The image above has nine dots within a square.  Your task, using only four lines is to connect ALL nine dots WITHOUT ever raising your pen, pencil or finger (Please don’t use a sharpie on your computer screen . . . it doesn’t come off).

You may have seen this puzzle previously . . . it’s made its rounds in corporate training circles. But the underlying principle remains true.  The solution requires you to expand your thinking or to “think outside the box.”

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. (Mark Twain)

Why should we limit ourselves to thinking outside the box.  Can’t we just get rid of the box?

True discovery consists in seeing what everyone has seen . . . then, thinking what no one has thought.

The answer can be found when those four lines are used beyond the box our mind creates:

What good has the box done us?  People were burned at the stake because they refused to believe the Earth was not the center of the universe. People were beheaded because they had a sneaking suspicion that the world was not flat.

Why is it so very hard to accept that our weight gain and diabetes are driven by a hormonal signal, and not by gluttony or caloric intake of fat?  The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repetitively and expecting a different outcome.  How long have you been restricting calories and fat with only minimal or no improvement in your weight, blood sugar, cholesterol or general feeling of health?

The main problem with the current thought model, or dogma, on the obesity’s cause is that it does not account for metabolic syndrome.  Metabolic syndrome is insulin resistance.  It is an over production of insulin in the presence of ANY form of carbohydrate (sugar or starch).

In the practice of medicine over the last 15 years, I noticed that a very interesting pattern emerged.  There was always a spike in fasting and postprandial insulin levels 5-10 years prior to the first abnormal fasting and postprandial blood sugars.  These patients were exercising regularly and eating a diet low in fat.  But they saw continued weight gain and progressed down the path of metabolic syndrome.  10-15 years later, they fall into the classification of type II diabetes.  What I now lovingly refer to as stage IV insulin resistance.

The only thing that seems to halt this progressive process with any degree of success is carbohydrate restriction.  Fasting insulin levels return to normal, weight falls off, and the diseases of civilizations seem to disappear as insidiously as they arose.

So you tell me, is the world flat?  Is the Earth the center of the universe?

What is a low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet?  15 years of practical in the trenches experience have helped me develop a very simple program to help you lose and maintain your weight.  Access to this program, video help and access to blog articles at your fingertips are offered through my online membership site.

You can also hear me each week a I discuss low carbohydrate, paleolithic and ketogenic diets with the Legendary Jimmy Moore on KetoTalk.com