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December 26, 2008
When Can I Start CR?
Quick reply to Rad-tastic (great name!)'s question:
I<em> also have a question, since I know nothing about the human body, and you being a nurse probably does. So I know it's advised to start CR around 21 years or older and I'm wondering if hitting puberty early (10 years old) would make a huge difference. I'm 18, so would it still be too early? I'm just really excited about living longer, and I guess I'm jumping the gun. But any advice would be great, thanks.
Quick answer:the reason why we ask you not to start CR until you're 21 is that though the body may have developed as far as it will go, the brain continues to mature and appears to not reach its full growth until 21. You definitely would not want to compromise your brain, so do wait until you're 21 to lower your calories.
That being said, it's never too early to pay close attention to getting excellent nutrition. You can use the CRON-O-Meter or any other software to make sure you're training yourself to get the best nutrition you can, and also getting a sense for how many calories you eat now. Then once you're 21 you can lower your calories gradually based on an actual knowledge of how much you eat ad lib. It's always good to learn how to pack your day with the most nutrition possible.
Good luck and keep us posted on how you're doing!
Posted by april at December 26, 2008 12:05 PM
Comments
Yeah, my names is awesome. :D
Thanks very, very much for the info. I did figure as much, though I wasn't sure how my brain grew since I don't see it! I'll surely work on getting as much nutrition as possible and keep you posted!
Posted by: rad-tastic at December 26, 2008 5:58 PM
april, you have some older blog entries about a buddy who practices CR while marathoning. does he have a blog? i'm new to CR, but pretty athletic, and don't want to quit because i like the way it makes me feel. trying to figure out how to adjust both calorie level and nutrients while in the hardest months of training. i'm having trouble finding good resources, though i figure my biggest challenge for long runs is going to be storing glycogen without loading up on pasta. thoughts?
Posted by: erika at December 26, 2008 7:23 PM
I have read somewhere that some parts of the brain are not fully formed until about age 25. I know a couple people who have started CR at age 18, one of whom is now 20 and he seems fine. But then you never know your true potential if it's correct that CR inhibits brain development. I personally started proper *CRON* 20 but lost weight from 18 years of age from an already healthy weight by eating a more healthy diet. Might be why I am a bit shorter than the average at 5ft 7". Though for me I liked how I was at the time of starting CRON so even if I was sacrificing more height, that was fine for me.
In saying that, the waiting 2-3 more years wont really make all that much difference in the big pay off from CR, because even 20-21 is starting fairly young relative to most human CRers. And maintaining an excellent diet like April already said would give you so much benefit, make you look younger and be healthier by itself.
But with that being said, I think the
Posted by: Matthew Lake at December 27, 2008 5:14 AM
April,
You have answered a big question of mine and at the same time, another poster has asked another.
I am just younger than rad-tastic, and I maintain a very healthy, nutrient-dense diet (I use CRON-o-meter and I'm hooked!) but I'm really eager to try CRON. I know that I'm still growing; much of my family experienced puberty at an unusually late age, but I'm 5'9" now (I've grown about 2" in the past year) and as a competitive distance runner, I really, really would not care to grow anymore! I wondering if I start CRON now, even though (possible) stunted growth wouldn't bother me, will it still have negative consequences on my brain development?
Another big question of mine is one that Erika brought up. Are there any studies linking CRON practice to improved athletic performance? It seems like such a healthy lifestyle with so many clear, proven benefits that I wouldn't be surprised if such were the case. Or, at the very least, will it allow me to train as intensely as I want to and allow me to sustain my fitness gains?
Thanks, April!
Posted by: Domenica at December 28, 2008 8:59 PM
Hi April,
Thanks for your helpful correction on my blog post. I have been reading Aubrey de Grey's book on ending aging, where he expressed some high-level doubts about the overall effectiveness of CR.
Is there any reading material out there which describes evidence (or least personal experience / anecdotal evidence) on the effectiveness of CR on humans?
Thanks,
-Yisong
Posted by: Yisong at December 29, 2008 8:52 AM
Heres one for you and it's totally observational and anecodal... But most CRONies seem to hardly ever age in appearance since starting CR haha. Even now at 24 I seem to have (in terms of appearance) de-aged. I mean, I am just as young lookg as when I was in high school when I was <16 years old.
Not amazing evidence, but at least you look good if you still die at 80 :p
Posted by: Matthew Lake at December 29, 2008 9:33 AM
I forgot this link
http://tinyurl.com/954f6p
Amazing differences in the Rhesus monkey study when they compare ad lib to CR monkeys.
Excuse my spelling above ^_^ Seems i'm not too good touch typing on laptops.
Posted by: Matthew Lake at December 29, 2008 12:51 PM