I quit smoking, went into menopause and gained weight 5 years ago. Ever since then my obsession has been to get healthy and let go of the weight. I exercise regularly and follow a low carb diet, but I cheat at least once a week.

I have been told that I don’t need to lose any more weight; that maybe I should accept this weight gain as part of my middle age due. Like a right of passage! (these kinds of words come out of the mouths of doctors and laymen alike… it is as though I am being told that it is a GOOD thing.)

But I rage against this theory. I believe that I have at least 3 inches of fat around my middle alone that I could stand to lose even if I didn’t lose an inch anywhere else! I seriously can’t find a pair of jeans that don’t make my belly bellow!

Are these 10-15 lbs equivalent to vanity pounds? Surely this middle fat can not be good for me… I wonder how much of it is subcutaneous or how much is visceral? But with that said, I wish to tell you how excited I am that you have a book coming out that will address this.

I have recently become a reader of your blog and am so excited to begin living (instead of obsessing) again. Thanks for your help.

I’m glad you enjoyed the post. I don’t think that excess weight around the middle is either a good thing or an inevitable part of aging. I, like everyone else in middle age, fight it like crazy. I’m on my own program all the time.

If I told you I’d have to kill you . . .

. . . actually Suffolk, the original one, the buttock-shaped bit on the east of England. Agricultural, near the sea and not overpopulated (unless everyone who reads this wants to move here)

In a local churchyard the other day I saw several gravestones of people in their late eighties . . . back in the 18th Century, so whatever we’ve been doing right we’ve been doing it for a looooong time

Thanks for the info.

Interesting point about the broad/narrow faces, my face is much narrower than the size of my head. When I was little my favourite treat was one of those multipacks of small boxes of different breakfast cereals. Who knew?

I think I moved to the right place to spend the rest of my life, people here are disgustingly healthy looking into advanced age, far less pasty faced and much more characterful than in other areas I’ve lived. I’m certain sure the fact we still have local shops selling real vegetables meat and fish has a lot to do with it, there’s less “food” with the micronutrients carefully removed and replaced with starch. Their brains seem to work better too.

Just so inquiring minds will know, where is ‘here’?

Thanks.

Increased ketosis will give you insomnia, and the dehydration that comes from the increased urine production can cause the heart to seem to race. Make sure you take plenty of fluids and even some salt.

With my daughter, I ate low carb throughout my pregnancy, breastfed her for 14 months, and didn’t give her any grains or sugar until her 1st birthday party, as well. She is a strong, smart, beautiful girl.

Click here to get the post on observational studies. If the link doesn’t work, simply enter ‘observational studies’ in the search function, and you will get that post as a choice.

What do you mean observational studies? Whats the difference? Whats the significance? So you don’t believe these types of meat cause cancer, At least not in the context of a low carb diet?
As always thank you for your time. Having the opinion of a doctor as knowledgeable as you is priceless.

Look at the link I highlighted in the answer to your previous question.

All of the reports you have seen are observational studies and are worthless at determining causality. Go for it.