To Know is To Understand (Or, I went to bed lightheaded and feeling hungry)

Physicians counsel regularly on the importance of diet and exercise. As a physician with a future career in Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition this will become a second nature reflex in my daily interactions with patients. However I am not sure I know what it means, or how it feels, to really "buckle down" in a fight to lose weight.

Maybe it was the Wii fit telling me that I am borderline overweight (BMI of 25), or that I have spent the last few days in the office of a master clinician with a focus on nutrition or maybe it is because I am on the brink of a milestone birthday (my analyst wife will like this one) but I have decided to go full force into a lifestyle change that result in shedding some excess pounds and hopefully a surge of energy and vitality. One of my colleagues has stuck himself with needles and taken all sorts of medications to experience what the patient experiences and I commend him for this action. I will characterize this as my own equivalent by taking my own advice.

Day 1: Started with a protein shake for breakfast (including probiotics and L-Glutamine powder). On my walk to work I felt a somewhat surprising burst of energy and clarity (a possible placebo effect?). I felt well satiated throughout the first 3-4 hours, although, upon rising from a chair towards the fourth hour I felt slightly lightheaded (clearly it was time to get some kind of snack). A few bites of a protein fruit bar gave me a resurgence, although, it tasted awful. As I sat with patient after patient hearing about their battles with nutrition (e.g. too much alcohol, gluten allergy, sweet tooth, etc.), it had reinforced how difficult it is to stay "healthy" today. As I left the office, I felt famished and ran to the nearest Starbucks for a fruit cup and coffee (no sugar) which did the trick. I preceded to dinner with friends, felt it was difficult not to have a couple of beers, and had mussels with less french fries than usual. Despite feeling relatively satisfied from dinner, I went home to watch the Lakers vs. Cavs and fought against the temptation for something sweet. I compromised on a small bowl of cherries and 1/2 scoop of low fat frozen yogurt. Although, I still felt unsatisfied. That chocolate bar was calling my name but I did not succumb to its soothing nature. Is it possible that I hadn't had enough sugar throughout the day to release an adequate amount of dopamine and serotonin (the pleasure/happy hormones)?

Prior to bed I read from David Kessler's book "The end of Overeating" which illustrated the minute by minute struggle many of us face against food. The clever tactics by the food industry to capture our senses through the layering of sugar, fat and salt plus the creation of textures aimed to stimulate pleasure only make health that much more difficult to obtain.

It was difficult to fall asleep. Maybe because I was lightheaded from not eating enough, or maybe it was because I chugged a full coffee in the evening or maybe it was because my mind was fixated on the difficulties of this task.

Not sure what the response to this blog will be but if anyone seems interested I will keep posting . In the future I may post some food politics type info, nutrition facts/tips, etc. Please comment and/or encourage.