As I restart my Low-carb commitment (originally from about 2001), I need all the encouragement I can find. So I've picked up Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes, the "friendly" version of his larger tome Good Calories, Bad Calories.

Whether you're a veteran or a newbie, you know there's an increasing ocean of information and misinformation about diet, exercise, and the details of both. Sometimes it's overwhelming, and also scary. Am I doing this right?? Will I hurt myself?

Regardless of the pushback Taubes and other investigators have received since this book came out in 2011, he lays out the stupidity of traditional weight management advice: eat less/move more. And he provides hope.

Weight management is not about "fast and easy." It's about choosing how to manage your own personal challenges to suit your life, for your entire life.

Want something else for your gift wishlist? Pick this!

P. S. If you're a visual learner, there's plenty from Taubes et al online. But I like my book, with my underlines, comments, and feelings noted in the margins.

I remember when I started looking at videos online about low carb. The very first ones I watched were presented by Tim Noakes, but I do remember the name of an author he recommended that people read... and that author was Gary Taubes.

That was enough to get me to read all three of his books on nutrition, starting with Why We Get Fat in 2016. No regrets.

The first two books I read were Good Calories, Bad Calories and The Primal Blueprint. But Why We Get Fat is more user-friendly and the only one I recommend now (or still after 8 years). And if your friends don't like reading at all, they can skip to Dr. Westman's Duke Clinic Diet in the back, eat only foods on that list, and do fine.

I started with the 2002 DANDR, but love Taubes because it's so readable. He reaches back into the history in much more depth.

But yes, Good Calories, Bad Calories is definitely for those who love to read

Taubes is easy to read and I frequently recommend Why We Get Fat as a book for those looking for good context when beginning their low carb journeys.

I still find The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living to be an excellent foundational book as well.

I started my low-carb journey in 2007 with the Eades' Diet Power and achieved my weight loss goal of 80 pounds. Being an inconsistent person in just about everything, I am inconsistent in maintaining my original weight loss.

I have had my fat for many years now. Sometimes I think my fat gets separation anxiety.

I give copies of WWGT as gifts. The way I see it, it could appeal to no one, but once it's in the house, someone will eventually pick it up.

I love this book too WB, and in fact I buy resale copies to give to friends.
You can actually open the book at any place and not be lost.
I also love how he gives the reasons behind why LC works and also goes into depth about insulin, diabetes and how and why we are stabilizing blood sugar.
The patient cases he sites are excellent throughout the book.
Most copies also have a cardboard tear-out that shows carb counts of the most common foods. Its very handy to bring with you to the grocery store.
DANDR=Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution

LOL.



Brilliant!




Thanks, Meme. Mind you, I loved Dr. Atkins book, too. I finished it with complete confidence in his "prescription."

In my case, I always got stalled on the carb ladder at rung 5, and bouncing around what I was happy with as a goal weight. It took the keto revolution to take it far enough for me to really get results, and that was tried for health reasons. Dr. Georgia Ede gave me the confidence to ditch vegetables because I never liked them, and now I know they never liked me, either.

The successful experiment led me to realize my "carb tolerance" is the size of the period at the end of this sentence. But that's okay! I can do celery and salad greens and onions. I can make my own dressing and put it on chuck steak. I love berries and pickles and tomato sauce, and those are my "fruits."

It's weird, but it works well. Just like me

You and just about everyone, Benay. Maintenance is by far the toughest part of weight management--with props for sure to people with the courage and persistence to lose tens and even hundreds of pounds the first time around.

In his chapter called "Injustice Collecting," Taubes makes the same point Dr. Atkins made in his original Diet Revolution. That is, "If you get down to a weight you like and then add these foods [fattening carbohydrates] back to the diet, you'll get fat again."

I'm going to write a post elsewhere on this forum about (Un)Sustainability. Lack of sustainability is an accusation often leveled against low-carb plans. But those of us with weight management issues through a lifetime know that NO diet works when you don't work the diet! Duh

I read in Taubes about the famous and informative A to Z diet study, where Atkins came out best in every health category. I noticed the passing comment that the people on the Atkins diet gradually increased their carb intake in the last six months of the diet and stopped losing weight. They STILL came out best. But stopping isn't what LC requires.

We're human beings. But adhering to our principles and good practices--whether physical, moral, or spiritual--sometimes takes superhuman strength. Or at least other human help.

That's why we have this forum, right?