Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes Review

Tom, I used BFFM with great success but if you think that macronutrient composition doesn't matter you're just wrong.

You know of course about the thermic effect of eating protein, and I am sure you realize the role insulin plays in fat storage.

For a person who lifts weights for example, the composition of diet has a direct impact on nutrient partitioning- whether calories tend to be used to build muscle or whether they tend to be stored as fat.

Obviously, a diet full of simple carbohydrates is going to result in more of the calories being stored as fat. Yes, you have to have be in a hyper-caloric state, but clearly there are other factors like insulin that impact the tendency for the body to store those calories as fat.

Barry, first, would you point me to where I said "macronutrient composition doesn't matter?"

second, regarding george bray's comment "weight loss is related to adherence to the diet, not to it's macronutrient composition", whether I would agree with that statement would depend on whether we are talking about free living situation (ad libitum diet) or a study done in a controlled situation (metabolic ward, controlled calorie intake).

In a free living situation, the low carb, higher protein diet will frequently show better results (greater fat loss) due to appetite control and higher satiety, not to mention of course, the large water weight loss in thebeginning. In that regard, diets with reduced carbs have a significant advantage In calorie-controlled research, however, varying macronutrient composition will have a relatively minor effect on body fat loss unless there is a large difference in protein intake. When theprotein intake is higher, there may be a small difference in fat lost due to the thermic effect of protein, even in isolcaloric diets

So does macronutirent composition matter in body composition results? Certainly. But if you look at the studies that controlled for calories and protein, you will see that differences in macronutrient composition don't matter nearly as much as you think when it comes specifically to body fat loss. what matters first is calories.

If a book author suggests that low carb (and especially low carb, high protein) dietshave an advantage in fat loss, I would agree in many regards. I use low carb/high protein diets myself for bodybuilding contest prep. When the authors say calories dont matter, thats when I shake my head and roll my eyes...

when the author starts saying stuff like "exercise is ineffective for weight loss" thats when I start LMAO

regards

I read the nonsense you permitted yourself to utter about Gary Taubes - while admitting you didn't even bother to read his brilliant book first. I lost all respect towards you and am going to unsubscribe from your newseltter.

BTW, Bray misrepresents in a most breathtaking way the data in Taubes book. including the 100+ pages of faultless scientific citations at the end that prove his point in a big way

It seems really hard for people to let go of the accepted dogma and admit that almost all we thought we knew about obesity, nutrition, disease etc. is probably wrong - and that the medical and scientific "research" in the field during the last few decades was conducted in such a shabby, blinkered way

Taubes book may very well be brilliant and well referenced. However, these two claims are not so briliant::

"we've never been able to demonstrate that you can lose
weight exercising"... "exercise makes you work up an appetite"

-Gary Taubes, on larry king (as per CNN transcript)

I dont know if he expanded on this in his book, but if so,
there goes your "faultless research"

and if bray has quoted taubes correctly, that he believes calories dont count (you can gain fat in a deficit or lose fat in a surplus just becaues you are on low carbs), thn you can add that blooper to the list as well.

I dont extend my complaints/ criticisms beyond those claims nor to any person making them. Im interested in the issues at hand that help solve a big problem we have today.

Seems to me that with all your talk about research and shabby science that the pot is calling the kettle black...

What about all the countless studies and all the exercise physiology textbooks that show dose response relationship between exercise volume and fat loss; what about the very recent research on high intensity exercise which shows that it decreases appetite. Or was that omitted because its rather difficult to do any high intensity exercise when you're low on carbs???

re: exercise and appetite. An author needs to fairly represent ALL the data, not selectively pick the data he needed to support his hypothesis. huge list of citations or not, I think maybe he missed some of these:

Blundell JE, cross talk between physical activity and appetite control: does physical activity stimulate appetite? Proc Nutr Soc, 62, 651-661. 2003
Donahoo WT, Variability in energy expenditure and its components. Curr Op Clin Nutr Metab. 7: 599-605. 2004.
King NA, et al, Individual variability following 12 weeks of supervised exercise: Identification and characterization of compensation for exercise-induced weight loss. Int J Obes, 32, 177-184, 2008.
King NA, effects of exercise on appetite control: Implications for energy balance. Med Sci Sport Exer, 29(8): 1076-1089. 1997
King, NA, The relationship between physical activity and food intake. 57: 77-84. 1998.
Lluch A, Exercise enhances palatability of food, but does not increase food consumption, in lean restrained females. Int J Obes, 21: supp a129.Melzer K., effects of physical activity on food intake. Clin Nutr, 24: 885-895. 2005
Slentz CA. Effects of the amount of exercise on body weight, body composition, and measures of central obesity. Arch Intern Med. 164: 31-39. 2004
Titchenal A., Exercise and Food Intake: what is the relationship? Sports Med, 6: 135-145. 1988
Yoshioka M, Impact of high-intensity exercise on energy expenditure, lipid oxidation and body fatness. Int J Obes. 25, 332-339. 2001

and as for calories dont matter; if i sent you the list of references on that point - even as it relates specifically to low carb diets -you would be reading for weeks.

regards

tom

PS by the way I like low carb diets in many cases for many people. I see many advantages in low carb for health in some cases and for obesity in many cases. But low carb doesnt mean unlimited calories. Even if low carb diets are the best dietary means of weight loss (which IS highly debatable because people are so different, surely there is no single best way), it STILL doesnt mean calories dont count. Its a matter of getting the mechanisms correct and avoiding dogma and generalizations to all populations . Perhaps you are just as guilty in not letting go of your own dogma as the folks who wont admit there are any benefits of low carb

"We've never been able to demonstrate that you can lose
weight exercising"

Aw crap, I better stop exercising then!

Actually I've lost 60 lbs following Tom's e-book so far and he's one-of-a-kind in this nutrition and exercise game. Don't kid yourself guys, you got to exercise and control how much you eat, how can this still be disputed these days...

I think I have some relevant information based off personal experience. I had been struggling to find the right balance of protein and carbohydrates in my diet, and never realized the value of starchy carbohydrates for energy. I am a 20 year old male with (naturally) average build (until I downloaded BTF by the way...) and had poor eating habits at college because of laziness (no excuse) and anxiety/depression (sort of an excuse). And one thing I thought I had been doing correctly was to be completely avoiding starch because I thought I was very carbohydrate sensitive. I basically "quit" potatoes of any kind, and rarely touched bread or pasta unless it was whole grain, even at that I ate pasta once a month maybe. Most of my meals consisted of a lot of protein, and whatever good veggies I could find. I also NEVER had any sort of dessert and rarely much fat (until I fell off my "diet," that is). I considered myself to be conservative in the way I ate and thought I was doing myself a favor.

Here is what I experienced:

I would stay on this extremely conservative meal plan for about a month, and would be going to the gym during this time but I would always struggle to find the energy to get there. I found myself using energy drinks as a crutch and then I wouldn't get enough sleep at night because I'm caffeine sensitive. This was a horrible cycle that usually ended with an extremely frustrated and tired me stopping my workout routine altogether, and then falling completely off of this "diet" and going crazy with carbohydrates. The cycle repeated itself many times, getting me nowhere and nothing but a slow as sh*t metabolism.

After reading BTF I realized the HUGE importance of macronutrient ratios that included carbohydrates. Once I began eating more often (5-6 times per day), and including foods like sweet potatoes, and high fiber whole grain breads with my meals, my energy level EXPLODED and all the sudden no matter how much sleep I got or what mood I was in, I ALWAYS had the energy to go to the gym and haven't fallen off the BTF lifestyle (not to be confused with diet) ever since. To put the icing on the cake (something I actually eat now on my cheat day!), after eating more carbohydrates, I noticed that my ability to put muscle on has improved TREMENDOUSLY, and that muscle, in turn, has helped boost my metabolism and made all of my cardiovascular workouts way more effective! Meaning I do the same work as I used to (with much ease and way more energy to do so) and I burn more calories! For all you non-btf buyers, this is probably because insulin is NECESSARY to bring protein to the muscles for growth and repair.

It's also necessary to remember that no matter what your macronutrient ratio, you cannot break the laws of physics. If you burn calories, calories get burned. If you don't, they don't burn themselves. No one's bodies have developed through adaptation or evolution the ability to use cold fusion and turn their energy into some other stuff and have it float away magically.

So... to all of you that have the believe that carbohydrates are OOoOoOo evil and that Tom Venudo is in fact possessed and speaking in tongues, get a grip and try it for yourself. You'll only see what I have seen, and that is the fire that still burns in my furnace as we speak.

P.S. Fitness and my self image, things that both used to frustrate me, have now become my passion. I am currently studying to be a certified personal trainer and can't wait to tell all my friends and family how simple attaining your goals really is. Even better: after reading BTF, the curriculum for NFPT certification is so friggin easy because I know all of it already! Thanks for that one too Tom! Because I hate studying, and I basically accidentally studied all of it by reading your extremely enjoyable book.

For that I say thanks AGAIN, Tom, you've helped make my efforts to achieve great fitness levels easier, and now even the pathway to my possible career even easier. Can we be friends :D?