If you have questions about weight loss, why we get fat, are carbs good or bad, and do calories matter, then Gary Taubes is your guy.
His book, Why We Get Fat, is really simple to understand and is brutally persuasive. His answer to the question of why we get fat?
We get fat because of a HORMONAL imbalance, not a caloric imbalance.
And what causes the hormonal imbalance?
Carbs
Here are seven major lessons I took away from this excellent book:
1 ) Hormones, Not Calories, Cause Fat Gain
Hormones, enzymes, and growth factors regulate our fat tissue, and it is not over-eating that causes us to gain weight - it's the carbs. Easily digestible carb-rich foods cause stimulation of insulin secretion which results in a hormonal imbalance. It is that imbalance that is the cause of obesity.
Refined carbs, including flour and cereal grains, starchy vegetables like potatoes and sugars are the main culprits in obesity.
2 ) Not Everyone Who Eats Carbs Gets Fat, But For Those Who Do Get Fat - Carbs Are Responsible
An analogy with cigarette smokers is apt. Not every longtime smoker gets lung cancer, but for those who do, cigarette smoke is the most common cause. The same holds true for obesity and carbs.
Some people have a genetic and hormonal predisposition for staying thin, but everyone else should be aware that carbs are potentially dangerous.
3 ) Not All Carbs Are Created Equal
Not all carbs are equally fattening because they all differ in the degree to which they affect our blood sugar and insulin levels.
Anything made of refined flour (bread, cereals, and pasta), liquid carbohydrates (beers, fruit juices, and sodas), and starches (potatoes, rice, and corn) is on the list of culprits. These foods flood the bloodstream quickly with glucose, blood sugar shoots up, insulin spikes and we get fatter.
What carbs are best? Leafy greens and green veggies.
4 ) Sugar And Flour Are The Main Causes Of Disease
In the 1950's and 60's they did major studies on the impact of Western diets on isolated communities and indigenous populations. As soon as sugar and flour were introduced into their diets, Western diseases followed.
Even if the scientific data cannot confirm causation (correlation is obvious), it still seems to be a very wise idea to remove these two ingredients from your diet.
5 ) A To Z Weight Loss Study - Atkins Wins
Christopher Gardner, director of Nutrition Studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, a vegetarian for twenty-five years, presented a study in 2007 that tested every major diet regimen, and he explained it was a bitter pill to swallow to find that the low-carb, meat-rich Atkins diet won out.
He initially felt the Atkins diet could be potentially dangerous, and was very surprised to find out that not only was it safe, but it seriously outperformed every other diet.
6 ) Why People On Low-Fat Diet Lose Weight?
If carbs are bad, then why do some of the people who go on these low-fat, high carb diets manage to lose weight? The answer lies in what they eliminate from their diet - even though they eat carb-rich foods, they tend to eliminate refined carbs. In the end, they restrict the worst kinds of carbs from their diet.
These are 6 great nuggets of insight I got from Gary Taubes' great book Why We Get Fat.
I highly recommend it!
P.S. 