

Artificial Sweeteners: Agents of Death or Harmless Scapegoats?
Do artificial sweeteners cause weight gain? One epidemiologist feels that diet sodas (and other artificial sweetener containing foods) lead

Can You Trick Your Brain to Lose Weight? "The Hungry Brain" Review
Summary: Don't let anyone tell you there is only ONE factor driving obesity (sugar, fat, insulin, sedentary behavior, etc.) because there are many. But take heart, understanding the complexity can help us take better control of our eating behaviors, our health, and maybe inspire a little self-compassion. This one's on me for being so late. Stephan Guyenet, PhD's book "The Hungry Brain" was published in February and I am reviewing it now. But don't be like me, get this book NO


Jesse Lost 70 Pounds... And Kept It Off For 10 Years
One of my good friends from high school, Jesse, started losing weight when we were teenagers. Between freshman and senior year, he achieved a total transformation (and I think it might embarrass him, but he was Prom Prince our junior year). Now, an assistant film editor in LA, Jesse has maintained his weight loss for an impressive 10 years. In light of all the news we've been hearing about weight loss, I thought having a Nutrition Wonk who has experienced long term weight l


Does the Biggest Loser Study Mean No One Should Try to Lose Weight?
The journal Obesity has published a fascinating paper on what has to be the most popular weight loss experiment of all time, The Biggest Loser. The paper, by Dr. Kevin Hall, et al., found that all but one of the contestants gained back a significant amount of weight and several had higher weights at year 6 than they did at baseline. So most people who lose a lot of weight gain it back, is that really a surprise? Perhaps not, but the surprising result in BL participants was


Is the Insulin Theory of Obesity Over?
Kevin Hall, PhD, says his most recent metabolic ward study combined with the paper his team released over the summer falsifies the insulin-carbohydrate theory of obesity. The insulin theory of obesity, in short, posits that higher carbohydrate diets increase insulin secretion, which then drives fat storage and essentially “starves” muscles and organs of energy. This causes increased hunger and overeating. The reason a low-carb diet works, according to the theory, is that th


Reader Question: Are there Rankings for Weight-Loss Diet Quality?
Reader Question: Are there authoritative evaluations of the nutritional soundness of Nutrisystem or other programmed weight loss diets? Alfred Hitchcock doesn't realize he's missing out on Reduco! The sensational new #obesityslayer First of all, thanks for sending in your question! Secondly, yes there are evaluations of various diets, although there isn’t one that is the authority. Every year, it seems as if hundreds of weight loss diets are published and each manage to make