The Great Starvation Experiment / Tomato Hemp Sauce Recipe

The fruit basket looks pretty when it is full of fresh fruit.

Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to lose weight no matter what you do or how hard you try?  Do you blame yourself, and say, " If I could just be more disciplined and exercise more will power I would be able to succeed on my diet." Maybe it is not all your fault!

I read a book a while back called The Great Starvation Experiment - Ancel Keys and the Men Who Starved for Science by Todd Tucker.  This book is a good read for anyone struggling with weight issues.

During WWII, beginning in 1944, thirty-six volunteers, conscientious objectors, were hand-picked to participate in a year-long study conducted by Ancel Keys on the effects of starvation.  All were men, about 5'10", about 145 lbs, and in excellent health.  This experiment took place in the basement of the football stadium at the University of Minnesota.  The men were told this study would help with the relief efforts in Europe following the war, and most were eager to do something meaningful in the war effort that did not conflict with their pacifism.

I was amazed to learn at what level of caloric intake the body goes into starvation mode.  A graph on page 85 of the book charts the caloric intake of the men compared to their weight.  The normal caloric intake for the men was between 3000-3500 calories.  They were fed at this level for three months to determine what number of calories were needed to maintain weight.  The second stage of the experiment lasted for six month.  During this time the caloric intake was cut in half while activity levels remained the same.  During this stage the men were fed about 1500 calories per day. The third stage of the experiment, the re-feeding,  lasted three months.  During this time the men were divided into three groups.   One group received an additional 400 calories, one received 800 calories, and one received 1200 calories.

The most important thing I have learned from this experiment is that 1500 calories a day is not a sustainable diet.  These men looked like POW's by the end of six months on that amount of calories. Not only were they skin and bones, but all sorts of mental and emotional issues manifested.

Have you noticed that most diet plans recommend 1500-1800 calories a day?  That diet is not sustainable, and when you try to live on a starvation diet by choice, your will power will only take you so far.  The body's need for glucose and calories will win out every time.  That's when people binge!  Has that not been our experience?

Don't ever think for a minute that the people selling you diet plans are not aware of this study!  They know you can go on their restrictive diets and lose weight until you fail and go on an eating binge.  You never blame the diet, though.  You blame yourself for being weak, undisciplined, and lacking in will power.  So then you go back again to try another restrictive diet with a metabolism that will make it even harder to lose weight.

The truth is, women need to be eating about 2500 calories a day and men need about 3000 calories a day minimum.  After years of restrictive eating, you will probably gain weight during the re-feeding stage, but the weight will normalize over time.

Instead of calorie restriction, the way to health is whole, ripe, raw or mostly raw fruits and vegetables!

We bought $100.13 worth of whole, ripe, raw fruits and vegetables yesterday at the grocery store.
Close up pictures follow for a better view.  

Lunch:  1/2 papaya; 1/2 avocado/ 1/2 grapefruit; grated coconut; apple, almond butter.  The orange was saved for another day.
Dinner:  Leftover chopped salad; 1/2 avocado, zucchini pasta with a tomato hemp dressing; rice crackers

Recipe for Tomato Hemp Sauce to go over spiralized zucchini noodles:

Tomato Hemp Sauce

1 tomato

1 roma tomato

1/4 cup hemp seeds

Juice of 1 lemon

2 little colored bell peppers

A few red pepper flakes

Serve over zoodles.

To health and happiness.