Gary Taubes

lisajsund
lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just wondering if anyone on here has

A) Read anything by Gary Taubes and done more of your own research after reading him and

B) wanted to share your thoughts on what his theory is.

It's backed up by scientifically sound research - just wanted additional thoughts from others.
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Replies

  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    My thoughts on Tabues?

    danger_scam_liar_animated.gif
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    I'd like to see the scientific research it is based on. From what I have heard, it is zero.
  • xoemmytee
    xoemmytee Posts: 162 Member
    I do low carb but I don't worship Taubes. I believe everyone is different and some people can eat 300 grams of carbs and be perfectly healthy. I am skeptical of anyone who demonizes anything. I prefer Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Stephen Phinney who take a moderate stance on carbs--some people can eat lots, some people benefit by lowering them.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
    I've read one of his books (Why We Get Fat...), I wasn't impressed.
  • spirytwynd
    spirytwynd Posts: 141 Member
    Who is Gary Taubes?
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Check out James Krieger at weightology.net to get a good rebuttal to Taubes.

    IMO: Taubes is wrong.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    My thoughts on Tabues?

    danger_scam_liar_animated.gif

    This.

    Taubes is FOC.
  • goldfinger88
    goldfinger88 Posts: 686 Member
    I'd say snake oil. Beware. In fact, ignore just about all the "gurus" --- especially ones who tell you to avoid entire food groups and those who tell you a certain oil or food will cure you of all ails from A to Z. Don't buy into all the stuff that's out there as much as you may want to.
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
    It's backed up by scientifically sound research - just wanted additional thoughts from others.

    baby-laughing-hysterically-o.gif
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    My thoughts on Tabues?

    danger_scam_liar_animated.gif

    Yup.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    ROFL

    No
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
    It's backed up by scientifically sound research - just wanted additional thoughts from others.

    baby-laughing-hysterically-o.gif

    Oh Lord, has anyone watched that video on youtube? It's a riot!! :heart: :heart: :heart:
  • paleojoe
    paleojoe Posts: 442 Member
    Some of the things Taubes says are just completely wackado...

    "You don't get fat because you eat too much, you eat too much because you are fat."

    Yeah, but, how did you get there in the first place?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,029 Member
    Taubes likes to sell you books. He's a good snake oil salesman.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    I think Taubes will help a minority of people but for all the wrong reasons.

    I think he sincerely believes in his message though.
  • lisajsund
    lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
    So, what book(s) or articles have you read by him?
    He has 5 or 6 books and has written several articles in Science and other journals.
  • lisajsund
    lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
    And, what effect do hormones have on weight loss, which he talks about?
  • lisajsund
    lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
    I will check this out - thank you!
    Check out James Krieger at weightology.net to get a good rebuttal to Taubes.

    IMO: Taubes is wrong.
  • KetoBella
    KetoBella Posts: 141 Member
    Having switched to LCHF 4 months ago and keeping my daily carbs at 25 or fewer each day and losing 23 to date I can say I am more inclined to believe for some people dealing with an intolerance to carbs there is something to be said about his viewpoint.

    You can say what you like as to his motives however selling books or making money is not his agenda. You can google his lectures and listen to him discuss his research without paying anything. Having gone the high carb and low fat route for years to only end up gaining more weight I don't know that doesn't work for me. It might not be right for everyone but it is unfair to call it a scam. Do your research before bashing another point of view.
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
    Having switched to LCHF 4 months ago and keeping my daily carbs at 25 or fewer each day and losing 23 to date I can say I am more inclined to believe for some people dealing with an intolerance to carbs there is something to be said about his viewpoint.

    You can say what you like as to his motives however selling books or making money is not his agenda. You can google his lectures and listen to him discuss his research without paying anything. Having gone the high carb and low fat route for years to only end up gaining more weight I don't know that doesn't work for me. It might not be right for everyone but it is unfair to call it a scam. Do your research before bashing another point of view.

    are you saying that you ate high carb and low fat while in a calorie deficit and did not lose weight?

    the key part is in bold.
  • KetoBella
    KetoBella Posts: 141 Member
    BrainyBurro (smartass) the answer to your question is yes. I tracked my calories and exercised based on the calories in and calories out theory and got nowhere fast. For me being carbohydrate sensitive made eating even so called healthy carbs was a challenge. I was hungry and always craving food. My willpower no matter how strong at the get go would always get to a point of thinking if this is what it takes to be thin I would rather stay fat.

    Eating healthy fats and keeping my carbs low changed everything. I no longer have blood sugar spikes causing cravings and hunger, I feel energetic and my mood is wonderful. I have no doubt for me this is the only solution to improved health. Diets don't work and you have to find a lifestyle that you can live with. I am sure there a some people that have been successful doing it a different way but that is the point. Just because something isn't effective for you as an individual does not mean it is not the exact right thing for someone else.
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    Check out James Krieger at weightology.net to get a good rebuttal to Taubes.

    IMO: Taubes is wrong.

    I've read both Taubes books and a few more along the same lines (carbs=insulin=fat storage) and they are all missing some vital information.

    I agree, Krieger's response is well worth a read.

    Taubes talks a good fight but is, ultimately, wrong.
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    And, what effect do hormones have on weight loss, which he talks about?

    Insulin has been demonised, it is necessary for many things, not just shuttling fat into storage.

    Just burn more than you consume ... There is no magic hormone fix for most IMO.
  • rainybblady
    rainybblady Posts: 12 Member
    BrainyBurro (smartass) the answer to your question is yes. I tracked my calories and exercised based on the calories in and calories out theory and got nowhere fast. For me being carbohydrate sensitive made eating even so called healthy carbs was a challenge. I was hungry and always craving food. My willpower no matter how strong at the get go would always get to a point of thinking if this is what it takes to be thin I would rather stay fat.

    Eating healthy fats and keeping my carbs low changed everything. I no longer have blood sugar spikes causing cravings and hunger, I feel energetic and my mood is wonderful. I have no doubt for me this is the only solution to improved health. Diets don't work and you have to find a lifestyle that you can live with. I am sure there a some people that have been successful doing it a different way but that is the point. Just because something isn't effective for you as an individual does not mean it is not the exact right thing for someone else.

    THIS!!! ^^ I have read his books and watched many of his lectures. Gary Taubes is a very intelligent man who did research on the subject of excess carbohydrate intake as an answer to the obesity epidemic. His research is extensive to say the least! I must add that I do not agree with every single thing that he talks about, but he is definitely on the right track.
  • tuckerrj
    tuckerrj Posts: 1,453 Member
    I've only read a few of his articles and hypothesis, but check this out:

    Taubes has won the Science in Society Journalism Award of the National Association of Science Writers three times and was awarded an MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship for 1996-97. He is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation independent investigator in health policy.

    Doesn't sound like a snake oil salesman to me. . . .
  • lisajsund
    lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
    Anyone else want to reveal what they have read?
    Or what part of what Taubes theorizes they disagree with specifically?
  • lisajsund
    lisajsund Posts: 366 Member
    And, what effect do hormones have on weight loss, which he talks about?

    Insulin has been demonised, it is necessary for many things, not just shuttling fat into storage.

    Just burn more than you consume ... There is no magic hormone fix for most IMO.


    What about other hormones - glucagon, ghrelin, leptin, estrogen, testosterone, etc?
    They all play a part, not just insulin.
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
    In.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    And, what effect do hormones have on weight loss, which he talks about?

    Insulin has been demonised, it is necessary for many things, not just shuttling fat into storage.

    Just burn more than you consume ... There is no magic hormone fix for most IMO.


    What about other hormones - glucagon, ghrelin, leptin, estrogen, testosterone, etc?
    They all play a part, not just insulin.

    They all play a part in the function of the human body and when those hormone levels get skewed and off, it wreaks havoc on every system in the body.

    Those of us women that have PCOS that assists in leading to Insulin resistance and ultimately T2 Diabetes, eating too much has NOTHING to do with the way our bodies work.

    I was barely eating anything (between 800-1000 calories per day) low fat, high carb............full of whole grains as my
    Registered Dietician had recommended and I was steadily gaining weight.

    When a woman in particular has excess Estrogen that gets converted to testosterone, weird things begin to happen in the body............marked weight gain, lack of monthly periods, acne you never had before......male pattern hair loss and / or hair growth, etc............

    We all know the parts that Ghrelin and Leptin play in the hunger response system. If both or one of these mechanisms is broken or impaired, out of control appetite ensues.

    Hormones in total play the biggest part in the obesity epidemic.

    Yes, there are people that grossly over eat................and then there are those of us that don't over eat and are still very overweight due to hormone issues that are getting lined out.
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
    I do low carb but I don't worship Taubes. I believe everyone is different and some people can eat 300 grams of carbs and be perfectly healthy. I am skeptical of anyone who demonizes anything. I prefer Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Stephen Phinney who take a moderate stance on carbs--some people can eat lots, some people benefit by lowering them.

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