What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?

New York Times ^ | 9 July 2002 | GARY TAUBES

[onedoug]

If one doesn't eat red meat, weight will not likely be a problem.

[IdeashaveConsequences]

Good post

[Lysander]

Now that this science is becoming clear, it has to fight a quarter century of anti-fat prejudice

Not to worry, a quarter century of drug prejudice prevails in light of science. The government plans to move forward with a plan to end self destructive behaviors like taking drugs and eating wrong. We will soon have helicopters flying over to force the cattle growers indoors.

Eating approved food will become a right. The government will establish a dietary protection agency in which all the properly approved beans and rice will be equally available. After all it is the government's duty to protect us from what we ingest. Eating fat might hurt my family if I die and leave my children to suffer.

[Snardius]

Two legs bad...
Four legs good.

Two legs bad...
Four legs good.

[kaktuskid]

Red meat does not put weight on you...hydrogenated fats (as in margarine and processed baked goods),corn syrup (which is in every processed food),and simple carbs (white flour and starch) are what does.

[Hugin]

What's forgotten in the current controversy is that the low-fat dogma itself is only about 25 years old. Until the late 70's, the accepted wisdom was that fat and protein protected against overeating by making you sated, and that carbohydrates made you fat. In ''The Physiology of Taste,'' for instance, an 1825 discourse considered among the most famous books ever written about food, the French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin says that he could easily identify the causes of obesity after 30 years of listening to one ''stout party'' after another proclaiming the joys of bread, rice and (from a ''particularly stout party'') potatoes. Brillat-Savarin described the roots of obesity as a natural predisposition conjuncted with the ''floury and feculent substances which man makes the prime ingredients of his daily nourishment.'' He added that the effects of this fecula -- i.e., ''potatoes, grain or any kind of flour'' -- were seen sooner when sugar was added to the diet.

True. I remember asking my dad when I was a kid why so many poor people were fat, and he told me it was because they couldn't afford meat and ate mostly starchy foods. That was just common sense back in the days before the junk food/junk science alliance convinced Americans that carbs were good for you and meat was bad.

[Sabatier]

You are right. The Atkins diet works great for some of us. Lost forty pounds, cholesterol is great, heart is great, feel great, and best of all, have kept the weight off for two years and counting. No bread, no rice, no noodles, no sugar, no taters, no sugar, no fast food!

[onedoug]

Sorry. Works for me. And trying (for the most part) to keep kosher with poultry, fish and dairy (incl. cheese).

Best to you.

[fuente]

Lost 60 in three month without even trying. We'd go out to eat and I would eat MORE than everyone and lose, lose, lose. My blood work came back after six months and my doctor was STUNNED! Chol 310 -> 150, Lipids 900 -> < 100. That was more than a year ago. From time to time I still put on a pair of 46 pants to remember how big I was. ha, ha, ha!

[fuente]

The poorer you are, the more likely your fat. More than 60% of young ladies on public assistance are over weight.

[xJones]

Did either of you have intense cravings for sugar when you started, and if so, for how long? That was my problem last time I went on the Atkins.

[Dead Corpse]

Almost. Extra calories put fat on you. Meat requires a lot more energy to metabolize than simple carbs do. More carbs=more calories. If you take in more than your body can use, you will put on weight.

Atkins works by filling you up on things that are harder to digest, there-by evening out the caloric debt load.

Lean heavy on the meat. Stay clear of most procesed foods. Drink plenty of water. Maintain good variety.

Easy-peasy.

[big gray tabby]

You can't find a single study to bear that out.

[onedoug]

My own.

[fuente]

The beginning of the diet is the toughest part because you're pulling your body off carbs. When I go back onto the induction phase (read the book if you don't remember this) I'm usually hungary for a day or so. To curtail this I drink a ton of water and eat salads, hard meats, celery or mushrooms dipped in ranch of course!

Here's the deal. I've known since my body building and power lifting days (long since past) that if I eat a big "healthy" breakfast-- toast, fiberous cereals, fruits, skim milk--I'd be starving by lunch, but if I abstained from breakfast, I'd not be hungry until mid afternoon and then just a little. Why? All of those things listed above are loaded with carbs that cause blood sugar levels to spike, then droop. Sagging blood sugar levels trigger hunger. So many of those health things CAUSE hunger later in the day.

This IS the difference between Atkins and most other diets--NO HUNGER after your initial phase. If I get hungry, then I'm cheating.

Just one more thing. If you're trying to do this without reading the book--DON'T! You need to understand what's happening in your body.

P.S. I no longer take my high cholesteral meds. My doctor said he has never recommended that before, but I have no need for them anymore.

[fuente]

Then maybe you could tell me why I have many overwieght vegetarian friends, and a couple of others who tell me that they just can't lose their extra weight.

[fuente]

No, that's not how it works.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Then it would follow that high-fiber foods such as whole-wheat breads and country-style orange juice would be helpful also.

[Chemist_Geek]

When I go back onto the induction phase (read the book if you don't remember this) I'm usually hungary for a day or so.

Huh? ;-)

No bread, no rice, no noodles, no sugar, no taters, no sugar, no fast food!

Aaargh! That sounds intolerable. No bread nor rice? If true, I know why I'm not losing weight, but jeez, that doesn't sound like a very appealing diet...