Bout this time every year I publish the health related books that I read over the course of the last year. This has been a practice of mine since the beginning of this blog. I don’t know why I do it, I just do. I read slightly fewer books this year than normal, but only because for the first time this year I spent a ton of time perusing other blogs. In particular, http://www.wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/, http://www.raypeat.com/, http://www.scottabel.blogspot.com/, http://www.cheeseslave.com/, http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/cholesterol-blog.html, http://nutrition-and-physical-regeneration.com/blog/, http://www.livingthenourishedlife.com/, and many others, some of which I became infamous for visiting. My favorite of late is http://www.carbsanity.blogspot.com/, which is pretty amazing considering that the author of the blog is on a low-carb diet.
Anyway, here are the books I read in 2010. Note, a couple, such as the Leangains Guide and Legends of Bodybuilding are not actually books. The good ones – those that I found to be most influential that is (this is not an Oprah book list) are highlighted in RED.
Eating Well for Optimum Health Andrew Weil
The MS Recovery Diet Ann D. Sawyer & Judith B.
The Biology of Starvation Volume I Ancel Keys et. al.
The Biology of Starvation Volume II Ancel Keys et. al.
The Great Starvation Experiment Todd Tucker
The Fat Resistance Diet Leo Galland
Fat: Fighting the Obesity Epidemic Robert Pool
The Gabriel Method Jon Gabriel
The 3-Season Diet John Douillard
Vitamin K in Health and Disease John Suttie
Root Canal Cover-Up George E. Meinig
Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms Datis Kharrazian
Food and Western Disease Staffan Lindeberg
The Fat Burning Diet Made Easy Jay Robb
The Liberation Diet Kevin Brown
The Leangains Guide Martin Berkhan
Eat Stop Eat Brad Pilon
The Fat Loss Bible Anthony Colpo
The Junk Science Self Defense Manual Anthony Colpo
The Ultimate Diet 2.0 Lyle McDonald
Cheat to Lose Joel Marion
The 80-10-10 Diet Doug Graham
The Abel Approach Scott Abel
The Permanent Fat Loss Diet Plan Rob Faigan
Western Diseases Denis Burkitt et. al.
Nutrition Against Disease Roger J. Williams
The Fat Burning Furnace Rob Poulos
Natural Hormonal Enhancement Rob Faigan
Great Expectations Clarence Bass
Handbook of Health Bernarr MacFadden
The Cortisol Connection Shawn Talbott
The Healthy Hair Diet Danny Roddy
Adrenal Fatigue James L. Wilson
The Wisdom of the Body Walter B. Cannon
The Stress of Life Hans Selye
The Female Body Breakthrough Rachel Cosgrove
Mr. America Mark Adams
The Power of 4 Paula Owens
Legends of Bodybuilding Musclemag
Vitality Supreme Bernarr MacFadden
Inflammation Nation Floyd Chilton
NEWtrition George Meinig
Anatomy of Anorexia Steven Levenkron
Overcoming Thyroid Disorders David Brownstein
Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters Courtney Martin
Dr. Sanjiv Chopra’s Liver Book Sanjiv Chopra
Health at Every Size Linda Bacon
Next year’s reading list is going to be legendary. I’ve already got 80-90 titles lined up and plan on spending a lot LESS time perusing blogs in the upcoming year. At the end of the day, books are better. They are a culmination of certain people’s overall conclusions that they’ve come to after decades of research and experience all consolidated into one organized, typically easy to read format. And I get to read them AWAY from the computer, which is key for my own personal health and sanity.
If there’s a book out there you suspect I haven’t read and really think that I should, please include it in the comments section below and I promise to get to it. Maybe not this year, but certainly by the end of next year. Anything that is remotely tied to health, nutrition, eating disorders, psychology, new agey stuff, and so forth is fair game.
Hi Matt,
If you'd like to read our book, email me your address, I'll send you a copy.
Best, Paul
Muscle, Smoke, and Mirrors by Randy Roach
Any books anyone would like to send me (I'll send them back when I'm done with them if requested), can be sent to:
305 W. Venice Ave. Apt #8
Venice, FL 34285
But check with me before you send anything to make sure I haven't already read it.
Thanks Paul, thanks Greg, and whoever leaves more book recommendations in the comments here.
And I get to read them AWAY from the computer, which is key for my own personal health and sanity.
Amen, brother! Now you know why I told you privately I can't stand e-books I can only read on the computer (though Kindle seems alright). :-)
Great red letter book list by the way. I need to get my hands on that Ancel Keys tome. You have one upped me there. :-)
Thanks for the shout out.
I got one to add. Deep Nutrition by Catherine Shanahan. It was covered on Sean Croxton's blog back in November so I decided to pick up a copy.
I'm about four chapters in and I will say right now this book is definitely a cut or two above the rest.
I would call this book Weston Price for the average person, but without all the WAPF baggage, and some updates on the science linking health, beauty, and epigenetics. I feel Price being vindicated. And it's short, concise, and scientific enough I'm seriously considering lending it to my mom. If this book can't convince people of the value of the work of Price and others, then they probably can't be convinced.
I also think of this book as the red pill for the average person because there's no ignoring the clear degeneration of the average person. The science is simple, direct, and in your face (pun intended).
As for e-books and long boring documents, I'm holding out hope for the Kindle. I got one for Christmas but haven't set it up yet.
Please read Paul's book and review it soon!
kthxbai,
G
kthxbai…
Wow, I need to get more caught up on my internet-ese. That's a beauty.
Michael and Aaron-
An upcoming post will include how to get 180 eBooks onto your Kindle, and how to subscribe to the 180 blogs for your Kindle – so that everyone can read all my junk without backlighting. Good stuff.
I got a book for you Matt and it has nothing to do with nutrition, but I think it will help put many of your thoughts, feelings, and actions into context.
The book is called the Never Ending Quest by Clare W. Graves.
Here's a website with a couple of quotations by Mr. Graves to help introduce you to his theory:
http://www.clarewgraves.com/theory_content/quotes.html
I think the book, "where ever you go, there you are" Is pretty fitting with your thoughts for this year…
Are your books ever gonna be out on paper?
Anonymous-
As soon as you find me a good publisher in need of a high volume author, I'll start cranking out hardcopy books at a rate that will put me on this list before I die.
http://www.trivia-library.com/c/20-most-prolific-authors-and-writers-in-literary-history.htm
Matt,
for what its worth, I think you have a novel (or more) in you as well.
Dude… If I had only read this post yesterday. :)
Okay… I've thought of some others that are kind of in the same vein as the one I sent you:
"Body by God" by Dr. Ben Lerner
"Cruise Ship or Nursing Home: The 5 Essentials of a Maximized Life" by Dr. Ben Lerner and Dr. Greg Loman
"One Minute Wellness" by Dr. Ben Lerner and Dr. Greg Loman
(The book I sent you deals mostly with nutrition stuff, the ones listed here also delve into stuff like burst training and power of the mind type stuff.)
Feed Your Genes Right, Jack Challem
body by science if you did not read it excellent geek out on training.
Pavel Tsatsouline power to the people
Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe
I would not rush to read 4 hour body unless you are an athlete looking for a slight edge and a hacker approach to tweaking your training regiment. the bulk of the "non-niche" specifics is on his blog.
just a few off the top of my head ill check my bookshelf when i get home
Forget about individual books. Digest this library and you will take your place among the healing and nutritional gods. :-)
http://soilandhealth.org/
Matt,
My recommendation is to quit spending all your time reading and theorizing about all of this. Spend your time working in person with as many people as you can so that you can see for your self what works and what doesn't. Real knowledge comes from experience, so get as much as you can.
I just checked out that carbsanity blog for the first time and I was really impressed. Some of the best criticism of the typical low carb/paleo ideology, and it is even better that she follows that diet herself.
She also does well at pointing out that it really is as simple as a calorie deficit when it comes to weight loss. So many people are suffering because they cant see why their "special" diet is making them fat because calories don't matter.
I'd like to hear your take on Dr Sandra Cabot, in particular her books "The Liver Cleanse Diet" and "Can't Lose Weight? You May Have Syndrome X"
https://www.sandracabot.com/books
I have tried her diets a long time ago, but found them too hard to maintain.
Also I'd like you to read "The Obesity Myth – Why America's Obsession With Weight is Hazardous To Your Health" by Paul Campos. If anyone wants a copy, I can email it.
Princess,
send me what ever you have thanx
anyone has Ebooks to share shoot me an email thank you
Matt
I agree with JT,
as far as experience, I've learned alot of things that are not published anywhere from working with people face to face. At the same time without doing a tremendous amount of reading i would have needed a lifetime of trial and error to make sense of it all as well avoid needless experiments. Without experience I definitely would not have learned that long term success with weight loss is not as simple as a calorie deficit.
JT-
I do spend quite a bit of time working with people one on one (2-3 hours most days), although it's rarely face to face. It teaches me a lot, as do the comments section of this blog, about how different people respond to different things. I will be working with some people in Sarasota face to face hopefully in tandem with a dietician here, who I asked to do a blog post about her experiences working at an HCG diet clinic.
However, reading a book about someone's summary of 30 years of experience has always seemed a hell of a lot more efficient to me than spending hours with just one person. Not seemed. Is. Maybe that's not the case with turning people into human freakshows without obliterating their health in the process like Godfather Abel, but that has never been my focus. Not that or any other uses of nutrition to achieve stupid human tricks, which is why the copy of the 4-Hour Body I picked up the other day didn't exit the bookstore with me.
Chief-
Another Challem book? Damn. I'm sick of that guy. I'll do it though.
Princess-
Just finished Campos 2 hours ago. Like proscuitto, in some ways it was even better than Bacon (Linda Bacon that is). Truly a good book. If everyone else's recommendations are as good as that one, you all earn gold stars.
Matt,
You may have misinterpreted my comment. I didn't think you had a desire to get in the field of physique enhancement. I think it is important to do a lot of reading to learn what others have learned, but you have to put it into practice to really understand what works and what doesn't.
Your own personal experiences have been very important to you. If you hadn't gone through it yourself, you still might think that low carb/paleo diets are great because all of these "experts" write books on how they have discovered these truths through their extensive research.
The Sedona Method, Hale Dwoskin
This is in the new-agey category, may be useful for getting rid of past traumas that are raising cortisol levels (and keeping you fat).
Walking Your Blues Away, Thom Hartmann — Very short book, but fascinating idea on how walking can integrate both hemispheres of the brain to heal trauma.
it was a decent easy read not a must, i would not put it in your red zone like gabriel method or the ancel keys study but its better than the ultimate diet or the fat loss bible and does a good job explaining the effects of nutrition in relation to DNA replication
pavel and marks books are arguably the only training books needed …. learned alot from them
total off topic freakanomics was a eye opener
Reading is fundamental, it's great to see people have such a thirst for knowledge. Few have the capacity to do so.
THe Body Electric is profound. Talks about electromagnetism and its effect on life, and health, kinda like getting away form the computer. Kinda old (1988), but not many agree with his sound scientific research.
Matt,
I'm glad to hear you've read The Obesity Myth. I think that it's a book everyone should read.
Chief,
It's on it's way!
I got a nook for xmas and I have been able to catch up with reading the blog and comments from it. It also can do .pdf files. Although it took 20 minutes for this comment LOL ;-)
The Real Will
Couldn't log on to my account though LOL
Wheel of Health.
Just thought of a couple more interesting/different books:
Manthropology
Fantastic Voyage
Since I learned of it I've wanted to read this one too:
Maffetone Method
Hooray for kindle! I've ordered one several weeks ago and it's still not there. Stupid whether, stupid distance from the US to Germany! I hope it arrives very, very soon. Reading at the computer screen really sucks!
Btw, is there anything special you need to do to read the 180 books on the kindle? Doesn't it support pdfs anyways?
GENERATIVE ENERGY: PROTECTING AND RESTORING THE WHOLENESS OF LIFE. by Ray Peat
Here's a book I've been reading recently: Swami Satyananda Saraswati, A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya
It's an introduction to yoga in the form of a 36-month-course. Not diet-related that much, not focused on obesity at all, but definitely related to coping with stress and regaining your health. I'm only at lesson two so far, so I can't say much, but it seems very promising. My back pain magically disappeared for one thing, which is quite amazing to me.
I mentioned here before Frank Forencich- he has theee books out now, in chronological order:
Play As If Your Life Depends On It
Exuberant Animal
Change Your Body, Change Your World.
website here: http://exuberantanimal.com/
He certainly would encourage you to not be in front of the screen so much too :-)
Some others-
Bruce Lipton- Biology of Belief
Robert M Williams- Psych-K: The Missing Peace in Your Life
Jill Taylor- My Stroke of Insight
Clinton Ober- Earthing
Charles Eisenstein- Transformational Weight Loss ( http://www.foodsanity.com )
David Feinstein, Donna Eden- The Promise of Energy Psychology: Revolutionary Tools for Dramatic Personal Change
Those are a few for now.
Also- 4 Hour Body, may already be forthcoming.
Earthing and Ray Peat are on the list already. Most of the others are not. Good work boys and girls. Keep 'em coming!
I think there's a lot of people that would be interested to see your review of the 4 Hour Body, even if you think it's mostly poppycock and silly goosery.
Kind of like the twinkie diet, it's one of those things that's top of mind right now with Ferris' marketing blitz.
Dr. Poppy here. I agree with JT, you need some real world experience. Can read all the books you want, nothing compares to the amazing, fascinating human body. Glad you are looking into hcg, hope you can read Dr. Simeon's protocol. It's all about the hypothalamus baby!!! HED/RRARF on steroids man! Convinced it's the real deal, but you have to eat real food to maintain it. Keep rockin' in 2011, Matt!
Thanks Dr. P! You might change your mind after you read Ariel's first-hand experience working in an HCG clinic. She thinks it's about the most un-real deal out there.
Thought of you when I read Brownstein (finally). Good stuff.
The only way hcg will work is if people are halfway rehabilitated thru something like HED first. If you do it cold without applying the metabolic principles that you have explored thru this blog, ala Dr. Schwarzbein, "eat real food, gag it down if you have to," it will fail like anything else. Too many people trying to make money without teaching people these essential priniciples. Keep up the good work Matt!
DR poppy,
curious how you see Dr. Simeon's protocol like rarrf on steroids if ( as long as I'm not mistaken) its supposed to be a low calorie (500 ?) diet.
500 calorie diet would do all the damage that Matt's multitudinous starvation blogs say it will. The hormone makes the entire difference which is to "rehabilitate" the hypothalamus in the way that prolonged RARRF does, just in an extremely speeded up fashion, which is particularly helpful for hormonally imbalanced people (esp women) who, for the most part, either gain weight or don't lose on RARRF b/c their endocrine system is jacked up by our poisoned food supply, constant stress, etc.
There is no solid evidence that losing weight is healthy, that it's unhealthy to be "overweight" or even "mildly obese," that any health problems associated with being overweight have anything to do with the weight itself (weight cycling from yo-yo diets appears to be the cause, not the weight itself), or that gaining weight is unhealthy.
Weight isn't an endocrine problem, it's a social and political one.
(Sorry, just working on my HAES lingo – pretty good huh?)
Anon,
I do not believe women are destined to gain weight on rarrf … this weight gain is a starvation response and most likely because of pop culture they were dieting or restricting prior to rarrf far more than males due to social pressure which natural set them up for this gain as the body is designed by evolution to do so. naturally having less muscle mass also plays a role and like you said the stress is an issue but stress is not really unique to women.
Matt,
I don't know if you are being serious or not but what you stated is not true. There definitely are health problems associated with excess weight. High blood pressure and mobility being the most obvious. I don't think yoyo dieting is good, but what sort of proof do you have for claiming this is the cause of the problems and not the excess weight? I know plenty of people that have never dieted and have health complications due to being overweight.
Chief,
Why do you believe that obesity is a sign of starvation. I have seen you mention how this is associated in traditional cultures, and I don't think this is true. I have seen documentaries on several tribal groups where being fatter was a status symbol to show that you had access to surplus food.
Eating junk food, being overly sedentary and yo-yo dieting and exercising are the predominant causes of hypertension, metabolic syndrome, visceral fat accumulation, type 2 diabetes, and so forth.
We know this because:
1) If you take weight off of people these problems do not go away
2) If you change people's exercise and eating habits these problems go away, even if they do not lose a pound.
Weight is only a problem when it becomes extreme (BMI over 35). But even then, there is no reliable way to get weight off of people (no recommendations ever given broadly to a group of people resulted in lasting weight loss in more than a few percent of people), and no one has proven that taking weight off of people at any weight equates to improvements in health.
If you don't believe that, then you should consider researching it objectively like Bacon, Campos, Kolata, Pool, Szwarc, Gaesser, Fraser, Wann, and several others have.
… and inheritance. That is probably the single biggest factor in the development of metabolic syndrome, but it can certainly be prevented and/or overturned.
Matt,
Again this shows that you need to spend more time in the trenches working with people. You will see that there are reliable ways to get weight off of people and they will have health improvements. Getting in shape is the easy part, staying in shape us what is really difficult because most people just slip back into the bad habits of eating too much junk and not exercising.
But, I do agree with you that if the desired result is health the focus should not be on weight, it should be on eating healthy and exercising in a correct manner.
Jt,
see ancel keys starvation study that matt spoke about recently if you don't understand.
when you apply the starvation concept to obesity it makes sense and the puzzle is less puzzling and the results are not temporary like "falling off the wagon" and eating junk food like you mentioned. I have apply the focus of a samurai to get off the damn wagon once my body is running right.
all of my success has to do with recognizing this concept of starvation and my in experience it applies to both over skinny and over weight.
You are telling matt to get experience in the trenches but you disagree with my experience over n over without an open mind. I challenge you to become 80 pounds overweight and stay there for a year or so and then remove it and keep it off with under 20 mins of exercise a week and eating to your full appetite,then maybe you will understand some of the things i am talking about.
there maybe a group of people in the world that associate fatness with a higher food status just like there is a group of people that insert rings around their necks to elongate them or another that put wood into their lips to stretch them it does not mean everyone did or even the majority did.
I have another book recommendation for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW7Er0kti_U
Watch the whole clip. It's funny. I promise.
;-)
awesome sheila,
he is a genius ..this guy should team up with the twinkie guy snicker bar lolol… non-surgical stomach stapling i wonder if he trade marked that shit…
favorite quotes
at 5: 16 to 5:18 sure it has protein lol
um um um yea um um and brain farts periodically
"coffee is phenomenal", "coffee is a wonderful break fast "
"for the first time a doctor says its safe "
"one pound over weight shortens your life "
sounds like an anorexia how to guide
Here's some real life experience for you. My BMI is 41. I do not have any health issues other than hypothyroidism. I did also have adrenal fatigue from not being diagnosed with hypothyroidism sooner and from not getting enough sleep and overworking for a long time. I've never been seriously sick. My blood pressure and blood sugar have always been fine. My BG is better though on RRARF. Yesterday my fasting BG was 68. My mobility is fine too. While admittedly I'm in no shape to run a marathon, I have no problem exercising on my exercise bike regularly and mowing my lawn etc (basically living my life). I rarely get sick. When everyone around me is coughing and spluttering, I don't catch a thing.
The period of time where I put on the most weight was the period I was barely eating. I'm eating way more now and have lost a little weight and have gained more muscle. I know my doctors are consistently surprised I'm not circling the drain yet, but I have good genes. I've always been active and ate reasonably well, although I am eating much better on RRARF. You might assume many things about me but you would be wrong.
BTW, Matt I'm loving the fact you are becoming more HAES friendly. People who really need your help are more likely to listen to you when they feel they are not being judged unfairly.
Great list–and 2-3 books per week sounds like a pretty good goal. I have so many other areas I read in, but definitely plan to allow myself more nutritional geekout time this year. I'll check back if I have more suggestions: suspect that you've read most of the wackier ones I can come up with. I have Kasl's Women, Sex and Addiction and Tribole's Intuitive Eating on the stack atm…
Thanks anonymous – for coming out of the "trenches" to voice your experiences. This is something that I never totally realized until recently. I kind of had this cognitive dissonance about the weight gain some have experienced on RRARF. It was strange to me that someone could gain lots of fat and have blood sugar, hypertension, and countless health problems all fall into the proper place at the same time. Now I get it. The weight is more or less meaningless – it just happens to be correlated with the negative habits of eating junk food, having parents that ate junk food and dieted, dieting, total sedentarism, etc. I'm slow didn't you know that about me?
I'm actually a neanderthal. I was frozen in ice and thawed out by scientists. "Stone" is not a real family name. When I was thawed out my hair was all matted and since I was from the Stone age they decided to call me "Matt Stone."
What's crazy is that even though I was like a total Paleo man I still have discovered that eating more carbs is better – even for solid blood glucose numbers like ours.
Sheila-
Watching that right now.
Chief-
You totally spoiled the video man. Sheila was trying to surprise me.
So far it kinda reminds me of a book I just finished called the Anderson Method.
Christ Almighty Sheila, I hate you.
I kept wanting to turn it off, but I couldn't. It just keeps getting better and better. 25 minutes of my life… GONE!
Summary – You didn't eat salad when you were an infant, so go ahead and eat 2 Snickers bars per day and consider taking a multivitamin if you are going to be on the diet for long.
Ok, may not be very scientific but:
Ageless Spine by Kathleen Porter
8 Steps to a Pain Free Back by Esther Gokhale
Shows realistic human body architecture
Ela-
It's safe to say we are on the same wavelength. Got this memo from the local library today…
HOLD NOTICE:
The library material that you have requested can
now be picked up. It will be held for you at
the circulation desk for 10 days.
AUTHOR: Tribole, Evelyn,
Intuitive eating : a recovery book for the chronic dieter : redis
CALL NO: 613.25 TRI
BARCODE: 3 1969 00728 2758
PICKUP AT: Venice Circulation Desk BY: 01-16-11
matt, 25 mins of my life thats what i was thinking but it was funny no doubt. like i just couldn't shut it off … i wanted something even more stupid to come out of his mouth
btw my comment came after hers if you watched it like she asked right away i would not have spoiled it :!! haaa
Matt, I really appreciate the effort. It's better late than never. I know it blows people's minds that you have become more accepting of fat (and by extension fat people), but until you can do that you can't grow further in your studies on health.
The thing I like most about RRARF is that it's simple. Simple every day foods. Eating loads of potatoes takes away any craving for bread and pasta. Dinner tonight was a lamb chop, medium potato, sauteed mushrooms and two corn on the cob with lots of butter of course. I really don't feel like I'm on a diet because normally when I restrict my eating I end up bingeing on processed junk when I can't take it any more. I can eat a piece of chocolate without it causing me to lose control. Initially I started RRARF on four large meals a day but that felt like a lot of work to eat that much. But then I did really well on that amount of food. I had no cravings for junk and I didn't snack at all. Nor did I put on any weight.
I got my brother onto RRARF and he's doing really well on it too. The weight is genetic as the only ones in my family who are overweight take after my father. My brother's health was very poor. He only ate once a day and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. I don't believe that he really had it, but he was severely depressed. Anyway the anti-psychotic meds made him too paranoid to leave the house and he couldn't fill his prescriptions. Once the drugs were out of his system, he was no longer paranoid and he no longer looked like a zombie. His diet is so much better now even though it still isn't "perfect". I'd like him to stop drinking bourban and diet coke regularly and smoking. But even though his diet isn't the perfect RRARF, his health is very much improved. He looks brighter and his mind and speech is clearer. He is more active now as his mental and physical health isn't holding him back. He has lost a little weight and his arms are looking more defined. He told me that he had got to the end of his rope before trying RRARF and was considering ending it all. But when I told him about how well I was feeling on RRARF he felt like there was some hope for him. Thankfully he decided to follow it and it improved his mental and physical health in a very short amount of time. It's amazing how just eating the food can make such a difference.
I've come to the realisation that even if we don't lose any more weight, our health is worth so much more. If I do happen to lose all the weight, I will send you a before and after photo to prove it. So thank you, Matt. Keep up the good work!
Matt, I really appreciate the effort. It's better late than never. I know it blows people's minds that you have become more accepting of fat (and by extension fat people), but until you can do that you can't grow further in your studies on health.
The thing I like most about RRARF is that it's simple. Simple every day foods. Eating loads of potatoes takes away any craving for bread and pasta. Dinner tonight was a lamb chop, medium potato, sauteed mushrooms and two corn on the cob with lots of butter of course. I really don't feel like I'm on a diet because normally when I restrict my eating I end up bingeing on processed junk when I can't take it any more. I can eat a piece of chocolate without it causing me to lose control. Initially I started RRARF on four large meals a day but that felt like a lot of work to eat that much. But then I did really well on that amount of food. I had no cravings for junk and I didn't snack at all. Nor did I put on any weight.
I got my brother onto RRARF and he's doing really well on it too. The weight is genetic as the only ones in my family who are overweight take after my father. My brother's health was very poor. He only ate once a day and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. I don't believe that he really had it, but he was severely depressed. Anyway the anti-psychotic meds made him too paranoid to leave the house and he couldn't fill his prescriptions. Once the drugs were out of his system, he was no longer paranoid and he no longer looked like a zombie. His diet is so much better now even though it still isn't "perfect". I'd like him to stop drinking bourban and diet coke regularly and smoking. But even though his diet isn't the perfect RRARF, his health is very much improved. He looks brighter and his mind and speech is clearer. He is more active now as his mental and physical health isn't holding him back. He has lost a little weight and his arms are looking more defined. He told me that he had got to the end of his rope before trying RRARF and was considering ending it all. But when I told him about how well I was feeling on RRARF he felt like there was some hope for him. Thankfully he decided to follow it and it improved his mental and physical health in a very short amount of time. It's amazing how just eating the food can make such a difference.
I've come to the realisation that even if we don't lose any more weight, our health is worth so much more. If I do happen to lose all the weight, I will send you a before and after photo to prove it. So thank you, Matt. Keep up the good work!
Matt, I really appreciate the effort. It's better late than never. I know it blows people's minds that you have become more accepting of fat (and by extension fat people), but until you can do that you can't grow further in your studies on health.
The thing I like most about RRARF is that it's simple. Simple every day foods. Eating loads of potatoes takes away any craving for bread and pasta. Dinner tonight was a lamb chop, medium potato, sauteed mushrooms and two corn on the cob with lots of butter of course. I really don't feel like I'm on a diet because normally when I restrict my eating I end up bingeing on processed junk when I can't take it any more. I can eat a piece of chocolate without it causing me to lose control. Initially I started RRARF on four large meals a day but that felt like a lot of work to eat that much. But then I did really well on that amount of food. I had no cravings for junk and I didn't snack at all. Nor did I put on any weight.
I got my brother onto RRARF and he's doing really well on it too. The weight is genetic as the only ones in my family who are overweight take after my father. My brother's health was very poor. He only ate once a day and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. I don't believe that he really had it, but he was severely depressed. Anyway the anti-psychotic meds made him too paranoid to leave the house and he couldn't fill his prescriptions. Once the drugs were out of his system, he was no longer paranoid and he no longer looked like a zombie. His diet is so much better now even though it still isn't "perfect". I'd like him to stop drinking bourban and diet coke regularly and smoking. But even though his diet isn't the perfect RRARF, his health is very much improved. He looks brighter and his mind and speech is clearer. He is more active now as his mental and physical health isn't holding him back. He has lost a little weight and his arms are looking more defined. He told me that he had got to the end of his rope before trying RRARF and was considering ending it all. But when I told him about how well I was feeling on RRARF he felt like there was some hope for him. Thankfully he decided to follow it and it improved his mental and physical health in a very short amount of time. It's amazing how just eating the food can make such a difference.
I've come to the realisation that even if we don't lose any more weight, our health is worth so much more. If I do happen to lose all the weight, I will send you a before and after photo to prove it. So thank you, Matt. Keep up the good work!
Sorry,I don't know why my response tripled!
MATT-
The whole clip is just funny in multiple ways, I don't eben know where to start!
The fact that the guy promoting this, is an actual DOCTOR, is funny in its own way.
No,no.. It's not a one way ticket to an eating disorder such as anorexia, because anorexia comes from an chemical imbalance (which is the exact thing you are going to achieve from undereating) DOHH!
-And the fact that the interviewer is ALREADY eating disordered (and speaks hilariously fast) makes it all so much funnier!
Ahh how I love that there is a place here on 180 where I can get understandment for my humor. Everyone else just stares blank at me while I can't wipe the big grin off my face ;-D
CHIEF-
You spoiled the surprise! -Why you little…! Your post should come with a SPOILER allert! LOL!
Well I guess it isn't your fault that Matt is a stone head ;-)
(yes Sheila made a funny)
JT-
"Getting in shape is the easy part, staying in shape us what is really difficult because most people just slip back into the bad habits of eating too much junk and not exercising."
The question, though, is *why* do they stop exercising? Speaking from my personal experience, it was not by choice. It was not by "slipping back into bad habits". It was because I was bed-ridden with simultaneous diagnoses of anemia, pneumonia, bronchitis and ear infection. Even after I recovered from the worst of the illnesses, I had zero energy. Walking up a small hill that I was once able to sprint multiple times at the height of my short running career felt like slogging through hip-deep snow. I was freezing and exhausted all the time. Exercise was Not. An. Option. And it wasn't because I suddenly turned 'lazy' again or wanted to take it 'easy'. It was because I physically COULDN'T DO IT.
I started out 270 pounds. Through various exercise (bike riding, dancing, weight training and long-distance running) and strict diet (a calorie-restricted, nearly sugar-free and very carb-conscious routine), I got down to 133 over the course of 2 years. I'm back up to ~210-215 now, 1.5 years later.
I haven't face-planted into a pile of candy bars. I am extremely selective about the quantity and quality of food that I eat. I stay active, going for long walks daily, and 3 hours of folk dancing once or twice a week (which makes most people sweat and get out of breath, but not me). But still the weight keeps coming on, now that I'm not longer running for 2 hours every day and eating 1500 calories or less.
I'm not saying that it's impossible to lose weight or keep up an exercise routine for the long haul, and I certainly am aware of how horrifically bad my personal approach was to weight-loss in terms of its detriment to my long-term health, meaning that there are better ways to do it, but I seriously take an issue with blanket statements that the reason people get fat again is because they didn't feel like putting in the work anymore.
That's just not always the case, and often, not one bit the person's choice.
How about some books on the beneficial effects of marijuana?
How about the Bates method and restoring eyesight naturally?
Orange Sarah,
I never said it was just because people didn't feel like putting in the work anymore. But, it is because they start consuming excess calories and decreasing exercise, just like your story demonstrates. This is why is is so important to do it the right way, because if you do it the wrong way it won't be maintained over the long term and you will end up hurting yourself. You definitely need guidance from a professional with lots of experience dealing with how to do it right.
Can you list what your weekly diet is?
Chief,
I respect your experience, and I was not insulting Matt by telling him to focus on gaining hands on experience. I was giving him that advice because I want to see him succeed.
I'm very familiar with Ancel keys starvation experiment. And I know that extreme yoyo dieting damages the metabolism causing you to stay fatter in the long run. I just don't believe that traditional cultures associate obesity with starvation. In the past it was seen as a status symbol to be fat when calories were not so easy to come by, because it showed you had access to the most food.
Me gaining 80 pounds wouldn't prove anything. I would easily drop the weight without any exercise or going hungry because my body would automatically try to resume my natural metabolic setpoint. It would be much more difficult for me to gain the weight and I would have to make myself sick eating tons or high carb high fat food.
JT-
My point is that they start consuming "excess" calories and decreasing exercise because the body physically cannot keep up the deprivation for an extremely long period of time without having an opposite and greater rebound, as Matt has spoken of time and time again. Additionally, due to the stresses caused by cutting calories and increasing exercise, the body gains weight at a lower calorie level, which could hardly be considered "excess" by most measures, and only would be viewed excess in comparison to the lower metabolic rate.
My weekly diet is made up of varied, whole foods. Rice & oats, potatoes, beans, raw and cooked vegetables, some fruit, cheese and occasional meat and nuts (have to eat cheaply due to budgetary constraints).
JT,
in your statement
" it is because they start consuming excess calories and decreasing exercise,"
you neglect to consider the " they " in this case is almost never the "person", It is actually the body's protective mechanism kicking in to regain the fat.
they can stop eating just like some one can stop sleeping, however, eventually they will crash and give in to sleep and "binge sleep" eating is no different.
they are not in control and by making your blanket statement you make it sound like losing 5 pounds is the same as 120 just more of the same method. You are giving them bad advice and applying the "lose a few pounds" method will most likely end in disaster or at minimum unhappiness when it does not work.
Orange Sara,
Again, if you don't do it right then you will have the metabolic consequences you mentioned. This is why it is important to work with an experienced professional. What happened to you is not inevitable I know plenty of people who got into shape and maintained it. My experience was the exact opposite of yours, I had an extremely damaged metabolism and got better by following a extremely strict diet and exercising.
So is your diet really low fat?
JT,
I was starting with an abnormal metabolism, which indicates to me that it may take a much, much longer time to recover from the further damage I inflicted on it.
Paying overmuch attention to the makeup of my food beyond a fairly strict avoidance of processed and unnatural foods holds zero appeal to me, and runs directly counter to my efforts to recover from the body/eating disorder that has plagued me for the past 5 years.
JT,
my point with gaining 80 pounds
1. you most likely cant (which says something about the nature of it )
2. you have most likely never been more than a few pounds ( no more than 15) overweight therefore do not understand it
3. you can not say what will happen unless you actually do, you can not say it will come off easy as research and statistics disagree with your thoughts there.
having been that overweight and having seemingly made myself naturally normal i can tell you 3 attempts with the "lose a few " method only resulted in returned weight.The way out of fat-land is not through conscious restriction.
I have been trying to explain to you that unless you have been there it's like a 3 blind men describing an elephant and perhaps you should try understanding them instead of assuming your approach should have worked for them and it is only their own fault not doing it right. Atkins experts did this with john gabriel yelling at him for being fat out of frustration that the forced method fails.
In my opinion orange sarah's results are among the vast majority of conscious restriction attempts to overcome obesity.
Orange Sarah,
It is good that you are no longer focusing on obtaining a body that is unnatural for you. I think it is better for most people to do like you and just focus on eating healthy foods and doing activities they really enjoy. We just need to be realistic that this is probably not going to give you a great change in physique. And we also don't need to overstate our cas by claiming that getting in good shape has to cause damage.
Thanks, Chief. I think you're helping to clear it up a little better.
It is an entirely different thing to grow up at a normal size and weight and maybe gain the freshman 15 in college, or put on some love handles from a couple overly indulgent holidays and then hit the gym and cut out dessert for a while to get back to normal (as far as I understand it, since those are not my experiences), compared to being born weighing over 11 pounds, being a 100 pound third grader, or having to wear size 28W jeans and snug 2x shirts as a high school sophomore girl.
I lost the weight equivalent to an entire extra (normal) person in an extremely short period of time and am regaining it in pounds and inches that are NOT CALORICALLY EQUAL TO WHAT I AM EATING, i.e. I am not eating the "3500 extra calories= 1pound" equivalent to explain the rate I am gaining weight. Furthermore, even shortterm attempts to "eat light" or "cut back" appear to trigger an immediate starvation response in my body, apparently in subconscious, cellular-level "fear" of being subjected to a long term food shortage again (I haven't done too many of these, but enough to figure out that I just don't have the capacity to diet now).
I know I definitely didn't "do it right" the first time, but it's a very hard thing to suss out just what the 'right' thing to do is now, since conventional wisdom is wrong about cases like mine.
Chief,
I have never been obese, but most of my family is, and I see what their eating patterns are.
I have been as low as 150 and as high as 215, this is 65 pounds and is a bigger difference than what you have. I feel good between 190 and 200 so this is where I stay because it is where my body wants to be. You went from being fat due to eating junk and drinking pepsi to being a big thick guy by cutting the junk and eating healthy foods. This is good because you allowed your body to be where it naturally wants to be on a healthy diet. You are happy being a big guy, but many women would be very unhappy maintaining a thick body even if it is natural for them.
I know that
JT, I am not claiming that "getting in good shape HAS to cause damage."
What I *am* saying is that it takes different protocols and measures for people who are at different points in their metabolic journey in order to get in good shape/health without causing damage, and that making blanket statements about what "works" is ineffectual since it DOES NOT work in every case.
What is not damaging to you may obliterate my health. It is a very difficult and personal thing to figure out.
Chief,
To finish my comment, I was saying that I know that it is not easy for someone to change their body type. That is why it is important to understand that you are a going to have to make some major effort if that is your goal. If you are naturally a big thick person and want to look like a lean fitness model then you are going to have to earn it, same thing if you are scrawny and want to look like a hoooooge bodybuilder.
Orange sara,
You said you ate a low carb diet and ran 2 hours a day. I would have known from the beginning that this would backfire and end up burning you out. That is why it is important to work with a pro that knows how to do it right, because if you don't then bad things can happen like they did to you. Anybody that knows how to do it right would have known that is a a bad approach, and your experience shouldn't cause one to throw the baby out with the excessive cardio bath water.
Just my two cents, I have been eating beyond appetite every day, coming up to 16 months (not restricting at all). I am only getting leaner, this without exercise. Weight going down still and lean mass increasing. This is what is working for me right now. Even when I am not hungry, I still eat large mixed meals. I can only equate this to metabolism increasing to compensate and rebuild years of wreckage…
I will be adding Abel style MET training in the next few weeks (been watching his DVD's), after a long business trip. As always I will report how things progress with adding back in some exercise. I do expect that I will eat even more, when I start to exercise again.
TJ,
I said it was carb-conscious, not totally low carb. I still ate oatmeal, whole grain pasta, fruit, etc. Just in carefully measured amounts, to fit in with my low calorie goals. I was low in every macronutrient except protein, due to low calories across the board.
Brian Peskin's 24 hour diet and the hidden story of cancer
JT,
you had a 65 pound difference in fat ? if you did and lost it with restriction and kept it off you are rare my friend.If you are talking about muscle it does not work the same way at all….
I went from 273 pounds to 220 pounds with most likely about 25 pounds of added muscle thrown in to the mix. roughly 65 – 75 pounds of fat give or take.
I know people that do the same thing as you, observing the eating patterns of others claiming to see why people are fat. you most likely make your family feel bad about themselves in doing so. The lean observer sees it from a lean person's eyes and it seems like these people are going out of their way to sabotage their weight management when the body is really in control and trying to fight it only makes it worse. a person in fat-mode can only dodge the donut for so long.
you observe me through my comments and already have it all figured out. I got thick and thats what saved me. Again you are wrong in this regard.
i would say the junk food that you were referring to ( which was maybe 20 to 40 percent junk) accounts for not being able to handle stress as well and lacking a few key nutrients that made my body function less effectively but it is most certainly not the key variable that made me fat and removing it did not make me Un-fat as a direct instant result.
Jt, continued
If it was the junk then I and others would not be able to indulge in junk and "get away with it " the way I can when i am not "wearing the fat suit ". It's not a simple no junk/ watch the calories do exercise right and all is well scenario. I assure you, one day you will see what I am talking about if you live long enough to see a change in common knowledge of weight management.
BTW I am happy without "abs" this is how I am meant to be as well as a little on the bulky side. The women I have dealt with do not need to become gym monsters to achieve normal levels of body fat. I do not think many women are naturally very thick anyways. I'm not saying it does not happen just that it is rare. I'm a fan of HAES but not huge supporter of fat acceptance.
Don't get me wrong I fully Accept overweight people. I just do not think any of us need to personally accept it for ourselves, give up and live with something unnatural. To me that is what that movement is about. Deep down they do not truly feel they were meant to live like that but they roll with it because it feels better not blaming your self ( and they shouldn't ) . Having trouble walking from fat is not natural at all, neither is having trouble putting on your own shoes. At the same time I feel for these people because this movement was born out them feeling helpless( due to the belief in calorie in calorie out ) They know even though they do not know why, that they are not in control. Without a solution fat acceptance is a great idea but ever since I understand how "being fat " works I truly feel it is counterproductive to accept it.
Chief,
I agree with you that there is a big difference in people that are naturally fatter than others. In observing my friends and family I have observed they ALL have a greater pleasure response to calorie dense foods. I have no desire to eat all of the junk they eat, but for them the desire is almost uncontrollable. In nature this would have given them a definite survival advantage, so their is nothing wrong with being that way.
I don't think that there is anything wrong with you being thick because that is your natural body type. You did the right thing by getting in shape for your body type.
Matt
Another book you might find interesting:
Integral Life Practice
Its only partly about health, but the integral idea is sort of that everything is related to everything else, so everything affects health. Some would consider this new agey, but IMO the integral people are speaking from a deeper level than the majority of the new age writers. Ken Wilber's stuff has been helpful to me in many ways so I figure I ought to give this book a plug.
JT,
you never answered if you lost 65 pounds of fat ?
the uncontrollable pleasure response to food you mentioned is not set with these people for life. Being in "fat gain mode" causes them to seek the most calorie dense food possible. Once this is rectified, in my experience people just do not crave these foods any more intensely as a person of average build.
matt – can you read the book titled Perfect Health Diet this year and give your point of view. there is a website of the same name http://perfecthealthdiet.com/
thanks,
Renaee
Also, something else to add, any chance you could turn your attention more to children's health? I ask this as children do not have all the psychological baggage that us adults have, (stress/body image ect). I am particularly interested in the area of allergy/atopic disorders and the recent changes in your approach to omega 6s. So many children of my daughters age (4) are afflicted with these conditions. I have taken my daughter's morning temps, they are very low despite a very hearty appetite and no eating restrictions that's for sure. thanks,
Renaee
Renaee.
Anonymous,
children at age 3 and 4 even are under stress at times and it can relate to them. I'm working with a mother right now that looked at me and said "come on chief what do they have to stress out about, they don't have bills" … i said "you think they are not affected by your arguing in front of them about those same bills ? "
and she quickly saw my point. Adding to that the 4 year old called the 3 year old fat while i was sitting there.. so body image can start real young.
I think parents don't even have to argue. Just THEM being under stress makes them behave in a certain way, and I'm sure they also emit certain bio-transmitters. Anyway, children shape everything they do after their parents, so if their parents are stressed, their children will be stressed, too. I'm slowly learning to relax now and it amazes me just how tense I've been all my life, even as a child. I feel like only now I'm slowly learning how to live my life in a somewhat normal way.
Hey Matt, "The Yoga of Eating" by Charles Eisenstein is a good one to read. It's not really anything to do with yoga, rather it's one of the best books on intuitive eating that I've come across.
Happy New Year!
Hans, i agree totally.
Oh WOW Matt! Thanks so much for mentioning my blog (and I'm flattered you read it too).
Hey Matt,
Have you read Karahzian's book on thyroid disorders? Sorry if you blogged about this — I'm playing catch up with blogs right now. But if so I'm wondering what you thought as I haven't read it yet.
Chris
Re: Dr. K, I know Matt read him at one point because I saw a reference to the book somewhere recently in the 180DH materials.
Personally, Dr. K is freaking me out about gluten because my thyroid, although treated with Armour, is still not working so well and so I find myself asking the million dollar question: Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms?
I threw this out there on the -rexia thread:
http://drknews.com/what-type-of-gluten-intolerance-do-you-have/
I know, as a -rexic, I'm always going to be looking for the "bad" food to avoid, and this one seems to be it right now.
Precision Nutrition by John Berardi
Real Food or Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck
Wild Fermentation
The Diet Cure and The Mood Cure
The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 1700-2100: Europe, America, and the Third World (Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy and Society in Past Time) by Robert William Fogel
From an Amazon review:
"Although this is a "little" book, just 111 pages in the main body, it is densely packed with deep-mine data and illuminating higher-order concepts derived from a lifetime of concentration on economic development, particularly when Fogel was affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research as director of its Development of the American Economy Program and subsequently at the University of Chicago as the Charles R. Walgreen Professor of American Institutions and director of the university's Center for Population Economics. Metabolic indices, the thermodynamics of human physiological activity, Waaler curves, in-utero effects on morbidity, protein energy, malnutrition, physiological capital, and Gini ratios are grist for Fogel's mill."
For a slightly different perspective on the issues discussed here.