How Not to Die By Dr. Greger – Plant-based nutrition book summary

I have long been a fan of NutritionFacts.org. Funded only by donations from individual visitors, Dr. Michael Greger and his team read every English-language journal article on nutrition every year and share their critical analysis free of charge. When it can feel like everyone is trying to manipulate and profit off of others, sources like these stand out as much more credible to me.

After a long wait from the library, I have finally read Dr. Greger’s book How Not to Die. Again, all proceeds go directly to fund his free educational website – he takes no compensation. For most books I discuss on here, I provide a comprehensive summary of the key takeaways as I see them. For this one, though, you can just go directly to NutritionFacts.org and search for any and all the information that interests you. If you’d still prefer a summary, check out the one done by Chewfo or the video published by Dr. Greger himself.

Instead, I’d like to share with you the little notes I took for myself to give you an idea of what the book offers.

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First up, probably the most controversial: a whole foods, plant-based diet recommendation. This blog demonstrates how open I am to considering all different ways of eating and I still believe that there is no one right way – not only because we are individuals with different needs and different reactions to foods, but also because a good diet I can incorporate into my life is heaps better than a great diet I can’t keep up. All that said, this book devotes the first half to explaining exactly why a whole foods, plant-based diet is best for optimal health and avoiding the 15 leading causes of death.

One of those causes is depression. I’m aware that with the exception of the most severely depressed, anti-depressant medication has not been proven to be more effective than the placebo effect. If capable of exercise, 30 minutes of walking is at least as effective as those drugs without the negative side effects. And interestingly, certain foods are naturally beneficial for mood-enhancing neurotransmitters: apples, grapes, onions, green tea, cinnamon, and sesame, sunflower, or pumpkin seeds.

Plus, an intriguing theory was presented: since consuming a lot of manufactured highly-palatable foods can make a person less sensitive to the dopamine it continually spikes, which often leads people to overeat those foods trying to reach the original “high,” some people then find it harder to achieve their usual “reward” feelings from other sources in their lives – this can lead to the common symptoms of low motivation and reduced interest towards things enjoyed before depression. By eating mainly whole foods, not only will you soon better appreciate their tastes but you can also better appreciate the joys of life.

Weight Science from Linda Bacon’s Body Respect – HAES Book Summary

We are constantly warned about the dangers of obesity and urged to manage our weight. These messages come from all directions, including authorities we trust and peers who judge us. But consider for a moment that our accepted assumptions may not represent fully what we know from scientific evidence.

To begin with, the following facts are from Body Respect by Linda Bacon, and you can confirm them in the peer-reviewed article at http://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-10-9

• People who are categorized as overweight or moderately obese have shown time and time again to live as long as or longer than people with weight in the normal category (confirmed even by the CDC)
• BMI standards were written by the pharmaceutical industry to increase weight loss drug profits, ignoring that health decrement hasn’t shown to occur until a BMI of 40 (they funded the international obesity task force that determined the WHO’s standards and therefore the U.S. standards)
• Larger people are more likely to develop several diseases but fatness is not the cause – there are many confounding factors like fitness, stress from discrimination, and inflammation from calorie-restriction dieting and weight cycling – “blaming fatness for heart disease is a lot like blaming yellow teeth for lung cancer”
• “There has never been a research study that has demonstrated long-term maintenance of weight loss from lifestyle change for any but a small minority” – the rare person who does maintain weight loss is as lucky as the smoker who lives to be ninety
• Health can improve when diet and/or exercise improve – not as a result of weight loss – yet at the same time, health behaviours account for less than 1/4 of differences in health outcomes, while social differences (i.e. poverty and discrimination) are the main determinants (again confirmed by the CDC)

If you’re like me, you’re probably tempted to object to the above sample of facts because we fear fat so strongly. However, ignorance has hurt us through lifetime yo-yo dieting, obsession with food and body, disordered eating, weight discrimination, and even poor health, the very thing we think we’re helping by stigmatizing fatness.

Honestly, though… even if I can be healthy at my current weight, I still deep down really want to look the way I did when I was slimmer. In the past I was able to lose weight by manipulating calories – if only I’d just tried harder and longer! Mind you, I’m still stuck with these feelings years after I learned exactly why the belief that I can just force a caloric deficit long-term is, well, unfounded. So let’s forgive each other for not being without bias and just open ourselves up a little more to the possibility that there may be a better way than constantly forcing an attempt to lose weight.

Weight-Loss

Why Diets Don’t Work & How to Naturally Reach a Healthy Weight

Almost any calorie restriction leads to weight loss in the short-term but 95% of the time, the weight (and then some) returns within 2-5 years. The few who do maintain long-term weight loss through dieting must continue adhering to strict restriction. And even they are an anomaly like the smoker who lives until 90 – it doesn’t prove that smoking doesn’t kill.

Why Diets Don’t Work

• Just as with height, 50-80% of weight is determined by genetics – even the distribution of fat is 40% due to our genes. And just as there are average heights but no “ideal” heights, average or typical weights are likewise neither good nor bad.
• Nobody would diet without negative thoughts about one’s body, which perpetuates the diet-binge cycle. Fuelled by shame, dieters experience depression, fatigue, weakness, irritability, social withdrawal, reduced sex drive, low sex-drive, low self-esteem, and low ability to concentrate and think clearly.
• Though a “typical” woman generally expends around 2,000 calories per day to sustain basic life functions, perform physical activities, and digest food, the “caloric deficit” approach to dieting does not work because there are so many other factors at play, i.e. genetics, age, weight, body composition, stimulants like caffeine, exposure to cold, exercise, nutrient absorption, gut bacteria, environmental toxins like plastic, etc. Not to mention, reported calorie content is an approximation – food labels in the US are allowed a 20% margin of error.
• Twin studies prove that, even given the same weight-loss program and full compliance, different people show different results.
• Food restrictions almost always lead to overeating “forbidden foods” because (1) just a taste of forbidden foods disinhibits restrains, even when deprivation is only perceived, and (2) restriction leads the body to increase hunger and make high calorie foods (especially carbohydrates) more enticing for evolutionary purposes – this is proven by increased “hunger hormone” gherlin and decreased peptide YY and leptin’s hunger suppression. Chronic dieting leads to chronically less leptin release, which may explain why yo-yo dieters usually gain weight over time. Overeating after dieting is akin to breathing deeply after physical exertion – a natural response, not a sign of weakness.
• Our ancestors were able to reproduce because their – and now our – bodies hold onto more fat after famine.
• Within 24-48 hours of restriction, metabolism (i.e. fat burning) slows 15-30% and it stays low for as long as the body is at a lower weight. As restriction continues or repeats, this reaction is quicker and more severe each time.
• While both fat and muscle are burned in total weight loss, only fat is put on from weight gain – meaning body size is larger and metabolism is slower.
• If you constantly try to override your body’s natural ability to maintain weight with diets and binges, your body fights harder by setting a higher weight to maintain, i.e. a “settling point.”
• Yo-yo dieters are at higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, regardless of current weight, and are 25-100% more likely to die prematurely.
• Calorie restriction increases inflammation, even more so with cycles of weight loss and gain.
• Dieting can lead to fatigue, poor sleep, mood changes, depression, obstructed menstrual cycle, reduced mental acuity, and obsession over food and weight loss, as demonstrated in Keys’ study.

How to Naturally Reach a Healthy Weight

Tracy Anderson Method Days 2-6

In 5 days on the Tracy Anderson Method, my weight has dropped from 168.6 to 162.8 pounds and the scale says my body fat percentage has gone down with it! I feel very good about what I’ve accomplished already. I did just under an hour of intense sweaty burning exercise 6 days in a row and I’ve been committed to the meal plan.

It’s been tough, though not exactly in the ways I expected. I knew the cardio would be very difficult so the first day, I just did as much as I could, which was 15 of the 29 minutes. Each day thereafter, I’m proud to say I’ve added one minute more, plus two minutes at the very end. So today, Day 6, I completed 22 minutes of jumping nearly non-stop. It’s very challenging, but each extra minute has been doable when I make it a must. 

I thought the toning, the muscular structure workout, would become easier as I grew more familiar with the movements. I improved over the first few days, but today I regressed a bit taking several big breaks and really half-assing the final set of reps. I felt like I just couldn’t do more. I know I could, though, because I did just yesterday. I think part of it was fatigue from a long day yesterday and a generally lower mood today than the previous 5 days. I have to remember why I’m doing this and insist on a regular habit to achieve those results.  

Now, the diet was the area where I anticipated the most trouble but it’s been a breeze compared to the exercise. Sure, a few of the meals haven’t been very unappetizing, but I haven’t really been hungry and I haven’t really had cravings – which quite rare for this Miss Emotional Eater. I’ve even gone out with friends a couple times and watched everyone else eat while I sit there with my water, not hungry, only feeling a little weird. Still, I haven’t been able to be 100% because of mistakes I’ve made with grocery shopping, cooking, and understanding the portions from the book. 

Thank God tomorrow is a rest day from exercise! I need it! It’s so hard I’ve contemplated a few times trying something less intensive, more diet-based, but then I recommit to the original minimum 30 days. One thing I’m changing is from the book’s meal plan to the Metamorphosis dynamic eating plan. The biggest frustration with the diet has been unclear portions and wasteful ingredients, which doesn’t look to be an issue with Metamorphosis. I’m excited to make that component easier (and have chocolate every day for the first week) plus hopeful the rest day will help me get back to progress with the exercise.

SMART Health Goals Progress Update

I have now completed 9 days in my checklist of SMART goals for physical and mental health. Although I’m still struggling a lot overall, I’m proud to be doing well with these specific goals. It reminds me I’m capable of improving myself and, just as importantly, I’m able to at the same time experience “failure” without allowing it to take away (too much) from my other qualities and achievements.

My 6 SMART goals for the past 9 days and the 12 more days to come follow:

1. Protein: I make sure to get 30 g with breakfast every morning, often Greek yogurt with raw vegan protein powder or sometimes a salsa egg wrap. The aim to start my day with satisfaction and long-lasting fuel. Since dairy makes me congested and eggs make me feel queasy, I don’t have much variety here. Still, I’ve met this goal every day.
2. Exercise: I complete a total of 30 minutes exercise, usually yoga, Tracy Anderson, Pinterest workout videos, or just extra walking. The idea is to build strength and flexibility. I get anxious for these sessions to end but I’ve met the goal even if I had to count bachelorette party belly dancing.
3. Walk: I walk for at least 30 minutes (about 5,000 steps) daily, usually in 2-4 smaller sessions due to my fatigue. The purpose is to get out, move, be active throughout the day. I can get a bit anxious about the step count because I use my phone so it’s not the most accurate… this is the only one I didn’t fully meet once because I didn’t make enough time for it.
4. Meditate: I take 10 minutes every day to sit quietly focused on my breath, currently using Headspace to relax without food. I only added this the past 5 days (it was a more general goal earlier) and it’s challenging but I’m making progress.
5. Write: I spend at least 10 minutes writing down my thoughts and feelings, sometimes on this blog, sometimes in a workbook, to manage my emotions without food. This one is sometimes the easiest, sometimes the hardest because it depends on desire.
6. Puzzles: I do Lumosity or another stimulating game to engage and entertain myself without food. This isn’t always as fun or as focusing as I’d hoped, but it works and I think it’s good to regularly exercise my brain this way.

I’ve also signed up for a SparkPeople team and StickK commitment to keep accountable, on top of this blog and Twitter. Everything is set up for success!