“Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public”

William Banting wrote a 16-page diet book in 1863 with this name.  I love that name.

It appears he had it all figured out then.  His advice turned out to be the same advice that a) helped me lose weight and keep it off (going 11 years now) and b) recently helped me improve my cholesterol levels.

His advice:  Eat less sugars and starch, eat more proteins and fat.  Why?  Because too much sugar and starch throws off your hormones and tells your body to store fat.  Proteins and fat don’t.  In fact, too much sugar and starch will lead to diabetes.  Hello, diabetes epidemic coming after several decades of sugar and starch consumption!

I’m reading Gary Taubes longer than 16-page book, Good Calories, Bad Calories.  If you don’t have time to read the whole book, read the Prologue.  In it, Taubes gives great highlights on the evolution in the diet world since Banting’s book.

In the rest of his book, Taubes exhaustively reviews the “scientific” literature on diets to show that much of the conventional diet wisdom (e.g. government guidelines, the calorie balance equation, eating a low-fat diet) actually has no scientific basis.  Shocking.

But, for your own health, here’s the summary:  Follow Banting’s advice.

When I lost weight, I attributed my success to a lot things because I changed a lot of things.  I balanced my calories.  I ate more often.  I watched my portions.  I reduced mindless eating.  And, I increased my intake of fat and protein and decreased my intake of sugars and starches.

In his other book, Why We Get Fat, Taubes said that people with weight loss success like mine tend to confound all the reasons, but there’s really just one, the last one.

It’s worth experimenting.  Cut back on sugars, breads and starches in your diet, eat a little more fat and protein and watch your scale.