My mother is a perfect example of this, as she did Atkins for a while and lost weight. The problems were, she told me, that "she dearly missed bread" and that was also "concerned over its possible health effects".
Thus, it need not be one's OWN doctor to relate fears and doubts, but "collective fears", generated by institutional beliefs, even if unsupported by science.
From my experience, the biggest problem of eating low-carb is of BOREDOM, as although my body may be satiated by meat/fat, I simply miss many of the foods I enjoy, including bread, potatoes, and sweets. Thankfully, I am not a soda drinker (but I love fruit juice, so there's really no difference).
Nevertheless, Taubes' book explains the PROCESS of exactly how I got fat. Finally, someone has answered my puzzle, as although I am not a tiny eater, I have never been a "monster eater" either. I simply realize that my body does not process carbs properly and turns them into fat.
Also, he has confirmed why doing 45 minutes on the treadmill has NEVER resulted in me losing weight: 'cause it doesn't work.
The most powerful revelation from "Good Calories, Bad Calories", for me, is that the most fundamentally-held belief of nutrition, calories-in/calories-out, is wrong. The law of thermodynamics is not wrong, but mis-interpreted. Understanding that is the QUALITY (kind) of calories, not the quantity, that makes us fat, is mind-boggling. It has completely changed how I think. In fact, so much so, that I don't even look at calories in my plan (low-carb, high-fat).
The good news is that it's working for me. Yes, I struggle a little with not having the "goodies" I like and want, but I feel I understand the physical processes going on inside me... and to me, that information is like gold, as I am no longer "stuck" worrying about what foods I can have, or cannot have; rather, I feel I "get" the science BEHIND the food and can thus make better choices.
Like Oprah says, "You did what you knew how to do... and when you knew better... you did better."
Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteRipley
I'm new to this site. Also a physician myself.
I read an online interview with Gary Taubes where he pointed out a plausible cause for the dropout rate with low carb diets: people do not have the support of their physicians. . . and so eventually lose courage and regress to the mean. How can you make something a natural lifestyle (rather than a temporary diet) without that kind of support?
The current and emerging emphasis on metabolic syndrome may change this, one hopes.
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