Book Review: The Calorie Myth by Jonathan Bailor


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Ah January....

How many of you started a diet and are already flagging?

It's ok, this new book might just make you NEVER make the New Year's resolution to diet ever again!

The Calorie Myth cover




Synopsis:



“Since the 1970s doctors, scientists, and government agencies have offered the public the same advice when it comes to maintaining a healthy body weight: eat less and exercise more. But if losing weight is as simple as balancing calories in vs. calories out, how could the greatest increase in obesity and diabetes in history take place alongside the greatest increase of dieting and exercise in history? "


Based on more than a decade of research and endorsed by top doctors and researchers from Harvard, Johns Hopkins and UCLA, THE CALORIE MYTH by Jonathan Bailor offers a radically new and scientifically-proven model for sustainable weight loss: the key to long-term success is not the number of calories that we eat—but rather what kinds of calories we eat. THE CALORIE MYTH shows us how eating more—of the right kinds of foods—and exercising less—but at a higher intensity—is actually the key to burning fat, balancing hormones, boosting metabolism, and creating long-term weight loss.”


Review:

This new book supports the recent cutting-edge science, that has made the Paelo and Gluten-Free diets so popular. Did you know that nearly half of all women, and a third of men, are following a diet plan? Dieting and fitness have become big business, yet Bailor shows that biology works against us, so that we regain 95% of the weight we have lost via traditional means due to a key point: calories do not matter.

Bailor shows that human biology is the key to understanding the calorie myth that has been perpetuated against the public. A staggering statistic is the an average person consumes 570 calories more PER day, than the average person did in 1977. But if we hold that to be true, then the question becomes, why is ALL the population not severly overweight? After all, that average person should have gained 476 pounds, and yet we don't have a nation of 400 pound individuals do we? Our bodies have a natural set point, that keeps us from gaining those extra pounds. But how? 
The key to long-term weight-loss is helping our body naturally reset it's set point (the level of stored fat our body automatically works to MAINTAIN), by changing not the number of calories consumed but rather the kinds of calories consumed. Our set point is individual to our body, there is no 'magic formula'. It is based on the hormonal signals released by our gut, pancreas and fat cells, that are sent to our brain. In fact you could say the body defends it's current weight and does everything to keep it regulated to that point. Another biological method, meant to keep us alive! And yes, you can blame grandma. For our initial set point IS based on genetics (40-70 of the weight kept), the rest by age (when our hormones change, our set point changes) and by what type of calories we take in.
When we eat the right types of foods (whole plants and nutritious proteins, very akin to the Paleo diet), our body is healthy and able to maintain its set point weight. our brain receives the correct hormone signals to speed up our metabolic rate, decrease our appetite, and to burn body fat. But when we eat sugar, starches, the wrong fats, and processed foods, our body's gets "clogged" and prevents our natural fat burning system to work. Instead the brain tells the body to keep the fat, to stop responding to leptin and insulin, and to overproduce these hormones, clogging our body. And then when our body needs calories, it doesn't want to go thru the hassle of converting calories from body fat, so it slows down on the rate it burn calories, and eventually will burn muscle first, before it burns fat! Set point wins every time. In fact 70% of the non-water weight loss while eating less is really lost muscle. Only after muscle has been cannibalized, will the body burn fat from our set point. You can see why yo-yo weight gain and loss happens, with this simple biological explanation!
The key to losing weight is to slowly reset your body's natural set point. By selecting the right foods, we can help to unclog our bodies, repair tissue damage, boost brain power, and fuel our metabolism to burn fat. Bailor offers an effective step-by-step program, with a very helpful "SANEity" scale to help you determine which foods are optimal for weight-control. Our bodies are not designed to digest the majority of the foods we're eating, did you know that? I've told you that before when talking about the re-mineralizing diet, and Bailor explains it more in this book. 
Did you know the original USDA food pyramid was designed by politicians, not doctors and nutritionists? In fact, heart disease, diabetes and the high instance of obesity can all be traced to flaws in that pyramid. The avoid fat, carbohydrates, protein and cholesterol diet recommendations? Same thing. Researchers have known that when we reduce what our bodies NEED, it will over-compensate and cause weight gain AND more health issues. Did you know your body can't absorb those vitamins you take every day, unless they are taken with natural fats, that tell the brain what to do with them? But that isn't what we have been told. 
"Health foods" are big business (in 2007 alone, 85% of beef, 80% of soybeans and 55% of the flour are produced by four companies, and one company produces 90% of the genetically modified corn and soybean seeds). And those companies are the same ones helping the average American to consume over 150 POUNDS of sweeteners every year. Because they have been added to just about EVERY packaged/processed food. 200 years ago our ancestors only had 1/10th of the amount of NATURAL sweeteners versus what we eat today.Most 'healthy' foods are so full of sugar that they tend to be worse for your body! Scary isn't it? 
As Bailor tells us, our bodies need high satiety scale foods to help us reset our set point-foods that fill us up and to keep us full (typically those with high amounts of water, fiber and protein). We need to change what we eat to a no-grain based carbohydrate, no flour, no sugar, no bread or pasta, no high fructose corn syrup diet, to help our bodies naturally reset its set point, unclog itself, and learn to work for you, not against you! Bailor includes a typical eating plan (including sample recipes) and a no impact/high intensity exercise program, that allows you to spend less time in the gym and achieve better weight loss results. This plan will help your body to lower its natural set point, so weight loss can be achieved. AND to keep lowering, so it will keep resetting itself, for long term loss. And that is something we can all agree is a GOOD thing!
This is a super informative book on so many levels (you can tell from this lengthy review), and I urge EVERYONE to read it. It will greatly change what foods you let your kids eat and make you start reading labels and questioning what you are told is 'healthy'. Read this book BEFORE you go on ANY type of diet or weight loss plan! 


About the Author: 

A graduate of DePauw University, Jonathan has been collaborating with top scientists for over 10 years, analyzing over 1,300 studies, and garnering endorsements by top doctors from Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins, Yale, and UCLA, to become a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author. He is a nutrition and exercise expert, and former personal trainer who specializes in using high-quality food and exercise to simplify wellness.

He has registered over 25 patents and serves as a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, hosts a popular syndicated wellness radio show, blogs on The Huffington Post, and consults for organizations around the world. His free 28-day quick-start eating and exercise guide is available at BailorGroup.comBailor lives outside of Seattle with his wife Angela and works to enable others to live better through simple, proven science.

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