Newbie questions

[annefran]

Originally Posted by gotsomeold

When we eat very low calorie or nothing on DD our bodies are designed to respond: Oh No! A famine may be coming! This body needs energy if it is going to be able to go hunt a wooly mammoth or find a berry bush or dig up some tasty tubers...and that energy is going to have to come from within because there is no food to eat! Release The Sirtuin Enzymes!!!!

And those lovely little enzymes flood our bodies. They get out their hammers and levels and get down to converting our bodies into fat burning machines. They also get out their dust pans and brooms and begin cleaning up inflammation in the body so it will be as healthy as possible while it deals with the famine. As the enzymes do their work, they are effectively burned up in the process.

If the famine goes on longer than, roughly - depends on the individual metabolism - 40 hours, then the body responds: Dang, we are in deep trouble here...we could starve. Turn off the sirtuin enzymes. Slow down the metabolism. Go into starvation/survival mode. Start cannibalizing both fat and muscle.

This is not a good thing. This is the reason so many people have problems losing on low cal WOEs.

BUT if the famine ends within those 40 hours, then the body responds: Cool, we found food. Turn off the sirtuin enzymes and use the food for energy.

On UD we have to eat enough calories to convince our bodies the famine is over. If we don't break the famine, starvation mode here we come. For many/most people, the calculated UD calories break the famine.

Getting back to our epic adventure, during the famine, a few of those sweet little enzymes did not get burned up. They hang around, continuing to do their fat-burning, inflammation-fighting thing.

The next day is DD and it all happens again. Gradually, over a period of about two weeks to a month, so many sirtuin enzymes accumulate in our bodies that we are almost always in fat-burning mode. Our bodies lose weight and gain health.

The longer we follow the DD/UD rotation, the more good things happen.

Let's go back to the breaking the famine. UD calculations are designed to ensure that happens.

Some people experiment and find they can break their famine at lower UDs - it really does depend on the individual metabolism. You do have to be careful with low UDs though. Too low and eventually weight loss stalls and health improvements stop happening as good old low cal starvation mode sets in.

On the other hand, some people experiment and find they can continue to lose weight at higher UDs. But, eventually some of those people see their weight loss stall. It seems like it is possible to eat so many calories that the fat-burning thing cannot keep up. If that happens, the body can begin storing those excess calories as fat - effectively neutralizing weight loss.

YOU get to experiment and figure out the DD/UD ranges that work best for YOU. Many/most of us find the calculated DD/UD calories produce very good results.

Does any of that make sense?

Nancy, Thank you SO much for your illustration of exactly how this all works. I have read most of Dr. Johnson's book but the way you explain it here breaks it all down into a very easy to understand way. Thank you thank you! I can see we all are different and must be willing to start out somewhere within JUDDD guidlines, and then make little adjustments, and experiment along the way. I would expect many of us will need to stay very strict and others can be a bit loose and either maintain or loose, depending on your particular goals.

I am loving all of you on this forum! You are all so helpful and friendly.

[gotsomeold]

By George, I think she's got it!

I'm glad that helped.

[annefran]

Ok I'm getting all my meals planned for the week and starting tomorrow with my first UD, Monday first DD. I'm reading reading on this forum and learning so much from all your tips and tricks.

I have ************ all set up on my phone and ready to rock this WOE!