The obese are not fat because they overeat...

[Brook]

Re: The obese are not fat because they overeat...

Brook, we agree on the exercise part and I believe you are right on taking personal resposibility. It is not an excuse.

Yep. It would seem so.

However, for many of us that tried to take personal responsilbity and did other "diets" that were lower in calories as well as lower in fat, we were still destined to fail. Lower the fat, and the carbohydrates go up. I think we are hung up only on where to place the blame.

I just wish I could have found out this information decades ago. I could have saved years of frustration from doing so called "sensible diets".

No arguement here. Lowering the fat does, indeed, raise the carb intake. This is where it got tricky and why so many of us have found success when we stopped eating the processed (low-fat) crap and started eating real food.

[mystic]

Re: The obese are not fat because they overeat...

Don I don't think the argument was ever whether low-carb was a good approach or not. The issue was with the logic that fat people have to over-eat because they're fat. There are a lot of people who want to find some other thing to blame for their weight issues. Realizing that the one in charge of your life, and all the success you achieve is YOU, is in my mind, the biggest piece of ending the battle with weight issues.

That's what the argument was... not whether low-carb was good or not. We're all here, low-carbing... it's working. No one argues that.

[Brook]

Re: The obese are not fat because they overeat...

Excellent explanations as usual Brook. Man I wish I could assemble my thoughts like you.

I agree, Taubes never intended his beliefs to be skewed into a one-sided, silver bullet. This is definitely a tendency for people however. And I agree - it's a lot of laziness at the bottom of it all. I know for me, being overweight increased that problem tremendously. I cared less and less the worse it got. It was a vicious cycle.

Thank you!

He didn't intend for his writing to be used as a crutch - and like I stated earlier, I get frustrated because I've seen a TON of that on the low-carb boards as of late and for those of you that know me, you know how hard it is for me to LOL

I can't and won't speak for everyone. What I know to be my own truth is this:

I ate garbage food. I ate too much garbage food. I was tired. I was miserable. I didn't feel good. I sat on the couch. I had no desire to exercise. It led to boredom, which led to eating more garbage food, which led to my spreading, which led to me feeling like crap about myself, which led to being depressed, which led to me sitting around more often and doing less, which led to boredom, which led to eating more garbage food, which led to my spreading, which led to me feeling like crap about myself, which led to me being depressed, which led to me ....

Anyone else have Lambchop's "Song That Never Ends" running through their head now???


Here's what worked to fix it:

I learned about nutrition. I read until my eyes bled. I stopped eating garbage and started eating real food. I started regularly. My got smaller, my body got stronger, which made me want to eat better, which made me feel better, which made me want to more (and by that I mean working out AND just being more active in general).


I think we're all pretty much on the same page. - But then we're at ADBB and I should have known that ADBBers wouldn't contort Mr. Taubes work into an excuse. I you guys.

[brandywine1241]

Re: The obese are not fat because they overeat...

I have not read Good Calories Bad Calories yet (it's on order) but I have listened to a couple of Taubes' lectures. I think what he is trying to do by proposing that people overeat because they are fat is to debunk the myth that the reason people don't lose weight on low fat diets is because they don't have enough willpower. There are chemical reasons why they continue to gain weight.

[Hudson]

Re: The obese are not fat because they overeat...

Good points all.

I was responsible for my fat. But the big issue for me is the years of frustration could have been greatly helped with Taubes piece of information. I keep eating because of the insulin. I had no idea. Many, many fat folks are in the same cruel cycle. The food is just going mostly to fat, and they keep wanting more. That is what makes what Taubes said so significant. Stop the insulin - give yourself a chance.

[FunnyActressInLA]

Re: The obese are not fat because they overeat...

Taubes didn't say that exercise wasn't a factor in weight control. He said it wasn't a factor in weight loss. There's a difference and I think it's an important one.

Taubes argues that exercise makes you more hungry. He's right. It does.

Taubes argues that it's not necessary to lose weight/fat. He's right. It's not.

However, he does not argue against it as a tool for health. We all know that exercise builds lean muscle mass. We all know that muscle burns more calories at a resting rate- not many more, but more none the less (I'll take all the help I can get, thank you!). It helps us to maintain bone density, regulate sleep, decrease stress, makes us look better, gives us energy...the list goes on and on.

One can not argue against exercise as an integral part of a journey to a healthier lifestyle or the importance of it in regards to our health. You just can't. Taubes didn't either.

You can lose weight without exercise, but you can't do it and maintain your lean muscle mass, your bone density, and frankly....you're much more likely to look like a skinny fat person than the picture of health if you choose to avoid it. I'd much rather weigh more and look great nekkid than weigh less and look like a deflated elephant.

It's another spin on what Taubes said regarding exercise being used to as an excuse by many, many people to avoid doing it (not directed to anyone here!) - and I don't believe that was ever Taubes intention either.

/ LOL

B-R-A-V-O!!! Brook! ITA!
It's a very important issue EXERCISE, its EXTREMELY improtant in looking your best, feeling your best and for health reasons just as much as eating right is. There is this guy at work who lost 50lbs on WW which is GREAT however he didn't and still doesn't exercise so he looks "smaller" but still fat, as weird as that sounds or as you said Brook a skinny fat person! LOL! I totally believe everyone is entitled to their opinions on exercise if it's not for them, if they don't have time, if they don't need it to lose weight or maintain, whatever the PERSONAL opinions are on exercise, it's hard to argue the positive effects and results of doing consistant exercises right? I mean we all can agree that exercise IS good!

[Pie4me]

Re: The obese are not fat because they overeat...

So to stop the insulin which makes you hungry all the time---
you count carbs like mad..and spread them out throughout the day.

Is this right?

I want to get this straight.

[ttdriver]

Re: The obese are not fat because they overeat...

Honestly, I find that statement to be frustrating.

Yes. I've read the book. I think Gary Taubes is an amazingly smart man, but that doesn't mean I agree with everything he says.

We get fat and store fat when we eat more than our bodies need. Yes. It's easier for our bodies to store the carbs- obviously. But it can and will do the same thing with protein and even fat as anyone who is over eating on a low-carb plan can tell you. No one starts out fat and then over eats.

It's not a chicken/egg debate. There's an excess of insulin when you eat the wrong things *and*/or over-eat. I don't know anyone that hit the 240-ish lbs I managed to get to by staying at or around 1500 calories, regardless of where those 1500 calories came from. I over-ate. I didn't over-eat because I was fat. I over-ate and ate all the wrong things and that's what got me to 240lbs in the first place.

Yes. I understand that 1500 calories of the wrong kinds of food will make you more hungry...but it's still eating more that gets ya in trouble.

I totally agree ! And honestly, although I admire and respect Gary Taubes ALOT, I disagree with his position on exercise not helping you lose weight. I still believe you must burn more calories than you consume if you want to lose weight. I've experienced it first hand and I know its true. Yes, you need to eat less too, but you can eat considerably MORE when you exercise regularly and rigorously. Trust me .. after a half marathon, I can eat a whopper ribeye with all the non-starchy veggies I want and still not gain weight. If I didn't exercise, those calories would seriously catch up with me.

Betty