Why We Get Fat: And what to do about it

Why We Get Fat: And what to do about it

Written By: Gary Taubes

Read By: Mike Chamberlain

Background: I recently watched a Documentary film on Hulu called "Fat Head". In it the filmmaker goes about trying to debunk alot of the claims that Morgan Spurlock made in his film "Super Size Me". Mainly that by eating at McDonalds 3 times a day, doesn't automatically make you fat and unhealthy. In the film , one of his main sources in explaining what makes us fat, he uses Gary Taubes first book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" which is a much more in depth and scientific book about what makes us fat. This book "Why We Get Fat", is aimed at the general public, and is shorter and more practical. And I liked it alot. 

First off, this is not a Diet book. Taubes doesn't give any recommended eating plans or recipes. He just explains in a very scientifically understandable way what really makes us humans prone to gaining weight. The answer, in short is, Carbohydrates. I wasn't completely surprised to learn this. After reading Michael Pollan's book "In Defense of Food", Pollan explains how the body almost instantly turns Carbs into Sugar upon entering your digestive system. I always wondered why people on Atkins lose so much weight and do it so fast. After reading "Why We Get Fat", now I know why. It's simply that some people's systems are more prone to producing more Insulin , and that slows down the metabolism which then tells the body to store fat instead of burning it for energy. That's the one sentence explanation. 


The more shocking parts of the book are when Taubes gives evidence for why working out and working out alot don't actually help people lose weight. According to Taubes , the only thing working out does is make you more hungry , which makes you eat more. Taubes posits that the old advice of "Calories in, Calories Out" just doesn't work or add up. So if you've ever started a work out program and NOT lost weight , there's your answer why. According to Taubes, the reason most people lose weight when working out is because working out tends to make people be more conscience of what and how much they are eating. In turn , they eat less, and by eating less, they eat less carbs and they lose weight. Makes sense right? 


Personally, I'm not sure about all of this. I've lost some weight over the last year , but it has stagnated for quite a few months. So, I'm going to give this a whirl and see if just by restricting or even lowering my carb intake will help me start burning fat again. 


The Review: When I first heard about this book I was instantly interested in it. For some reason I really get into Food Science books like this and Michael Pollan's. The book is laid out really well, and Taubes gives alot of interesting history on how Doctor's in the 20's and 30's treated Obesity. Overall I really enjoyed the book and found it very engaging and very listenable. Mike Chamberlain, the reader was good is his narration. He kept a steady pace, and never rushed through it. 


I recommend it.


Rating: 5 out of 5