has anyone read Gary Taubes book and what do you think of it?

AliceAxe · August 2016

Ive been researching why none of the CICO has worked for me and found this book. havent read it, wondering if its worth a read?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307272702/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bulletpexecut-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0307272702

an interesting comment on this link by one of the readers about the studies done on mice. Ive heard of that one. and the theroy about toxic body fat.

Ive never had a problem losing weight until the last few years, I hit meapause and have thyriod and ovarain tumors and read all these can contribute to weight gain . also other helath factors like chronic fatigue and hypoglycemia. its seems no matter what I do my body has just decided to hang onto the fat, and I stay fatigued instead of burnnign ti for energy. its very frustrating.

queenliz99 · August 2016

Calories in and calories out. If you are not losing weight then you are not in a deficit. Do you use a food scale to weigh everything not solid? How do you calculate your calorie burns?

rainbowbow · August 2016

AliceAxe wrote: »

Ive been researching why none of the CICO has worked for me and found this book. havent read it, wondering if its worth a read?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307272702/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bulletpexecut-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0307272702

an interesting comment on this link by one of the readers about the studies done on mice. Ive heard of that one. and the theroy about toxic body fat.

Ive never had a problem losing weight until the last few years, I hit meapause and have thyriod and ovarain tumors and read all these can contribute to weight gain . also other helath factors like chronic fatigue and hypoglycemia. its seems no matter what I do my body has just decided to hang onto the fat, and I stay fatigued instead of burnnign ti for energy. its very frustrating.

I'm sorry to say, calories in vs. calories out STILL WORKS.

I am hypothyroid. I have chronic anemia. I have a pituitary disorder which is wrecking my hormones as well. I have chronic fatigue. CICO always applies

These issues in and of themselves need to be addressed for you, however, this does not mean that calorie counting does not work. Someone in your shoes likely needs to work with a registered dietician to find a diet that fits both your energy needs (calories) for weight loss, as well as vitamin/mineral needs (micronutrients) to assist in your fatigue.

I want to be clear that you will not see long-term success following the pseudoscience that people like Taube's perpetuate.

Sued0nim · August 2016

I think it's absolute rubbish from an absolute sell out trying to make money

I think I absolutely agree with critics of his work, of which there are many who basically comment on how it's readable, cos he's a decent journo, has some foundation in useful info but is made useless by his lack of scientific integrity, use of inappropriate data and fallacious conclusions

https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/gary-taubes-and-the-cause-of-obesity/

http://www.weightymatters.ca/2011/01/book-review-gary-taubes-why-we-get-fat.html

rankinsect · August 2016

CICO can't "not work", it's physics. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed - if you're not seeing the scale move, there are really only three possibilities:

1. Your actual calories in are higher than you think,
2. Your actual calories out are lower than you think,
3. You are losing fat but other factors (e.g. water retention) are temporarily masking it on the scale.

All calories are estimates. They don't need to be perfect estimates, but they do need to be "good enough". If your estimates aren't good enough, then you won't lose weight. Your medical problems likely push your "calories out" much lower than would be predicted by any calculator, which assumes you are perfectly average.

Agree you likely need to work with a medical professional to see if you can address some of those issues / ensure you can get adequate nutrition as you may well need to eat less than would otherwise be recommended.

SLLRunner · August 2016

AliceAxe wrote: »

Ive been researching why none of the CICO has worked for me and found this book. havent read it, wondering if its worth a read?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307272702/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=bulletpexecut-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0307272702

an interesting comment on this link by one of the readers about the studies done on mice. Ive heard of that one. and the theroy about toxic body fat.

Ive never had a problem losing weight until the last few years, I hit meapause and have thyriod and ovarain tumors and read all these can contribute to weight gain . also other helath factors like chronic fatigue and hypoglycemia. its seems no matter what I do my body has just decided to hang onto the fat, and I stay fatigued instead of burnnign ti for energy. its very frustrating.

Don't fall hype regarding weight loss.

The bottom line is that weight loss is calories in/calories out every single time. However, with your medical thyroid and ovarian tumor conditions, you will need to do some trial and error to find the CICO that works for you. You might end up eating a bit less than you would like, or pushing yourself for more movement.

As for menopause.....that's when I found it easiest to get all my weight off. All I did was follow CICO and it worked.

If you are fatigued, you are probably not sleeping as well and moving as much as you used to, which can explain why you are having trouble losing weight.

That said, how much are you trying to lose? What are your stats? If you are close to normal weight and you have little to lose, then it will take much longer.

clambert1273 · August 2016

I am hypo/hashi and CICO does work (along with a multitude of other medical stuff)... Trick is to get the medical under control first.. For me that was a really high dose of synthroid.. I have learned in many years what levels work best for me and I have established with my doc to keep them in that range.. Thyroid meds are adjust frequently to compensate

AliceAxe · October 2016

all the comments sound very valid. I am switching to a scale instead fo just messuring. its tricky wiht the hypoglycemia since I have to eat a lot constantly to keep my blood sugar up. it has made calorie restriction not doable. the illness , muscle disfunction and fatique makes exersize not doable. I cant get decent medical care because I am poor because of being so disabled. I am on medicaid but the doctors dont offer much help. Ive seen a nutritionist and they did nothign for me except give me an outdated 1200 sample diet sheet, which listed all breads and dairy (yuk) and tell me to space out the food. even with that the wieght keeps coming. Every time I drop the calories a little my wieght drops and little then rebounds back to what it was even though I am still eating less. I tried dropping it even lower but the hypoglycemia became unbareable and the constant shakiness and dizzieness was too much and too dangerous. its gone so low at times Ive passed out.

Seffell · October 2016

Reading how someone disagrees with CICO always remids of this episode where Phoebe says she doesn't 'believe' in gravity.

Sloth2016 · October 2016

This resource might be helpful to you: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/expert-answers/reactive-hypoglycemia/faq-20057778

But really, you need a doctor's input, preferably someone more credentialed than a nutritionist.

Best of luck with your health and fitness!
-s

amusedmonkey · October 2016

If you have hypoglycemia, even looking at this book will make it worse, not to mention that the way of eating he advocates will not go well with eating constantly unless you want to only have one spoonful of food every small meal.

amusedmonkey · October 2016

vassar15 wrote: »

US Government Dietary Guidelines set in 2015:

"Key Recommendations that are quantitative are provided for several components of the diet that should be limited. These components are of particular public health concern in the United States, and the specified limits can help individuals achieve healthy eating patterns within calorie limits:

Consume less than 10 percent of calories per day from added sugars."

So OP, you can choose to listen to the US Government Dietary Guidelines (which I assume Taubes would agree with because he is anti-sugar), or you can listen to the people who post here.

Your choice.

This isn't about sugar. The book advocates a low carb diet without counting calories (eating to satisfaction). For someone who has hypoglycemia, low carb is a recipe for disaster, and for someone who eats frequent meals, high fat without counting calories is a recipe for weight gain. What she needs is frequent slow carb low calorie options combined with a little bit of protein to extend steady carb release even longer (so not sugar - the opposite of what you believe people here want her to eat). She needs things like sweet potato egg white omelet, chicken with beans and vegetables, things like carrot sticks and hummus for snacks...etc. Not low carb, but not high sugar either. Obviously, all needs to be counted accurately to make sure there is a calorie deficit.

has anyone read Gary Taubes book and what do you think of it?

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