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This is awesome because it mashes up two really awesome things: Joss Whedon and David Allen’s Getting Things Done. The writer-producer-director who made Much Ado About Nothing while editing The Avengers, and who’ll return to TV this fall with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., knows a bit about “getting things done.” In fact, he cites David Allen’s book of that title as an important guide–even if he never finished reading it. More here: How To Be Prolific: Guidelines For Getting It Done From Joss Whedon

Me in 2013 As of today I have lost 100 pounds. This has been in progress for about 2.5 years. I’ve written quite a bit about my journey. Check this blog post for a good summary of what I did. A tale of two diets — How I renegotiated my relationship to food: /archives/2013/1010 The short version is: Paleo and LCHF have been good for me, but it takes a lot of trying and experimenting to find the best plan. ...

Is breakfast really so important when trying to lose weight? It depends a lot on the content of your diet. Look at your nutrient balance from last week. If your carbs are over 50%, you are on the low-fat, high-carb plan. That plan depends on eating 5-6 times a day, very small amounts, and distracting yourself so the hunger won’t bother you. High-carb dieters get into BIG trouble by skipping meals. If you get so hungry that you’re desperate and reaching for anything and everything, that’s why. The only way to eat that many carbs and still lose is to do it constantly throughout the day, no more than a serving or two at a time, so you are burning it off and not overloading your system with lots of carbs at once. I think this is why high-carb dieters say to eat breakfast every day. ...

I have decided to do another Whole30 in June, starting today. Is anyone interested in doing it with me? Reach out to me if so. The story so far: I’ve posted quite a bit about my Paleo journey so far. “A tale of two diets — How I renegotiated my relationship to food” ( /archives/2013/1010 ) is a great summary. Quick version: Over many years I have tried different diets and lost about 20 pounds, but nothing really worked well for the long term. Then I found Paleo and LCHF, then it just clicked. It has been 1.5 years and I’ve lost another 78 (for a total of 98 pounds). ...

Another great article from Mark’s Daily Apple today. This seems to clarify many of the ideas that have helped me in my path. 5 Helpful Analogies for Understanding Complex Health Issues 1. Insulin is a Doorman at a Fat Cell Nightclub Insulin is not a switch that goes from fat burning to fat storing. Fat is always going in and out of the fat cells. Insulin just makes it easier to get in. ...

So much of the weight loss self-help literature is about “motivation” and visualization and thinking positive and not losing hope and… and… and… A lot of these plans are very thin on PRACTICAL and USEFUL advice, other than just “Eat less food”. So if the plan is “Eat Less, Move More” and it’s just wrapped in a different flavor of motivation/positive attitude, it is really the same plan and will fail for the same reasons. ...

Of course I’m a big fan of low-carb. But I discovered something even more important: Experiment On Yourself. You will have to try dozens and dozens of things before you find the “recipe” that works for you. Keep track of what you’re doing. Ask others what they did, and try it. Keep track of how you feel. Find things that work and keep doing them. Fine-tune your plan as you go. ...

I posted this on Lose It but wanted to post here too. If you are making a life change (like let’s say, losing weight for example), that will be hard for the first FOUR WEEKS. But, if it is the right change, if it makes your life better, it should get easier, and it should be its own reward. So give your plan a fair chance and stick to it faithfully for four weeks. Reach into your reserves and pull out the stops during this time. Distract yourself, drink more water, write in your journal, sing to yourself, get psyched up, kick your own ass, and tell all your friends to kick your ass for you too. ...

I keep posting to folks suggesting that they add some good fats. If you’re stuck for ideas on how to do that, here’s something I wrote on Lose It, in the Whole30 challenge. Whole30 is like paleo boot camp. It is a naturally low-carb high-fat plan. I like really big salads with lots of olive oil and some salt. For more fats goodness I will often add an avocado. I also like veggies such as broccoli or cauliflower with lots of butter (clarified of course). Slivered almonds are great on salads or on green beans (more butter of course). I usually will have macadamia nuts by themselves, they are really rich. ...

A common bit of diet advice is that you have to eat enough calories, and that you shouldn’t go below your budget too far (or below your BMR or Base Metabolic Rate). But, this is one of the big differences between low carb and low fat diets. If you eat low-fat and high-carb, you are basically alternating between spiking up your blood sugar, burning it off, letting it come back down, and then starving your body of necessary resources until the next feeding time. That dance is a happy blend of sugar/starch feeding, treadmill cardio burning, being hungry but distracting/denying it, then eating again, in small quantities so as to get back into starvation mode again quickly. ...