Saturday, August 30, 2008

Gary Taubes Strikes Again

Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories has made quite a splash in the dietary world since unleashing his research volume on diet and exercise. He vindicates Dr. Atkins by showing the science behind low carbohydrate diets and even points out that exercise doesn't make you skinny - just makes you hungry. His latest article appearing in Mother Earth News reiterates some of the dietary wisdom from his book. It turns out this is information our grandmothers knew all along...

"If you’ve been trying and failing time and time again to lose weight by dutifully eating less and exercising more, perhaps its time to try your grandmother’s diet instead. Stay away from the fattening carbohydrates, stop worrying about how much fat you eat and see what happens. Let your weight and your waist circumference tell you whether the diet you’re now eating is a healthy one."
Full Article

This is a great article and those who don't have the time to dive in to Good Calories Bad Calories might want to check it out.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

muscle tone is nice though! and your bones absorb calcium best through weight bearing exercise.

i exercise to aid my metabolism. it actually slows a bit, or i simply absorb nutrients more? no clue which. in any case, my low blood sugar is much more even when i do a lot of working out :)

it is an asinine way to lose weight. you don't actually burn off many calories at all, but it does increase your need for calories (not quite the same thing, but i think it is the part that confuses people).

so i work out partly to even out my metabolism and partly to stay toned because that's handy when you model ;)

Anonymous said...

I think many folks confuse Gary's comments about the relationship between weight and exercise. He doesn't say there is no reason for exercise, just that its isn't as effective a tool for weigh control that most post think. There are gobs of other good reasons to get some movement into a day, and Gary readily admits that (& he is an exerciser).

Twisted Cinderella said...

Very interesting article!

http://pitterpatteroflosingpounds.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

OMG, Wifezilla, did you read the comments at the end of Taubes' article?? Those were some ANGRY people! They're completely outdone that Mother Earth News would print such stuff--especially the one who's a dietitian. She called him a "nut!"

No wonder it's such an uphill battle to get people to even consider LC eating...sigh...

Linda said...

You are correct Abi and Anna. Exercise does have benefits. For me, weight loss just doesn't happen to be one of them.

1956 - I signed up to leave a comment. Another low carber also stopped by. It's not so one sided anymore.

Anonymous said...

I have to say I'm thrilled it made it to Mother Earth News :) And, yeh, no one has said exercise is pointless... only that it is pointless in weight loss.

(psst auntie zilla.... 32D... and still 137... this low carb thing is the bomb!)

Lauren said...

Thank you for sharing more wisdom from Taubes, Wifezilla. This condensed version is perfect for sharing with friends and family!