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How Not to Diet summary
The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss
32 mins
Brief summary
How Not to Diet by Michael Greger is a science-based book that offers evidence-backed strategies to combat obesity and related illnesses. It highlights the importance of a whole-food, plant-based diet and sustainable lifestyle changes.
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How Not to Diet
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Obesity is a normal bodily response to an abnormal situation – the abundance of highly calorific and processed foods.
Let’s start with a sobering fact. One hundred years ago, just one in 30 people were obese. Today? It’s one in three. In fact, in the United States, 71 percent of adults are overweight, and 40 percent are obese. Fat is the new normal.
Why has this happened? Why have so many people piled on the pounds? To understand this, we have to look back in time. Way back.
Here’s the key message: obesity is a normal bodily response to an abnormal situation – the abundance of highly calorific and processed foods.
Humans were born to eat.
For most of our history, we lived in survival mode. Food was scarce, and its availability unpredictable. If you found food, you ate it.
And you’d hunt out calorie-rich foods in particular. After all, if our ancestors were gathering a pound of food per hour, with a total of 250 calories, then they might need to forage for up to ten hours just to get their daily intake. But if they could find a pound of food with a total of 500 calories, they could wrap up their daily forage in half the time. Result: Five extra hours to focus on cave paintings.
Thus, humans developed an evolutionary preference for eating and storing calories when possible. And they developed an inbuilt understanding of – and preference for – calorie-dense foods.
We still have this inbuilt understanding today. What foods do you lust for? Lettuce? Cucumber? Or fatty, rich, sugary, starchy foods, packed with calories? In fact, studies of young children show that their preferences are correlated with calorie-density. They’ll pick a banana over berries, and even potatoes over a sweet peach: it may not taste as good, but it has the calories.
But what was a necessity for millennia is a problem today. Our biology is still built for scarcity, but our environment is a land of plenty. Bananas, with around 400 calories per pound, no longer top the calorie-dense scale. Chocolate, cheese, bacon, and other processed foods can contain thousands of calories per pound. And while we can naturally perceive the difference between bananas and lettuce, at the top end of the scale, we struggle to tell the difference. Hardly surprising, as chocolate chip cookies and grilled cheese weren’t on the menu for our ancestors.
The reality is, weight gain isn’t unusual or unexpected. Overweight bodies are doing what nature has taught them to do when confronted with excess calories. And today, we are confronted with more excess calories than ever.
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What is How Not to Diet about?
How Not to Diet (2019) explores how a healthy, plant-based diet can achieve effective, healthy, and sustainable weight loss. It also explores why so many people are overweight and offers a clear and detailed guide for tackling the issue. There are no quick-fixes or fad diets here, just rigorous science-based advice you can trust.
How Not to Diet Review
How Not to Diet (2019) by Michael Greger is a fascinating book that provides a comprehensive guide to achieving sustainable weight loss through evidence-based methods. Here's what sets this book apart:
- Packed with practical, science-backed strategies, it empowers readers to make informed choices and develop healthier eating habits.
- By exploring the nuances of nutrition and dissecting the latest research, the book offers insightful explanations that challenge common beliefs and enable better decision-making.
- Its engaging narratives and thought-provoking insights ensure that reading about dieting is anything but dull—it's a journey of discovery and enlightenment.
Best quote from How Not to Diet
Becoming overweight is a normal, natural response to the abnormal, unnatural ubiquity of calorie-dense, sugary and fatty foods.
—Michael Greger
Who should read How Not to Diet?
- Dieters looking for a rigorous, evidence-based approach
- Anyone who wants to live a long, healthy life
- People who’ve tried and failed to diet in the past
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How Not to Diet FAQs
What is the main message of How Not to Diet?
The main message of How Not to Diet is that effective and sustainable weight loss is achieved through evidence-based strategies and a whole-food, plant-based diet.
How long does it take to read How Not to Diet?
The reading time for How Not to Diet varies depending on the reader's speed, but it typically takes several hours. However, the Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is How Not to Diet a good book? Is it worth reading?
How Not to Diet is worth reading as it provides valuable insights, backed by scientific research, to help you make informed decisions about your diet and achieve a healthy lifestyle.
Who is the author of How Not to Diet?
The author of How Not to Diet is Michael Greger, M.D.
What to read after How Not to Diet?
If you're wondering what to read next after How Not to Diet, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- Always Hungry? by Dr. David Ludwig
- Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman
- The Plant Paradox by Steven R. Gundry
- How Not to Die by Michael Greger and Gene Stone
- How Not to Age by Michael Greger
- What to Eat When by Michael Roizen
- The Negativity Fast by Anthony Iannarino
- Eve by Cat Bohannon
- The Whole30 by Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig
- Market Mind Games by Denise Shull