Comments on: Reading burns calories: Toxic Fat by Barry Sears

By: Lisa

Lisa — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:16:03 +0000

Unfortunately people don’t want to hear the truth. It takes a bit of effort to stay healthy. The zone diet is probably the most worthy of lifestyles to follow. Takes a bit of getting used to but does the trick. By eating in the zone you are limiting high glycemic carbs, refined sugars and increasing your vegetable servings by about 5x per the current recommended amounts from the FDA. His science is spot on and if America would just wake up and listen to the likes of Dr. Sears we would have no need to increase taxes to cover the cost of all the very unhealthy people in our country. You are not reading a novel..it is scientific and has to be easy enough for the average pereson to understand.

By: Merry

Merry — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:18:36 +0000

I managed to write my review of this book… less than a month after you completed your review! I feel so proud :)

By: Abigail Smith

Abigail Smith — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:44:00 +0000

“Losing weight is incredibly easy as long as you are never hungry.”

Well, that’s just ridiculous. Hunger is the body’s way of letting you know it’s time to eat, and when it’s time to stop. Does he want us to override our natural metabolic signals and eat when we’re not hungry? Cos for me, that’s what got me fat in the first place – eating because it was “time to”, or because I felt sad, or out of control, or angry… basically for any reason other than my tummy told me to. The secrets of losing and maintaining weight appear to be learning to a) welcome a little hunger at the right times, as it means you ate about the right amount of calories at the last meal and you’re on track and b) recognise the difference between real bodily hunger and emotional hunger, feeding your soul, not your mouth, if that’s what’s hungry.

By: Flora

Flora — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:32:42 +0000

The Zone diet was the best diet I’ve ever been on. I lost a bunch of weight and I felt great the whole time. It’s actually similar to South Beach in that carbs aren’t totally restricted, just less in proportion to protein than the way most people eat. Some people are put off by the math but after the first 2-3 weeks you get used to knowing the right serving size of the foods you usually eat, and you learn how to estimate for the unfamiliar foods. I wish I were still on it, but I just found it too hard and too expensive to eat so much protein and so few carbs. It’s too countercultural. But the more closely I stick to those principles, the better I feel and look.

That said, I found the books totally unreadable. My mom the nutrition nut eats them with a spoon, but to me all the talk of eicosanoids and the different happy fats comes off as nutso-cuckoo.

By: Nik@Night

Nik@Night — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:44:42 +0000

Thanks for the review!! Very helpful. But, I have to admit when my vision first caught the post. If you look out of your periphrial it could be about Britney Spears:Toxic… I had to do a double take.

By: White Flower

White Flower — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:49:52 +0000

I weigh-in tomorrow and reading all your posts have motivated me to hit the gym again tonight and have fish for dinner.

Miracles can happen, right?

By: victoria

victoria — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:58:08 +0000

Jennette, have you ever posted about what it’s like to no longer be shielded from social / sexual attention by an “unacceptable” body? I wonder if it’s scary to be asked out on dates, or even just out to lunch, by people you don’t know well, in light of the possibility that you might have been a little socially isolated during your adolescence and might not feels as though you’re “up to speed” with some of your peers. (I actually had something like this experience: I started dating in my mid-twenties, and one of the things that really slowed me down was the feeling that I was different and everyone else knew how to do this and I didn’t.) Maybe this is a really dumb question. Maybe your answer is, “How would I know, lady? I’ve lived the only life I’ve lived and have no idea if other people are more or les nervous than I am on a first date.” So, just ignore this comment if it’s annoying.

By: PastaQueen

PastaQueen — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:52:08 +0000

@Merry – Great minds think alike! And I’m happy to hear there is someone who reads at least as slowly as I do.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:10:55 +0000

I’ve nominated you for an ‘I Love Your Blog’ award, see my blog post for details!

By: Sarah J

Sarah J — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:39:47 +0000

PQ..for what it is worth, the board certified endocrinologist I’ve been working with to help figure out why I could ride 105 miles on a bike and not lose weight…. thinks the zone is the best diet…but too damn hard for people to follow (“too much math I’ve found”). THanks for summarizing the book. Great work. (And BTW.. she thinks the next best eating plan is South Beach).