Thursday, April 19, 2018

Summary of the Sponge Syndrome

I am updating and reposting one of my most popular posts.
I write about the Sponge Syndrome in my new book The Chronic Disease of Obesity which is available on Amazon for $4.00 on kindle version.


1- People can lose weight on any diet. But if you are pre-diabetic with insulin resistance or have DM2, then you really should go on Atkins (LCHF).

2- You can't outrun your fork.

3-The Sponge Syndrome makes the reduced obese regain weight unless they faithfully stay on a 1200-1500 calorie a day for the rest of their life. 

4- Only 5% of the reduced obese accomplish maintaining weight loss long term documented in the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR)

5- Very low calorie diets (VLCD) of around 800 calories cause nutritional ketosis (not ketoacidosis as with Diabetes Mellitus) which helps control appetite.

6- Atkins (Low cab high fat) satiates hunger at low calories due to nutritional ketosis. 

7- LCHF =  protein 3-5 times a day for satiety
 with fat for taste and
no carbs is simple to follow for the rest of your life.

8- However, because of the trials of life and stress,  Atkins (LCHF) can regain weight because of occasional binges (The Sponge Syndrome: shrunken fat cells regain fat even with slight increases in calories over the long term)

9- Ultimately in the long run (5-10 years) people who lost weight (the reduced obese) due to any diet or Bariatric surgery will regain and need to be treated with diet medications for the rest of their lives. 

10- Exercise has little to do with maintaining weight loss without staying on a 1200-1500 calorie diet.

11- Sponge Syndrome:  80 billion fat cells that never go away.  These shrunken fat cells with low leptin tell your brain you are starving.

12- You don't feel leptin's effects until you are low in it.  Increased hunger and decreased metabolism.

13- Diet pills are the only way to fight the long term starvation hunger from low leptin except to refill those shrunken fat cells with more fat which produces more leptin and relieves the hunger as it reduces high ghrelin (hunger hormone).

14- Most people don't want to give up carbs.  You can have a carb night once a week.  Eat a bite of dessert if it is not a trigger for binge eating.

15- Atkins (LCHF) is among the least of restrictive diets that you can stay on for the rest of your life because:
a- don't count calories
b- don't need diet diary.
c- eat ad libitum (eat till you are full)
d- high protein for satiety
e- high fat for taste
f- salt encouraged (unless you are hypertensive and salt sensitive)
g-walk at least 20 minutes a day for health

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