Fat Chance, written by Dr. Robert Lustig of “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” fame. Dr. Lustig is an internationally renowned pediatric endocrinologist who has spent the past sixteen years treating childhood obesity and studying the effects of sugar on the central nervous system, metabolism and disease. He is the director of the Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health Program at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital; a member of UCSF Center for Obesity Assessment, Study and Treatment; as well as a member of the Obesity Task Force of the Endocrine Society.
I’ll make a promise to you right now: there is not one statement made in this entire book that can’t be backed by hard science.” ~ Dr. Robert Lustig
Fat Chance Week One – Part I. The Greatest Story Every Told
Chapter 1. A Fallacy of Biblical Proportion
Chapter one lays out the grim facts and statistics of the current obesity pandemic and how it relates to the demise of our health. Lustig proposes one doesn’t die from obesity but what obesity does to the organs due to the diseases that travel with it. The list includes heart attack, heart failure, stroke, diabetes, cancer, dementia, cirrhosis of the liver. He also points out that normal-weight people die of these as well arguing that it’s not the obesity that kills but metabolic syndrome. The term metabolic syndrome is used to describe metabolic disorders that include obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, lipid disorders and heart disease. As if that isn’t enough, there’s more destruction to health that is associated, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, kidney disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and the list keeps growing, orthopedic problems, sleep apnea, gallstones and depression. Obesity and metabolic syndrome are often interchanged, however they are not the same and one doesn’t cause the other. We are teased to read on to find out what causes both obesity and metabolic syndrome.
And now the shocking statistics:
- The number of American children who are overweight is now surpassing twenty million.
- Every one of the health conditions listed above are now found in children as young as five years old.
- Our children will be the first generation of Americans who will die earlier than their forebears.
- One third of all new diabetes diagnosis are in the teen population.
- Over 40% of death certificates list diabetes as the cause of death.
- There are now 30% more people who are obese than are undernourished worldwide.
- It is projected that by 2015, 2.3 billion people will be overweight and 700 million obese.
- Non-communicative diseases, diabetes, cancer and heart disease, are a greater threat to world health than are infectious diseases.
- Being thin or of normal-weight is not a safeguard, up to 40% of normal-weight people have insulin resistance, a sign of chronic metabolic disease and of that group another 20% have a fatty liver.
Chapter 2. A Calorie is a Calorie — or Is it?
Chapter two opens with the long-held debate, is a calorie a calorie. The common assumption, is that if one is overweight, it is their fault as they choose to eat more and move less or both. All of the stakeholders, those who sit at the “Table of Blame”, in some way profit from the “a calorie is a calorie” dogma. Lustig says there are three problems with “a calorie is a calorie”, 1. there is no way anyone can actually burn off the calories supplied by our current food supply, 2. all fats, proteins and carbohydrates are not the same and 3. we’re not eating more of everything, we are eating more of one thing, sugar, more specifically fructose. This chapter concludes with this thought, “the quality of what we eat determines the quantity and whether or not we burn it.”
More eye-opening statistics:
- Until 1980, 15% of the adult population had a BMI above the 85th percentile indicating either overweight or obesity. Currently the statistic is 55%, and by 2030, it’s expected to be 65%.
- The majority of obese kids will be diabetic and cardiac cripples by the time they are 50.
- 80% of obese people are suffering metabolically.
- According to the USDA the total consumption of protein and fat remained constant as the obesity pandemic accelerated. The intake of carbohydrates increased.
- The consumption of fructose has doubled in the last thirty years and increased six times in the last ten.
Chapter 3. Personal Responsibility versus the Obese Six-Month Old
Chapter three starts with the story of Sienna, a now one-year-old with both high cholesterol and high blood pressure, who was obese by six-months of age. Reflecting back on the previous chapter, when it is believed that “a calorie is a calorie” this implies that obesity is about personal responsibility. Implying that an overweight or obese person makes the conscious decision to eat more and move less or both. Lustig gives us six reasons to doubt why personal responsibility is the cause of obesity, 1. obesity is not a choice, 2. diet and exercise don’t work, 3. the obesity epidemic is now a pandemic, 4. even animals are getting fat, 5. the poor pay more and 6. the greatest rate of increase in obesity is in the youngest patients. While everyone else argues about who is to blame for this mess, we are left with Lustig’s words, “the obesity pandemic is due to our altered biochemistry, which is a result of our altered environment.”
A few more shockers:
- Significant weight regain has been seen in up to one-third of patients who have had surgery for weight loss.
- Numerous sources show that almost every lifestyle intervention works for the first three to six months. But then the weight comes rolling back on.
- The number of people who can maintain any degree of weight loss is extremely small.
- If obesity were just an American problem it would be an epidemic. It is a worldwide problem making it a pandemic.
- Malaysia which at one time had a problem with malnutrition now has the highest prevalence of type 2 diabetes on the planet.
- The change that ties all the countries of the world together is the “American diet”.
- In wealthier areas of San Francisco, nearly every block has an organic food store, the poor areas get a fast-food franchise.
- The age group that shows the greatest rate of increase in obesity in the last decade are 2-5 year olds.
Fat Chance Week One Discussion Questions
1. Chapter one is titled a Fallacy of Biblical Proportion, what do you think is the “fallacy”?
2. Obamacare is going to put 32 million sick people on the insurance rolls by 2019. What provisions for the prevention of chronic disease needs to be put in place for this to be successful?
3. Lustig states to lose your stubborn subcutaneous fat you have to become a gym rat, as vigorous exercise is the only rational way to prevent weight regain. Do you agree or disagree and why?
4. Before reading this book, what did you think caused obesity? How about metabolic syndrome?
5. Is a calorie a calorie? If not, then how do you explain why people who go on controlled calorie diets lose weight?
6. Do you sit, or have you sat at the table of blame? Which chair?
7. Knowing that the Food Pyramid was not based on science, do you think the government should have a role in what we eat? How about what is offered in school lunch programs, daycare programs, nursing homes, etc.
8. Is there any level of personal responsibility when it comes to being overweight or obese?
9. How many times have you gained and lost weight? Have you lost weight and kept it off?
10. Who is to blame for Sienna’s obesity?
Now It’s Your Turn
Use the comments to start the discussion. You can use one of the questions listed above or your own. I trust the discussion will stay on topic and be respectful of each opinion. It’s okay to disagree but no personal attacks.
Week Two – January 25
Part II. To Eat or Not to Eat? That’s Not the Question – Chapter 4. Gluttony and Sloth – Behaviors Driven by Hormones, Chapter 5. Food Addiction – Fact or Fallacy, Chapter 6. Stress and “Comfort Food”
It’s not too late to get in on the discussion. Download the electronic version of Fat Chance HERE and get reading!
I am completely overwhelmed by the number of questions and the thoughts I have on each one so I am forcing myself to pick two.
I guess I’ll start with the one I disagree somewhat with him on, the idea that to maintain fitness you have to ‘become a gym rat’. As an obese person completely tearing down every old assumption and rebuilding my life, I am operating under a couple of assumptions. One, that it is possible to drastically improve my fitness and my health. Two, that since I have spent the better part of my adult years in excess of 300 pounds, I do not expect the end result to be a fit body that looks like it was never fat. What I DO expect is continued improvement (which has already been appreciated in the 39 pounds I’ve lost since September) in balance, strength, energy level, flexibility, endurance, and general wellness. Three, what WAS necessary for my success, and a success that is markedly and specifically different from any other short term victories I have had in my life, was to completely and totally reject two systems: The typical American diet, and the typical dieting paradigm. I have completely eliminated processed food, wheat, and sugar from my diet. I am convinced of two things; that they all have a deleterious effect on health, and that they had to be eliminated for me because for me, they were nothing short of a drug. My relationship with sugar and wheat from my earliest memories has been that of an addict with a drug. And this is why the traditional dieting approach has been utter nonsense. It was, in effect, asking me to have ‘just a little heroin’ in controlled situations, and have a “treat once in a while”. It took me 42 years to figure out this is NOT how I roll. I didn’t have freedom from that addiction with low fat yogurt. I didn’t have freedom from that addiction with whole wheat bread. I had freedom from that addiction when I took all of it and threw it in the garbage. For the first time, when I say I truly don’t want that stuff anymore, it isn’t a lie. And for this reason, I believe that I CAN lose a significant amount of weight without becoming a gym rat or participating in the kind of obsessive behaviours that hallmarked every single effort to lose weight I ever undertook before this one. But we have to manage a couple of expectations. One has to do with the end result, like I said before. The other one has to do with that sneaky lie some secretly believe, that once you achieve a goal weight or goal fitness level you’ve magically arrived at a destination you’ll never be compelled to leave. It took me a long time to realize that even if I got down to 130 pounds, I would not be the same as a 130 pound woman who always weighed 130 pounds. What’s that saying, “The cost of freedom is eternal vigilance?” Yep. But eternal hysteria? Probably not. And to touch on one of the other questions (see how I snuck three in here?)– do I accept personal responsibility for my weight? Yes. Did I make bad choices over the years? Yes. Did I know the truth about what I really needed to do? Not until recently. I feel like communities such as this blog, and lots of others I can name, snatched me out of a burning house where my health is concerned, and I am full of gratitude every day for this. I do get a little concerned about blame language when it comes to fat people and how they are a giant drain on the insurance system, etc, for a couple of reasons. If people are going to engage in hand wringing over people who supposedly drink Medicaid dry there are many more at that well than obese people. I don’t see the press vilifying former smokers who now have COPD for being a drain on the insurance system. And there are a lot of them. I see a lot of rhetoric that is pointlessly mean spirited and makes a lot of assumptions. Not every fat person is unwell in an insurance-utilizing way. I’m a perfect example. I had minor issues that hindered my quality of life, but a perfect lipid panel. I have never needed prescription medication. I’ve never been in the hospital. But people say ‘obese people’ with the same contempt as ‘welfare mom’, with all it implies and more. I believe that is the worst sort of generalization.
The other question I’ll pick has to do with the government being involved in menu planning for schools and such. Personally I believe that to be a disaster. Until the pyramid-makers aren’t influenced and subsidized by Big Food, the information they are basing menu planning on is dangerously flawed. I was struck by Jamie Oliver dumping a wheelbarrow full of sugar cubes on the stage during a TED talk and explaining that amount as being the amount of sugar an elementary school kid takes in just from chocolate milk in school lunches. I was one of those kids. I used to drink two. There are economic issues with subsidies and the cheapest food being the worst food to consume that do my head in. I don’t know what the answer is. I do know that if I’d seen a documentary like Hungry for Change when I was in high school it would have made a significant impact on me.
Thank you Kimberly for being the brave one to get the discussion rolling. A few more and I will chime in!
Kimberly,
You did as exactly as I had hoped…picked a couple questions and responded. Thank you so much for your lengthy response and willingness to share part of your own personal story. I love getting to know HLHT readers better on a more personal level. I have not seen the Jamie Oliver video, but will search for it. Chocolate milk at school is something that irritates the heck out of me. At my kids high school, they took the soda out and replaced it with Vitamin Waters, Iced Tea, Gatorade and the like…as if that makes it better.
It’s a great speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIwrV5e6fMY
Hello FellowBook Club devotees,
I am sorry i was unable to partake at the commencement of your discussion….on plane and then home.
I read through Kimberly’s observations and questions. Thanks. Since I am in transit, I will apologize for not commenting further. Disappointed to see no one else contributed. Can comments be submitted tomorrow too?
Absolutely add to the discussion as time permits! I plan to add my personal thoughts over the weekend.
Here is my two cents…
I was thinking of this book as I was waiting to pick up my 9 and 7 year old from school today. I noticed how many elemantry and high school students were visible overweight. I know that their can still be health problems without being overweight but it is so sad to see kids at a young age suffering with obesity. Also as far as Obama deciding the lunch menu is a joke! I let my 9 year old eat lunch at school one day a few weeks ago. He didnt like what they were having so he had a piece of bread and some fruit…not exactly a balanced meal. The better thing would be to have some nutrition classes on teaching young children on how to make wise food choices and how some foods can effect their health in a negative way.
Personal responsibility-that is a hard one! In children I think we say its not their fault but the parents who are providing their food and teaching them how to make healthy choices. As we become adults I would say we are responsible for our choices. It is hard in todays world to eat healthy because it is all about convience and how fast a meal can appear in front of you. But still we can make the decision to make healthy choices.
Is a calorie a calorie?
I say no..If I was to be a on a 1600 calorie diet and only eat processed junk food I would not lose any weight. Now a 1600 calorie balanced of fuit,vegtables and protein I would lose weight.
I get really sad whenever we go to school events and see kids who are already struggling with their weight. I personally would prefer the school NOT TEACH about nutrition. We experienced that a few years back…my son brought in a can of organic coconut milk for a label reading assignment which led the teacher to use it as an example of “unhealthy” saturated fat. Thanks for contributing to the discussion Amy!
very true! I best keep teaching at home instead:)
Okay, so I bought this on my kindle a week ago and tore threw it. As some who has always suffered from PCOS and now eats pretty clean- nothing in here was shocking to me. Of course it took me an infertility diagnosis to really change my life-style
I think he did a great job describing the science behind insulin resistance – I thought I knew it all – i think I get it better now:) The middle of the book really reminded me of Omovore’s Delemia and he does quote Michael Pollen a few times in it.
I think the solution lies in personal responsibly, education but also a changing the culture. My mother-in-law really thought she was doing a good job this morning when she fed my 4 year old triplets Orange juice and pancakes and syrup. Wow, sugar overload and all i can think is there little fat cells are growing and are they on the path to insulin resistance. Clearly, there is already a genetic predisposition to it. But, as someone who is highly educated on this topic, does not live in a food dessert, and loves to cook and bake I struggle with this next generation. Although, I control most of their food it is a daily struggle. Crappy pre-school lunches, birthday parties, and the barrage of marketing. You really have not lived until you have see 4 year old triplets have a meltdown because Mommy will not buy the Sponge Bob fruit snacks.
Ohhh, Abby, triplets! Wow! What a blessing. I can only imagine three meltdowns all at once. Thanks for your response.
I think it is worth the melt-downs. (Granted I have no children, so I am speaking from the other side, I am the child!) When I was young I was not allowed Lunchables or Kraft Mac&Cheese and haaaated that my mom would not allow me to have it! I was raised on homecooked meals and the idea that those pre-packaged foods were not all that they were cracked up to be. While I snuck a few of these slimy treats in at friend’s houses, on a daily basis, these were a no-no. And I have to tell you, in more ways than just with food, I am so thankful my mother put her foot down. So while it may be painful, I am willing to bet it is more so worth it!! Good for you, stay strong!
Hi everyone! I have read and re-read the beginning chapters in this book and all of your posts here tonight. I am only about 6 weeks in to my wheat-free, sugar-free journey and have been learning as much as I can as fast as I can. My withdrawal from these two items took several days and quite a bit of bodily pain. I can’t imagine going back to that life, but this book gave me some doubts about my ability to do so. Honestly, this book has overwhelmed me just slightly…several premises I have operated under for years have just been turned upside down. But I’m ok with that and hoping for new ideas. In recent years I have tried exercise and calorie counting to lose weight and in all this time cannot lose more than 20 lbs and cannot get past a weight of 185 lbs. I have trained to run several 5k races (not fast but definitely completed), I have counted calories with a BodyMedia Fit armband, and I have recently removed wheat & sugar. Up & down with the weight–still cannot get past 185. In fact, when I removed wheat & sugar, I lost 8 lbs…which brought me again to 185. It would be funny if it wasn’t so depressing!
I feel great–more energetic, no lethargy, etc. But even with this shift in calorie quality, no more pounds lost. So I’ve yet to complete the research on this puzzle and hope that the coming chapters enlighten me just a bit more.
When I read in “Fat Chance” about a calorie not being a calorie I was a little shocked (which obviously speaks to my need for more self-education), but I think I get it. I understand that there are good calories and bad calories but I always thought calories in/calories out could be calculated fairly well. Apparently not! LOL I’ve reduced my calorie intake dramatically in the last 6 weeks mostly because with wheat & sugar gone I am simply snacking less and wanting to eat less. My calories are from REAL foods now–lots of one ingredient foods found in nature.
One disconcerting part I read about exercise & the “gym rat” suggestion got me a little down…I am not a gym rat and never have been. I exercise fairly regularly though I know I need to do more. So I felt a bit hopeless reading the part about how such a large percentage of people regain weight without an ENVIRONMENTAL change as well. Hmmm….so a more permanent change of diet & exercise routine that becomes the new normal is what’s required. So far I’ve only done one or the other well. Maybe striking just the right balance of both will lead to further weight loss for me, as well as begin a path of permanent environmental change. If I understand this correctly, this is a simplistic version of what he is saying.
In regards to another question on your list, I’m having a hard time dismissing all personal responsibility for obesity, but I think excellent points are made in the book and we need a major cultural shift in how we think about food & nutrition ideals. It seems that until we do that society won’t understand the obesity pandemic completely. Personal responsibility for getting out to exercise or just move for a while each day seems like it’s plausible though…I think.
I am disgusted at the food pyramid history and the lack of science involved. I am sick to think about how much control the government has over the menus at schools, nursing homes, and on the general food supply. Honestly, if everyone has to come to this knowledge one by one by finding a blog like this one, seeing a video, picking up a book like Lustig’s, hearing from a friend, etc. it sure is a slow method to global health improvements! The economic issues of cheap food and poverty are overwhelming to me as well…
Ok, so I’m rambling and hitting on all kinds of topics briefly but I have to say that the journey of my last 6 weeks seems like the life-changing kind. I don’t like to be told that it can’t be done or that my odds are lousy, so I guess I hope to be the exception? It’s not that I doubt Lustig’s science, it’s just that I hope to create a sustainable environment for myself!
Thank you Vanessa for being such a wealth of information and of course, recipes!
Melissa, thank you for contributing to the discussion! Most people think of their metabolism as being either fast or slow. Or how many calories they burn. Often times we try to trick our metabolism by eating less or exercising more. It’s important to understand our metabolism is really our personal chemistry influenced by many factors. I wrote a short article about factors that influence metabolism you might find enlightening. http://healthylivinghowto.com/1/post/2012/10/5factorsaffectingyourmetabolism.html
Oh goodness! This link is a helpful list of things to consider and research. Pretty much every day I find out how much more there is to learn, but I love it. I’m finding that a lot of things I always thought were true are being turned upside-down one by one. And I am beginning to rather resent traditional medicine and advice for the years of misinformation, driven by government & business. Ugh. Feels like swimming upstream when I tell people what I am reading and why… So glad to finally be learning though!
I’d like to start by saying “This is an awesome idea of a book club!”
I have to agree that I can answer a few of the questions, but some tie together and I will go off of my own personal experiences too.
I lost around 78 pounds about 13 years ago and have maintained it. I had to lose weight after my children and I did it in different ways. There were two main things I had to do. First, I had to figure out that I was eating emotionally and find other outlets when I wanted to eat emotionally. Second, I had to make it a lifestyle change and a number one priority. That included getting rid of stress by saying no to things and doing the things I really enjoyed. I made exercise a priority (mainly because at that time I thought that was the only way to lose the weight), and thought postively. This brings me to the gym rat question. I believe I over exercised the first time I lost the weight. I rollerbladed 6X a week for over an hour, usually an hour and a half pushing my daughter in a stroller. I did this for 2 years and I loved rollerblading and it was fun, but I would push myself more and more each week. We moved and I had another baby and couldnt do the rollerblading. I joined a gym and started classes and then incorporated weight training. I lost the weight again from my second, but this time I did it the right way and it took 14 months. (tho my eating wasnt good). This is were the calorie is just a calorie and loosing weight still happens on this diet.
I did loose my weight with the right exercise, but I was eating 1400-1600 a day eating processed no fat foods. I did eat veggies and fruit but I did eat sugar treats that were fat free and the 100 calorie packs. I WAS STARVING! I remember how my stomach would just growl but it wasnt the time I could eat or I was out of calories.
Then my third child came and I did it all over again. After a while we moved to the great state of Minnesota (LOVE IT!) and my youngest was diagnosed with slight social autism and my hubbie and I were reading Michael Polland’s, In Defense of Food and decided to make a family change of organics and local foods and no HFCS any more. 4 months later the kids finally stopped complaining about the veggies and healthy foods and started asking for them. Also, my daughter was like a new child.
Sry, I know this is long… that brings me to the school lunches. My kids don’t want to eat them (except my youngest still asks sometimes). Expecially since this year they decided to make school lunches healthier by cutting the portions down to half of what they were last year. Really!? Now they get to charge the same price for less amount given out. How is that healthier!? So my kids like home lunch. And I am glad.
I agree with Abby and Melissa, that education is key. I didn’t know the stuff on our shelves at the grocery store wasn’t even food. Teaching the parents what is food and the benefits or concequences would be so benificial. And learning what works for you. Every body is different and works better on certain things. My body works so well of off protien and fats, but my daughter does better on veggies and healthy nuts and grains. Thanks for hearing my story. Next posts won’t be so long…I hope!
100 calorie packs…sigh…don’t get me started
Thanks for your contribution…how do you propose we teach parents what healthy food is when no one can seem to agree?
I say share it with who ever asks or is willing to listen! I get asked all the time about what I’m eating and I let them know. Sometimes I try to tell them all at once…
I wish I had more time to right but I do have to say the book is amazing so far. I am disgusted by the lack of government care when it comes to our health. People have no idea what is going into the cheap food they are eating. An even bigger issue is good food availability in some of the poorer neighborhoods in our country. This should be fixed through community intervention, along with the government assistance people are already receiving. Anyway, the book is very very good and I am currently reading the indepth areas of insulin and leptin. Leptin is of significant interest to me as you don’t have to be heavy or light for leptin to affect your health.
Hi Meagan, I have not read ahead, but my husband has and he says the leptin stuff is quite interesting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
So, hubby and I got into it again about Orange Juice
this morning! I made eggs and bacon for the kids and
He poured them each a giant glass of OJ. I tried
To explain to him that he might as well be giving them coke!
So, his homework assignment is too read this book!!!
Very interested to hear his opinion on the OJ after reading the book.
Inis extra difficult for him because at 6″6′ and 190lbs
he has never paid attention to what he eats. Arg!
Have to ask Abby…who bought the orange juice?
Hi Vanessa, I just picked up my copy at Costco yesterday so I’m going to try and catch up with the reading so I can comment intelligently. I do want to say though, that while I admire Dr. Lustig, I think he’s missing a big part of the puzzle by not acknowledging the role grains (in particular modern wheat) play in overall health. I would suggest he test his own blood sugar after his morning bagel. Dr. William Davis illustrated pretty well on the Dr. Oz show that, indeed, two slices of whole wheat bread where just as bad and (for 3 out of the 5) even worse than a snickers bar. Sugar and in particular fructose are bad but when an entire nation is told that whole wheat is something that should dominate their diet … that’s a BIG problem. Why is everyone becoming diabetic (despite some efforts to eat healthy)? Could it be their morning cereal/bagel, afternoon sandwich/wrap and evening plate of pasta? I know for myself that when I eliminated sugar I lost some weight but the bulk of my health transformation happened after I ditched the grains. Still, I’m looking forward to reading what Dr. Lustig has to say.
Before I started my “journey” into non stop reading and research into low carb, I thought too many calories and not enough exercise made me fat. I knew what I “should” be doing to lose weight but for some reason I was unable to stick with it. Getting a better understanding of leptin and insulin and how the whole hormonal picture works was utterly “life changing” for me. Once I knew it wasn’t just about the calories but about what type of calories things became much easier. Cravings disappeared and I (for the first time I can remember) had control over what I ate and when I ate it.
As for personal responsibility, I know from my own experience being over weight that you don’t want to be fat. You want to be lean and healthy. You know what your “supposed” to do but it’s really hard. My super thin trainer didn’t understand that it was really hard for me to work out. I remember after I watched the Skinny on Obesity how things made so much sense to me. I think it is a viscous cycle – because you’re fat your body thinks your starving. It’s terribly sad really. How much truth is in Dr. William Davis’ statements that wheat also drives cravings for more junk carbs. I know since I gave up grains I’m no longer obsessed with thoughts of food. This is one reason why I’m not sure the sugar message is enough to really help people.
I don’t think a calorie is a calorie (anymore). I think it matters how our bodies metabolize the type of food we eat. How each of those foods affects our hormone system. I’ve read that the body has no mechanism by which to store dietary fat as body fat (not sure that is true but …). Having said that, I still think we can eat more than our bodies need. Since going low carb I am able to maintain my weight quite easily – I think this way of eating makes it harder to gain weight but losing is still another thing altogether. You still need to do something that requires your body to tap into stored fat and burn it.
I’ve lost and gained too many times to count. I’ve been overweight most of my adult life (now 43). I’ve done Ornish, WW, Fit for Life, Slim Fast … oh you name it. I did Ornish before my wedding in 2000 and worked out almost daily and was hungry all the time only to lose a mere 15 pounds. On low carb I’ve lost 44 pounds almost effortlessly. No hunger. No gruelling work outs. Feeling very satisfied and well fed. I think you can lose weight on a low calorie diet but it’s miserable (I’m not sure your body is happy about it either). I think you probably lose more muscle and bone mass that way too.
I’ll get reading and try and catch up! Love this book club idea.
If you didn’t see it, Dr. Lustig did an interview with the Chicago Tribune and I loved this part, “Breakfast is my one disaster indulgence because I just don’t have enough time and I have to get my kids ready for school, so I end up having half a bagel with some sliced cheese. I ended up saying so on Alec Baldwin’s pod cast and the low carb people have been merciless and savage.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/stew/chi-food-policy-robert-lustig-dishes-on-low-carb-obama-toxic-sugar-juice-and-more-20130117,0,5560520.story
I am in total agreement with u. When I stopped eating sugar my cravings went down, but when I completely cut out the grains I didn’t crave anything and I was satisfied and not hungry. I lost the weight effortlessly too. I was exercising 6 days a week but nothing strenous, mainly fat burn zone.
Grains aren’t the grains our ancestors ate, if they were we wouldn’t be having these issues.
Trina, I agree with your sentiments…I have not read ahead in the book, but I do know after listening to several interviews with Dr. Lustig, he hasn’t embraced how ditching grains, including wheat in conjunction with sugar can completely obliterate cravings. Thanks for your comment!
Of course there is a personal responsibility when it comes to being overweight or obese. I agree our food has changed. “The American Diet.” But, it is my responsibility to buy the food and put it in my mouth. I chose what to nourish my body with. I chose to make it a priority to excercise and move through my day by walking more and taking the stairs and not sitting in front of the TV for hours and hours.
Cutting back on carbs is a better way to lose the subcutaneous fat than vigorous excercise.
Your statement completely contradicts Dr. Lustig’s points about leptin. If we have too many fat cells than our brain can no longer hear leptin’s signal telling us we have enough fat on board and the brain thinks we are starving. The brain continues to send out signals telling you to eat (and probably to move less since that uses up energy). His point is that it’s not obese people’s fault because you can only fight the hormonal drive to eat for so long and then you cave. It’s just biology. Understanding that makes all the difference. Do you disagree with Dr. Lustig? I listened to a radio show with Dr. Lustig recently and a dietician phoned in to say she felt people needed to eat less and exercise more. Dr. Lustig gave her quite the “smack down” by saying he couldn’t disagree more with that and she was part of the problem. http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player?nid=16890
I am not sure how I feel about this issue of control. Too many times I have lost the control and binged and felt guilty. But I have also taken the control and started the change of eating habits to stop the binging and overeating. I have to read more of the book to see what he suggest to fix the biochemistry change that causes the insulin issues.
I did not read ahead in the book…so can’t comment on the leptin stuff yet.
Sorry, I’m cheating since I watched The Skinny on Obesity (by Dr. Lustig) I am thinking about that
Thank you Joan for sharing your thoughts!
I love all the thoughtful responses. I thought I’d just add my thoughts on #8 and #10. The responsibility question is a really tough one. When the average person sees or feels something is wrong with his or her body, they usually seek out help. To most people, that means going to their physician, who oftentimes is less educated about nutrition than someone who reads through a book like this. I’m not blaming the physician, but bringing up the fact that they’re not trained very well to address the issue of obesity. To that overweight individual, he or she IS taking personal responsibility by looking for help. It’s just that he or she is looking in the wrong place.
Addressing the personal responsibility becomes real when one first understand what he or she doesn’t know. Abby mentioned her husband pouring the orange juice for the kids. If he’s like most people, he thinks it’s healthy. He doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. If he knew how bad it is (I wrote about it here: http://www.lifetime-weightloss.com/blog/2012/8/15/why-you-should-avoid-orange-juice.html), and he still served it to the kids, then it really becomes a personal responsibility issue. If you don’t know what you don’t know, which is still the majority of people, it’s hard to suggest personal responsibility. If you know you don’t know, and won’t do anything to learn more, that is personal responsibility. If you learn more, and still don’t make a change, that is very much personal responsibility.
That leads into the issue with Sienna. You could blame the food manufacturers for misleading advertising, but it probably won’t go far. You could blame the government, but obviously they’re still going to be influenced by the food manufacturers, so that won’t go very far either.
To me, the best thing we can do is to help people “know what they don’t know.” I’m not saying we need to nag people who aren’t ready to change their ways, but if we simply share bits and pieces about how much nutrition plays a role in their health, and the health of their kids, and how radically different “good nutrition” is than “conventional nutrition advice” we can slowly help make a change. I also think being able to share a book like Fat Chance with others is a great way to help them start rethinking what they think they know about nutrition. The last piece to that is if we talk about how important nutrition is, and how much it can change people’s lives, we have to make sure we live by that ourselves. If others hear us making radically different nutrition recommendations but then they catch us not following that advice, it will be hard to help them believe it.
Hi Tom, just wondering if you feel addiction plays any role in the issue. Since Dr. Lustig and Dr. Davis tell us both sugar and wheat are as addictive as heroin, is it possible some people just can’t “stay the course”? I don’t consider myself addicted to either (but then I’ve never been addicted to any substance that I know of) as I was able to walk away from both and not look back. I do know of people though, who have just one croissant and its game over. They fall off the wagon and have a terrible time getting back on.
Trina, most definitely. In my experience, when people drop the junk from their diet, there are as many people who say they feel lousy in the first couple weeks as there are people who say they feel good. When you look at the symptoms of drug withdrawal and compare them to how some people say they feel when they eliminate sugar and processed foods, many symptoms are the same, including the cravings. For some people, I believe it can take up to a year of completely eliminating certain foods before cravings go away. That’s part of the reason I’m so against the idea of all foods in moderation.
The thing that has resonated with me the most since I started reading this book is one shocking statistics…by 2015, 2.3 billion people will be overweight and 700 million obese. That is only two years away. It makes me angry and sad at the same time!
This book for me so far has been an eye-opener because of his idea that being obese is not a choice. I have never had an issue with my weight but have been a trainer who also throws in nutrition advice because over the short 5 years that I have really gotten into working out and eating well, I have completely shifted my view from thinking that (#3) working out was all one had to do in order to be in shape. I now have completely flipped into the school of thinking that first and foremost, one’s diet needs to change. So that statement really threw me because I definitely do not agree that you have to be a gym rat, and I would hate for someone who is overweight to think that is the only option- because that is a terrifying option! And I LOVE working out and it is scary to me. Back to obesity being a choice– in my mind it is black and white– if eating x,y and z makes you fat and unhealthy, then simply do not eat x,y and z. I am starting to see where this is a very ignorant and narrow minded thought. I am slowly beginning to understand that due to our environment today and the thousands of confusing messages from the food marketers and the government and even people like us, it is almost impossible for the average person to know what the heck to do in the kitchen. Dr. Lustig still has some convincing left for me, but I am certainly not thinking it is so black and white anymore. I do still think there is some level of personal responsibility, as some of the reader’s here are proving! That if you know you need a change and are willing to change- it is possible! It will not be easy and it will take time, but it is absolutely possible! I would also like to comment on the government having a say in what we eat— I am mixed on this. Obviously so far they are not doing a spectacular job with this and they are highly influenced by $$$ from food marketing; however, there is a tiny part of me that has to think if someone over there could get it right and it started to spread, that the idea would have an influence on the public. Look at how much nonsense they have been spewing over the years—people beleive it! So I am conflicted with this thought because I do not know if anyone over there will ever get it and it makes me upset to think that all of these people are more concerned with making a buck than with the health of our nation, it is extremely devastating. So while I think that the current involvement of our governemnt with our nutrition is basically suicide, I do lean towards thinking they just might have the greatest influence over people.
I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes on October 15, 2012. I also began a low carb diet almost immediately. I knew I liked sugar, but I didn’t realize my level of addiction until I had to go cold turkey. I crave it several times every day. I do feel like a drug addict. Sugar is everywhere, yet eating it will do physical damage to my body. I hear that the cravings will eventually go away. I have a good deal of willpower/motivation which is obviously helpful. The monetary cost of eating healthy has been a real challenge. My sympathies to those who are dealing with circumstances that make it real easy to lose control.