Name: Why we get fat
ISBN: 9780307474254

Why we get fat

This work is an examination of what makes us fat. In his book Good Calories, Bad Calories, the author, an acclaimed science writer argues that certain kinds of carbohydrates, not fats and not simply excess calories, have led to our current obesity epidemic. Now he brings that message to a wider, nonscientific audience. With fresh evidence for his claim, this book makes his critical argument newly accessible. He reveals the bad nutritional science of the last century, none more damaging than the "calories-in, calories-out" model of why we get fat, the good science that has been ignored, especially regarding insulin's regulation of our fat tissue. He also answers key questions: Why are some people thin and others fat? What roles do exercise and genetics play in our weight? What foods should we eat or avoid? Concluding with an easy-to-follow diet, this book is one key to understanding an international epidemic and a guide to improving our own health.

What Hacker News says

ericskiffJan 2023

Okay, I understand this likely not what you were expecting as an answer, but this is based on my own personal experience as well as reading I did before changing my way of eating (specifically the meta-analysis of dozens of scientific papers in Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat")

Switching to a keto diet (under 20 net carbs a day) had an immediate and lasting effect on my mental acuity, mental health, energy levels, and overall wellness. I had persistent brain-fog stemming from stress, overwork, bad health habits, and a case of Mumps which left me feeling like a shadow of my former self.

Within 36 hours of changing the way I ate, I felt like I was finally back to myself. I had my quick wit, energy to dig into problems, and a desire to move and do things instead of rest, eat, and wallow.

I'm happy to talk more about it if you're interested, but I'll keep this brief and simply say that trying a 3 day experiment where you keep net carbs (carbs minus fiber) under 20 per day may have a dramatic effect and give you the energy to begin to address other root causes.

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dchristianDec 2022

I would recommend "why we get fat" by Gary Taubes. Calorie counting has be disproved so many times, but it sticks around despite the science being against it. If you're a doctor or researcher, "Good calories, bad calories" is the same material but at a clinician's level.

Low carb diets get insulin down and ketones up. These factors are more likely to be driving these other changes.

Also, low carb diets generally eliminate wheat and therefore gluten. Gluten becomes gluteomophin, which causes it's own problems (as an opiate). The standard American diet micro-doses an opiate at every meal. What could go wrong?

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mmaunderMar 2022

Get a $300 Oculus Quest 2 and buy Thrill of the Fight for $10. It’s the most intense short HIIT workout I’ve experienced. It’ll blow your mind.

Also get a pressure cooker and use it to make seasoned unsalted black beans at the start of every week. Use them to substitute all your white carbs. You can read Gary Taubes book Why We Get Fat to understand this mechanism and how low GI helps.

My goto for the past years is 30 mins of yoga every day but that unfortunately requires consistency and is a time commitment. If you want to go this route, don’t bother with classes. Just get the Beachbody app and do the 3 Week Yoga Retreat which will teach you everything you need to get started and give you a solid foundation.

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ghshephardSep 2021

First - yes, I did read the entire essay reasonably carefully. I've been reading this same essay from Taubes/Ludwig for at least 5 if not 8 years. [Edit - Make that 10 years - according to Amazon, I bought "Why we get Fat" in Feb, 2011 - and remember it being revolutionary] The thing is I agree with them wholeheartedl, and have from the first time I read stuff from Taubes 10 or so years ago.

Saying that weight increase is a result of excess caloric consumption is in some ways a distraction, because of course that's the reason why weight increase occurs. The real issue is what does drive caloric consumption, and the side issue is what impact do dietary components have on insulin reactions, metabolic reaction, satiation, etc....

What kind of drives me nuts is how they have an issue with that fundamental, never disproven in a single controlled clinical-condition study, statement of "An excess of caloric input over caloric output will result in weight gain. " It's fine to start off with that, and then move onto the more important questions.

I mean, they could start off by saying, "This statement may be true, but it's only relevant in a laboratory, and mostly irrelevant in free-living scenarios." I would agree with that as well. I think it was Taubes that once wrote, "Our (predetermined) weight determines how much we eat, not the inverse" which I thought was quite clever and backed up with a lot of studies.

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ghshephardSep 2021

Now if only Taubes had written this essay with the same clarity and conciseness that your analysis of it just did, it would have gotten a lot more traction with me. I mean, he can at times be a great writer - "Why we get Fat" was a book that I and a lot of friend bought and debated at length - it was revolutionary (to us).

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giardiniJul 2021

I recently quit taking statins. My decision was motivated by reading two books:

"Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes

https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259/

and

"The Big Fat Surprise" by Nina Teicholz

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Surprise-Butter-Healthy/dp/14...

Finding that statins would lengthen my lifespan by at most ~30 days or less really chapped my ass (i.e.,irritated me), given that so much time and effort went into prescribing/ordering/buying/taking/monitoring statins on a regular schedule, along with their attendant blood tests (Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides et al) and time spent listening to my fear-mongering physician:

https://www.bing.com/search?q=how+long+will+statins+lengthen...

When I faced my doctor down about this he fell back to saying that "you increase your probability of a heart attack by 17%". He neglected to say how significant it was that, in the last year alone, I had lost 15 pounds, increased my exercise level, now slept better and had improved my diet significantly. He went through the motions but I stood firm. In desperation he threw out "But high blood pressure is strongly correlated with increasing age and you can't turn the clock back!" I countered that my blood pressure is better than it's ever been and that I intend to reduce it further. Then I told him that the cholesterol hypothesis is dead [ed. the cholesterol hypothesis is the idea that cardiovascular disease is caused by high levels of cholesterol in the blood stream]:

https://www.bing.com/search?q=is+the+cholesterol+hypothesis+...

With that, he seemed dumbfounded and finally stopped selling me statins.

We've fallen back to a previous era where physicians in the USA are useless except for trauma intervention and as gatekeepers for antibiotics (and other newer drugs). If the USA would allow pharmacists to prescribe (as is done in Europe) we could save trillions of dollars. But physicians' prestige and power would be reduced to a shadow of what they are today. Time to put them back in their proper place.

Covid-19's revelations of the flawed advice of "experts" has been enlightening. Every expert source has failed in big ways: epidemiology is a laughing stock, the FDA, WHO and CDC have dropped the ball repeatedly, given flawed advice, reversed guidelines and in general, established a baseline of SNAFU FUBAR:

https://www.bing.com/search?q=SNAFU+FUBAR

But my physician is no better: he's been selling me bullshit for decades.

And now this article. Grrr! Good thing my blood pressure is under control!

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