Gary Taubes – Why we get fat? November 26, 2008
Posted by Dr Dan in carbohydrates, insulin, weight loss.Tags: paleo, paleo diet, saturated fat, whole grains
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Here is another great video of a lecture by Gary Taubes who in my opinion is absolutely amazing!!! He does a very good job arguing why we get fat, and how this is due to a diet high in carbohydrates, and not the old idea that calories in – calories out = fat %. It is long, about an hour, but it is well worth it, and the time flies by.
Food
Well it is time to eat some humble pie for the third time. Three times, since I have started on the paleo diet, I have had short forays into trying a different type of diet and each time I come crawling back to paleo – humiliated, defeated and wondering why on earth did I think that it was a good idea to try something else. I woke up this morning, bloated, with stomach cramps and constipation (I blame it on the grains). My face had also broken out. Later on, after I ate a meal high in saturated fats I started to feel worse, wheezy and a little ill. Then even later the cravings hit, probably from the non vegetable carbs. These were massive food cravings that wouldn’t stop. So I guess thats the sign I was looking for. I don’t want to have this for another two weeks so I am back into strictly paleo foods. I guess I did learn the lesson that I seeked – a diet with even a small amount of grain and higher in saturated fats, is just not for me.
The best explanation I have for why I feel this way, when I eat other foods, is as follows. Nutrition science is definitely flawed and still in its infancy. One day they say eat carbs the next they say stay away from carbs. You know what I mean. But there are some things that we do know for certain. These are that a diet high in omega 3 fats and monounsaturated fats has definite health benefits. A diet high in vegetables and fruits also has health benefits. The paleo diet is extremely high in all of these. But we only have a limited number of calories that we can eat in a day. So it stands to reason that if you eat other foods in the diet, that may not even be bad for you, such as saturated fats or whole grains in my case, by default you are getting less of this known good stuff. As a result you start to feel worse. At least I start to feel worse.
I feel like a bit of a loser for even trying other foods. Will I do it again….probably. Will I come crawling back….definitely. The paleo diet itself is easy. I like the food, I don’t get cravings and I feel good. But sometimes, when I don’t have a lot of money, those cheaper foods (grains, meats higher in saturated fat) look awfully good. But each time it only takes me a couple of days to realise that this is not for me. Im not perfect that is for sure, but all I can say is that each time my paleo lifestyle starts to go of course, at least I acknowledge it and bring it back on track. It still seems to be working because up until now I have still lost weight every week. But in the last couple of weeks I just feel I havn’t been going as well as I could have. Last week it was a lot of social occasions and therefore drinking alcohol, and then this half of the week was trying this new scheme. I need to pull back to paleo eating and get back on with it, I REALLY need to.
So what did I eat today? I woke up and I had another serving of the whole grain bread I had made with some poached eggs, tomato slices and a hollandaise sauce. Alongside it I had a mandarin and two strawberries.
- Whole Grain Bread, Poached Eggs, Hollandaise Sauce, Tomato Slices
For lunch I had been slow cooking my chicken bones all night (and all of yesterday) so I had this beautiful brown and rich chicken broth. I decided it was good enough as a soup and so I had it along with another bit of the whole grain bread. In it I placed a knob of butter.
- Chicken Broth, Whole Grain Bread
In the afternoon I felt hungry so I had a glass of non-homogenised milk. Then for dinner I had some left over chicken stew.
- Chicken Stew
I was so hungry tonight. To try and curb the cravings I had 200g of skinless chicken (yes this is when I decided to revert back) and some shredded cabbage and carrots. It worked though, I don’t feel hungry now.
Nutrition
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I’m going to watch the video as soon as I get home from work.
So – welcome back to the Paleo fold (she says, being her herself for just one whole week)! It may sound bad, but I’m kind of glad you had a bad time on grains, because it proves I’m doing the right thing! I’m still noticing a few of my old niggles, healthwise on the paleo diet, but I’d be stupid to think they’d all be sorted in just a week’s time! Especially as I’m still finding my stride nutrition and balance-wise. I’m coming home in just 9 days too, so I’m a bit worried I’m going to fall off the wagon big time! (OM NOM CHEEZLES!)
That chicken broth you made looks gorgeous! I’ve been thinking about getting a crock pot to be able to make stuff like that – just as well Christmas is coming, eh?
Anyhoo – the real reason for this comment is for some reason I’m still clinging to the “low-fat, high-carb diets are good for you” propaganda, and I freak a little every time I look at the amount of fat I’m now consuming. I wanted to ask you how you’ve experienced a higher intake of fat the past few months.
I also wanted you to ask you to clarify an earlier statement of yours “Calories don’t matter” – why did you say that?
Depending on the individual, saturated fat is actually an excellent nutrient. However, it must be consumed in the proper context with adequate supportive nutrition to ensure that it gets metabolized properly. I suggest readers of this blog Google “saturated fat truth benefits” or visit my blog at http://nutritionscienceanalyst.blogspot.com/
David Brown
Nutrition Education Project
Natalie,
Depending on how one’s biochemistry and physiology are configured, calories may or may not matter. The average eater absorbs about 80 percent of the calories consumed. Researchers have measured calorie absorption rates as low as 40 percent for subjects consuming a high fiber diet. Google “unabsorbed calories” or “calorie excretion” to obtain more information about this matter.
Natalie, read my latest post:
http://darwinstable.wordpress.com/2008/11/26/gary-taubes-why-we-get-fat/
This explains why calories are less important. But it takes an hour but is well worth it.
David, thanks for your insightful comments. Thats the thing that keeps getting me – that there are healthy populations that eat a different diet to hunter/gatherers.
Dr. Dan,
Just out of curiosity, which new dietary scheme were you trying out?
I tend to crave carbohydrate foods when I haven’t been eating enough, particularly not enough fat.
Do you think that maybe cycling paleo days with higher carb days might be helpful? My weekends tend to be higher carb days by default, and actually that seems to be beneficial. I’ve no idea why, but it seems to work. Perhaps it’s adding the “unpredictable” part back into the equation?
TrailGrrl
Also, I will do baked potato or sweet potato or mashers when I need a carb hit, rather than loading up on bread or grains. I figure these are at least whole foods.
TrailGrrl
That is VERY interesting that you have noticed that too. I also have noticed that if I have a higher carb weekend then weight loss is more rapid over the next few days. However, this could be due to water retention and then loss. I might have to do a little experiment on myself to test this.
I was trying to incorporate whole grains back but in a low carb format. But it didn’t work.
Unfortunately I think it might be the grains. I seem to feel fine with potatoes, either regular or sweet potatoes. If I start going overboard on the doughy things though, then I start to feel the bloat. When I wasn’t eliminating things systematically to see which ones were doing harm, it was harder to tell.
TrailGrrl
Well of all the carby things to eat then potatoes and sweet potatoes are by far the best. In my humble opinion anyway.