Earlier this summer I wrote about one of the latest three news articles to shake up the summer dieter’s doldrums, an article in the Washington Post about the new federal dietary guidelines that de-emphasizes breakfast. (The Weight Loss Agenda Just Got Messier) Today I wish to tackle the age-old dispute first proffered by Dr. Atkins:Read More
weight loss
The Weight Loss Agenda Just Got Messier
Earlier this summer, three news articles blasted out of the summer doldrums to shake up everyone’s ideas about weight management and dieting. In a likely futile effort to reconcile what each says with what the scientists are trying to say, I will address each in its own right in this three part series. First, thereRead More
The Weight Loss Conundrum, Continued: Diet vs Exercise…or Both?
The latest controversy, which we’ve seen played out over the past 30 years, comes to you from two doctors: one, a pediatrician, the other a researcher in weight management. The former wrote in the NY Times; the latter wrote in an exercise science newsletter. The former used a lot of research to stand on hisRead More
What I(rv) Learned This Summer, Parts I, II, III
What I Learned This Summer: On Fats and Fatness; The Joy of Joint Replacement; How To Recover From Surgery. Also, Rest In Peace, Ted Welch. fithappens.spring.2014
on wt loss, eating disorders and reality
How presumptuous is it for anyone to declare ‘reality’ in the context of weight loss and eating disorders (ED)? Well, let me answer by sharing my philosophy first, my reasoning second, and reality third. Philosophically, it seems to me that the basic laws of physics are currently immutable. That is, the old saw – caloriesRead More
The Confusion of Science
The following article, about a recent study showing body shape impacts kidney function, is noteworthy for not just its thoroughness for the science behind it but for its use of two terms that have fallen out of favor: apple and pear, as in shape: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jj-virgin/body-shape-metabolism_b_3390774…. I bring this up because its worth remembering that sometimesRead More
Why It’s So Hard to Lose Weight (originally posted 10/27/11)
Much has been written about dieting, exercising, or combining the two for effective weight loss. Many a book, and many an author, have pretended to know the answer for the vast majority of those carrying excess weight. While some of these sources have gained wt in the process – made tons of moolah – fewRead More
On Gary Taubes, Author of “Why We Get Fat”
Normally I take a more conservative stance on dieting for wt loss. That is, while I know it’s important to lose wt for the two-thirds of americans who are overwt or obese, I am sensitive to the wt loss mantra that pervades our society and has been over-used in the minds of some afflicted withRead More
The 10% Rule of Running
There’s a standard exercise prescription in the cardio world, coming from the running community, that you should only increase your weekly mileage by 10%. this is stated so as to minimize risk of injury. It translates like so: If you start running, or even walking, one mile a day, seven days/wk, a 10% increase couldRead More
Wt Loss Via Newtonian and Einsteinian Physics
Dear Friends and Family, I may not have told you in this venue, but I will be teaching a one-evening class called Newton’s Laws of Weight Loss through the University School of Nashville Evening Class program. I’ll be taking a look at new science and old in the quest for weight loss to give youRead More