The Upward Swing at the end of Refeed

[Kristine..]

G'Day

WARNING!

Pseudo Technical Post!

I have been thinking (always dangerous) about the process of Refeed, and why it is so important to the long term success of the Cohen's program

When I started the program I dropped 3.5 kilos in the first week. I have noticed that various other weight loss programs advertise this commencing loss as well. We know that this is essentially the consumption of the glycerol in the muscles, and is not fat loss. The fat loss doesn't commence until the available glycerol is used. Without sufficient carbohydrate replacement, the liver then commences to access the reserves and the fat starts to be consumed as fuel.

We also know that the brain needs fresh glycerol to function, hence the sugars in the fruit and the carbohydrates in the crispbread. All very well and good.

So we finally reach goal weight and decide to call it a day and to start refeed. During the first week we will continue to lose weight ie the body will continue to consume fat deposits. We are delighted, and tell ourselves that our new weight will be this lower weight. Yippee. But then something strange starts to happen. Our weight gradually increases, and by the end of refeed we are back to the weight we started refeed at. How has this happened?

We are not only introducing all sorts of different foods, enzymes, amino acids etc but we are also restocking glycerol back into the muscles. We are arresting the process of the liver using fat deposits, and returning the metabolic process back to using daily food consumption.

So it stands to reason, if we use up 3.5 kilos of glycerol at the beginning of the program, we must, ergo, restock 3.5 kilos of glycerol back into the readily available stores when we finish the program.

Perhaps this is why we are told not to allow our weight to increase more than 3 kilos post-program – 3 kilos is glycerol, more than that is fat.

However, if our bodies 'grab' the increased food and we increase more than one kilo in one day during refeed, we have to repeat the refeed days which triggered this response to slow down the adjustment and to stabilise the glycerol.

Does this make sense?

We can become very focussed on 'fat' but after twelve months I have observed that it is not the 'fat' I eat which causes weight gain, it is the carbohydrates and it doesn't matter where the carbohydrates come from - sugar, wheat, root vegetables etc, and it is the constant intake of milk in coffee which seems to aid and abet the bodily response to the carbohydrates.

I sailed along quite happily for nine months, with less than one kilo variation. Then, one week at a training course, sitting, eating sugar (FanTales), not much water etc bumped me up two kilos, and those two kilos have stayed ever since (three months). So now the variation is still one kilo, but from a higher base weight.

This would indicate that the metabolism is functioning properly, but that the glycerol stores are higher and have possibly converted to two litres / kilos of actual fat.

So my point is:

The commencement of this program is easy. The refeed is technically extremely important but for more reasons than we may think. What we do out of refeed may rely on the turn point during refeed - in other words, which food, at what day, was the loss arrested and the balance start to swing back the other way.

For those of you just recently finished refeed, and if you kept daily records, can you pin point the food groups and the day that you stopped losing weight? I would suggest that it is the foods introduced on that day which are the trigger foods for evermore!


Comments and observations welcome!

Cheers

Kristine

[Peter 14.7]

Great Post !!! Kristine.

Especially as I start refeed tomorrow, will watch the sugar. Love the logic of why this works. It helps to understand what is good and what is not. rAlso reinforces the "french diet paradox." Lots of fat and meat and wine but low weight per capita.

Thanks Peter

[nonna]

Thanks Kristine for a very interesting and inormative post.
Nonna

[fornight]

How do we determine the gain is due to glycerol replenishing, fat or water gain?

Should we be careful of ALL gains? or we can ignore the gain due to water retention?

[eloise]

Thanks, Kristine. I needed to read this RIGHT now!

[Kristine..]

Hi Eloise

Thanks! And look at the date stamp on when I wrote this essay!

By the way, I think I had a malapropism moment (well, almost, but not quite as comical)

I think it is Glycogen in our blood, not glycerol

But, of course, I could be wrong on both counts. Where is Wikipedia when you need it? I just wouldn't want anyone to explode, if one of these is dangerous!

Good luck with refeed if, indeed, you are heading that way

Cheers
Kristine

[eloise]

Hi Kristine,
I am struggling through it. My body doesn't like it at all. I think it only likes Cohen's food and that's it. Bread and many of the fruits are not agreeing with me and my weight is all over the place. I am also struggling with tofu of all things.
Eloise.