Weight loss is a topic that affects many, with countless individuals seeking effective strategies to achieve their health goals. Jimmy Akin, known for his work in faith and reason, shares his personal journey and insights into weight loss, offering a unique perspective on the challenges and solutions. This article delves into Jimmy Akin's weight loss experience, exploring the methods he employed, the obstacles he overcame, and the valuable lessons he learned along the way.
Jimmy Akin's Background and Initial Struggles
Jimmy Akin recounts that he was quite thin as a child. However, during his thirties, he began to gain weight. Despite intermittent dieting, he struggled with weight loss. The pounds accumulated, and he found himself ignoring the issue as a coping mechanism. He recognizes a lack of self-control, which has affected his prayer life, his willingness to serve others, and his hobbies.
The Turning Point: Lent 2018 and a Commitment to Change
As Lent of 2018 approached, Jimmy and his husband sought a meaningful goal. They decided to embark on the difficult journey of eating healthy. They were aware of the pitfalls and failures based on years of intermittent dieting. Despite fleeting successes, they always reverted to their old habits. They realized they were inspired by following Church law. Gluttony is not pretty, whether in lust for food or for other creature comforts. Jimmy also found out that Saint Michael the Archangel is a patron against temptation, which is perfect for those who diet.
Embracing the Ketogenic (Keto) Approach
Jimmy Akin discovered the Ketogenic (Keto) approach, inspired by his own diet blog post. This made a measurable difference on the scale and in his health reports. To date, he has lost an impressive 40 lbs.
The Keto Way of Life
Following a more disciplined path in his eating habits has had a major effect on him. Although Jimmy will probably always be a recovering carb addict, the Keto Way of Life is his ticket to freedom.
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Incorporating Intermittent Fasting
Another facet of Jimmy’s new lifestyle is the practice of intermittent fasting. The method he uses is the 8/16 regimen - an eight-hour window of eating followed by 16 hours of fasting. Considering that he already fasts for eight hours while he sleeps at night, this is an easy approach for him. In the past, he adhered to the popular wisdom of eating at regularly spaced intervals. This is the most common dietary medical advice patients receive from their doctors. His problem is that he is not hungry until later in the day - breakfast eating is actually a trial for him.
Intermittent Fasting and Hunger
A few months ago, at the suggestion of his physician, Jimmy began to practice intermittent fasting, and it’s really accelerated his weight loss. He was surprised at how little hunger he’s had. He called a friend who does a lot of fasting, and he said his experience is that hunger is largely a matter of habit. When your body is used to getting a new influx of calories, that’s when it sends the “It’s time to eat now” hunger signal. He also just ignores it, because hunger isn’t a constant. My experience is that hunger isn’t strong and that it usually goes away in 20 minutes or so. On some days, he finds that he experiences mild hunger in midday. The earlier in the day this happens, the better!
Addressing Concerns About Intermittent Fasting
Jimmy addresses common concerns about intermittent fasting, emphasizing that it is a safe and natural part of human experience. Fasting is actually a normal part of human experience. We’re designed for it.
Debunking Myths About Fasting
Jimmy debunks several myths surrounding fasting, including the notion that it leads to muscle loss or headaches.
Myth: Fasting Burns Muscle
We can show that people who are fasting aren’t burning muscle because when the body burns protein (the stuff muscle is made of), there is a byproduct known as urea. When people are eating normally, they have substantial levels of urea in their blood from the protein they eat. Bottom line: You need muscle to go hunt bison, so your body burns the fat and preserves the muscle. The purpose of the fat is to be burned as fuel, so that’s why the body burns it. The purpose of muscle is to help you catch bison, so the body leaves it alone.
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Myth: Fasting Causes Headaches
You need mental clarity to hunt bison, so your body has an incentive to keep you clear headed. If you are used to consuming something (e.g., coffee) that will cause headaches if you stop, and if you then suddenly stop, then you may get headaches. However, it’s not the lack of calories that’s causing the headache. Also, since coffee is a no-calorie beverage, you can have it when you fast!
The Stepwise Approach to Intermittent Fasting
Jimmy suggests a stepwise approach to intermittent fasting. That’s what he did. This stepwise approach was so successful for him that, the day he first went to one meal, he wasn’t even hungry at dinner time.
What to Do When Hunger Strikes
What happens if you do get hungry or don’t feel good while intermittent fasting? You eat something! This isn’t rocket science, people.
The Role of Spirituality and Temperance
Fasting is also a proven spiritual option. Think of Jesus and His 40 days in the desert. In fact, Catholicism is not the only religion to use fasting as a spiritual tool. The mental clarity that comes from abstaining from food provides an unmatched sense of mental clarity. In large part, the lesson I take from this effort is the importance of temperance. Throughout our lives as Catholic Christians, we are encouraged to practice this virtue. Temperance pertains to all creature comforts and allows us to empty ourselves in preparation for being filled with God and His presence. Caring for our bodies - temples of the Holy Spirit - enables us to participate in a tangible way. Our temporary discomforts become a path to finding the importance of our focus on Eternity.
Temperance and Fortitude
Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable. Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good.
Read also: Perseverance and Comedy: Jimmy Failla
Understanding Caloric Intake and Metabolism
When I first began Intermittent Fasting, I decided not to initially set a final goal for my weight loss. Incidentally, based on my present body composition, they estimated my current Resting Metabolic Rate would require me to consume 1881 calories per day. That means I’d need to eat 1881 calories just to lie in bed. For purposes of the calculations, I assumed the same lean body weight of 140 lbs. It wouldn’t have been exactly that, but it would have been close to it. Our bodies do need some fat to function properly, but there isn’t an exact number that has been established as optimal (note: optimal and average are not the same thing). Presently, for my purposes, I’m going to assume that somewhere between 10% and 17% is what I’ll shoot for. These numbers are also historically in line for what a man of my height (6 feet) would weigh before the obesity epidemic began to set in during the 1960s and 1970s. The numbers assume the present level of 140 lbs lean body mass.
The Importance of Willpower and Motivation
Willpower is also a necessity. Without the proper motivation and corresponding action, this too will fail. Yet, I am confident in the spiritual addition to my effort. Saint Michael is at my side. Taking a cue from the sacrament of Reconciliation I can also alter my course toward the goal, should it drift away from the objective - temperance. My Eternal reward will (hopefully) be Heaven - resulting from my new spirit of awareness and resolve (fortitude).
Low-Calorie Options and Snacks
Many advocates of Intermittent Fasting (including Dr. What is clear is that it doesn’t have a large number of calories and so won’t produce a large insulin spike. After I discovered the recommendations of low-cal liquids like bone broth and almond milk, that got me thinking: A serving of bone broth (depending on what kind you get) can be around 40 calories. And 12 oz. Now, I wouldn’t recommend sweets in that range. However, there are foods which are both low-calorie and high-fiber. For example, an 8 oz. can of green beans contains two servings of 20 calories each, for a total of 40 calories. Fresh green beans are also an option, and they have crunch if you don’t cook them. Celery also works. An 8 inch, medium stalk of celery has only 6 calories! And I can offer you one more twist. Sure! Add spices! You could also add no- or low-calorie sauces, such as lemon juice or vinegar. One of my favorites is eating red bell pepper slices (or any bell pepper slices) with Walden Farm’s chocolate dip. Also, everyone’s body is different, and different people will be able to handle different amounts of low-calorie snacks of the type described here.
Understanding the Role of Big Food and Big Pharma
Several reasons. Big Food has zero interest in not selling you food. Big Pharma has zero interest in not selling you drugs and medical procedures. As the result of economic incentives like these, fasting has virtually disappeared from our culture, though it used to be the norm.
Addressing Medical Conditions and Medications
However, there are some medical conditions in which people either should not fast or should do so under a doctor’s care. This is particularly the case when you are on medications that you may need less of when you fast. For example, diabetics are likely to need less insulin, people who take blood pressure meds are likely to need smaller doses. If you don’t adjust your dosages, your blood sugar or blood pressure might go too low. However, needing less of these medications is actually a good thing. It means your health is improving!
Fasting and Diabetes
Here is a talk by Dr. I also know a many people who have Type 1 diabetes (formerly called “juvenile diabetes”), and fasting can also help them, though you have to monitor your blood sugar more carefully.
The Importance of Effective Methods
The standard “eat less, move more” advice you hear doesn’t work (and studies show that it doesn’t). Once I discovered an effective means of losing weight (initially low carb, and now low carb plus intermittent fasting), I stuck to them like crazy-to the point that I know others have come to regard me as a diet disciplinarian (at least when it comes to myself). I won’t break my diet just because people are having a party or I’m in a social situation, and I’m willing to be viewed as an oddball for the sake of not impeding weight loss. So bear all that in mind when you see someone who has weight issues. Willpower is likely not the issue, but lack of knowledge of an effective way to get the weight off and keep it off.