Reddit reviews Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It

Just replying to this comment to say that if anyone is considering fasting: yes research shows it can be a very healthy thing to do but you must do it properly.

Here is a book that can guide you on fasting the right way.

Edit: And while we're at it, since ketogenic diets were also mentioned (and I also mostly follow that as well), here's a book to guide you on the how and why of keto too. People use this expression all the time, but for real that book transformed my life (and my body too).

http://www.amazon.ca/Why-We-Get-Fat-About-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410795117&sr=8-1&keywords=taubes+fat

This is a great book about how fucked up our nutritional advice has been over the last many decades. If you read the history of how the food pyramid got chosen and how the recommendation to eat so many carbs and so little protein and fat came about you realize that it basically came down to one single man's opinion. And 50 years later we're just starting to really figure out he was wrong.

Link for the lazy . Looks like you aren't alone 4.6/5 stars

This the one?

http://amzn.com/B003WUYOQ6

30g/day is pretty fucking good! Now Gary Taubes says it must be 25 or less for a lot of good reasons, BUT, you are making a hell of an effort.



Serum glucose/Low T connection see here

BTW, you are doing a great job!

EDIT: Remember, your ketone levels via urine testing must be mid-range, too high is bad because while you are keeping your total carbs down, your overall caloric intake in protein and fats is too high for your body mass. I know, it seems counter-intuitive, but trust me, after you think about it it makes sense. PM if needed. GL.

If you're interested in reading more about this topic, I'd recommend this book.

It's kind of frustrating that it's taken so long for the public consciousness to shift towards realizing the primary dietary causes of obesity and metabolic disease are overconsumption of carbohydrates and sugar. In the US at least, the USDA is the one responsible for putting forth dietary recommendations. However, their primary interests are keeping the corn and other grain industries healthy, rather than people.

I agree with the comments on going on a low carb, hi fat diet such as keto to manage T2 diabetes. I've been on it 3 years and have had blood glucose levels that are non-diabetic norms since te first couple of weeks.

Lots of good info on the r/keto faq on how to do keto. Lots of good recipes over at www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes

In case your Dad gets some pushback against keto being "pseudoscience", here are some peer reviewed research papers that support keto:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899900714003323

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1325029/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633336/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3826507/

http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/25/4/238

:edit to add some good books for starters, all science and evidence based.

Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QZ9PC4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

The Real Meal Revolution: The Radical, Sustainable Approach to Healthy Eating -
https://www.amazon.com/Real-Meal-Revolution-Sustainable-Approach-ebook/dp/B00RTY0O7O/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1519585318&sr=1-2&keywords=noakes

The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living - https://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Low-Carbohydrate-Living-ebook/dp/B005CVV2AE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1519585452&sr=1-1&keywords=jeff++volek

Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It - https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1519585485&sr=1-1&keywords=taubes

Dr. Jason Fung and Gary Taubes are incredible resources.
Dr. Fung places more of an emphasis on IF/extended fasting than Tabues.

If anything, watch this talk Dr. Fung gave at a conference about CICO. This talk is from last year and is primarily about fasting.

If you like books these are essential:

Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It

https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6

The Complete Guide to Fasting

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Fasting-Intermittent-Alternate-Day-ebook/dp/B01MF8SC2X

Both books are written as easily comprehensible "science" books. You won't learn the inner workings of the hypothalamus but you are reading academically backed (and cited) results.

Gary Taubes has a new book out amazon

I just spent a couple of hours going through it in Borders. While not a diet book per se (it does have a diet appendix), it does spend a great deal of time talking about science, insulin, backed up with tons of research. Reads much more like a proper research book than a diet book.

Your list of stuff 'healthy' stuff you eat sets of alarm bells for me: cereal and milk or yoghurt and granola for breakfast, a sandwich and fruit for lunch, and a pasta with salad for supper

... all of this is high-carb stuff. No, it isn't healthy.

A very great talk indeed. I also really enjoyed this book of his

I had this same problem when I decided to "cheat some" at Christmas. That turned into a 5-month cheat! Then I read Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes, and that snapped me back into reality. When I learned what all sugar and bad carbs do to my body, that clinched it, and I was back on plan. If you haven't read it yet, you should, IMO.

Now, I can be around this stuff with no problem. My roommates always have candy, cookies & cake going on, but I'm not swayed any longer. Plus now I have my awesome cream cheese balls (rolled in SF Jello!), and other desserts once in awhile to handle any sweet cravings (plus diet sodas and SF iced coffees).

A nice xmas gift for them. I would recommend reading it yourself and then you would bullet point all the major issues they have with keto and support your actions with the summarized study results in there.

See these books for learning the REAL SCIENCE that is used to explain it to doctors. The author goes around the country giving lectures at medical schools.

A little bit hard core medical, with well documented sources and footnotes but still easy to read:
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Gary-Taubes-ebook/dp/B000UZNSC2

Same material, even easier to read for general public:
http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6

The Keto Diet - Leanne Vogel - she also has a podcast, if you like them.

Why We Get Fat - Gary Taubes

The Case Against Sugar - Gary Taubes

The Keto Reset Diet - Mark Sisson

The Ketogenic Bible - Jacob Wilson and Ryan Lowery

If you are looking for cookbooks, Maria Emmerich, Kyndra Holley, Carolyn Ketchum, and Amanda Hughes have great stuff. There's also a TON of sites for great keto recipes. Just let me know if you need some.

I am using a step down method and he did say i "could" stop them before. and see how i feel.. so i think i should be ok....

[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WUYOQ6/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0Y478P6JB9BQV7559NH4&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846](I heard this book is great)

Gary Taubes addresses this issue extensively in both Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health and in Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It.

I disagree with the caloric intake part, actually exercise increases your caloric need, eating less and exercising more is going to make you more tired because your body will be busy storing fat instead of burning it for energy unless you're in ketogenesis. Why We Get Fat is a must read for anyone trying to lose weight. Long story short, cut out the carbs and you will see great results pretty quickly. Exercise to build muscle and look good but that comes later.

One study in this book showed two sets of rats that were genetically predisposed to being fat, one group was allowed to eat whatever it wanted and the other was calorie restricted, neither group lost any weight but the calorie restricted group just got lethargic. There are other examples showing a disconnection between exercise and losing weight. Most people think that lots of aerobic exercise (running, biking, etc.) will burn fat but there's a diminishing return and even metabolic damage. I was reading this article today, check out the section on Metabolic-Enhancement Training towards the bottom. Basically:

>"Aerobic exercise causes metabolic damage because it conditions your system to become very efficient at burning fat. As your fat-burning efficiency increases, you begin to get more miles to each gallon of fat, literally—causing diminished results and the necessity of training longer to get the same benefits. Efficient fat burning produces equally efficient fat storage. That’s the reason so many bodybuilders and figure competitors quickly put on pounds of fat after a contest. Standard cardiovascular exercise also strips muscles of branched-chain amino acids in an attempt to convert them to glycogen, forcing the loss of hard-earned muscle during their competition prep."

So long story short, get rid of all carbs except for a daily salad. It's actually a fun diet, my typical day is a couple slices of bacon or sausage (mmmm bacon!) and an egg over-medium fried in the bacon fat, then for lunch a salad topped with bleu cheese, bacon, avocado, topped with either fish, steak, or chicken, then for dinner maybe a bacon cheeseburger with no bun or a steak and zucchini. I've also cut down on beer big time. If you drink, switch to vodka soda or whatever, alcohol is 95 cal per shot and soda water is just carbonated water. Add a splash of cranberry or grapefruit juice (<.5oz, negligible carbs) for flavor. Once a week just eat whatever the hell you want, just don't go too crazy. Never starve yourself, eat until you're satisfied, and if you want to build muscle then exercise but otherwise it's all about your diet. The reason most diets don't work long term is because they're all about starving yourself and the "calories in, calories out" myth that has been forced on us for the last 50 years. If you can't afford a gym membership right now, just stick to a meat and vegetable diet, don't worry about fat, but seriously drop as many carbs as you can. If you can go full keto then great, but that takes discipline and no drinking.

Good for you, seriously. But they're triggers for the entire human race as they were designed to be so don't be too hard on yourself. We just have far too much of it because it's cheap and makes us hungrier customers. Furthermore the fact that it's addictive, fattening, and possibly lethal has been largely suppressed or overlooked until very recently.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2013/10/16/research-shows-cocaine-and-heroin-are-less-addictive-than-oreos/

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/10/sugar-industry-lies-campaign

My friend's a surgeon who's speciality is obesity. So for what it's worth he say's the first 8 months of maintaing weight loss are crucial. After that your hormones have stabilized. So you can have a cheat meal or two per week and still maintain. And should sugar trigger your hunger as it's wont to do. Finding some fat (instead of more sugar) to calm your system down does the trick. And it's more easily stored for energy, not in fat cells. I reckon your probably a little fearful of food right now as are most after such a success - but I can't urge you enough that the surest solution to that anxiety is to educate yourself. I was anxious around food until I finally found some hard won clarity about nutrition. Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat" is phenomenal, and just in general "Mastering Macros" Ie; They're are only three Fat/Protein/Carbs. Eat them in that order and you'll always be satisfied and nourished, and never have to worry about weight loss again. Eat in the opposite order and you will. You can certainly employ IIFYM but that can be tedious. A general avoidance of sugar, and embrace of fat, and adequate protein was the difference for me after many years of loss and gain, but utter ignorance about nutrition.

I just wish I'd know that before when I'd lost weight as a younger lad. It was easy but I had no idea why my efforts worked and I'd gain it all back. Now that I'm older I've worn out my welcome with metabolic damage.

So again, your progress is some 1% shit if I must say so myself. You should be very proud of your efforts. I'm guessing you weren't always heavier or never lost weight in this amount before? Because the rate at which you snapped back suggest you still have pretty healthy hormone levels and no long term metabolic damage. Just curious.

Also what are the rules you went by?

Hey girl, so there is a loooooooot of explanation for why this all is, but in a nutshell:

Our bodies need cholesterol to do a ton of shit in our bodies. It's a vital part of cellular membranes, helps with tissue healing, helps insulate neurons and shit, and also is the starting component of most sex hormones. We need so much, in fact, that our bodies MAKE cholesterol on our own. Over 70% of the cholesterol in our bodies is made by our bodies, with only 30% or less being absorbed by the food we eat. In fact, some studies have indicated that when we eat foods lower in cholesterol, our bodies start making more to make up for it.

So why do we think that cholesterol is bad for us? In essence, people started noticing that in heart disease and other issues of the circulatory system, these weird pussy plaques of cholesterol were building up in veins and arteries, leading to blockages. People thus assumed that this was the result of cholesterol depositing itself on the blood vessel walls, like fat down a drain.

This has been comprehensively proven to NOT be the case. What actually happens is that high blood pressure or other issues sometimes leads to small tears or damage in the blood vessel wall. Well, remember I said cholesterol is part of the tissue healing process? Thus, when blood vessels are damaged, cholesterol molecules are brought in to help heal the tear, like a bandaid. But if people are dealing with a lot of problems with inflammation in their body, the inflammation cycle starts running amok, preventing the tear from healing properly, which triggers more cholesterol to be brought in, which makes the inflammation worse, etc etc etc. The metaphor that is often used to describe this is that blaming cholesterol for heart disease is like blaming firemen for a building fire. Just because they are at the site of the disaster doesnt mean they are causing the disaster, and more and more research points to inflammation being the root cause of heart disease.

And what makes inflammation worse? High blood sugar, cause by too many easily-absorbed refined carbohydrates, which keto and paleo both strive to avoid.

A great book that summarizes all this research and how we came to have these incorrect health paradigms is Why We Get Fat, by Gary Taubes. It's an accessible read (basically a shorter version of the EXHAUSTIVELY researched Good Calories, Bad Calories) and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone interested in learning more about nutrition to improve their diet and health.

My credentials: I am a biology teacher, also with years of experience as a science writer for health/anatomy/physiology educational material, also I went paleo almost five years ago and lost 40 pounds and cured my depression.

I read "Why we get fat: And what to do about it" by Gary Taubes ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003WUYOQ6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 ). Just understanding what was going on in my body and how certain foods affected me made me change my eating habits. Something he wrote really stuck with me: "You don't get fat because you overeat and/or have a sedentary lifestyle, you overeat and don't exercise because you're getting fatter." Basically once you start getting bigger due to fattening carbs (sugar, flour) you are no longer using energy efficiently and your body will want/need more, if you don't give it to your body it triggers a response to save energy (hence the common sedentary lifestyle associated with overweight), the vicious cycle. It's a bit technical but I really enjoyed reading it. I really recommend it, it might make you more aware of what you're eating and what it will do to you once you ingest it.

Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes

>Oh, Blow me. You and I both know that the vast majority of overweight people are just fat because they can't put the fucking spoon down.

Hey tough guy, I don't believe this at all. I say this as a thin guy who was quite chunky some years ago. I've read books that explain the hormonal consequences of eating a so-called "healthy" diet, and why it makes people fatter despite their best efforts. You really think fat people are just flawed in terms of self-control, and can't stop stuffing themselves with Big Macs? I was fat eating copious amounts rice cakes and fat-free yogurt every day. I had the resolve but the wrong info.

I've found Gary Taubes' books on carbohydrate intake, and sugar's effect on our insulin mechanisms really fascinating and illuminating on the topic of diabetes.

Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It on Amazon.

The Case Against Sugar on Amazon.

He's done a couple AMAs here on Reddit too.

(I know not everyone agrees with what he says, but I found it informative nonetheless. Just a perspective that happens to makes sense to me and jives with my general take on diet + nutrition.)

So you want real evidence? You want to know more right? You just can't comprehend that changing your diet would benefit your skin, right? Well, here is your "real" evidence. This is a booklist that gave me insight on why there is a current diabetes health crisis in the world and what highly processed carbs can do to one's body. You asked for it, you shall receive:

http://www.amazon.com/Wheat-Belly-Lose-Weight-Health-ebook/dp/B00571F26Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395103560&sr=8-1&keywords=wheat+belly

http://www.amazon.com/Grain-Brain-Surprising-Brains-Killers-ebook/dp/B00BAXFCPO/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1395103560&sr=8-7&keywords=wheat+belly

http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395103576&sr=8-1&keywords=why+we+get+fat

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Gary-Taubes-ebook/dp/B000UZNSC2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1395103576&sr=8-3&keywords=why+we+get+fat