Why We Get Fat... And what to do about it.
Acnwgirl
Posts: 14 Member
Hello low carbers,
Has anyone read this book by Gary Taubes called "Why we get fat: And what to do about it"? Here is the link to the Amazon page http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398206765&sr=8-1&keywords=why+we+get+fat .
I recently subscribed to Audible and chose this as one of my free books. It really is motivational for living a low carb lifestyle and understanding why we get fat and how we don't get fat as a result of overeating, we overeat because we're getting fat. It explains more about why our bodies crave carbohydrates and why some of us get fat from eating carbs and some of us don't. It debunks myths about exercise and losing weight, citing studies all the way back to the 1930's.
I have lost 80 lbs four times in my life and the only way I've been able to do it is through low carb lifestyle. But this book made me think about why low carbing is so worth it and how to succeed at it long term, for the right reasons. My biggest struggle with low carbing has been sticking with it long term. I keep gaining the weight back because I go back to eating poorly, and eating too many carbohydrates. Anyway, if this post helps anyone else come to the same realizations, great!
Has anyone read this book by Gary Taubes called "Why we get fat: And what to do about it"? Here is the link to the Amazon page http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398206765&sr=8-1&keywords=why+we+get+fat .
I recently subscribed to Audible and chose this as one of my free books. It really is motivational for living a low carb lifestyle and understanding why we get fat and how we don't get fat as a result of overeating, we overeat because we're getting fat. It explains more about why our bodies crave carbohydrates and why some of us get fat from eating carbs and some of us don't. It debunks myths about exercise and losing weight, citing studies all the way back to the 1930's.
I have lost 80 lbs four times in my life and the only way I've been able to do it is through low carb lifestyle. But this book made me think about why low carbing is so worth it and how to succeed at it long term, for the right reasons. My biggest struggle with low carbing has been sticking with it long term. I keep gaining the weight back because I go back to eating poorly, and eating too many carbohydrates. Anyway, if this post helps anyone else come to the same realizations, great!
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Yes! I read it last summer and it helped me understand why I eat so much and can't lose weight...I have done low carb, but still struggle with the addictive side of carbs, but I am getting there. I'm also a science nerd and the book was good at explaining the science in simple terms.0
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I started Low Carb dieting in January and have lost 27 lbs, 19 since I found this site. The only way I can stick to it is eating about 75 carbs a day, absolutely no bread, pasta or potatoes, no sugar at all other than what is in fruit and I eat less about a cup of fruit a day, No bananas or grapes. I snack on nuts, sparingly, I fill up on protein and vegetables. Hope this helps. I've also lost 10 inches of fat, so I'm feeling pretty good about the whole new way of eating. I very seldom feel hungry. The only sweetner I use is Stevia.0
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I'll check out the book, thanks for sharing!
I cut down on my carbs several years ago and it helped me drop some pounds. Looking to do it again
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I've always been curious about his books. I just checked, and my library had the kindle version. Just checked it out. Thanks for the nudge.0
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LOVE this book! In fact, loved it so much I'm now reading "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Taubes as well.
It goes a little more into the science of it.
You should see my original post on Taubes - so many people on here HATE him!!0 -
That's a book I want to read.
Right now I'm reading his "Good Calories, Bad Calories" book. It's interesting, but quite scientific.0 -
Yes, I've noticed the hate. I came here from SparkPeople, and I will say that people in the main forums on this site can get pretty nasty at times defending their ideas about weight loss -- nasty enough that I've thought about returning back to SP. I like the tracking here better, but being new here (I registered before but didn't follow through) I am feeling a little out of my element being that I do best when I cut back on carbs at least somewhat. Maybe I'd be happier and safer just ignoring the main forums altogether and sticking to groups like this one!0
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Maybe I'd be happier and safer just ignoring the main forums altogether and sticking to groups like this one!
Main Forums: Lurk for the laughs
Low Carb specific Forums: Participate for the knowledge and support
Welcome!! The Keto groups are active and helpful as well. :-)0 -
^ What she said! Also, check out http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/ for more information, FAQs, etc.0
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The ONLY issue I have with Taubes' books or articles is his argument that exercise doesn't do much for us. And depending on what you mean by "exercise" he's both right AND wrong...
I'll explain:
First, I'll explain why Taubes is right...
I'll use myself as an example - because I was obese. Just before I added exercise into my weight loss effort, I was a 45 year old, over-300lb obese man about 6' 3" tall. My BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) was 2,591 calories (remember that number, it's important) according to the most standard calculation method used. For those that don't know, a BMR is the number of calories (unit of energy) you require if you were on bedrest 24/7. You add to that your needs for other activity to get your total caloric needs.
With my other daily activity factored in, I'd need to eat in the neighbourhood of 3,300 calories a day to maintain that weight - So I figured I'd eat around 2,800 calories to lose that magic pound a week (that's a myth for another post) and that's what I ate. So boom, I had a caloric deficit of 500 calories a day.
Now, lets say I decided to add an hour of walking into my routine, at say 3mph. Walking is the most-recommended exercise that people starting a diet undertake, and the one most often recommended by health-care providers.
As it turns out, a 300lb person walking for an hour burns (according to several online calculators) approximately 449 calories.
Yay! Almost double my deficit, right? Wrong. Every calculator available AND all those 'calories burned' counters on exercise equipment show you the calories with the BMR factored in. So that 449 calories, minus my hourly BMR (2591/24 = 108) is now only 341 calories. Still, that's a big deal, right?
Or is it... conventional wisdom holds that a pound of fat equates to 3,500 calories - If I did that exercise 3 days a week I'd lose an extra 1.26lbs a month. That's it. Well, until I lost more weight... then the calories I burn goes down even more. At 250lb I'd only burn 279 calories after adjusting for new weight/BMR. That's only 1lb a month. At 225lbs (still overweight) it's only 247 calories, and the number continues to drop.
It's even worse if you use the example of a 160lb overweight woman. She'd only have a 120 calorie deficit after a full hour of walking 3 miles per hour. That's only .44lbs per month / 5lbs A YEAR.
Nobody I know gets excited about 1lb a month. Less than half a pound a month is just laughable. So in these examples, Taubes and Harcombe are absolutely correct. There's no doubt about it.
However ... here's where Taubes and his supporters are WRONG about exercise:
An oft-overlooked key to exercise for weight-loss is intensity. Vigorous exercise is what really burns fat. Not moderate/easygoing exercise.
Granted, it can take a while to get fit enough to do vigorous exercise for any length of time, but it has so many benefits it's just worth it.
Lets use my 300lb, 45-year old example again. Lets say he hops on an exercise bike and gives it his all for a whopping 15 minutes. At a very vigorous intensity, this works out to 408 calories... slightly less than an hour of low-intensity walking - but because its only 15 minutes, it's burning 381 calories after BMR is factored in. That's more extra calories burned than the 1hr of walking.
Yes, 15 minutes of vigorous exercise can be difficult, but it's attainable, and as fitness improves, so can the length of the exercise.
Once the exercise is up to an hour - again, of vigorous exercise - things change dramatically. 60 minutes of intense cycling 1,633 calories. Subtract the hourly BMR and that's still 1,525 calories. That's an extra 5.5lbs a month, nearly 70lbs in a year.
If you think that an obese person could never do that - - Well, that's just not true. It's completely attainable. I know because I did it. At 45 years old and with serious spinal issues I did it. I don't think I'm any more capable than anyone else. Even if you can't do as much work as hard as I did, do what you can and your fitness will improve.
As fitness improves, so does your ability do workout more vigorously.
The Bottom Line
So, in regards to moderate exercise, Taubes (and anyone else that says exercise doesn't matter) is/are right. It honestly just doesn't do much. Even when severely obese, it helps about to the grand total of about a pound a month IF you can do three full hours a week.
If, however, you do vigorous exercise (and you may need to work up to it, I started a couple of minutes every other day) you'll burn as much as 5.5x the calories as moderate, maybe more. One pound a month isn't much. 5 to 6 pounds a month is huge.0 -
Really enjoying this book. Thanks again for reminding me about it! (and thank you library for having the kindle version of it!)0
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Some good counter points to Taubes:
http://weightology.net/?p=265
http://weightology.net/?p=251
http://weightology.net/?p=10810 -
I've read a lot of the counter points (but not these, specifically). It was nice to actually read what he says.Some good counter points to Taubes:
http://weightology.net/?p=265
http://weightology.net/?p=251
http://weightology.net/?p=1081
I'll have a look at these as well.0 -
The author tries to rebut Taubes but falls in to the same trap himself. This is a never ending argument and each study can show something completely opposite. Most of these studies can be easily manipulated based on subjects, duration of the studies and even the content of the food. I usually don't read the blogs or the studies. I usually carefully review these so called studies not just the head lines or abstract. I have seen studies which claim low carb diets when the subjects were given more than 40% carbs in the diet . Of course Garry Taubes is not 100% accurate but he talks about stuff which every one has failed to do so. Personally, I think you should do what ever works for you. If you look at the TDEE, BMR, RMR or even calorie expediter, they are wild estimates. My TDEE, RMR were off by 20-30% when actually measured in a vacuum chamber.0
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The author tries to rebut Taubes but falls in to the same trap himself.
Can you clarify what you specifically think Krieger is doing?0 -
The author tries to rebut Taubes but falls in to the same trap himself.
Can you clarify what you specifically think Krieger is doing?
Read the studies he quoted not just the summary. I can go on and on but it will be a book. I don't have time to debate on what two authors think is right. I am too busy figuring out stuff on my own and reaching my own goals. That was one of the reason, i didn't bother to reply to this thread in the first place. I can quote contradictory studies to what Krieger is doing. There is no one size fits all approach, depending on individuals you can observe completely opposite things.0 -
The author tries to rebut Taubes but falls in to the same trap himself.
Can you clarify what you specifically think Krieger is doing?
Read the studies he quoted not just the summary. I can go on and on but it will be a book. I don't have time to debate on what two authors think is right. I am too busy figuring out stuff on my own and reaching my own goals. That was one of the reason, i didn't bother to reply to this thread in the first place.
If you don't want to debate that's fine, you can do as you please. I'm simply asking you to clarify what you think Krieger is doing specifically. If you disagree with a point he is making I'm asking to see it rather than a generalization about "studies can show anything".
If you can show me an example I will certainly look at it. If you are right, I may even change my position on it.
And if you'd rather go outside or go lift, more power to you.0
