What Are You Reading Now?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Interesting. This sounds an awful lot like what Vinnie Tortorich (nutritionist to the stars) has been preaching for the last 5 years on Adam Carolla's podcast. I've been meaning to get his book (No Sugar No Grain--NSNG) and now I think I will and i'll add this one too. He also says the liver doesn't distinguish between real sugar and artificial sweeteners, so they create the same insulin spike.

This guy is not against most whole grains, provided they are eaten in moderation. The fiber and bran work to counteract the carbs. White flour is the worst. All the healthy stuff is gone and it is finely ground so it is absorbed directly into the blood. Just like sugar in terms of insulin response.

[old_gregg]

but there’s no clinical data for this predisposition against artificial sweeteners right? i guess anecdotally it does make me more likely to crave sweet stuff.

[Jeff Lebowski]

but there’s no clinical data for this predisposition against artificial sweeteners right? i guess anecdotally it does make me more likely to crave sweet stuff.

Results are mixed, but most data seem to indicate that they don't produce a large insulin spike. That's how I read it, anyway.

https://www.livestrong.com/article/538318-does-aspartame-affect-sugar-or-insulin-in-the-body/

[LiveCoug]

Pillars of the Earth. Who knew a 1000 page book about a cathedral builder could be entertaining?

[happyone]

Follett does write a goooood novel

[BigPiney]

Pillars of the Earth. Who knew a 1000 page book about a cathedral builder could be entertaining?

I really liked it. Though I have had the second one in my desk for years, and not started it.

[CardiacCoug]

I just finished The Obesity Code, by Jason Fung. My doctor son talked me into reading it. This is a potentially life-changing book. I was already aware of much of the stuff he presented, but I still learned a ton. The great thing is that he constantly cites clinical trials and does so in an engaging and interesting fashion. He just keeps hammering away with evidence to support his main claims. Great book.

A summary:

1) His main thesis is that obesity has many factors, but far and away the most important factor is insulin resistance. He presents a mountain of evidence to support this. Insulin resistance results from eating sugars and refined carbs and from snacking too much, i.e., overloading your blood with insulin then never giving it a break. Insulin resistance raises your body's set point (fat thermostat) and keeps you fat.

2) Calorie counting does not work as it is based on a fundamentally flawed assumption - that your body burns calories at a steady rate. Also, it does not address the fundamental problem: insulin resistance.

3) Exercise has very little impact on weight loss. You should do it to be healthy, but it plays a very minor role in weight loss.

4) Eat less/move more does not work in the long run, again because it does not address insulin resistance. Study after study shows that it doesn't work.

5) The anti-fat crusade was a disaster. Fats do not make you fat. They do not produce an insulin response and they trigger satiety hormones. Most people who eat low fat replace the fats with carbs, a recipe for failure.

6) Proteins stimulate insulin and should be eaten in moderation. This is why atkins diet does not work long-term.

7) Natural fats (olive oil, avocados, nuts) are extremely healthy and promote weight loss.

8) The current fad to eat 6 small meals per day (i.e., grazing) is wrong. That keeps your insulin high and promotes resistance.

9) Avoid high fructose corn syrup like the plague. It can only be metabolized in the liver and causes fatty liver and insulin resistance, moreso than cane sugar.

10) Not all carbs are bad. Whole fruits are just fine because the fiber, etc. reduces the insulin response.

11) To reduce insulin resistance, he recommends:

a) Avoid sugars and refined carbs (white flour especially)
b) Eat a mediterranean diet
c) Never ever snack between meals - this gives your body an insulin break
d) Intermittent fasting. Fast 2x per week (with plenty of fluids). This again gives your body an insulin break and reduces insulin resistance.

There is far more to it, but you get the idea. I have been doing this for about a month and have lost quite a bit of weight already.

I agree completely that simple carbs make people fat. There is no doubt in my mind about that — a plant-based diet with a little bit of fat/oil/meat is the way to go.

And that exercise fallacy is something I hear every single day: “I gained 50 pounds after I hurt my knee because I couldn’t exercise!” That is a completely insane thing to say — there are so many skinny people who don’t exercise much.

The thing that is discouraging about weight is that people have to constantly improve their diet over the years just to stay at a normal weight. If you’re not improving every year then the same diet that kept you at a BMI or 22 in your 20s will get you easily into a BMI in the 30s by the time you are 50. Constant improvement in habits is required or obesity is pretty much guaranteed these days.

[Bo Diddley]

I agree completely that simple carbs make people fat. There is no doubt in my mind about that — a plant-based diet with a little bit of fat/oil/meat is the way to go.

And that exercise fallacy is something I hear every single day: “I gained 50 pounds after I hurt my knee because I couldn’t exercise!” That is a completely insane thing to say — there are so many skinny people who don’t exercise much.

The thing that is discouraging about weight is that people have to constantly improve their diet over the years just to stay at a normal weight. If you’re not improving every year then the same diet that kept you at a BMI or 22 in your 20s will get you easily into a BMI in the 30s by the time you are 50. Constant improvement in habits is required or obesity is pretty much guaranteed these days.

My activity level has been below normal for about nine months now as I deal with Achilles tendon issues. I'm about the same weight, but my body composition has changed somewhat. I'm a little thicker around the middle with less muscle tone.

[LiveCoug]

Here is a great book for the kids.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/069...SIN=0692905588

[CardiacCoug]

Here is a great book for the kids.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/069...SIN=0692905588

Oh my. It would be funny if it weren’t sad.

[Bo Diddley]

Here is a great book for the kids.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/069...SIN=0692905588

Haha! 1 1/2 stars.

[happyone]

I just started Chernow's Grant that some of you have already read.

For some reason the library sent the Large Print version home with Mrs. Happy. It really is a door stop (over 1500 pages) In spite of my advancing age, I really don't need the large print!

[falafel]

Reading An Innocent Client by Scott Pratt. First in the Joe Dillard series. Never heard of the author or the series, but it has almost 11,500 reviews on Amazon and 4.5 stars (and its on Kindle Unlimited). Can't be total garbage, right?

[SteelBlue]

I just finished The Obesity Code, by Jason Fung. My doctor son talked me into reading it. This is a potentially life-changing book. I was already aware of much of the stuff he presented, but I still learned a ton. The great thing is that he constantly cites clinical trials and does so in an engaging and interesting fashion. He just keeps hammering away with evidence to support his main claims.

Thanks. Just bought this one.

[happyone]

I finished Patrick O'Donnell's look at the men who escorted the Unknown Soldier of WW I back from France, The Unknowns

My thoughts if anyone is interested

I also finally typed up my thoughts on The Darkest Hour

I'm still plowing away on Chernow's bio of Grant.

There seems to be two basic themes in the narrative - the damage Grant's pre Civil War drinking did to his reputation as he rose to promanence and his accepting people at face value and as a result trusting people he shouldn't.