Why CR?

In my attempts to re-motivate (counting is not going as well as I would like...) I am going to dedicate the next few posts to why I want to maintain this seemingly (to me) labor intensive diet.

1) Weight loss/maintenance.
Really what more is needed to say? I lost 20lbs throughout the study and I would like to keep it off, and keep my body in a negative energy state. Good things happen when you are in a negative energy balance. Like what, you ask?!

2) Improved health functions.
If we can correlate the animals studies to the preliminary human studies*: if one were to maintain a CR diet for life (all benefits lost once you stop dieting- not that you would get unhealthy immediately, but the "protection" is lost) you would

• Not get sick as often-- when I did get sick it was never that bad
  
• Be more protected from getting diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, immune diseases, and cancer
• Have improved muscle and bone structure

I am more interested the benefits of this diet improving the aging process than extending my life in terms of years. I would like to live healthy for as long as possible.

*None of this has been proven in humans, but the evidence is clear in animal studies.

3) Awareness.
It is a good thing when you know how much food you actually need on a daily basis. And anther good thing when you can look back at the end of the day and know you ate what you needed. It may seem strange, but awareness and control can be a good thing. Self control is one of the hardest things I am still learning...