Emma Forrest wrote:

Hello

There was an interesting doco on SBS last night. Below is a link to a summary of the doco for those who missed it. Basically, the show implied that some people are more likely than others to put on weight and increase their percentage of body fat. It didn't mention different types of food (ie how the consumption of fructose could affect weight gain and feeling 'full').

 

I'm really interest to hear what others, and David, thinks about this doco and the controversial prison study it is based on (where prisoners were encouraged to put on weight).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7838668.stm

Emma,

In summary the experiments show that people don't put on as much weight as you'd think they might if you significantly increase their caloric intake.  That shouldn't be that surprising because weight watchers have been showing for half a century that people don't lose as mcuh weight as you'd think they might when you restrict their calories.

What both experiments (the prison and ww) demonstrate is that the core hypiothesis of mainline obesity research (that an energy deficit is required to lose weight) is utter nonsense. 

I could go on doing an ordinary job of explaining the reasons why, but I'd be repeating Gary Taubes (and doing a shabby job while I'm about it), so I recommend watching his (lengthy but worthwhile) summary of the evidence here: http://www.dhslides.org/mgr/mgr060509f/f.htm

Weight gain is caused by metabolic malfunction, not by an excess of food (or deficiency of exercise). That metabolic malfunction (in most cases) is created by the ingestion of substance that is foreign to our forebears in the quantities which we now consume, you guessed it, fructose. 

Cheers

David.

Sharon Walkey wrote:I am on day 4 of being sugar free and all going well so far. An interesting side note related to this topic is that I have always had a huge appetite, probably, larger than my husbands. He has always lost weight easier to. I have discovered that my husband naturally prefers the low sugar versions of things. For example, I always loved Jatz biscuits where he would prefer cheds. He was never a fan of BBQ or sweet chilli sauce, my favourites, just loves mustard. The list goes on....

Hi Sharon,

I've found the same.  My husband is actually a type 1 diabetic and therefore tends to only use high sugar foods if he is hypoglycemic.  Until I began withdrawal, I was consuming far more sugar than him and I too had a bigger appetite - sometimes eating double of what he'd eat - which was crazy when I have a desk job and he is a tradesman.  I am now on day 6 and am determined to be eating less than him when my appetite control kicks in.  Even after one week I've lost 1.1 kgs so am quite happy with the result so far.  Good luck with your withdrawal.