant (distracted by our conversing about the work), and I should have notified our server, but we were in a hurry and went on about our day.

After years of experience, it was no surprise when the next day, my energy and “feel-good” dropped to a near normal level. The second day it was all the way down to normal. This lasted for almost a solid week. It was a very unwelcome re-visit to what tired feels like and I don’t like it! (My definition of “normal” is the energy and fatigue that I observe in others (of any age) – as well as my distant memory of how I felt in my early SAD life. I used to think, in my SAD days, that I felt good; but I had no idea what feel-good really felt like!)

Makes me wonder why anyone would ever want to be “normal”! I just guess that if you never keep fat out of your diet long enough, you never really learn what feel-good really feels like! I think the effect of fats are so slow and lasts so long and are so overlapping that it is just too obscure – even though the effect is so extreme. My definition of feel-good is there is no “tired” – no matter what. If I perform some activity or exercise until my muscles fail, that still doesn’t feel tired. Quite the contrary, I feel extremely alive. Can’t stop smiling. The feeling of the blood and air flowing through my body is such a wonderful feeling! Just a minute or two later and the muscles are all ready to go again. Add fat in the flow, even just a little, and it just feels tired.

Thanks for listening,

Ken

[f1jim]

Ken, your message is the perfect example of why those that keep "sampling" the bad stuff sometimes never fully appreciate the benefits of this program. It's because they have never fully cleared out their system of the things holding them back. It's a great experience to eat fully clean for 30-60 days and then take stock of your overall health and vitality. Give yourself a reference point to work from. See if a little this or that really does make a difference for you. Perhaps not. But it certainly doesn't hurt to find out. We get posts regularly from those that for many reasons decided to go all in and then report their results. Many times they are thrilled with the results and find it hard to believe how such seemingly small changes result in palpable changes.
It's great you have found that your level of scrutiny reaps such rewards.
f1jim

[SweetPea]

Ken, I love the way you write. Proclaim away! I think it's helpful to share what works; it's certainly helped me to read about things like that this past year or so on the forum.

Following this plan closely has given me a boost in energy and just a general sense of well-being. I feel stronger and typically don't catch the colds/flus that go around (and come into our home). There are also "smaller" perks: my skin looks great, I don't sunburn as easily, I feel refreshed on less sleep, etc. It's about so much more than weight loss. A little side-step recently made that extra clear for me. It was a great reminder of how much I prefer my "new normal." And of how food really affects how I feel.

I couldn't agree more with Jim. Until I really cleared out the off-plan stuff completely, I didn't feel this good (and it was harder to lose weight). I spent a lot of my early years feeling sick, so for me, following the plan closely when it works so well for me feels empowering. Also, it can take time for our bodies to heal, so if I keep eating foods that make me feel less than 100%, I feel like I'm also not giving my body a chance to dig deeper and heal what it needs to/wants to in order for me to thrive for the long haul.

[TerriT]

Ken, it's really great to hear about your experience. When I first committed to following this plan 100% in January 2012, I was surprised by how much energy I had. I was already a vegan and ate only small amounts of oils and it was hard to believe that just a bit of fat could make such a difference to my energy levels. It's great to have others confirm what I have experienced.

I would be interested to know the biological mechanism behind this if anyone has any ideas! The one clue I have found so far is what Dr Esselstyn says about nitric oxide in Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (pgs 38-44): that fat affects the endothelium's ability to produce nitric oxide and that nitric oxide "relaxes blood vessels, selectively boosting blood flow to the organs that need it". Could improved blood flow be responsible for the energy levels we experience on the McDougall diet?

[jewagar]

Ken,
Please feel free to share all of your observations and insights. I find them particularly inspiring and helpful. I had read your postings about diabetes and your observations of your blood sugar response to different foods and that really made it clear to me that this WOE is really the healthiest, diabetic or not.

[goldilocks]

Ditto! I always enjoy reading your posts, Ken. Your experiences and observations and conclusions are really interesting and inspiring to me, and I'm grateful to you for sharing them.

I too have noticed that when I eat oil, I feel toxic afterwards. The next day, I feel like I'm getting low blood sugar and I get shaky and weak and I'm not able to function very well. I've never actually checked my blood sugar at that moment, so I don't know if this feeling is actually low blood sugar or just some detox reaction, but either way, I hate it - it's really debilitating. This doesn't happen if I eat a small amount of nuts or seeds.

[pinkrose]

Do you recall Young Frankenstein?

In regard to eating and vitality...it is good to be

Abby Normal!

I like being part of this exceptional community!

[PineappleTraci]

Ken, you're awesome! Glad you shared that.

[carollynne]

Ken, I really appreciate your post!! I am up early, since my energy level is so high, and I do not need as much sleep as I used to!! I agree with all that you said, and am so glad to see it posted it here as well.
I have noticed how the smallest bit of oil or some kind of non- pure compliant food will make me feel so crummy. that is when I slap myself up side the head and say, now when will you learn not to do that to yourself?
I , too, am so glad to be a part of this community on line, that gives so much knowledge and emotional support for free to us all!
You all have a good day now!

[ColumbosBassetHound]

Sometimes I wonder how much of the later "response" to oil is psychological and if so how much is actually functional v. physical. I've certainly ordered stuff in restaurants that I requested be oil free and then realized they weren't, but I didn't experience after-effects or "toxicity" (hardly an evidence-based term). Psychosomatization could also be playing a role, especially if anxiety is present with respect to hypervigilance.

[KensCircus]

Sometimes I wonder how much of the later "response" to oil is psychological and if so how much is actually functional v. physical. I've certainly ordered stuff in restaurants that I requested be oil free and then realized they weren't, but I didn't experience after-effects or "toxicity" (hardly an evidence-based term). Psychosomatization could also be playing a role, especially if anxiety is present with respect to hypervigilance.

I suppose that could be hard to argue.

In my case, I did not start this diet or WOE or lifestyle after reading a book or watching a video. I basically started in a “vacuum” by pure experience with nothing but survival as my agenda. I knew nothing about nutrition. In another thread on this forum, I posted a brief description of how and why I became a “fat-free” vegan. My post is the seventh down from the top: http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35076

Ken

[SweetPea]

Sometimes I wonder how much of the later "response" to oil is psychological and if so how much is actually functional v. physical. I've certainly ordered stuff in restaurants that I requested be oil free and then realized they weren't, but I didn't experience after-effects or "toxicity" (hardly an evidence-based term). Psychosomatization could also be playing a role, especially if anxiety is present with respect to hypervigilance.

Or when truly eating no oil for a month or more at a time, one is simply better able to notice how sludgy they feel when they eat it.

[f1jim]

We do know the oil does at least two things that may explain the effect.
1. It does disturb the dilation of the arteries curbing blood flow and, hence, oxygen.
2. The blood tends to gum up or sludge with oil intake which may also negatively affect oxygen delivery. The response in any individual may be related to their overall vascular health.
Also some people may be more sensitive to oxygen reduction than others. And it's quite possible for the knowing consumption of added oils to have a psychological effect.
f1jim

[LoriLynn]

If I consume an oily meal at a restaurant, I will notice it the next day or two in the form of greasy skin. I can now tell how good I've been eating by how my skin feels.

[ColumbosBassetHound]

It seems like a lot of folks undertake this diet out of fear. That fear has to be playing a role in your response to "discovering" that your spinach is "soaked" in oil and "leached" onto the rice.

If you are freaked out about having an MI or a stroke or ending up in the emergency room because of your past diet, I would think this could impact many people in their physical responses to having eaten something off-plan. I don't doubt that the physical symptoms are there. But the medical literature is clear on somatization of symptoms.