The FastDay Forum

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/opini ... using.html

[janeg]

Good article MaryAnn. Thanks for posting it.
Really makes you think about the 'science' of nutrition (and this is coming from a psychology graduate! )

It seems to be very true. There is, at present as groundswell revolution against the idea that fat is bad for you. The idea that cutting fat is good for us has not been proven to be true going by the decrease in general of the amount of fat eaten and the rise in obesity.

Thank you for this post. I am always interested in what he has to say.

I have a love/hate relationship with Taubes. I've read his book, Why We Get Fat, and I just can't get behind his views on sugar and grains (I eat a lot of both and I have a 17% bf percentage, as well as excellent blood panels). But I admire him for his willingness to think outside the box and explore new ideas. This article was solid, and he does raise some good points

Thanks for posting this, MaryAnn. Shows that we should "study the study" before relying on it for life-changing decisions.

Thanks for the info MaryAnn


@Sarajaynevz, just curious about your comment re eating a lot of sugar and grains. If you don't mind me asking, how much is a lot, and have you always eaten the same amount? You've obviously lost an awful lot of weight, congrats on that score. Do you think to be able to continue eating a lot of sugar and grains, and maintain your weight and current body fat, you will have to continue indefinitely with IF and exercise, in some form? I suppose what I'm wondering is what made you gain weight? Was it having children? Are you a naturally lean person who can pretty much eat anything without gaining? I know a couple of women who were always slim, prior to having a family. Once they lost that "baby weight" they seemed to slip back to their original natural slimness, without having to watch what they eat.

I'm just fascinated by the difference in people. I think that's why there isn't a "diet" or type of exercise which will work for everyone (not even fasting) I'm not sure a few rules can be applied to millions of people. Thanks for reading anyway.

I have a love/hate relationship with Taubes. I've read his book, Why We Get Fat, and I just can't get behind his views on sugar and grains (I eat a lot of both and I have a 17% bf percentage, as well as excellent blood panels). But I admire him for his willingness to think outside the box and explore new ideas. This article was solid, and he does raise some good points

I was always thin growing up/my 20s (wore a size 6 wedding dress etc). This is in spite of having a huge family tree of obesity, especially with the women. My mom, grandmas, aunts, sisters all have struggled with their weight. I stuck out like a sore thumb growing up lol. Then in my late 20's I started having kids, and I had three of them fairly close together (22 months a part from the next, now ages 5, 7 and 9). I did fine for the first two, but the third one kicked my bum

After that pregnancy the weight didn't fall off like before and I started gaining at a slow, but steady pace. Odd thing is I didn't change my eating habits at all. I've always ate pretty typical SAD (standard American Diet), and drank lots of regular soda, ate fast food quite a bit and things like chips and cookies etc. But hitting my 30s and having the kids did something to me. I went from the 130s to 175lbs over the course of about 4 years (following my last pregnancy).

To be honest, the weight gain didn't really bother me. I had already subconsciously accepted that this was who I was going to be, because I was now just like the rest of my family. Most of my friends are overweight as well and we all sported mom jeans and ponytails lol. However, after having some blood work done and seeing how high my glucose number was, and having my doctor have a pretty frank discussion with me on how I was heading towards type 2 diabetes, was enough to scare sense into me.

I have lost one grandfather to T2 and my only living grandparent is currently losing her battle with it (she's a 3 time cancer survivor, and it's the diabetes that's beating her ). That was the wake up call I needed, to realize how serious my weight gain actually was.

My doctor told me my best chance to get my glucose number under control was to lose weight. However, he gave me no advice on how to do that so I spent a lot of time googling and stumbled onto the JUDDD (ADF) group, over on LCF. I credit the amazing women over there for a lot of my success-they walked along side me through every fasting day, gave me a shoulder to cry on when I was having a rough day, and cheered me on every step of the way. I have such good vibes about IF and I know a big part is the support system that this type of plan has (like the forums here). If you spend any amount of time on other weight loss forums, you'll quickly see the difference in attitudes with those who do IF vs other plans. We're like a sisterhood (with some brothers too ).

As for what I eat-I still eat the same foods I always have, with some tweaks. Now I know how calories work and I keep an eye on portion sizes. This means I have 2 cookies, instead of 6 I still eat fast food 3-4 times a week, but I no longer get my fries super sized, I put light mayo on my Subway subs and skip the cheese etc. I always know ahead of time what I'm going to order and what the calorie count is (most restaurants have their nutritional info online). So, I still eat generous amount of carbs and sugar, but by keeping my calories in check with ADF/5:2, the extra weight has gone and my blood panels are great-my last fasting glucose number was an 89

Whoa, sorry this post was so long!

ETA: during active weight loss I did NO exercise at all. I didn't start until I transitioned into maintenance and started with walking (it's progressed from there). It really was about the calories and fasting As for long term-yes, I do think I'll have to do some sort of IF for the rest of my life. The statistical failure rate for long term weight loss success is 95% That, along with my family tree of obesity and diabetes, has made me realize that I will now always have to be aware of my weight. My sisters and I are the first ones in several generations to lose the weight, and we're the only ones who don't have health problems. Doing a fasting day here and there is well worth it, to continue being healthy (and yes, to look good in skinny jeans ).

Before I, for one, make another dietary resolution, I’d like to know that what I believe I know about a healthy diet is really so. Is that too much to ask?

Given the quite pessimistic assessment of the quality of nutritional science he had just finished, is he really going to predicate his next choice on some form of scientific confidence that is -- even under the best of circumstances where money magically appears to fund the necessary studies -- a minimum of decades away?

I hear and agree with his call for better science. I think his conclusion, however, ignores the pressing need for many (perhaps most) of us to make a decision right now and to act on it as if it were 100% true, and we can't afford to delay for a decade or two hoping in the meantime for something miraculous to happen in the scientific community, when what we do in fact know for sure is that such a miracle hasn't yet happened and smart money would be bet against such a thing.

This is why I'm an engineer and not a scientist. First you do, then maybe later you know. (If, of course, by doing what you do, you don't blow something up. But even then you generally learn something, even if it wasn't what you hoped to learn.)

So yes, Gary. It is too much to ask. As Paul Valery once said of a similar endeavor, "A poem is never finished, only abandoned."

now some letters in response to the op-ed: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/opini ... inion&_r=0
including one anti-fat. I didn't think they existed any more