Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Day 117, Remember Day 47?

Day 47. That was a long time ago, 70 days to be exact. It was just after I had lost 11 pounds of fat. One of the unexpected side-effects was that I was freezing my ass off. I hadn't realized how much extra warmth that layer of fat provided. Here's a cross section showing the subcutaneous fat layer undeneath the dermis.


You see how it's all spongy and bubbly? Remind you of anything? How about this?



All those pockets between fat globules act as a protection against the cold. And when you lose them you really do feel like you've left your jacket at home.

Ah, but now it's summer, and you can guess what I'm going to say next... I've never felt so cool on hot days before! It's great. When I have to wear long pants for work or something I don't feel like I'm roasting from the inside out. And I haven't turned on the air-conditioning once and I intend not to all summer (for ecological and economical reasons).

Now I'm not saying I don't feel hot, I do, but it's just on the surface, and when I get out of the sun my body temperature returns to normal pretty quickly even though the ambient air temp is still high. And the most obvious proof is when I spend time with someone in Not-So-Peak-Condition who is sweating profusely and peeling off layers, cursing the heat the whole time, while I'm cool as a cucumber.

So, knowing this, I think when winter rolls around again I'll put on some pounds to get that layer of fat back a little. This seems like a very natural and obvious thing to do. Nature designed this excellent system for keeping warm, it'd be a shame not to use it.

And if you want to experience these fun side effects for yourself we're still accepting applications for round 2 of the PCP. Apply today and change your life! ThePeakConditionProject (at) gmail.com

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was thinking the other day that the PCP seems to have evolved a ton. I started reading maybe half way in and I don't know about you Patrick but it seems to have more positive benefits at a higher degree than anybody could expect. Interesting thought on getting into a yearly cycle of health for the climate changes. Very easily could this be referred to as the Peak LIFE-Condition Project as well. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on maintenance and perpetual fitness

Anonymous said...

Yeah, believe it or not, I've read the PCP since the very beginning. I was wondering if Patrick would stick with it or not, because others so often do not stick to their goals. I was so happy when he did ^_^

Patrick said...

Yeah, I started the project just thinking maybe a half dozen people would read it and I'd use the blog as a kind of exercise and diet log. But the results and readers just kept coming at faster and faster rates. It's been a blast and I really appreciate you two sticking with me for so long!