Janet, thanks for creating the new board. I've been looking forward to this discussion. I just finished the book and now I'm going to read it over again and underline some things I want to remember.

Interestingly, my mother was reading it one day and got to the part about mothers, insulin and offspring and volunteered that she was thin while pregnant with my sister, slightly fatter with my brother and quite fatter 5 years later with me. Our adult sizes match accordingly.

She also volunteered that she thought it was repetitive in the first part. I said it's because he's trying to make a case that's very much against the grain of "conventional wisdom". It's really astonishing how firmly implanted and pervasive the whole calories in, calories out, fat phobia and even frequency in eating ideas are, while absolutely not scientifically based. Will he be an unheard voice in the wilderness or will people take notice?

As Debbie said on the older board, I too, appreciated Dr. Fung's very clear discussion on proximate and ultimate reasons for obesity. In general, I like his big picture view of the problem as I don't find myself thinking, "but, whattaya 'bout ..." as I read, as everything fits. To my view anyway and I'd be interested in hearing any dissent.

I've been wondering about how the book will be received. What do you all think?

I suspect people looking for a conventional diet book will be disappointed in this one since he doesn't expound much on "what to eat". I hope they come away with the same appreciation I have for the importance of "when to eat", however, as I think that is the big idea that he explains very well in terms of insulin. As a low carber, based on the advice of "eat when you're hungry", I ate too often and while I always lost weight, my insulin resistance has probably been increasing for decades making it harder to lose and easier to regain every time.

I started some fasting last year when Dr. Fung's blog was first being discussed and have continued off and on all year, sometimes only 1 or 2 days a month but frequently more. I've been on and off the reservation all year too, but interestingly and unusually for me, I ended the year with a net loss of 15 lbs. Most recently my foray into CarbLand didn't result in as much weight gain as I expected (based on past experience) and I wonder if I can attribute that to some intense fasting in December.

I still have stress symptoms when I fast, which is why I haven't attempted anything more than 24 hrs lately, and I have more thoughts on that if anyone, especially newbies, might be interested. I only mention it because most everyone else generally paints a completely rosy picture.