I see that this thread is still alive. Thanks for all comments and references. I'll follow up for sure.

As to the bodybuilders....

Actually, I'm suspicious of any doc or self-proclaimed diet "expert" who has never experienced obesity. Seems most of them just can't get past the traditional data.

I recognize the reluctance many of us have with bodybuilders/fitness "experts" as health/weight coaches. I, too, react negatively with many who assume this role. The important message is one of achieving and maintaining health, and when I was 25 - 30 years old, I would have been a shining example of a healthy individual who had no knowledge of the challenges that a poor long-term lifestyle could have on my own well being. I knew it all. Eventually, I smartened up and with professional demands removing me from my sports participation and regular routines, I, like many, started to slide putting on some weight and developing the symptoms of insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome.

While I believe Ted Naiman provides wise advice, I'm not into Ted Naiman the bodybuilder or fitness expert. When I look at his photos from earlier in his life showing how "fat" he was, I have to laugh. Don't mean to pick on Ted, as there are others who are simply obnoxious in attempting to sell their lifestyles having no direct experiences with real health challenges.

The saying that with age comes wisdom is very true in this case and many others.

I'm suspicious of any doc or self-proclaimed diet "expert" who has never experienced obesity and typically poses scowling and shirtless.

Assuming you're talking about Dr. Naiman - he's been my doctor for 15 years. He is the nicest doctor I've ever had and was nice and very respectful when I was over 300 pounds, unlike some doctors I've had in the past.

He is into following the body builders, and I don't get the scowling pictures either. I took a picture of him in the clinic once, and he definitely smiled!

He originally put me on low carb/high fat and he was really into the low carb diet back then around 2007. I did well and lost some weight, but I settled somewhere around 250 then after several years started gaining again. At some point, I think around 2018, he switch to high protein and tried to talk me into it. I wasn't having it and felt he was all wrong. I finally decided to try it and finally hit goal weight in my mid-50s (I mean I'm age 57). I did it with his high protein diet plus IF (I did do low carb/high fat plus IF when Jason Fung's book hit the market, somewhere around 2016, something like that, but that was just a roller coaster of loss gain for me).

If you're interested at all, Dr. Ted Naiman's YouTube videos are more representative of his actual personality. Honestly, it was a hard sell for me from the get-go. This entire time, I thought I was old enough to be his mother! He is only about 7 years younger than me, I had no idea. The first time I saw him, he looked like he was maybe 14, and all I could think was, "Oh, I don't think so!" But he was obviously really bright and very convincing, even though he has a very calm and relaxed demeanor.

I used to post his Burn Fat not Sugar videos on Low Carb Friends, if you were back on that forum a long time ago.

Anyway, it has been a long road, and finally, 15 years later after he became my doctor, I have finally lost the weight. Down 160 pounds, most of it since July 2019.

I once told him I was so mad at him for not coming up with high protein sooner - he just looked down and said, "I know." Ugh, I felt so bad that I said that!

I also am certain that I have some stage of lipedema, but it is not that bad. At one point, I showed it to my old doctor that was at the clinic before Dr. Naiman took over my care. I had one particular area that was bothering me. Dr. Cassman just said, "I don't know what that is" and that was that.

It mostly resolved for me with the weight loss. I had a lot of bloating in my upper thighs especially, and lower body fat (pear shape) and upper arm fat, but as is typical, practically none in my hands or feet. The bloating is all gone.

At one point, I read that unusual flexibility can be a symptom. I have that too. My feet will stretch up behind my head, for example, even though I don't practice that stretch.

I don't think the lumpiness will ever completely go away, but it has decreased quite a bit.

I still do not like massage on my legs. I have always found that painful and never understood that before I found out about Lipedema.

Susan Birch, a mother to 4 and grandmother to 4, had a good interview with Dr Naiman posted March 2 in the Apple podcast store (but not yet on her website) Dr Naiman has been a Family Medicine practitioner for 22+years and I now follow his advice for food lists, meal timing, etc. Have no problem following doctors who work in a clinic with patients, even if they had not experienced obesity themselves like Dr Westman.

But I also end up watching YouTubes like Muscle Intelligence with professional bodybuilders which veer off into how to fuel heavy weight lifting or running marathons …. And have to ask, How did I get here?

I would like to speak of the other side of the coin. I have battled my weight for 55 years. I have never had big thighs or hips. But my mid section was always the problem. I've always had trouble buying pants. Even at 130 lbs they went over my thighs and butt just fine but I could not button them. I had to buy a bigger size so I could button them then they were all baggy assed! As a senior I have resigned myself to elastic waist.

Posting to again clarify my position on Ted Naiman. I think the world of him and his successful treatment of his patients. I have his book and recommend it to many; however, I don't agree with every detail in his theories and some (very minor) of his views on the insulin hypothesis, as I likely don't agree 100% with anyone. It's probably just me, but I'd rather get his recommendations for healthy practices that I can adopt (his energy-balance hypothesis related to obesity is valuable) rather than photos of 6 pack abs. I realize he has to appeal to a wide range of ages. At the end of the day and the end of Ted's book, I'm still practicing low carb and keto for better health. I'm not drinking bullet-proof coffees, eating large quantities of fat, or chasing HGH through long fasts and workouts, and Ted's observations are spot on in those areas. Credit to Naiman and Bikman for enlightening me on the value of increased protein consumption.