# I unhappily report that I am right about obesity and diet (Very long) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543 "2011-02-16T04:25:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 43
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/841 "2011-03-23T05:32:44Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Where did I “bad mouth the scientists that didn’t focus their limited time and money on [my] favorite theory”? Right here: > [@Stoid](#): > > Then there’s the whole matter of the nutrition research community dismissing it out of hand as a fad at all, which is pretty revealing: we aren’t going to test this because we think it’s bullshit. Oh. Is THAT how we’re doing scientific inquiry these days?:rolleyes: I think you deserve to be swallowing that bitter pill, buddy. > [@](#): > > And did this “bad mouthing” include misrepresentation and exaggeration, which would make it comparable to what I was chiding you for? Or is your statement yet more misrepresentation, only this time, of what I said, instead of what Taubes said? I think you’re wildly misrepresenting the scientific community at large here - you’re making it sound like they would just make a snap decision about what to study based on whatever whim they had at the time. That’s not how research is done - after preliminary research, you decide what to invest your time and energy into. Atkins has been around what, 40 years? Why have few scientists seen it as worth studying? On top of that, you’re exaggerating in so far as some comparative studies \*have \*included low-carb diets (such as the one where a much lower percentage of people stuck to the low carb rather than the low fat over two years). Evidently few of these comparative studies have spurred researchers on to study low-carb more in depth. So yes, I do think you are both misrepresenting and exaggerating when you say that trained scientific researchers are dismissing this theory just because they ‘think it’s bullshit’. You’re making it seem like there is some malevolent plot on the part of the health profession to keep people away from low-carb eating. If there was indeed a magic bullet diet out there that would allow people to eat as much as they wanted, the scientist who published the research proving it would be held in very high esteem. Why would they not want that? Why is it that diets like this are always surrounded by true believers who think they know better than people who actually study obesity? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/842 "2011-03-23T06:02:46Z")
> [@Meyer6](#): > > I think you’re wildly misrepresenting the scientific community at large here - you’re making it sound like they would just make a snap decision about what to study based on whatever whim they had at the time. That’s not how research is done - after preliminary research, you decide what to invest your time and energy into. Atkins has been around what, 40 years? Why have few scientists seen it as worth studying? What fad lasts 40 years? Besides which, you missed the rest of what I said, whcih was that low-carb dieting came first. Low-carbohydrate dieting PRE-dates low-calorie and low-fat. So I’m not misrepresenting anything at all. > [@](#): > > So yes, I do think you are both misrepresenting and exaggerating when you say that trained scientific researchers are dismissing this theory just because they ‘think it’s bullshit’. You’re making it seem like there is some malevolent plot on the part of the health profession to keep people away from low-carb eating. No, you are inserting things that aren’t there. (aka misrepresenting) “thinking its bullshit” implies nothing about malevolence, and implies nothing about a plot. What it does imply, and intend, is a closed mind. And considering the way the researchers who have actually finally done the research and seen the results \*\*report their own attitudes and feelings \*\*about learning that low-carb works and works on more than just weight, it’s 100% legitimate. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/843 "2011-03-23T06:30:30Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > You seem a little obsessed. Let me enlighten you: what a person weighs is not the only, or even the most important thing about them. So your inability to see anything going on in this except the issue of grandma’s weight and whether she would lose any is completely irrelevant. Maybe he didn’t want her, to well, die? Her obesity caused her premature and rather unpleasant death. Grandma’s weight wasn’t irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/844 "2011-03-23T08:54:32Z")
> [@TravisFromOR](#): > > Maybe he didn’t want her, to well, die? Her obesity caused her premature and rather unpleasant death. Grandma’s weight wasn’t irrelevant. Who is “he”? Ms. Whatsit told a story about her grandmother having wht Ms. Whatsit speculated was 2-3 indulgent meals or snacks per week, and how she would feel the need to excuse herself for her choice. I assumed, based on my own experience and observation, that Grandma felt the need to excuse herself because she felt judged for her choice. I’m certain that Billfish doesn’t care at all about Ms.Whatsit’s Grandma, alive or dead, and his ignoring everything that isn’t actively about Grandma losing weight is not about his not wanting her to die, not least because she’s already dead. And once again: (I JUST posted this today!) _ **obesity didn’t cause Grandma to die.** _ I assume from her story that Grandma died of complications of diabetes. Obesity doesn’t cause diabetes, either. Type II diabetes and obesity are very frequently observed to exist simultaneously, lending credibility to the idea that the same forces are working to cause both diabetes and obesity. Being fat doesn’t kill you. Some things that kill you also make you fat. So yeah, his making everything about Grandma’s weight loss or lack of it is irrelevant, especially to what i was pointing out: the fact that Grandma, a presumably intelligent, experienced, 70 year old woman, felt the need to make excuses to those around her for her decision to have some of Aunt Janice’s pie or some chocolate. And the only thing that billfish found worthwhile to consider was whether the judgment was making her fat (no) or whether her excuses were helping her lose weight (no). Which is not that unusual. But for the sake of the people in billfish’s life, along with others who think like he does, I would hope he would try to get beyond his personal issues with weight (and death, for that matter) and any urge he might have to scold or shame or judge anyone in his life for what they eat, whether they weigh 500 pounds and have diabetes and heart disease, or not. Because scolding, shaming, and judging is 99.7% useless, and instead of helping Grandma or anyone else live longer, it is actually just going to reduce the quality of Grandma’s life by contributing to her shame and fear. For those who may be thinking: “Well what am I supposed to do when someone I love is fat and diabetic and old and still insists on eating pie and chocolate??” I’ll tell you: sit down with your loved one, and have an open conversation with them. Something like: "Grandma, I want you to know how important you are to me, and how happy I am that you are in my life. I want you to be healthy and happy and comfortable, and I want to do everything I can do to make sure you are. I know you know what you’re supposed to do to manage the diabetes and improve your health, and I know you understand the risks you face. I trust you. I trust your doctors. If you want me to help you in any way at all, please ask me, because I really do want to help you.(Then, so it isn’t an ampty offer that leaves it up to Grandma to figure out what she needs, you come up with genuinely helpful ideas, like spending a couple of afternoons with grandma experimenting with her favorite recipes and ways to make them more diabetes-friendly: you help her and spend some quality time wiht her to boot!) But if you don’t, I understand. I respect you, I respect your choices, and I’m not going to give you a hard time about what you eat or anything else you do, because I don’t think it helps to try and make you feel badly over your choices. So I’m not going to play policeman over your diet. I hope you will do your best to choose to take the best possible care of yourself that you can, because I want to keep you around; but your happiness is what I want most of all." And then shut the fuck up and enjoy being with your grandmother. If that means she wants to spend her weekends making pies for everybody and eating them too, and it makes her happy, then that’s what it means and you aren’t making her life happier or better by giving her shit about it. I’ve known more than one person who decided that the sacrifices required to extend their lives reduced the quality of their lives to such a degree that the extra time didn’t seem worth it. It’s their call. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/845 "2011-03-23T11:06:45Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I have almost no impulse control of any kind: food, money, sex, love, mouth. I am a woman who goes with her flow, even when I wish like I hell I could stop myself. Then this is your problem. You have zero chance of losing weight unless you fix this problem. > [@Stoid](#): > > Anyway, low carb is the answer for me. It won’t work for you. Reading your posts, you remind me of a poor person who is an expert on becoming a millionaire. ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/846 "2011-03-23T11:20:08Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > And then shut the fuck up and enjoy being with your grandmother. If that means she wants to spend her weekends making pies for everybody and eating them too, and it makes her happy, then that’s what it means and you aren’t making her life happier or better by giving her shit about it. There is nothing in Ms Whatsit’s story about her judging her grandmother, or even mentioning her grandmother’s weight to her. All Ms Whatsit was pointing out was the her grandmother was fat (which probably contributed to her health problems) and made excuses about overindulging in comfort foods 3 times a week. She was drawing a parallel between your indulgences and her grandmother’s indulgences, and the fact you’re both vastly overweight. Overindulgences three times a week leads to weight problems leads to health issues. * * * I’d like to share a little anecdote, since so many others are sharing theirs. Me and my sister grew up in the same house, with the same diet. The main difference between us is that she likes fatty things, like sausage meat, melted cheese, Cheetos, deep fat fried anything. Her favourite thing was macaroni and cheese when we were growing up, and she’d put cheese on top of it. I dislike fatty foods as a general rule. If my mom made fatty stuff for dinner I’d pass it over to my sister when mom wasn’t looking. I don’t like chips, I don’t like pizza, I hated macaroni and cheese for the longest time. (I’ve since changed my mind about cheese.) My problem is sweet stuff. Big slices of cake, pie, chocolate. Cookies tend to evaporate around me. Guess who was fat? Every time I diet (i.e., give up the sweet stuff and watch calories) I’m able to go back to a normal weight. My sister is now morbidly obese and can’t walk around the block easily, will binge on chips, and no matter what diet she goes on cannot lose the weight, and will give up on her diets within a month or two once it gets hard. She can’t even keep on Atkins, which I thought would have suited her very well. If I could control everything my sister ate I would cut out the fat. I would have her walk around the block a few times a day, and no stopping once it got “uncomfortable”. (If you’re exercising and you’re not getting hot – it’s not really exercising.) And no bingeing. I have NEVER, NOT ONCE, been judgmental about what she ate, or confronted her. If I had, maybe things would have turned out differently. Maybe I’m partially at fault for her being the way she is! ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/847 "2011-03-23T11:31:33Z")
…so, all that needs to be clarified here is the butter? The good oil is oil? Fat is phat? Do I want fries with that? 15 years ago when I lost the weight that I’ve since kept off, it was a simpler time; a happier time… ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/848 "2011-03-23T11:45:03Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Then this is your problem. You have zero chance of losing weight unless you fix this problem. Well, then I guess I’m doomed. But since I am not as convinced as you, you’ll pardon me if I try anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/849 "2011-03-23T11:47:35Z")
> [@Elysian](#): > > There is nothing in Ms Whatsit’s story about her judging her grandmother, or even mentioning her grandmother’s weight to her. And absolutely no one said otherwise, although it might be inferred that billfish thought someone had. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/850 "2011-03-23T11:51:11Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Jesus. > > I am a skinny person who doesnt have to worry about having to diet at any serious level and even I know to keep fried foods to a minimum. Of course, then again, maybe thats why I am skinny. You know this based on what? It’s based on: Nothing. ---
**Author:** ![leander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@leander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leander)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/851 "2011-03-23T12:06:58Z")
This is a person who cannot be convinced of anything other than what she believes. She has been morbidly obese for 40 yrs, yet now she thinks she has the answer. So let’s face the real facts - she is killing herself. She will be lucky to be alive in 5 years. Unless she realises that she is completely mistaken in the way she can achieve a healthy lifestyle she is fucked. I doubt there is anything we can do to help her, but if she really wants to bury her head in the sand and die then there is nothing we can do. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/852 "2011-03-23T12:11:21Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Then this is your problem. You have zero chance of losing weight unless you fix this problem. By the way, because I do understand that you do not understand, I don’t particularly mind that you speak of it as though it’s simply a choice. Because that’s your experience, and your frame of reference. For you it is: you can make the choice and make it stick. And there’s nothing wrong with that, of course, it’s great. But the fastest way for me to fail is to think that I CAN “fix” my lack of impulse control, that I can just choose. It’s a bit of a catch-22: in order to fix lack of impulse control, you need to be able to control your impulses… and that’s a bit tricky, seeing as you don’t have the ability to control your impulses. Which doesn’t mean one gives up on achieving goals, altering bad habits or doing things differently, certainly not. But it does mean that trying to approach anything in my life as you might, with a firm _ **decision** _ to simply do it differently, no matter what, because I must, because it’s necessary, because of whatever, simply doesn’t work. No matter how much I want it to. I don’t have the tools you have. It’s not that I have them and I don’t know how to use them. I simply do not possess them. And there’s no shame in that. I’m not bad, unworthy, or less than. But I have to work with my reality. Since I can’t just decide to behave differently and make it stick by sheer force of will, I need to do whatever I can to make behaving differently easy, natural, organic. In the case of food and diet, I need to find a way to eat that leaves me satisfied, that kills or quiets cravings, that doesn’t leave me feeling deprived. That supports me in making better choices by making me comfortable. That will organically make controlling any impulses do-able. And eating low-carb does that. Demanding of myself that I simply control my calories does not. It makes me miserable, both physically and mentally, which is what it does to most people. (See Ancel Keys elsewhere in the thread) I knwo low-carb isn’t magic, and I’ve repeatedly stated that. If I get it in my mind that I just can’t stand going one more day without nutmeg cake, there’s no amount of cheese and steak that will fix that, and I might just end up eating it. But there’s a much smaller chance of that if I get to eat the cheese and steak. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/853 "2011-03-23T12:17:48Z")
> [@leander](#): > > So let’s face the real facts - she is killing herself. By what? Eating low-carb in order to lose weight? I sure hope you don’t mean that, seeing as how it’s been established that low carb DOES WORK. The only thing anyone has managed to say against it is that it doesn’t seem to show greater adherence than low-fat or low-carb in the studies that have been done, but in that it’s certainly no worse. So it does work for weight loss, lowered blood fats, improved cholesterol numbers (to the extent that matters, and it doesn’t, particularly in women…) lowered blood pressure and avoiding diabetes. BETTER than low-fat/low-cal. So it seems I’m doing a good thing for myself, and the only problem will be if I abandon it. So I don’t really understand what you think I’m killing myself by doing. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/854 "2011-03-23T12:21:14Z")
> [@leander](#): > > This is a person who cannot be convinced of anything other than what she believes. That’s fundamentally illogical. I can be convinced of anything, if I’m shown convincing evidence. I didn’t start this thread convinced of anything that we’ve spent the last 600 posts talking about, so something must have convinced me along the way. Taubes book and other things I’ve watched and read since reading the book. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/855 "2011-03-23T12:29:51Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > That’s fundamentally illogical. I can be convinced of anything, if I’m shown convincing evidence. I didn’t start this thread convinced of anything that we’ve spent the last 600 posts talking about, so something must have convinced me along the way. ..what you say _there_ **Stoid,** seems fundamentally illogical.. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/856 "2011-03-23T12:36:16Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Sarahfeena. If I was going to lie AT ALL, why would I tell as much as I do? Does that really make sense to you? Because what you’re saying is that I’m lying. Which is rude, uncalled for, and out of line, but aside from that, it makes no sense. If I felt the need to lie, I’d just lie, period, and not speak of my nutmeg cake or my cornbread at all. But I don’t lie. I tell the truth. Compulsively AND deliberately. Keeps things simple. Therefore, trust me when I tell you that two days of cake is not a regular feature of my life,a nd I do not have a whole lot of “indulgence foods”, because my “indulgence foods” tend to be my own cooking. Baking, actually. And I definitely don’t bake on a regular basis. Oh for the love of mike, I didn’t say you lied. I 100% believe that you only have an entire nutmeg cake once every 2-3 months. I’m telling you, though, that your self-reporting here makes it sound like this is a fairly frequent habit with you, with various types of food. And while I appreciate the fact that you are an honest person, and do not lie about specific instances of this behavior, that doesn’t mean that the behavior isn’t happening more frequently than you are perceiving it. That doesn’t make you a liar, it makes you mistaken. And…I don’t know if you are mistaken, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you were, on this issue. > [@](#): > > As for kids: I’m sure you’ve heard that if you leave kids alone to eat what they like, it seems ocrazy at first, but eventually they end up eating a balanced diet. I have never heard that, and I guarantee that it’s not true. Guaranteed, 100%. > [@](#): > > There’s nothing wrong with with eating any one thing over a couple of days, whether it’s cake or lettuce or anything else. For me or your kids. That all depends on what the one thing is, and how often it’s happening, and whether it’s ever balanced out with healthy things. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/857 "2011-03-23T12:40:42Z")
> [@leander](#): > > This is a person who cannot be convinced of anything other than what she believes. She has been morbidly obese for 40 yrs, yet now she thinks she has the answer. > > So let’s face the real facts - she is killing herself. She will be lucky to be alive in 5 years. Unless she realises that she is completely mistaken in the way she can achieve a healthy lifestyle she is fucked. > > I doubt there is anything we can do to help her, but if she really wants to bury her head in the sand and die then there is nothing we can do. Exactly. As I mentioned on the previous page, she is like a chronically poor person who is an expert on becoming a millionaire. She has all the answers. She “knows” what diet will work for her. She is smarter than people who have lost weight and have permanently kept it off, so why listen to them? She doesn’t have a clue. Like countless other fat/obese people, she lives in complete denial. She has zero chance of losing weight. She will always be fat. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/858 "2011-03-23T12:43:33Z")
> [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](#): > > ..what you say _there_ **Stoid,** seems fundamentally illogical.. My OP was not about low-carb. My point was primarily: fat people don’t necessarily eat huge amounts of food. I was pretty sure I wasn’t eating that much even when I wasn’t making any effort, and now that I’ve made an effort, I know I’m right: I can maintain my morbid obesity on very modest calories. And I think this is a direct result of decades of yo-yo dieting. That was the first 200 or so posts. Then I read Taubes’ book, and the focus shifted. Taubes’ convinced me that carbohydrates are the primary culprit, one way or another, behind obesity. While I knew low-carb worked, I never had any beliefs around carbohydrates specifically, and I actually didn’t really trust that low-carb could be safe. Therefore, I am plainly able to be convinced. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/859 "2011-03-23T12:46:44Z")
You were convinced because his book supports a conclusion you had already come to, though. That’s a little different from being convinced of something you didn’t actually believe in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543/860 "2011-03-23T12:49:17Z")
> [@leander](#): > > This is a person who cannot be convinced of anything other than what she believes. She has been morbidly obese for 40 yrs, yet now she thinks she has the answer. > > So let’s face the real facts - she is killing herself. She will be lucky to be alive in 5 years. Unless she realises that she is completely mistaken in the way she can achieve a healthy lifestyle she is fucked. > > I doubt there is anything we can do to help her, but if she really wants to bury her head in the sand and die then there is nothing we can do. And this is complete crap. [None of these people are killing themselves.](http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-book/success-stories/) I feel _vastly_ healthier than I did when I was eating grains and legumes. I get fewer colds (and this is with a two-year-old in day care who brings home every germ in the world), I have lost inches and weight and clothing sizes, and I’m awaiting results of blood testing but I suspect my numbers are all better. And everyone in that link above reports the same thing. And in case they’re not enough for you, [here’s more](http://www.marksdailyapple.com/category/success-stories/?submit=view). My husband has lost 60 pounds with hardly any exercise at all. He’s starting to exercise to try to get more toned and defined, but he’s at a weight he hasn’t seen since he was 17 years old and playing high school football. His gout is GONE–he hasn’t had an attack since he cut out grains, despite eating plenty of scallops, avocado, and meat–foods that the traditional gout diet says to avoid like the plague. Is he killing himself? I’m making a proposition that nobody in this thread is going to make. Not only is this a healthy way to eat, it’s the _healthiest_ way to eat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-unhappily-report-that-i-am-right-about-obesity-and-diet-very-long/571543.md?page=44)