Sep
27
Good Calories Bad Calories
Filed Under Eating Healthy, Nutrition, Review
There’s a new book out by author Gary Taubes. In it, he suggests that everything we know about weight control may be wrong. According to Mr. Taubes, overeating and being inactive are not the causes of weight gain. Instead, he claims that the basic cause of fat accumulation is an insulin imbalance caused by overeating refined carbs.
The Good
I heartily agree with Taubes assessment of refined sugars. Things like candy bars, white bread and refined pastas are bad for you. We eat too many of these every day and they’re nothing but empty calories. It’s probably more important to cut these things out of your diet than it is to cut unhealthy fat sources like certain meats.
The Bad
I completely disagree with him on his assessment of exercise. The author seems to believe that exercise is not an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Perhaps he thinks weight control is the only important part of a healthy lifestyle, but even there, exercise is essential. Exercise and being active is what uses up calories. It strengthens our bodies and keeps our systems tuned up. I think Mr. Taubes is catering to the “easy solution” crowd with this book, telling them they don’t need to exercise in order to lose weight. In doing so, he’s doing them a disservice. Exercise will help you lose weight and it will provide you with many other health benefits.
The Ugly
As with the Atkins diet, I’m afraid that many people will misinterpret Good Calories, Bad Calories to mean all carbs are bad. Even Taubes himself does not claim this. In his book, he mentions that leafy greens are just fine and that the “bad” carbs he’s specifically targeting are from refined sources and starchy vegetables like potatoes. So please, even if you do choose to follow this diet, don’t eliminate fruit and vegetables from your diet.
Recommendation
This book felt like a variation on the Atkins idea. As such, I can’t recommend it. I believe Atkins and other diets like it got some things right (eliminating refined carbs from your diet is great) but they also pushed too many people into a mindset that encouraged eating all the meat you want, doing no exercise and eliminating fruit and healthy vegetables from their diets. Stick to what we know works. Eat healthy and be active, the rest will come naturally.
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Comments
2 Responses to “Good Calories Bad Calories”
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If someone so much as hints that exercise is not an essential and necessary part of a healthy life-style, I put the book down and, if possible, send them a strongly-worded ( read: vitriolic) e-mail.
I know too many fat people sitting on couches, counting carbs while holding on to one of those books.
Hi Alexandra,
Heh, remind me to never write anything along these lines. Wouldn’t want to receive that email.
I think people just want to believe in easy solutions that require no work. This kind of book provides that hope. No exercise needed, no healthy eating habits, just make some minor changes and you’re done.
Gal