Rule 2: Learn From Mistakes

Is there a better birthday view? Behind, about 30
wonderful people. And plenty of fish and wine!

In summer 2010, I was celebrating my 30th birthday. It was a beautiful day, one I will never forget, thanks to
fantastic summer weather and the greatest people around me. That day was perfect and when I was reflecting not just on that day, but also on where I got myself in life so far, I realized that I was only one thing shy from perfect. On my 30th birthday, I had over 110 kilograms, way too much for my height.

It wasn't just the weight. Recent blood test has shown elevated LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, elevated triglycerides and blood pressure. Meaning that I scored 4 out of 5 on the metabolic syndrome criteria. The only thing within recommended limits was my blood sugar. But 4 out of 5 was good enough for me to realize that I was at high risk for atherosclerosis, stroke, heart attack, some forms of cancer and perhaps even Alzheimer, if by any miracle I got to an age when Alzheimer normally develops. Strange as it may sound talking about desirability of causes of death, but none those I have just mentioned didn't sound very appealing. That day I decided that I will make a change. The problem was that I had no idea, which things should I change and, even more importantly, what should I change them into.

The western diet food pyramid. I've been trying my luck
with it for 10 years, but it the plan backfired. Not to mention
that it's too often tasteless and boring.

I didn't get overweight over night. It took me a decade to go from 79 kg to over 110. During this time, I was well aware of my growing problem and I have already taken what I believed were good enough and for me acceptable measures. Especially, I dramatically reduced (literally to homeopathic doses) ingredients which were "advertised" in the media as the greatest risk makers. I avoided fatty foods, measured added oil in halves of teaspoons, reduced sugar and even got myself to like green vegetables. I also avoided processed foods, taking one hour to cook risotto from fresh ingredients instead of just dumping something from a bag and eat it 10 minutes later. I did my homework! But things were getting from bad to worse. One day, I remember making a thorough assessment of my dieting and exercising habits, comparing them with recommendations I got from my doctor and from other "experts". I scored 7 out of 10 criteria, failing only on not eating my vegetables regularly, not exercising as much as I should and occasionally drinking too much wine. Everything else was fine. Most people I knew would score much worse. Yet, most people I knew didn't have any signs of metabolic syndrome and I had royal flush.

At that time, I have also met Eric Adler and he told me that one of the basic reasons for not solving my problem is because my brain is full of wrong information. It was another one of Eric's seemingly trivial observations, but it only seemed such because at that time I didn't realize that information stored in my brain defines my world. And in the same way, the information stored in your brain defines your world.

In a way, our brain is like a hard drive. It can store
all sorts of information. What you need to to is
to make the information available to your senses. And
not reject them before giving them a chance.

Let me explain what I mean. Whenever you or I need to make a decision, our brain searches through its memory for available options. Whatever the options are, all options come from memory. They can't come from anywhere else. Let's assume that you take an options and it works for you. In this case, the brain will simply mark it as a useful option and the next time, when you will have to make a similar decision, it will "pop up" on the top of the options list. In the same way, if it wouldn't work for you, it would be marked as less useful and pushed on the bottom of the list, making space for another options for the next occasion. But what if none of the options works?

If none of the option works, you need new options. And the only way to get them is to open your mind, start receiving new information and start making new experiments. It is the only way to get new information in your brain. At that time you should put your self in the "researcher mode", recognize every available information, explore it and perhaps try it out yourself.

Since the summer of 2010, I used this attitude to explore tens and tens of different diets. I also tried a couple of them. The more I explored and learned, the more I was able to quickly recognize good potentials over "totally-useless-although-brilliantly-marketed" options, as I got to call them. I am also proud of saying that between the summer 2010 and the summer 2013, I kept gaining weight. My all time high was 116kg. But the difference between periods 2000-2010 and 2010-2013 was that in the first 10 years, I was doing what I believed was right. I never questioned the concepts and ideas which established my belief system. In 2010, I knew that my belief system is wrong and I started exploring. After additional 3 years of failures, it seems that I have found a solution that works for me. After experimenting with it for 3 months, it fits all of my criteria. It is easy to follow, it is versatile, it doesn't require any kind of schedule, you don't have to be hungry and you don't have to exercise, and the weight goes down kilo by kilo week after week.

Whatever other people are saying, these are
not SOLUTIONS. They are OPTIONS.
Acknowledge them and try them out. If they
work, stick to them. If not, keep on searching.

It is not my intention to convince you that LCHF is the only good diet. I am simply saying that it is the perfect
diet for me. But if you are also struggling for a long time with your weight or other elements of metabolic syndrome (elevated blood pressure, bad cholesterol, triglycerides and blood sugar), know this: the information that you have in your brain is wrong, and there is no way you can pick a good option. You need to open your mind, get new information and experiment. Become your own scientist. I can't promise you that you won't make mistakes. I have behind me three years of failed experiments, and I consider myself lucky. I hope that yours will be shorter, but no one can ever know without trying.