Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It Paperback – December 27, 2011

Hard to write a review for a book, and hard to believe someone else's review because it's so much of an opinion. So I will just tell y'all what I told my sister:

If you want to learn once and for all WHY carbs are "so bad", and WHY we shouldn't eat sugar, and why "diet and exercise" doesn't actually work for losing weight, then read this book.

I did and made the changes he suggests and have lost 20-25 lbs, and kept it off. I'm 5'8" and now weigh 140-145.

And now I'll tell you all the rest of the story:
I haven't read any of the other "low carb" or "no carb" or Atkins/South Beach or All Meat diet books or plans over the years. I thought they were all just fads and not related to science and that only crazy people would listen to them.... Well, I'm a science teacher, and I like the science Taubes talks about in this book, so I guess I'm that kind of crazy now, too! He gives excellent examples, complete with some photos that seem to tell all... discusses nature vs. nurture, discusses historical changes in human diets in various ethnic groups around the world and the resulting changes in the populations' health. It's some pretty compelling information. I read the book twice before doing anything because I kind of needed to experiment on my own one last time and gather my evidence to be able to make arguments to convince both myself and those around me that this "stuff" about "carbs are bad" really is true!

However, it's also important to point out that for some people, carbs aren't a problem. If they aren't for you, then don't change a thing. But for people stuck in a rut of "trying" to lose weight (which really means: 'wanting to lose weight') but nothing is working, or things that used to work don't work any more, or if medication caused you to gain the weight (my case) (along with the other issues above!), then something needs to change, right? Well, this whole carb thing just might be what's hanging you up. And for people who are overweight and say, "But carbs are good for you, and I need to eat my carbs or I get low blood sugar and I feel bad", I say to you... "Really? And how is that working out?" Yeah, that was what I once said, too.... but seriously, read this book and see what you think then!

I had been a vegetarian for the past 25 years... I'm now 46. My family is also vegetarian, but incredibly picky. So we had fallen into a trap of eating pasta, pasta, and more pasta for our main meals. Sure we'd have salads (with caramelized pecans!) and veggies (cheese on top, please!) - plus French toast, coffee cake and banana bread for breakfast (or cold cereal), sandwiches (or fake meat burgers) for lunch and more pasta for dinner. Ice cream for dessert. And smoothies. Sure, it's all vegetarian, and my kids would eat it, but why did the pounds keep creeping on me?

I first read the book in the summer of 2013, and immediately was intrigued, grossed out, upset, puzzled, argumentative, in a state of disbelief and just plain confused. I ran a marathon that fall (at my heaviest weight ever... after having trained for 6 months and hardly budged a pound) and continued my path of eating carbs and sugar until I picked it up again in summer of 2014 (I'm a teacher, so my life proceeds in years bookended by a summer). I started making my plan. But could I do it as a vegetarian? I did the math, I researched products. I decided that in order to "clean out my system" of crazy carb-and-sugar-related hormonal issues, I'd need to just bite the bullet and chew the meat. I decided chicken was going to have to work for me. So I went for it. Once my vacationing days were over, I started going "extreme no carb" for 10 days.

August 12, I was 160 lbs. (I had been up as high as 165 a few months before that...I had already started cutting out some sugar just by virtue of re-reading The Book!)
August 23, I was at 150. A pound a day, not bad. This was, after all, the "phase 1" of the no-carb thing...eat as much as you want just no carbs! (no more than 20 g a day!) I had been eating chicken, and oddly decide that bacon was now "ok" to eat. Odd to go from vegetarian to "bacon-eater", I know, but it was, after all "for my health!" :)
I started adding back carbs to get to a more "normal/sustainable" diet and by Sept 14 I was 145.
November 22 I was 142
January 31, 2015 I was at 138. 20 lbs in about 5 months.
AND NEVER HUNGRY!!!!! That's the part that is hard to understand. I was eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. Like a big 3 or 4 egg omelet with red peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and hollandaise sauce! Lunch would be a big salad (Like the Chicken and Rosted Beet salad from Trader Joes with less dressing than they give!) and dinner would be some kind of chicken... and veggies of course. I might have 2 or 3 thighs if I was was that hungry. No problem. For snacks, I'd have blackberries with real whipped cream with vanilla and a touch of stevia added in.
I am writing this in February 2016 and I am still right at 140. Some weeks I dip under, sometimes as high as 143, but usually after I had some pasta or a bunch of garlic bread. I still cut out extra carbs, but I do eat them. (Onion rings are just GOOD, you know?) I still eat chicken, because I still can't figure out how to get enough protein without the meat products.

Lastly, let me mention that I helped my 16 year old son follow this plan and lose weight from 225 lbs. in November 2015 to 185 lbs. now in February 2016. He was eating way too many carbs, way too much food! Now he understands that what he eats is important as is "how much".

Other reviews explain the gist of this book: Carbohydrates make you fat and sick; remove carbs from your diet and you'll lose weight and feel better. This "review" is my personal experience with this diet regimen that began on March 10, 2016. As of today, June 22, 2016, I have lost 30 pounds. (I am a 60 year old man; my height is 5'7".) I eat three eggs and four slices of turkey bacon (fried in cocoanut oil) every morning with a few cups of decaf. I don't use cream in my coffee. The rest of my food intake consists of poultry, meat and fish. And salads/vegetables with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard. I stopped drinking wine. I lost 10 pounds the first two weeks and then ... nothing. This is precisely when most people give up and proclaim "This doesn't work." I was about to do the same but I recalled a passage late in Taubes's book in which he says, in effect, every BODY is different and it might take months, even years, for YOUR body to repair itself after a lifetime of eating carbohydrates. So I stuck it out and after six weeks, I lost a pound or two every two or three weeks. Then the weight loss would plateau and nothing would happen for a week or two. Then, more weight loss. So my advice to you is to BE PATIENT with this "lifestyle." It might take YOUR body months to lose the weight you want. Be patient, this diet does indeed work. Good luck. (And BTW, the beauty of this diet is that you're never hungry and you never feel deprived.)

This is a good book. It's actually split into 2 books within the same book.

The first book takes the time to lay out the case that low-fat diets (aka. high-carbohydrate diets) have been a problem for the past 100 years. The author takes this half of the book to explain WHAT has been happening. It's interesting in an abstract sense, but there's never an "ah ha!" moment, so if you already know about this, it is kinda boring.

If you want to hit the ground running, you can skip to the second half of the book where the author slowly, but methodically introduces the reader to WHY we get fat (and what we can do about it.) And this part of book is rich with interesting information and lots of "ah ha!" moments. Makes for good reading.

My only real criticism in this book is that there really aren't any diagrams or charts and that makes it harder to visualize what's going on in places.

I found that the book "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living" much better (and cheaper) -- It's definitely more science-y, but in a good way. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Low-Carbohydrate-Living-ebook/dp/B005CVV2AE/

I purchased this book one year ago today. I was a 52 year old physician. I wasn’t looking to go on a diet, although I was overweight and sedentary. I knew about low carb diets but had no real opinions.
Today my weight is down by 20%. My triglycerides dropped by 70%. I no longer have sleep apnea. I am exercising regularly and training for a triathlon.
This is not a diet book. It is a careful and compelling review of the science of diet and human biochemistry. It convinced me to change my diet, and this changed my life. I owe Gary Taubes a great deal.

It is not often that a book has a major impact on my life but "Why We Get Fat" has caused a revolution in my house. My wife and I started following the guidance in the book in September 2015 - now in May 2016 we are down nearly 100 lbs! We are never hungry and eat until we are full every meal. We consider this book somewhat of a 'miracle' as it has not only been effective but had several positive side effects such as increased physical energy, reduced pain (particularly a problem for me with my joints and skin), and neither of us has been sick since September (we're not totally sure this is from the book, but we're definitely feeling more robust).

Everyone should read this book!