Is Your Weight Loss Motivation Going the Wrong Way?

May 7th, 2009

Is a low fat diet bad for you?

To lose weight requires lots of weight loss motivation. But what if that weight loss diet does not work?

I am recovering from a bout of shingles, a chicken pox related condition that has drained me of energy for the last two weeks and prevented me from posting entries to this blog.

This has been a good time to reflect on my health. I now need to boost my immune system. One factor in this is nutrition. Conventionally a nutritious diet consists of low fat, lots of carbohydrates and whole grains.

I’ve just finished reading the book:Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health by Gary Taubes which makes the case for a high fat, low carb diet. Gary argues that the traditional healthy low fat, high carb diet is in fact bad for you. Here’s why…

Refined products such as white sugar, white flour and white rice are more harmful for you than high fat
Low fat diets help reduce your cholesterol which can reduce the risk of heart disease, but there is evidence that says that if you have a very low cholesterol level this may shorten your life!
There is a link between high carbohydrate intake and diabetes

This book is controversal as it challenges the widely held belief about what consititues a healthy diet. The book presents well researched arguments that point out the flaws in the nutritional research that has informed government health policy for the last 50 years.

Although not a diet book, Gary Taubes agrees with the Atkins diet which states that the key to your weight loss is a high protein, low carb diet.

Find out further information on weight loss motivation

So, as an experiment I am cutting down on carbs and increasing my protein intake to see what happens. I’ll keep you posted during the next few weeks.