Gary Taubes is the gold standard for this.
His latest is "The Case for Keto", but I still have a soft spot for Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It.
Taubes is a journalist who specializes in science. His original book on the subject (Good Calories, Bad Calories) is aimed at more of the science/medical community and can be a little dense. The Why We Get Fat book is basically him taking that information and putting it in a little more simple and reader-friendly book. He's been keto for years and really knows his stuff on this and is fantastic at explaining it so anyone can understand.
Well I started as a way to lose a few pounds. Without little effort, in about 4 months, I lost 40 pounds, little effort meaning, when you start it you have to adapt before you can work out the way you do before or you hit the wall. I went from running 2 to 3 miles a couple of times a week to not working out at all for 3 months and lost 40 pounds. Other benefits, acid reflux went away, snoring went away (people say this is from weight loss, but, if I eat a bunch of carbs now, I'll get indigestion and I'll snore that night). Other benefits are better sleep and needing less sleep. I also can skip meals easily. I intermittent fast now, and I did an experiment one time, went 40 hours without eating anything and felt fine. Also went on a 40 mile bike ride when I became adapted. At about the 30 mile mark, I hit the wall, ate some food a brought along, have a feeling it had more to do with salt than actual food. Paleo is very similar in that it removes so many processed foods and sugar. I suspect people following paleo are in ketosis much of the time since they would also be relatively low carb. BTW, great book below
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003WUYOQ6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Having read a bit of this book I can see that it contains all the good facts if you're prepared to wade through all the Touchy-Feely crap.
It may be suitable for some readers but the style of writing was too much of a turn off. I'd recommend "Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It" by Gary Taubes as a much better guide to the relevant facts (although it's obviously more expensive). http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6/ref=tmm_kin_title_0
My co worker told me about i book. She read it and got a lot from it. [http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=II4EP7G3M42IP&colid=28IGP0KDFCWHU](here)
The book said that as soon as we think about eating something are bodies start making stuff to break it down. Are brains are sooo powerful.
I am using a step down method and he did say i "could" stop them before. and see how i feel.. so i think i should be ok....
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WUYOQ6/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0Y478P6JB9BQV7559NH4&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846](I heard this book is great)
The best explanation I've seen is in Gary Taubes' book Why We Get Fat And What to Do About It.
http://eatingacademy.com/start-here
https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6
Also my own medical file before and after. My profiles have gone from danger zone to ideal.
Hey girl, so there is a loooooooot of explanation for why this all is, but in a nutshell:
Our bodies need cholesterol to do a ton of shit in our bodies. It's a vital part of cellular membranes, helps with tissue healing, helps insulate neurons and shit, and also is the starting component of most sex hormones. We need so much, in fact, that our bodies MAKE cholesterol on our own. Over 70% of the cholesterol in our bodies is made by our bodies, with only 30% or less being absorbed by the food we eat. In fact, some studies have indicated that when we eat foods lower in cholesterol, our bodies start making more to make up for it.
So why do we think that cholesterol is bad for us? In essence, people started noticing that in heart disease and other issues of the circulatory system, these weird pussy plaques of cholesterol were building up in veins and arteries, leading to blockages. People thus assumed that this was the result of cholesterol depositing itself on the blood vessel walls, like fat down a drain.
This has been comprehensively proven to NOT be the case. What actually happens is that high blood pressure or other issues sometimes leads to small tears or damage in the blood vessel wall. Well, remember I said cholesterol is part of the tissue healing process? Thus, when blood vessels are damaged, cholesterol molecules are brought in to help heal the tear, like a bandaid. But if people are dealing with a lot of problems with inflammation in their body, the inflammation cycle starts running amok, preventing the tear from healing properly, which triggers more cholesterol to be brought in, which makes the inflammation worse, etc etc etc. The metaphor that is often used to describe this is that blaming cholesterol for heart disease is like blaming firemen for a building fire. Just because they are at the site of the disaster doesnt mean they are causing the disaster, and more and more research points to inflammation being the root cause of heart disease.
And what makes inflammation worse? High blood sugar, cause by too many easily-absorbed refined carbohydrates, which keto and paleo both strive to avoid.
A great book that summarizes all this research and how we came to have these incorrect health paradigms is Why We Get Fat, by Gary Taubes. It's an accessible read (basically a shorter version of the EXHAUSTIVELY researched Good Calories, Bad Calories) and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone interested in learning more about nutrition to improve their diet and health.
My credentials: I am a biology teacher, also with years of experience as a science writer for health/anatomy/physiology educational material, also I went paleo almost five years ago and lost 40 pounds and cured my depression.
Good for you, seriously. But they're triggers for the entire human race as they were designed to be so don't be too hard on yourself. We just have far too much of it because it's cheap and makes us hungrier customers. Furthermore the fact that it's addictive, fattening, and possibly lethal has been largely suppressed or overlooked until very recently.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/10/sugar-industry-lies-campaign
My friend's a surgeon who's speciality is obesity. So for what it's worth he say's the first 8 months of maintaing weight loss are crucial. After that your hormones have stabilized. So you can have a cheat meal or two per week and still maintain. And should sugar trigger your hunger as it's wont to do. Finding some fat (instead of more sugar) to calm your system down does the trick. And it's more easily stored for energy, not in fat cells. I reckon your probably a little fearful of food right now as are most after such a success - but I can't urge you enough that the surest solution to that anxiety is to educate yourself. I was anxious around food until I finally found some hard won clarity about nutrition. Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat" is phenomenal, and just in general "Mastering Macros" Ie; They're are only three Fat/Protein/Carbs. Eat them in that order and you'll always be satisfied and nourished, and never have to worry about weight loss again. Eat in the opposite order and you will. You can certainly employ IIFYM but that can be tedious. A general avoidance of sugar, and embrace of fat, and adequate protein was the difference for me after many years of loss and gain, but utter ignorance about nutrition.
I just wish I'd know that before when I'd lost weight as a younger lad. It was easy but I had no idea why my efforts worked and I'd gain it all back. Now that I'm older I've worn out my welcome with metabolic damage.
So again, your progress is some 1% shit if I must say so myself. You should be very proud of your efforts. I'm guessing you weren't always heavier or never lost weight in this amount before? Because the rate at which you snapped back suggest you still have pretty healthy hormone levels and no long term metabolic damage. Just curious.
Also what are the rules you went by?
He recommends Why We Get Fat below.
hth
Cutting carbs is what loses you weight. See Gary Taubes' Why We Get Fat.
This is a boring read at first but the information is very valuable.
https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About-ebook/dp/B003WUYOQ6
This sub helped me lose about 40 pounds and keep them off.
/r/keto
>Oh, Blow me. You and I both know that the vast majority of overweight people are just fat because they can't put the fucking spoon down.
Hey tough guy, I don't believe this at all. I say this as a thin guy who was quite chunky some years ago. I've read books that explain the hormonal consequences of eating a so-called "healthy" diet, and why it makes people fatter despite their best efforts. You really think fat people are just flawed in terms of self-control, and can't stop stuffing themselves with Big Macs? I was fat eating copious amounts rice cakes and fat-free yogurt every day. I had the resolve but the wrong info.
I've found Gary Taubes' books on carbohydrate intake, and sugar's effect on our insulin mechanisms really fascinating and illuminating on the topic of diabetes.
Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It on Amazon.
The Case Against Sugar on Amazon.
He's done a couple AMAs here on Reddit too.
(I know not everyone agrees with what he says, but I found it informative nonetheless. Just a perspective that happens to makes sense to me and jives with my general take on diet + nutrition.)
Salads are good, but the key to steady RELIABLE weight loss is a low-CARB diet.
It is no coincidence that the US Department of Agriculture's "Food Pyramid" was released in 1977, with its recommendation of a high-carb GRAIN-based diet. And that's when the American obesity epidemic began.
Lose the carbs, and lose the weight.