How to Lose Weight

I read a great article this month in Readers Digest of all places written by Gary Taubes. He asks a very important question. "If obesity researchers are so smart, why are we so large?" They have said "Do not eat fat" and "calories in" must equal "calories out" and our obesity rates have hit 33% of the population!!

Taubes believes that the experts are wrong. He believes that we must answer the question of why we are overeating and believes that we have developed a disorder in how our fat tissue is regulated. Diets do not work but they are pushed for those overweight. Cut your calories and you will be a success. If you cut your calories, you will be hungry all of the time and your body will learn to work on less. Plus, it is impossible to count calories. If you are off by 20 calories a day, you will gain 20 pounds in 10 years and 100 pounds in 50 years. Exercising more also increases your hunger. Is there hope?

Taubes believes it is refined carbohydrates and starches that are making us fat. They raise our insulin levels. Insulin is the hormone that regulates our fat tissue. It stores the excess sugar in our fat cells and does not like to release it, therefore by eating lots of processed carbohydrates and sugar, our fat cells get fatter.

Taubes says that in most of the studies a low-carbohydrate diet does better than a low-fat, low calorie diet.

The five guidelines for eating a low-carb diet from the New Atkins book are:
1. Don't try to limit fat.

2. Say good bye to pasta, bread and rice. To lose weight most people must stay under 20 grams of net carbs per day.You can add more carbs in when you reach your goal.

3. Be picky about vegetables. Potatoes, corn and peas are off limits. You can have up to 4 cups a day of leafy greens and 2 cups of broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, okra and Brussels sprouts.

4. Get rid of hidden sugars like fruits, juices, soda, cakes and candies. You might be able to keep diet sodas, light beer, dry wine, and sugar free sweets.

5. Eat as much as you want of protein and fat. Stop eating when you are full.

This is a very interesting article. If Gary Taubes is correct, and I suspect he is, nutrition books as we know them will have to be rewritten. I will research this info. more in the next couple of weeks and let you know what I find. In the mean time, keep the carbs under control!