<p>My tone is dismissive because Taubes writes books based on horrible science. His followers are very cultish (Similar to the people that eat Paleo). They ignore evidence that refutes their way of thinking all the time, and that IMHO is very dangerous.</p>
<p>What you need to realize is that insulin is just one pathway. Taubes however does not tell you this. He puts the blame squarely on insulin when that is simply not true. He does not look at other (Just as important pathways) i.e.</p>
<p>Dopamine
5-HT (Serotonin)
Leptin
Adrenaline/Noradrenaline
Neuropeptide Y
Ghrelin</p>
<p>etc…</p>
<p>You need the full picture to truly understand dieting and why it doesn’t work in some people.</p>
<p>One of the foremost researchers on leptin brain signaling and obesity is Dr. Robert Lustig at the University of California San Francisco Med School. He’s a pediatric endicriniologist, specializing in childhood obesity. He’s also one of Gary Taubes main sources – the primary source for Taubes most recent NY Times cover story on sugar.</p>
<p>According to Lustig, there is a direct link between insulin resistance and leptin resistance (which prevents the normal signalling to stop eating).</p>
<p>If you really want to get down in weeds, here’s a 2006 paper written by Lustig that details the biochemiistry links between insulin and leptin signaling and the three ways that high insulin levels are a primary cause of obesity.</p>
<p>No, there’s a “theorized” link between the two. That is not the same as proof. Also, that is a review done on children, so one cannot extrapolate to adults. What Taubes does is take a theory and then tries to pass it off as fact. That is wrong on many levels. You should never publish such bad science if you claim to be a scientist.</p>
<p>Lustig is the one who did the ground breaking research on kids whose leptin signaling receptors had been broken by surgical removal of brain tumors in a particular part of the brain. They quickly became morbidly obese. He reversed their obesity and saw spontaneous exercise and sports participation by administering a drug that suppressed insulin. He later duplicated the findings in larger studies, one with obese children and one with obese adults. The spontaneous exercise shocked him and was key to understanding that behavior is driven by hormones.</p>
<p>The reason that Taubes did not go into the leptin connection with insulin is that it is largely irrelevant in a practical sense. The only way to reverse leptin resistance at this time is to reduce insulin resistance. The two are linked. As Lustig points out, the leptin connection is one of three key mechanisms by which excessive insulin drives obesity. Taubes focused on one of these mechanisms: insulin’s role in regulating the storage of fat in fat tissue. The other two mechanisms involve hunger and satiation signalling to the brain and are only starting to be understood.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but I disagree. Leptin is one of the more important dieting hormones as it regulates both SR and LR energy storage. Knowledge of how it works is very important and should be included in any good diet book.</p>
<p>I think it is “interesting” what interesteddad said about working to change the metabolism and having more energy. The light really went off in my head about my experience. I stopped snacking as much and I’ve been walking 5 miles about 4 times a week. After being hungry for two weeks, the hunger quit. I have lost 10 pounds and I have gotten much more squirrelly.</p>
<p>I gained 20 pounds due to a higher dose of my migraine medication which increases the appetite. I have reduced the meds, feel more alert, but am definitely having more headaches. I am kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place.</p>
<p>Funny how you dismiss established experts. I don’t believe there is anyone in world with more direct knowledge of leptin signaling and obesity than Lustig, notwithstanding a few "internet fitness gurus’ who you believe have “proved” him wrong.</p>
<p>Hint: I’ve read the same “internet gurus” you have. Here’s my operative theory. Most nutrition advice from personal fitness trainers and nutrition coaches is a bunch of baloney and old wive’s tales. The worst is nutrition advice from the powerlifting and body builder crowd. I’ll turn to them the next time I have hankering to start using steroids and begin a endless cycle of yo-yo “bulk and cutting”.</p>
<p>What I’m trying to get through here is : You should make up your own mind after reading the references to the evidence he puts forth in his book(s). People seldom check referenced articles on pubmed. Rat/animal studies are worthless but are still included in a lot of his books.</p>
<p>I’m curious as to why you try to pull out the expert card. It doesn’t require a lot of intelligence to understand how leptin/insulin actually works (This coming from someone with majors in Physics, Applied Math, and Economics)</p>
<p>Moral of the story: Just because he’s an “expert” does not mean he is right all the time. Only after his work has undergone serious peer-review should someone accept his POV as correct.</p>
<p>That’s basically what happened to me. Took two to four weeks to kill the constant hunger for binge snacking. That was 16 months and 90 pounds ago. It was all eerily similar to what happens a month after going cold turkey on nicotine, when all the brain receptors have returned to normal and the physical craving for the drug melts away. To be sure, there are powerful learned behavorial triggers to work through, but I strongly believe that these can only really be overcome once you are no longer swimming against a strong biochemical current.</p>
<p>Dieters (or smokers) who try to swim against that current with shear willpower are utterly miserable and almost guaranteed to fail. If willpower worked, nobody would ever get fat. It’s not like fat people don’t know they should eat less.</p>
<p>jsanche,
You never answered my questions about:
Exactly what type of research your books rely on?
And what is the connection of weight lifting/strength building efficacy and weight loss?</p>
<p>They all rely on peer-reviewed research. Also, they will always tell you when they are theorizing and when they are being factual (IMHO, this is the true mark of any good scientific book).</p>
<p>Strength/Resistance training is absolutely critical to fat loss (I’m not a fan of saying weight loss because it’s a very inaccurate term. Weight loss can mean water, fat, or muscle) because its basically a signal to the body to hold on to its muscle when on a hypo-caloric diet (Weight training increases levels of GH and IGF-1) Holding on to your existing muscle mass is absolutely critical to the LT success of any calorie restricted diet. (I can’t stress this enough)</p>
<p>Long distance touring cyclists typically lose weight. Everyone I rode across the country with lost considerable weight, even the guy who really didn’t have any to lose.</p>
<p>When we moved to Colorado 20 years ago we were asked “What do you do?”. Obviously we thought that meant professionally- but people here value earthy activities more. “What do you do? Hike, bike, and ski.”</p>
<p>Another factor in the fattening of America: internet shopping. With almost everything a click away, you don’t even have to walk the fifty feet to the store.</p>
<p>I do agree with this. Lose your muscle mass, and you’ve lost the battle from the get go. Unfortunately, this happens most of the time with most weight loss diets. People are thrilled to see the scale go down initially, then get bewildered and frustrated when they stall, horrified when in spite of their seemingly best efforts, it begins to go back up, then they quit in disgust and end up fatter in the long run.</p>