149.8, 150, 149.8, 150... *sigh* Hate it when my scale teases me.
I keep reading various sources about a low-carb diet, but
Tom Naughton tends to make the reading a lot more entertaining. I'm going through all of his old blog posts and they're really good reads. Also been frequenting
Gary Taubes and
Dr. Mike Eades blogs for information.
Before the movie Fat Head came out on Netflix I had never heard of Gary Taubes. Currently I'm reading the book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" on top of the blogs. It's a tough read, but full of good information and history on why we changed our diets, and subsequently have gotten fatter as a nation on the whole as a result.
The past 30 years the government has been doling out the same advice farmers are given to fatten livestock and drug companies have been making a killing in profits because everyone seems to be on some kind of drug. Lobbyist have way too much money and politicians are too happy to accept contributions to their next re-election campaign because most of them are self-serving jackholes. As long as it sounds good to the voter it MUST be good!
This is why I think critical thinking skills need to be taught in schools. Too many people taught what to think and not how to think for themselves. When I first went on Atkins I was still fearful of the whole saturated fats thing because that's how I was brainwashed in school, so after awhile, I stopped my diet even though it worked REALLY well and I felt fine. Reading on my own I've learned it's INSULIN that causes fat to store in the body, and the INSULIN response is raised in the presence of sugar, and that carbohydrates of any kind break down into glucose (sugar) as early as it meeting your saliva.
The body runs on two fuels: you run on carbohydrates or you run on fat. If there are an excess of carbs, your body will use that first. In the absence of carbs, your body will run on fat. (There is a "third" item - alcohol. Your body will use THAT first above all else, but a diet of alcohol should be common sense as not a good thing.) If you don't use up your carbs, your body will store it as fat. As you get fatter, your body is going to demand more fuel because your cells aren't just going to let go of that fat so long as insulin is high.
I'd rather go the low-carb way, let my body process the fat fuel efficiently, and let things take care of themselves. Armed with some knowledge... I'm no longer fearful of dietary fat. In fact, I'm interested in finding out how the liver comes into play converting excess carbohydrates into triglycerides.