Dietary Assumptions
Good Calories, Bad Calories author, investigative science journalist Gary Taubes, who is responsible for probably 500 to 1,000 pounds of rather effortless weight loss among people who comment here, has started blogging. Here's an excerpt from his latest post, "Calories, fat or carbohydrates? Why diets work (when they do)."
This concept of low-carb diets being good for some people and low-fat for others is invariably reinforced by the fact that most of us know someone who has lost weight and kept it off on Weight Watchers or after reading Skinny Bitch or some other popular low-calorie diet book. As a result, we assume that dieting isn't a one-sized fits all endeavor and that everyone is different - perhaps metabolically and hormonally, as well - and that what works for me won't necessarily work for you, and vice verse.So what does this have to do with controlling variables or even understanding the concept of controlling variables?
What researchers like Gardner and his colleagues do in these diet trials (and it's the same thing most of us do when we think about those people who succeed on conventional diets or after reading diet books like Skinny Bitch) is make the assumption that a diet that is described as a "low-fat diet" is low in fat only and that's why it works. And they also make the assumption that a diet that restricts total calories works (if it does) because it restricts total calories. Another way of saying this is that we all tend to assume -- researchers and lay people alike -- that when someone embarks on a low-fat diet, the only meaningful variable that changes in their diet is the fat-to-carbohydrate ratio. The ratio gets smaller. Fat consumption goes down and carbohydrate consumption goes up. And, by the same token, when someone tries to simply eat less, the only meaningful variable that's changing is the total number of calories they're consuming.
The most extreme or perhaps egregious example of this thinking was the recent publication by Gary Foster and his colleagues, comparing low-fat diets, as they described them, to low-carbohydrate diets. The title was "Weight and Metabolic Outcomes After 2 years on a Low-Carbohydrate Versus a Low-Fat Diet." And here was the conclusion as stated in the abstract:
Successful weight loss can be achieved with either a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet when coupled with behavioral treatment. A low-carbohydrate diet is associated with favorable changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors at 2 years.
So the way the media and the nutrition community treated this was as further evidence that nutrient composition of the diet makes little difference in weight loss -- maybe low-carb works for some of us, but low-fat works for others -- although, in this case, maybe low-carb had some modest advantage when it came to heart disease risk factors.
But if you read this article carefully, you'd have noticed that there was another significance difference between the "low-fat" and low-carbohydrate diets. The low fat diet was a low-calorie diet also -- "A low-fat diet consisted of limited energy intake (1200 to 1800kcal/d; less than or equal to 30 % calories from fat)," the authors explained. The low-carbohydrate diet was not calorie-restricted. And if Foster and his colleagues were being either intellectually honest or good scientists, they'd have defined the two diets to make this clear. Not "low-fat" vs. "low-carbohydrate", but "low-fat, calorie-restricted" vs, "low-carbohydrate, calorie-unrestricted."In other words they'd have acknowledged that there was at least one other variable that was different between the two experiments and had to be taken into account when interpreting the results -- the amount of calories the subjects were instructed to consume. As we'll see, there were also other variables that were changing, but this one -- how much food can be consumed if desired -- is a whopper.
It's a whopper because it begs this question: is it the total calories consumed that is the variable determining weight loss? And, by the same token, is it the calories consumed (or expended) that determines how much weight we gain?
In this case, both diets resulted in roughly equal weight loss but those subjects randomized to the "low-fat" diet were instructed and counseled to semi-starve themselves (eat a maximum of 1500 calories for women, 1800 for men), while those counseled to eat low-carb were counseled and instructed not to worry about how much they ate and, one hopes, as this was an Atkins diet being prescribed, eat until they were full. So if weight loss is the same in both groups, doesn't this suggest, at least, that weight loss can be independent of whether dieters semi-starve themselves or eat to satiety? And, if so, of course, wouldn't you rather get to eat to satiety?
I have a review copy of his soon-to-be-published book, Why We Get Fat, and it's excellent. I'm about 100 pages through, and only haven't finished it because I've had a busy week. It's a breeze to read, while GCBC was tough for some people who don't have a science background, and it lays out, in the most simple terms, why much of what people believe about dieting, how to lose weight, and exercise, is not based in evidence -- and lays out what is.
In a quote I've retyped from page 10:
...The science itself makes clear that hormones, enzymes, and growth factors regulate our fat tissue, just as they do everything else in the human body, and that we do not get fat because we overeat; we get fat because the carbohydrates in our diet make us fat. The science tells us that obesity is ultimately the result of a hormonal imbalance, not a caloric one -- specifically, the stimulation of insulin secretion caused by eating easily digestible, carbohydrate-rich foods: refined carbohydrates, including flour and cereal grains, starchy vegetables such as potatoes, and sugars, like sucrose (table sugar) and high-fructose corn syrup. These carbohydrates literally make us fat, and by driving us to accumulate fat, they make us hungrier and they make us sedentary.This is the fundamental reality of why we fatten, and if we're going to get lean and stay lean we'll have to understand and accept it, and perhaps more important, our doctors are going to have to understand and acknowledge it, too.
The book is also a fascinating expose of a vast swindle made largely on the American people by the medical and research establishment. It's sick to think of how many lives have been compromised, how many people's health has been ruined, how many women have not been able to find a man, because they have eaten the way doctors, the government, researchers, and the AMA have told them to -- eaten the low-fat, high-carb diet that has only served to make them fat.
I credit Amy & Gary Taubes for the 111 pounds I've lost in nine months just by eating a protein based low carb diet. I could never thank them enough for the positive change this has made in my life. I'm eager to read Taubes' new book. (Amy, I will order it through your site as a small token of appreciation.)
If you are obese this is the answer. Don't wait!Order Taubes' books and the latest Atkins diet book today.
JFP at December 18, 2010 7:39 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1803250">comment from JFPWow -- thank you so much for telling me, and for ordering the book through me (which helps support my writing/blogging). I actually think I should revise that figure up, vis a vis your comment (the amount of weight people have lost). Actually, people commenting here should feel free to post their weight loss here. I've had numerous people (PPen just yesterday) talk about how easy it is to lose weight this way, and keep it off, and also, how it has improved their overall health (making thyroid problems go away, for example).
Amy Alkon at December 18, 2010 7:48 AM
"Diets" (as in a temporary change in eating habits) don't really work-the only thing that's going to maintain your weight in the long term are eating habits that you can stick to without feeling deprived or miserable. For some people this might be low-carb diets, but not everyone can or wants to eat this way. Even if this is the best diet out there, there will still be people who are more successful on weight watchers, or calorie counting, or raw food, or any number of alternatives.
That being said, it's great that this research is out there because there are plenty of people who DON'T succeed on weight watchers or calorie counting or traditional lowfat diets and have resigned themselves to thinking they're meant to be overweight, when in reality they're just eating the wrong things. And you can make any diet more low-carb-for example I'm a vegetarian and I eat fairly low-carb, I'm just not getting my protein from steak and bacon.
Shannon at December 18, 2010 8:22 AM
I've never been overweight. I exercise almost every day, and I enjoy my carbs, my fat, and refined sugar--just not too much. Cutting out carbs would make me miserable. (And if carbs are so bad, how come the Japanese obesity rate continues to be so low?)
hanmeng at December 18, 2010 8:40 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1803274">comment from ShannonIt's UNHEALTHY to eat carbs, especially sugar. It's amazing to me that people will weigh in on how to lose weight without having any sort of background in it, beyond what they've read on CNN. A calorie is not a calorie, as Taubes lays out in Good Calories, Bad Calories and this book -- among numerous other things. Counting calories is POINTLESS if you are eating carbohydrates, which serve to make you want to binge and make you fat. Some people can eat more than others, but your entire health profile should improve if you stop eating them. I've seen it myself. I barely exercise and I have the blood pressure and lipid profile of an elite Olympic athlete. A friend who had me help him go low-carb had his Hashimoto's thyroid (condition) GO AWAY. His doctor was amazed. I can't prove that this comes from low-carbing, but I hear that again and again -- heard it from PPen yesterday.
Amy Alkon at December 18, 2010 8:44 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1803279">comment from Amy AlkonPlus, imagine going through your day not feeling strong feelings of hunger. I almost never do, unless I've gone maybe six hours without eating. And I eat three strips of greasy bacon every morning.
Re, the Japanese:
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/cardiovascular-disease/gary-taubes-responds/
Amy Alkon at December 18, 2010 8:49 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1803282">comment from hanmengCardiologist William Davis:
http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/search?q=wheat
Amy Alkon at December 18, 2010 8:51 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1803284">comment from Amy AlkonMore from Davis:
Amy Alkon at December 18, 2010 8:53 AM
8 lbs-I"m not super-low carb, and in about one month only. Pretty much no wheat, though. Some oats and fruit.
momof4 at December 18, 2010 10:00 AM
so I thought from listening to interviews and reading articles by Taubes that white rice vs brown rice didn't matter because there is fundamentally no difference between whole grains and refined and the idea that fiber is good for you is a myth. Now I read here that Taubes is saying that brown rice is better than white rice. As for the sugar thing when I was in Japan I brought home some Japanese sweets and my parents thought they were disgusting because they had so little sugar.
One more thing about the far east though, they eat a ton of seaweed which has been shown to be very mineral dense. Seaweeds have anywhere between 10X and 14X the calcium of milk.
Diana at December 18, 2010 10:36 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1803314">comment from DianaThe Japanese ate unprocessed brown rice. Ancel "Selection Bias" Keys did his study when they ate little sugar in Japan or Italy -- and those countries had less incidence of heart disease than countries that consumed more.
FYI, every morning, along with my three strips of bacon and two eggs, I sautee (in coconut oil) a big clump of Italian parsley. Very vitamin rich. I'm going to look into taking Vitamin K and strontium for my bones. I make myself do weight-bearing exercise, also for my bones.
Amy Alkon at December 18, 2010 10:58 AM
Doesn't the exerpt about the Asian diet you quoted contradict Taube's earlier assertations that there is no difference between different types of carbs? I have a hard time believing that all carbs are created equal just from my own observations: I can look at people who eat mostly Snickers and donuts versus people who eat whole wheat bread and there's a huge difference.
Wheat might be unhealthy, but enormous amounts of the population manage to eat it without being overweight or suffering any ill effects. If you're overweight and can't lose the weight then giving up all bread might be the solution, but if you're happy with your weight, in good health, and enjoy eating bread products then why rock the boat?
It's like, if Taubes suddenly came out with new research that invalidated all his prior findings and proved that a vegan diet was the ultimate healthiest way to eat, I doubt you'd suddenly stop eating steak and bacon. A low-carb diet works great for you and allows you to stay thin while still being full and eating the foods you love. You probably wouldn't do a 180 just because better research came along. Similarly, someone who's happy with their current weight and diet probably doesn't need to make staggering changes just because research supports it.
Shannon at December 18, 2010 11:08 AM
good point Shannon, that's basically what I was saying. Nutrition researchers have been saying to eat unrefined whole grains and Taubes says unrefined brown rice is better than white rice. That's the common wisdom.
Diana at December 18, 2010 11:20 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1803352">comment from Shannonbut if you're happy with your weight, in good health, and enjoy eating bread products then why rock the boat?
I guess you had a blind spot and thus could not see my posts from Dr. Wiliam Davis on wheat. Suggest you go to the link on his site.
"if Taubes suddenly came out with new research that invalidated all his prior findings and proved that a vegan diet was the ultimate healthiest way to eat, I doubt you'd suddenly stop eating steak and bacon."
What a silly thing to say. The evidence is not going to say that, first of all. In fact, there's a substantial amount of evidence that a vegan diet is pretty wildly unhealthy.
Science is all about looking for evidence-based truths, and throwing out previous lines of thinking when the evidence goes against them. And I'm all about living by what the evidence says. You just want to find some way to say I'm full of shit on this. Keep trying! Evidence is on the side of what I post. And I post about this over and over and over because of how many people are suffering because they're living and eating based on "science" rather than science. Most notably, there are so many women who have a diminished range of choices in love because they are fat -- thanks to eating the way doctors have told them to, based on awful, biased "research" by Ancel Keys.
Amy Alkon at December 18, 2010 12:03 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1803354">comment from DianaTaubes says unrefined brown rice is better than white rice.
Not exactly. He suspects that's why the Japanese didn't get fat. But, adds their lack of sugar consumption compared to that of the West.
I get it: You're all determined to believe that you've been doing the right thing. It's a common human cognitive bias. You don't want to give up bread and potatoes, so you tell yourselves they're fine and Amy's a hysteric. The evidence is not on your side. Ignore me -- that's your business. But, I hope people will eat as Eades, Dr. Davis, and Taubes suggest -- I think their lives and health will be substantially improved by it, as have so many people's here.
Amy Alkon at December 18, 2010 12:07 PM
Many moons ago I lived in Korea, downtown, with a local lady.
I was eating white rice with meat and veggie stir-fries. About the only sugar I had was with my coffee (drinking it all day long). I dropped 25 pounds without even noticing.
I wish I could get back to that -- I don't have the time.
Jim P. at December 18, 2010 5:34 PM
"I don't have the time."
Try this: Buy some bacon and eggs. When you're hungry, eat them. When you're full, stop. Then do it again. Mix it up a bit with sausage, country ham, steak, cheese.
I've lost around 60 pounds in the past 15 months doing that. It is not time-consuming.
Robin in TN at December 18, 2010 6:19 PM
I gained 2 kilos while pregnant. Since October 23, I've lost 10.
Chalk it up to hormonal changes maybe? Maybe. But while pregnant I upped my fat intake. Didn't do anything else. Still ate carbs and stuff. Managed to basically not gain any weight, and then drop a whole bunch in 2 months. Basically, I'm eating more full fat dairy products... milk, cheese, butter, etc.
I hope I didn't just jinx it.
NicoleK at December 19, 2010 10:43 AM
I think the best way to go about dieting is to add a lot of guilt.
This book, "Help Lord, the Devil Wants Me Fat", may explain why fat people are in league with Satan.
http://www.amazon.com/Help-Lord-Devil-Wants-Fat/dp/0938148338
It's going to be awfully hard for Jesus to lift all the fat people into the air during the Rapture, apparently. Give the man a hand. Drop some weight!
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at December 19, 2010 1:01 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1804253">comment from Gog_Magog_Carpet_ReclaimersWe missed ya, Gog. Don't go!
Amy Alkon at December 19, 2010 1:13 PM
Aww, shucks. Thanks Amy!
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at December 19, 2010 1:25 PM
Started the Eades diet on 11/14.
Dropped close to 20 pounds at this point, and am going for another 20.
Thanks Amy. And I will get Taubes new book (through your site).
Steve at December 20, 2010 4:53 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1804775">comment from SteveWow, cool! 20 lbs. since 11/14...amazing!
Amy Alkon at December 20, 2010 5:36 AM
I loved your comment today Dec 20 on the LA TIMES article on low carbs vs low fat with "establishment" agreement that low carb will lose weight and save your life.
Premenopause, I quit smoking, gained 35 lbs on a thin-boned small frame, diagnosed hypoglycemic, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, became anemic, exhausted (low thyroid) etc etc etc. Finally diagnosed type II diabetic (there should be a category for lifelong sugar addict). Luckily I found Dr. Richard K. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution (30 gram green veg carb and all the protein you need to feel satisfied) -- the weight dropped off (more like dripped off -- it was mostly liquid flab). Am now "prediabetic" -- no insulin injections, no drugs required, just lack of sugar/starch -- starch is worse than sugar. Gary Taubes' science is the best; can't wait for the new book. Also love Dr. Michael Eades blog et al. Strangely enough I knew all that about junk food -- everybody knew till the 70s that starch and sugar make you fat -- and Atkins had proof!
dlm at December 20, 2010 6:27 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1804796">comment from dlmThanks so much for your comment, Dim. Basically, almost all the carbs I eat are from green vegetables and a bit of cheese. Last night, I ate probably a half pound of green beans cooked in a chunk of butter and some chicken -- fatty, with the skin. For a late-night snack, I had some Italian salami and some cheese. I'm never hungry, and don't get fat.
Taubes, when I interviewed him for a column, said that everyone accused Atkins of being a quack, operating without science, but actually, it was those who accused him who were the science-free quacks.
Amy Alkon at December 20, 2010 6:37 AM
"I don't have time"
I eat cheese most of the time. Steak and salad, rotisserie chicken and lowstarch veg. It saves time to cut out starch.
I used to eat peanut butter (straight out of the jar) and a lot of nuts but since Candida ruined my digestion I am more limited all the time.
Since being diagnosed with hypoglycemia (feeling faint, weak when low on food/blood sugar), I try to keep some protein on hand or in pocket.
dlm at December 20, 2010 6:38 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1804799">comment from dlmRe: "I don't have time," I walk around with a baggie of sliced dry Italian sausage in my purse.
Here's an additional comment I just left on the LA Times story:
Amy Alkon at December 20, 2010 6:45 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1804802">comment from dlmMy sister makes some stuff I think the Inuit or somebody ate -- pemmican -- that sounds like it tastes like old, dried dog food or drunken bums' bare feet. But, it is low-carb. My sister is adorable and "inventive" in the kitchen, but...well, I think you can get it on Amazon.
Amy Alkon at December 20, 2010 6:55 AM
"It's amazing to me that people will weigh in on how to lose weight without having any sort of background in it, beyond what they've read on CNN."
And I don't understand how you can read the first half of Taubes' book, which eviscerates the field of nutrition science, and then turn around and hold up the second half as settled science. This ain't the theory of gravity here. I think the studies Taubes cites about carb consumption are intriguing but suffer from many of the limitations of their counterparts (particularly the immense difficulty in this field in conducting a controlled study that tests for one causative effect).
So, while I'm glad you've found something that works for you, I find your attempts to paint everyone who disagrees with you as ignorant unpersuasive.
(As an aside, I'm also with Patrick in finding your bragging about not having to exercise as a virtue of the diet mystifying. While doggedly mounting up on the stair-climber three times a week does strike me as a waste of time, regular mountain biking has done wonders for my energy level and mood. It does help when you live in one of the most beautiful outdoor playgrounds on earth, but so is California.)
Astra at December 20, 2010 6:57 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1804809">comment from AstraHis new book is basically "Good Calories, Bad Calories" lite, and there's never such a thing as "settled science," but the evidence is substantially on the side of carbohydrates being damaging and even poisonous to humans. (Sugar -- see Dr. Robert Lustig's video.)
Biking may help your energy level, but you need to do weight-bearing exercise for your bones, as biking may even diminish them.
FYI, I read daily on two subjects that I do not directly write on: Dietary science and Islam. I am pretty informed on both, and a good source of information -- at least to direct people to good sources of information, which I do.
I do some cardiovascular exercise weekly, and I lift small weights in my living room (doing a few sets of reps while I'm waiting for the coffee to boil). It's unnecessary to spend hours every week in the gym (or worse yet, hours daily). I'm not suggesting people stop exercising, merely reflecting my amazement at being a person who formerly ran seven miles three times a week to keep from gaining weight (terrible for your knees) who now doesn't have to exercise to stay slim.
A person I am close to had me put him on a low-carb diet, and he dropped pounds like stones falling off a truck (after struggling to lose weight for years) and he shows me his medical tests, and his health stats have improved wildly since he started eating as I advised. (His thyroid condition has GONE AWAY.) Now, we can't know for sure that this is due to low-carb eating, but I do hear that report (from PPen and others) from time to time. And I hear this time and time again from commenters here.
Oh, also, something I learned from...probably Dr. Eades, among others -- you should get your LDL particles tested to see if they are large and fluffy (good) or small and dense (bad). When the guy's cardiologist saw my note asking for that, he was impressed -- and ordered the test.
I get that people who think having a slice of whole wheat toast in the morning, no butter, is healthy, are a little angry that I promote a less ascetic diet, but it really is the healthy one, per the evidence.
Amy Alkon at December 20, 2010 7:08 AM
I wouldn't cut carbs out of my diet even if the evidence suggested it could make me fly, since a good slice of sourdough bread or a cup of chocolate pudding add heavily to the quality of my life. I'm lucky to not have any allergies or food sensitivities, so I want to enjoy all the different foods I can.
I'm a normal weight but wouldn't mind dropping a few pounds, and so many people have had such good results with low-carb eating that I'm giving "lower" carb eating a try -- substituting low-carb foods where it doesn't really matter to me, as in drinking wine with dinner instead of beer. I'm eating chicken pot pie for lunch, and I'm going to take off the puff pastry top. That sort of thing. I still really like fruit, so I brought an orange for a snack.
Not sure what the evidence says about half-assing a low-carb diet, but I'll find out how it goes.
MonicaP at December 20, 2010 7:53 AM
It hasn't just benefitted me (although I have lost about 20 lbs with no pain). My mom has picked up on it too. She's down 30 lbs. My dad is finally taking an interest in what he eats too. They're feeling better than they have in a decade. Even my mostly-vegatarian sister (the kind who eat Mac n Cheese and Oreos) is starting to poke around the edges of it a little.
Elle at December 20, 2010 8:06 AM
BTW, here is a good post about Vitamin D and Calcium from Dr. Kurt Harris.
Pemmican is basically dried meat ground and mixed with animal fat. It tastes a lot like summer sausage if you add the right spices. Native Americans were known to live solely on this stuff for months at a time. It was the only food that the men carried with them while on a hunt.
Its also interesting to note that you can live indefinitely on zero carbs, but will die within a few months without protein or fat (and it will be an agonizing death.)
And Astra, while the "science" isn't settled the facts are. Man evolved for nearly 2 million years with access to a very limited amount of carbohydrate. Think of the arid plains of central Africa. Not a whole lot of native plants growing there other than grasses, bushes and scrub trees.
AllenS at December 20, 2010 8:17 AM
"Biking may help your energy level, but you need to do weight-bearing exercise for your bones, as biking may even diminish them. "
In mountain biking, the weight-bearing part comes when you fall. :)
Like MonicaP, I avoid carbs I don't care about but will not go whole hog. Enjoying a little wine, cheese, and a baguette is part of living the good life.
Astra at December 20, 2010 9:01 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1804958">comment from AstraI enjoy the wine and the cheese. The negative health effects of the baguette just don't seem worth it.
Here's a blog item on biking and bone density:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/is-bicycling-bad-for-your-bones/
Amy Alkon at December 20, 2010 9:08 AM
"Here's a blog item on biking and bone density:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/is-bicycling-bad-for-your-bones/ "
Competitive cyclists have extreme lifestyles. "Lance Armstrong's War" has a fascinating look at them: they live in the saddle, try to stay underweight (including limiting muscle mass beyond what they need for the sport), avoid all other exercise (one great anecdote in the book talks about them using elevators all the time and not walking anywhere), and dope at high levels.
I, on the other hand, spend an hour or two three times a week bouncing up and down a mountain. I think it's been healthy for me because it forces me into an interval workout with regular period of red-zoning my cardio output: if I want to get over the rock I have to push it. The interval work has been great for toughening up my lungs and reducing asthma trouble. Plus, an afternoon spent on a Rocky Mountain trail is good for the soul.
Astra at December 20, 2010 9:24 AM
So since I want to gain weight, I need to reverse these findings and eat my fill of bread and potatoes? I have been drinking those (nasty!) creatine shakes and stuffing myself with junk food for years and dont have anything to show for it. Im hoping if I put on like 15 pounds or so I can grow me some boobies...
Chelsey at December 20, 2010 12:22 PM
Before you do anything too drastic send us naked pics to get an unbiased thrid party opinion
lujlp at December 20, 2010 1:00 PM
So since I want to gain weight, I need to reverse these findings and eat my fill of bread and potatoes?
If you listen to a lot of the men here, all you need to do is get married.
MonicaP at December 20, 2010 1:25 PM
Ive been married for 2 years... I looked better than I ever had when I was about 4 months pregnant. Then I had the kid and lost all of it. Now im back to looking like I have an eating disorder. I want curves dammit!!!
Chelsey at December 20, 2010 1:35 PM
I've just ordered this. I thought GCBC was an amazingly researched and compelling book.
deja pseu at December 20, 2010 3:16 PM
The way I see it is this: Eades-style low-carb eating might very well be the best diet out there if you can stick to it, in the same way that being a doctor might be the best career out there if you can make it in into med school. But if you can't stick to an extreme low carb diet-either because you're a vegetarian, or you dislike meat and dairy products, or you love carbs way too much, or you have other extenuating circumstances that make it difficult-then your best bet is to work with what you've got and find a diet that makes sense for you. Anyone can read and benefit from Eade's philosophy because any diet can be made lower carb. But not everyone is going to eliminate 100% of carbohydrates from their diet and acting like people who eat fresh fruit and occasional whole grains have the same health and fitness profile as someone who eats donuts and twinkies 24/7 doesn't make sense.
Shannon at December 20, 2010 7:34 PM
Several years ago, I tried Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet (no carbs) and lost 9 lbs in 2 weeks when I was only trying to lose 4. I knew other people who had great success going no or low carb, but I heard so much criticism of the diet, that I thought perhaps it wasn't healthy. A friend even commented that doing drugs can also help you lose weight and give you energy, but it will end up killing you. Therefore, low carb = death.
So, when I needed to lose 40 lbs of weight post-baby, I didn't even consider low carb. I tried a few months of calorie counting at the Livestrong site. That just left me hungry and mad. I managed to lose about 10 lbs in 4 months, but I was miserable and tired all the time.
Then I started reading this blog and decided to check out GCBC. After going virtually no-carb, I was able to lose 20 lbs in 2 months. When I started weight training, I lost another 25 lbs in the next 2 and half months.
I'm 15 lbs below my original goal weight, and I love it. I feel so much better than I did before I started eating low-to-no carb. I have much more energy, and my metabolism is back to high-school levels. I can eat a ton of food and not gain a pound. Even over the past few weeks with holiday meals (with carbs) and a few sweets, I've maintained my weight.
I've had many people ask me about my weight loss, but they usually don't like the no carb answer. I still have people argue with me that it's unhealthy and won't work. Oh well, I know better.
KimberBlue at December 20, 2010 8:20 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1805363">comment from KimberBlueWow, KimberBlue...thanks so much for posting that.
Amy Alkon at December 20, 2010 10:57 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1805365">comment from ShannonBut not everyone is going to eliminate 100% of carbohydrates from their diet and acting like people who eat fresh fruit and occasional whole grains have the same health and fitness profile as someone who eats donuts and twinkies 24/7 doesn't make sense.
No two people -- perhaps unless they're monozygotic twins -- are going to have "the same health and fitness profile." But, fructose and whole grains are not healthy for you. I've posted quite a bit about wheat. Here are a few bits about fructose:
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/uncategorized/mice-and-fructose/
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/events/pastmtg/2007/cehr/docs/metabolicsyndromelustig.pdf
Amy Alkon at December 20, 2010 11:01 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/12/18/dietary_assumpt.html#comment-1805366">comment from Amy AlkonOh, and at least if you eat donuts, you're eating some fat along with the sugar, so you might have a chance of going a little while without being ravenous.
I really like living, and I really like being healthy, and if saying no to a pile of mashed potatoes will mean I'll be healthier -- and the evidence suggests it will -- it seems ridiculous to shovel them down for some momentary pleasure.
I eat gelato or a little dessert about once a week, but I mainly eat in the way the evidence suggests I'll be the healthiest -- now and throughout my life.
Amy Alkon at December 20, 2010 11:05 PM
But you also eat according to your taste - lots of vegetables are non-starchy and you avoid them because you don't like them or don't digest them comfortably right? I hate steak, so I'm not going to make it the center of my diet. But brussel sprouts, kale, cauliflower and cabbage? YUM. I love every vegetable out there.
For people interested in Good Calories, Bad Calories (and it's an amazing book) this review was helpful for me:
http://summertomato.com/book-review-good-calories-bad-calories/
This woman is a scientist and follows a varied diet and active lifestyle that is more feasible for me; I find her blog very helpful.
Sam at December 21, 2010 12:32 AM
I hate steak, so I'm not going to make it the center of my diet.
Same here. No-carb or low-carb eating may be a fantastic way to lose weight and stay healthy, but a meat-centered diet sounds like an exercise in punishment to me. Unless it's all bacon. I can live with that.
MonicaP at December 21, 2010 8:21 AM
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