The Ring never Lies

For the last 8 years, I've worn a commitment ring on my left-hand ring finger. Last year, my partner and I were married and we exchanged the rings in a formal ceremony. The ring slipped off and on again, no problem.

A few months ago, I noticed that the ring was harder to get off. I play with it on occasion, twist it around my finger and then slide it up and down my knuckle. Just an idle toying-with when I'm watching TV.

But then... slowly, over time, I noticed that I couldn't get the ring over that knuckle. And it was a tight twist on my finger. What the heck?

Did the ring shrink? Did my finger swell? Was I perhaps retaining water? Did I have early arthritis starting in my knuckle? Or had I gained weight?

It's not been an easy year, 2025. It's actually been a brute of a year. My Mom died, my aunt died, and there was another death. On top of work. And running an Airbnb. And other stuff.

Looking back... I see how I turned to Starbucks hot chocolate for comfort. It was a well-trodden, comforting routine that made me feel cared for and soothed. I turned to chocolate, because... why not!? 

Add to that, my feet have been bothering me this past year. And the advice was to ease up on the walking and hiking. So I have been more sedentary this past year, waiting for the feet to feel better.

That might explain why my belt is now in a different hole... and why I've had to wear the stretchy jeans rather than my regular ones. Ugh.

So... when I gathered my courage in my hands this morning and stepped on the scale, I wasn't shocked to find myself a good 10 lbs over my stable, standard weight. Bugger.

The clouds have been brewing for a while... emotionally turbulent year... belt holes... stretchy jeans... shrinking ring... less walking... more chocolate. It's a perfect recipe for weight gain. But I've been here before and I've turned the ship around. 

It's almost the end of the year... a perfect time to take stock, assess priorities and directions and choose a different path. I don't have to wait for January 1. I can start now. Today. Which is 12/12/25...

Faithful readers of this blog will know that I have gone on various sugar detoxes multiple times. Sometimes they work. For a while.

On a positive note... 15 December (tomorrow) marks 150 days with no hot chocolate. Which is a major win. Now I need to work on the chocolate cravings that pop up elsewhere. It's kind of like whack-a-mole. Sit on the hot chocolate mole and some other chocolate mole pops up... Lindt 85% dark chocolate squares (far too many in one day) or Ritter Sport dark chocolate with hazelnut... also too many in one day...

I guess mindfulness is the key. It's been too easy to ignore the belt holes... and the tight jeans (they're always tight after being washed)... but the ring thing... it's in my face, in my view... all the time. And it's not comfortable. There's no way to make it bigger either. No stretchies... no extra hole to make it expand. It's firm and immovable. There's only one option... shrink the finger!

It's time to turn this ship around. To pivot and make different choices. 

The Hidden Link Between Your Gut and Your Waistline

This may seem totally obvious once you read the results of the latest Stanford study but you might also wonder why it took so long!

The reason you are not losing weight while dieting is because... your gut microbiome has a say in the matter. And everyone's biome is different so... the diet that works for one person might be completely useless for the next person. Mind blowing, yes?! Yep. My mind was blown.

Low-Fat vs. Low-Carb

They put some people on low-fat diets and some people on low-carb diets. People who strictly followed either diet lost weight during the short-term (first 6 months). OK. Fine. But here's the kicker... The people who maintained the weight loss for a year ate the SAME number of calories as those who regained weight or who didn't lose weight during the second six months. Well, that sucks. Can you imagine watching your friend eat the same amount of calories as you and they are losing weight while you are gaining weight or plateauing?

That's because some people lost weight better on low-fat diets while others lost weight better on low-carb diets. Why the difference? Why do some people lose weight while others gain weight? Well... turns out it depends on several biomarkers: gut microbiome, proteins made by the body and the levels of exhaled carbon dioxide (CO2). Using those biomarkers, researchers could actually predict, at the start of the study, how successful someone would be at losing weight and keeping it off long-term.

The researchers tracked 609 people over a year. How much they ate, what they ate (mostly healthy minimally processed foods) and how much they exercised. What they found was this... just cutting calories or exercising more was NOT enough to sustain weight loss over a year.

Which makes zero sense... because for years we've been told that weight loss is 80/20 - 80% has to do with what you eat and 20% has to do with exercise. Nope, that little rule of thumb is out the window.

Why some Lose Weight while Others Gain Weight

One of the key pieces of the puzzle was the level of exhaled carbon dioxide. The researchers measured the ratio of how much oxygen is inhaled to how much carbon dioxide is exhaled. They used this as a proxy to determine if the body's primary fuel was carbs or fats. A lower ratio means the body burns fat better... while a higher ratio means it burns carbs better. So people who started the study with a higher ratio lost more weight on a low-carb diet because their body burns carbs better.

Think about it... there you are... munching away on your Keto diet because that's what your workout coach recommended. And he's ripped with muscles everywhere and not an ounce of fat on him. You go to town with the Keto, eating all sorts of high fat foods - bacon, cheese, beef, coconut fat, etc. And you avoid carbs like the plague - no potatoes, no noodles, no beans, no pizza. Let's do it!!!

And yet... after a year of eating on Keto you haven't lost the weight... in fact you've put on MORE weight. Why?? It's because your body burns carbs better. And you've been feeding your body the wrong fuel. It's not a lack of willpower. It's the wrong fuel.

If your body prefers carbs, and you're feeding it fats (or vice versa)... your body is not going to be able to metabolize those calories very well... or burn them off. Makes sense. So much sense.

And it all comes down to the your gut microbiome. Do they like to eat carbs? Or do they prefer fats? Can you just imagine a future in which you go to your doctor, they do some tests and hand you a personalized weight-loss or healthy eating plan? Whoa... 

Which begs the question... how do we find out  which is best for u!!?? Well... here's the thing. There isn't a test right now that will easily tell us what sort of gut microbiome we have rumbling around in our insides. Although... some fitness centres or wellness centres will do the respiratory quotient test for you ($$). It measures the ratio of inhaled oxygen to exhaled carbon dioxide.

In the Meantime...

Sooooo... in the meantime... this is what the researchers recommend:

• eat mostly unprocessed foods (real food - not processed "food")
• eat foods low in refined flours (I'm looking at your bread and noodles)
• eat foods low in refined sugar (sigh... brownies!!)
• eat healthy fats like avocados, olives and nuts (not bacon! or coconut oil!)
• get enough fibre from whole grains and beans (even on a low-fat diet - not all carbs are bad)
• learn to cook and rely less on highly processed foods

Well... that makes sense. It's the same advice as always... eat real food, mostly plants, and not too much. Stay away from processed "food". Stay away from sugar and refined flours. And if you're sticking to some diet plan and not losing weight... or actually putting on weight... maybe low-fat or low-carb is not for you.

Now the researchers also acknowledge that some ethnic and racial groups were underrepresented. Which makes me wonder... are some diets better for some ethnic groups than others? Based on different gut microbiomes? And what about men vs. women? Does that make a difference?

The bottom line is this... the diet that works for one person is not necessarily going to work for you. And yes... while you might be able to lose weight short-term on that Keto diet... if it's not the diet for your guy microbiome, it won't work long-term. That is out of your control.

Once again... back to small steps. It's those small daily choices that we make that help us along.

Read More

SciTech - Summary of the Stanford Study

CTV News - Stanford study identifies what influences weight loss the most

Cell Reports Medicine - the full Stanford report

Intake Health - info on the Respiratory Quotient (ratio of inhaled oxygen to exhaled carbon dioxide)