Well, this is a great way to start a Friday …
Dr. William “Wheat Belly” Davis posted a very nice review of Fat Head Kids on his Wheat Belly blog. Here’s a bit of the review:
Even though intended for kids, this book is also perfect for any adult who also wishes to understand why we persist in hearing such dietary fictions such as “Move more, eat less” or “Cut your fat and cholesterol.” Anyone who reads Fat Head Kids will come away with a clear understanding of healthy eating and why following advice like the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans is a recipe for disaster. Imagine Tom’s book became required reading in school–you might just witness a marvelous transformation in their health, appearance, weight, and learning.
Since the book slams the USDA dietary guidelines, I doubt it will ever be required reading in schools. But we can dream …
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Very nice, although I’ve gotten away from Dr. Davis. I’ve been banned from his Twitter and Facebook accounts for asking questions pertaining to why some of the things he recommends that I implemented are not working.
Sorry to hear that.
Not all diets work for everyone all the time. You need another diet. Like the late Johnny Cochran said “if the diet don’t fit, you must quit.”
re: I’ve been banned from his Twitter and Facebook accounts…
Not having an account on either, I have no insights on that.
Have you had any trouble on the Wheat Belly Blog? (I work there and haven’t seen anything like the sort of traffic you’re describing. Spammers are another matter, but that doesn’t seem to be what’s afoot here.)
re: … for asking questions pertaining to why some of the things he recommends that I implemented are not working.
Questions such as?
I can also say that Dr.D’s {subscription} Cureality forum seems to have unlimited tolerance for dissent (although individual users can set other users to Ignore). The only ban of any kind I’ve seen there in 3 years was apparently due to a terms violation involving nym-shifting in a {doomed} attempt to subvert the Ignore feature.
You can also use the independent {and no-charge} Wheat Free Forum. The only banning I see there is of overt off-topic spammers.
I’ve asked questions pertaining to what he recommends you do. That simple. If something is not working for me, I ask why. I’ve gotten banned for that. He only wants good news on his page and on his twitter account. These are real issues, not somebody trolling and trying to pick a fight or refute what he is saying.
It’s different than when Mercola banned me. Mercola would blog about how krill oil is better for you than fish oil, then pitch a product he was selling. I called him on that.
Banned for life.
That is pretty strange, many people have noted – in various ways – that WB doesn’t work for them and he generally has useful suggestions to dig deeper into their issues.
Perhaps you can find some help on the Dr Jaminet site? Tom Naughton has spoken of it, and it seems to tread some unusual areas.
I admit, I’ve been researching this for the past few days. I’ve watched your documentary a few times, along with Super Size Me; felt it was important to hear both sides.
I’ve also been reading about a third side: the side that is claiming that we’ve all been lied to. They’re saying that essentially, long term weight loss is almost impossible unless it becomes a single-minded obsession, where you plan your entire day around not eating and getting lots of exercise. I think there’s a strong case for this; I’ve seen numerous people diet and ultimately end up fatter than when they started.
My family’s a good example; my mom started dieting about 10 years ago and managed to lose about 13% of her weight before it suddenly stopped. The only way to cut more out would have been to starve herself. Once she stopped spending her day monitoring it, it all came back, plus an additional 15 pounds, meaning it ended as a waste of effort.
My efforts have likewise been a failure. Admittedly, I’m a special case; I’ve got Asperger Syndrome, meaning that I have sensory issues on top of the usual difficulty when it comes to losing weight. But I’m at a point where it’s quite unhealthy so something has to be done.
I’m making yet another attempt which I’ve been doing for a little under two months. Surprisingly, I’ve lost about 17 pounds, at least if the scale I tested was accurate. I’m getting more exercise, trying to eat healthy, but at this point, I seriously doubt it’s going to be successful in the long term.
I was just wondering where your thoughts were on the books and articles coming out saying that essentially, dieting is nothing more than setting yourself up for failure.
If the diet is nothing more than long-term calorie restriction, yes, I believe you’re setting yourself up for failure. You’re probably just conditioning your body to survive on far fewer calories.
Trevor,
Recall the scene where the cells are hungry because they can’t get at the fat and they aren’t getting enough carbs. Eventually they stage a coup and make you eat. If you keep insulin low, your cells can get at the fat and they don’t get pissed off. When you restrict carbs, it takes a while to get used to it, but after that, the gnawing hunger goes away. It isn’t flawless, I’ve had lengthy stalls, but it’s vastly easier than low fat dieting.
I’ve been trying a different tactic. It’s not quite like this movie and I started before I actually watched it, but I’ve been cutting out carbs. I’d say about half of what I’ve been eating are lean hamburgers and pork chops. On top of that, for the past month, I’ve been walking about 45 minutes a day and sometimes work out on a punching bag.
So in 2 months, I’ve lost around 17 pounds, which astonished me. I’m still considered morbidly obese in comparison to a BMI chart, but frankly, anyone who isn’t rail-thin they consider overweight. I’m hoping to get down to around 225.
Do you have a blood glucose monitor? And have you tried intermittent fasting? Both of those things turned me around from the ‘inevitable’ middle-aged weight gain.
As a recovering compulsive overeater – especially of carbs – I’ve found that a certain amount of obsessiveness is necessary to stay lc. I’m a t2 diabetic & my bg lets me know when I screw up. I now have to plan my meals ahead of time so I don’t eat mindlessly. And I still find myself wondering if it’s time to eat, even if I’m not hungry. It takes a long time for the body & mind to get used to the new WOE.
The goods news is, you’ve identified the problem and you know what to do about it.
Just realized your book finally released so just purchased a copy for my girls who are 9 & 10. We have been doing LCHF for about a year now and we have noticed such positive behavior improvements. Since adding in more fat and less carbs they are fairly even tempered. In the past we’ve such drama sessions over small items and that has significantly dropped along with our weight. I’ve lost 50lbs and my hubby has lost 20lbs.
We still have our moments of weakness but it’s all about progress not perfection!
Heard you on the Ketovangelist today. Great work on the book and podcast!
There’s a chapter titled “Food Sets the Mood” I believe you’ll relate to.
Congrats to both of you on the weight loss. That’s impressive.
I haven’t finished reading my copy, but I just realized this would be great information for my mom (who is now following LCHF), and particularly for her nosy noisy neighbor (former RN) who insists that what she’s eating is “unhealthy”, so I just ordered a copy to be sent to her. Thanks Tom!
Thank you, Randal. I’ve had a few adults tell me that even though we wrote it at the kid level, they found it useful and entertaining. That’s exactly what we wanted.
Lots of things need to be written at that level for adults who want to start with the basics! Plus they’re often more entertaining and better expressed than the adult version of simple.
I never disdain the kids books!
Just realized your book finally released so just purchased a copy for my girls who are 9 & 10. We have been doing LCHF for about a year now and we have noticed such positive behavior improvements. Since adding in more fat and less carbs they are fairly even tempered. In the past we’ve such drama sessions over small items and that has significantly dropped along with our weight. I’ve lost 50lbs and my hubby has lost 20lbs.
We still have our moments of weakness but it’s all about progress not perfection!
Heard you on the Ketovangelist today. Great work on the book and podcast!
There’s a chapter titled “Food Sets the Mood” I believe you’ll relate to.
Congrats to both of you on the weight loss. That’s impressive.
“..doubt it will ever be required reading in schools..”
Charter schools may be on the rise in the near future 🙂
I believe the home-school crowd would be very open to this book.
“..doubt it will ever be required reading in schools..”
Charter schools may be on the rise in the near future 🙂
I believe the home-school crowd would be very open to this book.
Notably — Jimmy Moore left a review on Amazon.
Notably — Jimmy Moore left a review on Amazon.
Interesting that this blog poo poos CICO. It just works.
Right. And if your toilet overflows, the explanation is that more water went into the bowl than drained out. Happens every time. So that’s all we need to know.
In the book, we quote a study of obese people who were locked in a hospital and fed 600 calories per day, but didn’t lose weight. So they just need to eat fewer calories, correct? Dr. Lustig told me about a study of obese kids who were locked in a hospital for a month and fed 500 calories per day, but gained weight. So they just need count calories and eat less, right? Because CICO just works.
Interesting that this blog poo poos CICO. It just works.
Right. And if your toilet overflows, the explanation is that more water went into the bowl than drained out. Happens every time. So that’s all we need to know.
In the book, we quote a study of obese people who were locked in a hospital and fed 600 calories per day, but didn’t lose weight. So they just need to eat fewer calories, correct? Dr. Lustig told me about a study of obese kids who were locked in a hospital for a month and fed 500 calories per day, but gained weight. So they just need count calories and eat less, right? Because CICO just works.