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This is so... weird...
I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but my brother-in-law Michael and his partner April practice CR (Caloric Restriction). It's basically a diet in which you restrict the amount of calories you take in to near-starvation levels, in the belief that this will lengthen your lifespan. (Don't look at me funny; despite its seeming illogic, there's plenty of scientific evidence behind that belief.)
Anyway, I know they're both pretty big in the CR movement, but it's something else to see objective proof of that, to wit:
New York Magazine's The Fast Supper: Is a life lived on the edge of starvation worth living? Our hungry reporter gives the ultra-extreme Calorie Restriction Diet a two-month taste test, by Julian Dibbell.
It's so... weird. There they are. In the flesh. April Smith, a 32-year-old Philadelphia union organizer and author of April’s CR Diary, a highly readable and (within the CR community, at least) widely read online journal of her calorie-restricted life; her Canadian boyfriend, Michael Rae, a full-time research assistant to life-extension guru Aubrey de Grey and a prolific, authoritative presence on the CRS mailing list. “Your sense of taste really does become enhanced when you’re hungry for your food,” Michael observes. “You appreciate it more.”. There's even a picture of them. Whoa.
Then there's an article about the above article: Rudd Sound Bites' Starving Yourself for Eternity, by Katherine Stevens.
And then there's April's response to the response article.
This is quite a mind-trip. I mean, a lot of what's in the two articles is stuff the family has been hearing/discussing for years, but it's something else to see it set out in an honest-to-god news article. And to read things like April and Michael's getting-together story in black and white, having heard it from both of them a few years ago. It's also interesting to find out stuff I didn't know - for example (HEY!
tobiascharity!!), that April went to Interlochen.
Anyway. Interesting articles. I did find the tone of the first to be rather creepy, and the second condescending, but they make some interesting observations.
Although I have to disagree with them on the CR-taste thing. I wouldn't want to go on a CR diet, but after tasting a lot of April's cooking this Christmas, I made a point of getting her blog address so I could get some of them off of her. Not bland at all, and I'm not just saying that because April might read this entry ;) Not all of it was to my liking (what a surprise, considering we're different people), but it was all very healthy and usually quite yummy in often very unexpected ways. I'll ask if I can post some of the recipes here so people can judge for themselves.
ETA: Oh, and I had to laugh at some of the descriptions of Michael, particularly his "quiet, clipped, north-of-the-border tone." Hee. North-of-the-border tone. ::snicker::
Oh, and of course:
All eyes now fall on Michael, naturally, and for the first time, I get a good look at his hands. And though I’m sure the light must be playing tricks on me, I can’t help thinking that those hands are actually a vivid shade of...
“I know, isn’t it pretty?” asks April. “I love the orange. I call him the Orange One.”
I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but my brother-in-law Michael and his partner April practice CR (Caloric Restriction). It's basically a diet in which you restrict the amount of calories you take in to near-starvation levels, in the belief that this will lengthen your lifespan. (Don't look at me funny; despite its seeming illogic, there's plenty of scientific evidence behind that belief.)
Anyway, I know they're both pretty big in the CR movement, but it's something else to see objective proof of that, to wit:
New York Magazine's The Fast Supper: Is a life lived on the edge of starvation worth living? Our hungry reporter gives the ultra-extreme Calorie Restriction Diet a two-month taste test, by Julian Dibbell.
It's so... weird. There they are. In the flesh. April Smith, a 32-year-old Philadelphia union organizer and author of April’s CR Diary, a highly readable and (within the CR community, at least) widely read online journal of her calorie-restricted life; her Canadian boyfriend, Michael Rae, a full-time research assistant to life-extension guru Aubrey de Grey and a prolific, authoritative presence on the CRS mailing list. “Your sense of taste really does become enhanced when you’re hungry for your food,” Michael observes. “You appreciate it more.”. There's even a picture of them. Whoa.
Then there's an article about the above article: Rudd Sound Bites' Starving Yourself for Eternity, by Katherine Stevens.
And then there's April's response to the response article.
This is quite a mind-trip. I mean, a lot of what's in the two articles is stuff the family has been hearing/discussing for years, but it's something else to see it set out in an honest-to-god news article. And to read things like April and Michael's getting-together story in black and white, having heard it from both of them a few years ago. It's also interesting to find out stuff I didn't know - for example (HEY!
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Anyway. Interesting articles. I did find the tone of the first to be rather creepy, and the second condescending, but they make some interesting observations.
Although I have to disagree with them on the CR-taste thing. I wouldn't want to go on a CR diet, but after tasting a lot of April's cooking this Christmas, I made a point of getting her blog address so I could get some of them off of her. Not bland at all, and I'm not just saying that because April might read this entry ;) Not all of it was to my liking (what a surprise, considering we're different people), but it was all very healthy and usually quite yummy in often very unexpected ways. I'll ask if I can post some of the recipes here so people can judge for themselves.
ETA: Oh, and I had to laugh at some of the descriptions of Michael, particularly his "quiet, clipped, north-of-the-border tone." Hee. North-of-the-border tone. ::snicker::
Oh, and of course:
All eyes now fall on Michael, naturally, and for the first time, I get a good look at his hands. And though I’m sure the light must be playing tricks on me, I can’t help thinking that those hands are actually a vivid shade of...
“I know, isn’t it pretty?” asks April. “I love the orange. I call him the Orange One.”
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 02:56 pm (UTC)CR vs. Fat & "Happy"
Date: 2007-01-02 05:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-03 05:41 am (UTC)Yeah, me too. Although Michael and April say they aren't hungry all the time, and they certainly do eat much healthier than your average North American - which is not a high standard, but still. Mostly I wouldn't really want to spend as much time on my food as seems to be needed to maintain health while doing CR.
Just out of curiosity, why would one want to live of 100+ years?
I think I would... but not enough to do much about it other than the obvious (don't smoke, eat healthy, exercise, etc).
Another thing is that it's not just living longer, it's also living younger, according to many CR folks. It's feeling like you're 40 when you're 80, 50 when you're 100, etc. Which I must say seems like a good thing.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 06:11 pm (UTC)Thanks for sharing!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-03 05:42 am (UTC)Recipes
Date: 2007-01-03 02:43 am (UTC)So glad you liked the recipes! If there's any food you or the kids particularly like, I can see if I have a recipe for it. I love adapting recipes to make the things that people like healthy.
We had so much fun hanging out with you at Christmas! Hope we can spend more time together in future! And I'll be looking forward to reading your blog on a regular basis.
love, april
Re: Recipes
Date: 2007-01-03 07:17 am (UTC)Well definitely the cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes, though I'm not sure how much the kids liked them - I was too busy enjoying them to notice ;) The omelettes were wonderful, too. And wasn't there something with asparagus in there too?
We had so much fun hanging out with you at Christmas! Hope we can spend more time together in future!
Us too :) :) :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-03 06:03 am (UTC)After all, someone with no, or irrelevant, medical issues could follow CR strictly and still get hit by a bus in their 30s. Other than being reasonably sensible about the amount one eats (ask
Orange? Okay, healthy people do NOT turn orange. Sorry.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-05 03:03 am (UTC)Yeah, same here. It looks like they enjoy their lives and their food, but I know I definitely wouldn't. I dislike cooking enough as it is; I'd hate having to spend even more time on it than I already do.
After all, someone with no, or irrelevant, medical issues could follow CR strictly and still get hit by a bus in their 30s.
To be fair, though, part of what they want is to feel healthier and younger, no matter their age. So, yeah, maybe they'll be hit by a bus when they're 40 - but they will at least reach 40 with fewer of the minor age-related deteriorations the rest of us have to deal with. Not to mention the less minor deteriorations brought on by age 50, 60, 70, 80...
Orange? Okay, healthy people do NOT turn orange. Sorry.
LOL yeah, well, April likes it, the rest of us are used to it, and the shade does go well with his hair :)