I wrote yesterday about the effects of wanting to believe something. But, aren’t I equally guilty of this myself?
Why should I accept the precepts and explanations of any particular author? Plenty of derisive comments were made by respected figures in the health field about Dr. Atkins’ theories and his nutritional approach, yet I chose to believe that what he was suggesting made sense. His low carb diet certainly seemed to have a sound scientific floor-plan, and not being a scientist myself, I was depending on his knowledge and expertise to be legitimate. This was no quack scheme, no fad based on unfounded notions. Taubes’ Good Calories, Bad Caloriesprovides evidence that the practice of restricting carbohydrates as a means of reducing weight has been around since at least the mid 1800′s, and the approach had been established, proven and tested repeatedly well before the doctor’s New Diet Revolution was published in the early 1970′s.
What about Taubes? What purpose would he have in misleading the public? His credentials (from his description of them) appear impeccable; the time and effort he spent researching for the book is considerable. I haven’t yet found, and I’ve looked for it, any negative comments with regard to his credibility or qualifications. I’ve found comments, some from low carb adherents, that allude to Taubes misunderstanding a process, or oversimplifying something, but these are few. So, I want to believe that what he’s writing about is true. It makes sense to my mind, but anyone can make many things seem plausible if they so desire (Ancel Keys’ correlation of dietary fat to heart disease, for example).
I want to believe I’ll lose weight again during the “induction phase” that Dr. Atkins described, just as I did in 2003. Although that isn’t happening as quickly as I’d like it to this time, I want to believe that something I’m doing, or not doing, is causing a stall in the loss. I want to believe the science of fat partitioning and energy imbalance by means of hormonal and enzymatic regulation. If fat isn’t leaving my cells to be turned into fuel, what is causing that to happen? A sufficient fuel source otherwise? My penchant for evening martinis, perhaps? Enough studies are detailed in the book that describe an almost universal consistency of fat and weight loss, without injury to health, by simply restricting carbohydrates without restricting fat or protein. Where’s my loss? I want to believe it’s on the way.
In the matter of disease: I want to believe that all the explanations and experiments and research to date that implicate carbohydrates as the root cause of the ailments of civilization are correct, and not just more misinterpretations or false presentations. I want to believe I can favorably improve my health and longevity by eating a carbohydrate-restrictive diet.
As to wanting to believe these principles will someday soon be regarded by the entire world as beyond question… that part is wishful thinking.
Filed under: Atkins, Books, Food, general health, Induction, Megamas, Mindset, Starting on Low Carb Tagged: | Atkins, believe, diet, Good Calories, Induction, low carb, Taubes, weight loss
Thanks so much for your posts. You are helping so many people. When I first started reading LCC, I read with interest, the information you had previously posted about alcohol. I had believed all the low-carb counters — that certain types of alcohol (mine was vodka) were carb-free. They may be carb-free, but I can attest to the fact that they completely stalled my weight loss. When I started back on Atkins, I lost weight during the first two weeks and then for the next three (when I had vodka), I lost nothing. I have now been doing Atkins since Jan 1 and have had no alcohol at all and have lost 27 lbs. I lost 87 lbs on Atkins 3 years ago and have pretty much stuck to the low carb diet (with occasional desserts) but I gained back 30 lbs and I truly believe a big part of it was due to alcohol. So…you might want to try doing without the martinis for a while and see what the result is. I know it’s hard……I really miss my vodka and diet squirt….but I am willing to give it up to gain back the ground I lost.
Thanks again for doing this — I try your recipes, I read all of your info….and it has really helped me. The links you have to other sites are also wonderful — I NEVER knew there was no-carb bread, and now I order from Viva Lo Carb and for the first time in three years I am able to have a sandwich and not worry. I am grateful for YOU!
God Bless,
Bonnie
Bonnie, I hear this more and more as people chime in. I have a BIG party to go to this weekend, but after that, I am going to start the BIG experiment. Watch for my post about it and we’ll see if we can’t get this old fat burning machine going again! -megamas
Absolutely!!! I tried low-carbing and drinking beer – silly me!!! Got 2kg off and then just yo-yoed – 1kg off, 1kg on.
Now I’m low-carbing again, no beer and am doing regular weight-training and resistance training. This time I’ve got 3kg off, and it’s staying off. I have drunk beer, but only 8 times in 52 days. Every time I have the scales go up after two days! Something happens in the liver to the hormone leptin, I think, when you drink and it totally screws everything up.
I wish somebody would do some research on this!
amanda wood