Reality check for the lad Down Under
Oh dear. He’s at it again. Our misguided, angry young friend from Down Under has seized on my post of a couple of weeks ago as flip flop in my position on calories. He seems to believe that I secretly read the book he has been trying so desperately to promote and, as a consequence, have come around to his way of thinking.
He was so taken with his own self importance that when he read my post saying that calories really do count – even on low-carb diets – he chortled with glee and set about trying to capitalize on my admission of error.
He ran to his computer and pounded out one of his angry interminable posts. The premise of this one being that I had finally come to my senses and admitted that he had been right all along.
He then sent an email blast to all 6 of his readers alerting them to the existence of this post. The subject line of his email in bold print
Famous Diet ‘Guru’ Finally Admits I’m Right!
In the body of the email he writes
In September of last year, I publicly exposed what I considered to
be an extremely misleading blog post by Dr. Michael Eades, author
of the best selling book Protein Power.In retaliation, Eades has gone to great lengths in an attempt to
portray me as a “clueless young prat” who has it all wrong when it
comes to weight loss.However, Eades has recently done an about-face. In a recent
blog post, he acknowledges that I was right all along!
Then he refers the recipients of this email to his post. Upon arriving there one reads on an on ad nauseam about how the author of the post is correct and all his detractors are wrong. And how everyone vilifies him but he emerges from it all with everyone (including yours truly) acknowledging his genius.
Let the record show that Eades initially and strenuously resisted my assertions, but is now writing them up on his blog like he always believed and taught them. Let the record show that it was not until well after I made these assertions public, and that the noise between Eades and I [sic] faded somewhat, that he embraced them. Eades has clearly learnt something from our dispute and my book. Obviously he will never publicly admit this, but only the dopiest of his followers (admittedly, they’re a pretty damn dopey bunch) will fail to see what’s going on here. I guess I should be quite proud – getting through to a pigheaded, vituperative old prat like Eades is no small feat! [bold in the original]
And, as if this weren’t enough, a few days later he sends another email blast to the same 6 readers.
In my previous newsletter we learned how after reading my book, famous diet author Dr Michael Eades was finally beginning to acknowledge the real facts about fat loss and shedding some of the erroneous beliefs he had propagated in his best-selling book Protein Power.
Since we’re letting ‘the record show,’ let’s let it show the reality not the fantasy. The reality is that I’ve held this position publicly since long before our friend ever arrived upon the nutritional scene.
Here is what I wrote in The Protein Power LifePlan almost 10 years ago. (PPLP was published in 2000 but was written in 1999.)
…if you want to lose weight you have to watch the calories – even on a low-carbohydrate diet – particularly if you’re a small person. Remember, low-carbohydrate intake means a lower insulin level; and a lower insulin level means that you can easily unload fat from your fat cells. But, if your body has no need to use any of the fat from your fat cells because it has more than enough fat to meet all its needs coming from your diet, it’s not going to go after your stored fat, and you won’t lose weight. To lose weight you’ve got to create an energy deficit. [my bold] For the vast majority of people, simply following a low-carbohydrate diet will easily create enough of a caloric deficit to bring about a reasonable weight loss. (from The Protein Power LifePlan, page 51.)
Doesn’t seem to me to be any different than what I wrote in my post of May 27.
Here is how our friend summarizes his book, of which he is so proud. He leads with my ‘public’ acknowledgment of it.
And yet Eades is now publicly acknowledging that the main contentions of my book are in fact 100% correct!
-Calorie restriction – not carbohydrate restriction – is the key requirement for weight loss;
-The abolition of the initial calorie deficit by subsequently reduced calorie burn is the real cause of weight loss plateaus, and;
-The real reason people lose weight on low-carbohydrate diets is because greater satiety on these diets allows them to eat less and establish a calorie deficit.
[bold in the original]
Looks to me like he is using my alleged conversion to shamelessly promote his own book, parts of which could be said to have been ripped off from my much earlier one. Since the publication of my own ideas predated his by almost a decade, perhaps I should do an email blast to all my readers with the subject line:
Unknown Self-styled Nutritional Expert Finally Admits I’m Right.
Let the record show indeed…
But, if your body has no need to use any of the fat from your fat cells because it has more than enough fat to meet all its needs coming from your diet, it’s not going to go after your stored fat, and you won’t lose weight. To lose weight you’ve got to create an energy deficit. [my bold] For the vast majority of people, simply following a low-carbohydrate diet will easily create enough of a caloric deficit to bring about a reasonable weight loss. (from The Protein Power LifePlan, page 51.)
But if you have low insulin, why would a person be prompted to eat more fat than their body needs? Hunger is a response to a request for fuel from the cells. If the cells are able to get at the energy contained in fat cells, then why would they make such a request? Does hunger intiate in the mind or in the cells?
On the one hand, you acknowledge that carbohydrates have the unique ability to raise insulin levels and cause cravings which lead a person to eat more carbohydrates. With low insulin levels, a person is not eating many carbohydrates so therefore their cravings are down and they are mobilizing fat for energy. Now, you suggest that they are eating too much fat, yet for an example you use carbohydrates in the form of cheese and nuts, which suggests that their problems are a result of too many carbohydrates. Wouldn’t providing an answer that suggested that fat was the culprit more illustrate your point? I’m sure that would be problematic for you because you know high fat diets don’t lead to weight gain without carbohydrates.
You acknowledge that if the person is only eating fatty, high calorie protein like prime rib, they probably wouldn’t gain weight yet you suggest that if they are eating relatively low calorie cheese and nuts, that would cause weight gain or stalling? By what mechanism does this occur? It can’t be calories because the prime rib has more calories!
Finally, what biological change occurs when a person reaches their goal weight that allows them to enjoy cheese and nuts without gaining weight? On our forum, we see the opposite. Carb creep sends people back to induction every day yet you claim that they can avoid this fate once they get to goal?
Answering these question will greatly assist me and the many who read our forum understand your position.
Charles
I don’t know if you read these two posts or not, but if you haven’t, they pretty much explain my thinking on the subject.
Cheese and nuts, for the most part, have few carbohydrates – they are primarily fat. They are way more calorically dense per ounce than prime rib. My point is that people can eat a lot of cheese and nuts while still staying within a fairly low carb limit. The enormous caloric intake from these then provides all the body’s caloric needs, meaning that the body doesn’t have to go after the fat stored in the fat cells.
Appetite is of two origins. First comes the appetite that is the body’s call for calories, i.e., the appetite that prevents us from starving. Second, is the hedonistic appetite. This is the appetite that tells us to eat something, not because we need it, but because it tastes good. Dessert is a specific example. We’ve all been to a dinner where we are absolutely stuffed, then the waiter comes around with the dessert cart. We don’t eat the dessert because we’re hungry or because our cells need it, we eat it because it is a pleasurable experience.
I just finished reading the article “Study backs carb-packed ‘big breakfast’ diet” referred to by Amy. Of course people will lose weight on such a diet. The calorie count is dreafully low. With such a low calorie count, one would have craving’s for all sorts of foods, and thus, it probably makes sense to provide carbs, since the carbs will at least help to satiate cravings, at least for a short while, and i emphasise SHORTWHILE.
I’m going to post on this.
I agree you should stop feeding the trolls, but not until after I’ve launched my new e-book, the “Mike Eades Is a Stoopit Doodyhead Fat-Smasher Diet.”
Hey Doc, the way I see it, here’s a guy that put years of time, effort and passion into making a living as a nutrition/fitness expert and …it didn’t happen. So, it’s not unfathomable that he would be bummed, bitter, angry, defensive, desperate. And that he might act out against those who DID make it. Lots of people react this way when their dreams and endeavors fail. It’s not pretty, but I think it’s pretty human. That doesn’t excuse his behavior of course, but maybe explains it in a way to make room for a weeeeeee bit of understanding.
John..that was very very smart…elegant even. Nice one sunbeam
here’s a guy that put years of time, effort and passion into making a living as a nutrition/fitness expert and …it didn’t happen.
He certainly didn’t put in enough of the above. If he’d been that serious, he’d have more than an ebook. If he wants to be Mike Eades, there’s nothing stopping him from going to medical school, building a practice, seeing what helps the patients, and writing real books — other than the fact that all of that is hard. And there’s nothing stopping him from being Fred Hahn other than years of study of Kinesiology, a willingness to be curious about what really works even if it’s not what everyone’s parroting, and busting his dang balls for years on end to build a reputation and a franchise.
But any nobody can jump on the net and throw turds…now that’s easy. It’s what every musclehead in the gym is doing…so what?
Hi Tom–
I agree with you. I don’t really have anything against autodidacts; in fact, I sort of consider myself one in a lot of subjects. But, nothing takes the place of a lot of hands on experience, much of which comes through a formal educational experience.
My favorite story is about my friend Dr. Richard Bernstein. He was a successful engineer with an inquisitive mind. He had had type I diabetes since about the age of 12, but when he got his hands on one of the first glucometers his life changed. (His wife was a physician and helped him get an early version. In the early days, these machines were huge and extremely costly.) He started fiddling with what he ate, then measuring his blood sugar. He, in essence, did a huge series of mini-glucose tolerance tests on himself to find out how the body responds to foods in the absence of insulin. He developed a diet (a low-carb one) and a system of insulin injections that enabled him to minimize his doses of insulin while keeping his blood sugars normal. He wrote a couple of papers that he submitted to various journals – all of which were rejected; and he tried to get speaking gigs, but had difficulty doing so because of a lack of credentials. Despite his knowing more about type I diabetes and its management than probably 99.9 percent of the physicians in the world, Richard Bernstein enrolled in medical school at the advanced age of 40 and graduated simply so that he could get the credentials to be able to get his message heard. That’s dedication. AC should take a page from Dr. Bernstein’s book if he (AC) is worried about getting his message across.
I’m not afraid to learn from anyone. I suspect there is a lot that AC knows that I don’t know – especially about the nutritional aspects of bodybuilding – and I would be happy to learn from him. But, his personality makes it difficult to do so.
Cheers–
MRE
Dr. Mike wrote: “I’ve got just enough redneck in me to stay in his face.”
As a fellow Southerner, I have to say, so true! When your readers urged you to ignore him earlier in this rift, I thought, “he can’t, he’s Southern!” As long as the gauntlet is being thrown, a Southern gentleman must pick it up and smack his opponent around with it. And with Aussies being cut from the same cloth, it continues…
Right you are. It’s a Southern thing.
Dr. Eades,
What a great idea this blog is! I’m reading your first book for the first time. I actually just found it by the pool while I was on vacation and haven’t put it down since. I’ve learned a lot more from your book than from any of the other low carb books. I now know what is wrong with my mother. That whole book just screams my mother (high blood pressure, HIGH HIGH cholesterol, fat around the middle, etc etc etc) and I’m trying to get her to pick this book up and apply it to her life b/c I’m truly afraid she won’t be here to see her grandchildren grow up if she doesn’t make this change…I wish I could send her over to you!!
Anyways, I have a question unrelated to the previous stuff I wrote about. I have started occasionally doing the “fat fast” diet here and there that Dr. Atkins mentioned in his book. (a few days of doing 1000 calories made up of 90% fat and 10% carbs/protein.) He mentioned that it could be ‘dangerous’ if you aren’t truly metabolically resistant and that it could also be dangerous to do it for longer than I think 4 days. What exactly could happen that could be DANGEROUS? It amazes me how I can do it for just 1 or 2 days and lose 2 lbs. and it stays off. Do you think I’m putting myself in any type of harm doing it for 3 days at a time here and there. I’m about 20 lbs.above my ideal weight from doing the calculation in your book.
I don’t think it’s dangerous and I doubt that Atkins did either. It was probably something his publisher made him put in. Having said that, I always recommend that people check with their physicians before making any major dietary changes.
Cheers–
MRE
Dr. Eades
I thought I would write what i forgot instead of writing the same exact post over on this one about the arrogant Australian.
Anthony Colpo is a snake oil salesman only interested in what he can sell you NOT spreading a message to help persons. I found this out the hard way.
Anthony Colpo rides on the coat tails of true pioneers like Dr. Uffe Ravnskov ,Dr. Malcolm Kendrick , Dr. Kilmer McCully. Colpo’s cholesterol book is a regurgitation of Dr Ravnskov mixed in with his OPINIONS on what causes CHD.
People please see Anthony Colpo for The AdHomnivore that he is.
His attack on Dr Eades was a PURE PUBLICITY STUNT for his CRAP fat loss book.
Also take a real hard look at that ab shot. It looks photo shopped to me where his shirt meet the abs . Something does not look natural in it.
Colpo reeks of shadiness.
Everyone needs to check out http://www.thedailyplate.com It’s a great way to count carbs and calories (and fat, protein ). Anything you eat is already in the database OR you can add it yourself. I love seeing everything in front of me that way, and even in a little pie chart if you’re really visual! http://www.thedailyplate.com/users/myplate/?when=2008-06-23 Here you can see MY daily plate today and how awesome this site is!
Yes, it’s a great way, but kind of a PIA (pain in the you know what). I did fiddle with it though and discovered that my food intake today (rib eye steak, tomato, asparagus, cucumber, about a third of a roast chicken, 3 eggs, 3 slices of bacon, and a half an avocado) provided me with 1437 kcal and 12 grams of usable carbohydrate. And to think that Ancel Keys’ subjects were starving on 1560 low-fat calories.
Thanks for the link.
Ok, it didn’t take you to MY plate. Well, if you want to see a low carbing stranger’s plate, my screenname on the site is SweetSunni. Anyways, I again, I highly recommend it to everyone now, b/c it’s helping me keep track easily.
Got it. Thanks.
http://www.thedailyplate.com/diary/who/SweetSunni Ok, maybe this one will work!
Thank you, Dr. Eades for clearing up that it’s probably not dangerous (the fat fast) other than feeling like I might FREAK out on any given person by the 3rd day if I eat one more handful of macadamia nuts.
I’m feeling quite good on 803 net calories and only 21 grams carbs (after subtracting fiber)… I love knowing the exact numbers, it’s a sick obsession now, even if the site is a PIA, I agree, it can be.
I feel like a rhino if I eat 1500 calories now. I just don’t know what a good calorie range is. I know if I eat carbs I don’t lose at all unless I’m netting some crazy practically starvation number and just losing lean muscle…so I’m going to really work at making this low carb lifestyle happen. I’m really good at the visualization part…
@Megan Bagwell
Just a quick note from someone who did the Fat Fast a couple of times last year to try and get rid of that last, pesky 5 kg using it. It does work, but — as it’s low on protein — it is not muscle sparing. Quite the opposite. Then when you stop it, because you’ve not been ingesting much in the way of food weight, your weight then goes up (because you’re then eating more weight in food) and you have to cross your fingers that you maintain at least some deficit. I’ve had far more success with Dr Mike’s suggestion in the previous post “Low-carb and calories” of eliminating nuts and cheese (damn!). The weight for me came off quicker and stays off.
The trick appears to eat enough cals to maintain your rate of metabolism while providing a enough deficit to lose. Well, I haven’t done any calcs, I’ve just held off the Ns & Cs and apparently got that balance right through sheer dumb luck.
But I will say this in favour of the Fat Fast: you actually don’t feel hungry, so it’s not torture. The amount of food you eat is so small it’s freaky, but it’s doable without a serious sense of deprivation. But it’s hardly a party either!
Michael.
Michael Richards,
I will say, after I’ve done the fat fast for a couple days I’m SO HAPPY to go back to eating salads and chicken legs!! The induction phase is like a TREAT after that and the cravings are gone and ketosis is doing it’s magic! But you’re right, definitely not a party. The first day is always good for me then after that I dry heaving at the thought of having a cup of coffee with 4 tbsp of heavy cream in it!
I have to say, it does surprise me that the Ad Homnivore would bite on this. Even in your post, ‘Learn Why AC is MAD’ you explained that the only disagreement you two had was in your belief that MAD exists. You said, even then, that you had to have a caloric deficit in order to achieve weight-loss. I would have figured that he would have read that post a thousand times. All of your posts about MAD have all been very clear in that it was only about a maximum 300 kcal but that an overall caloric deficit was necessary for losing weight.
It seems as though he’s not as critical a reader as he claims.
My only guess is that he jumped to a conclusion and grouped you in with Atkins without really reading more into it just as he apparently reviewed Taubes without reading his work. He must have just read that you believed that MAD existed and that you disagreed with him on that one issue. Then he must have assumed that by MAD that you meant that you could ‘eat all the low-carb you want and still lose weight.’
I’m just stunned that he would stake his reputation on this one issue when you’ve clearly agreed with him on this.
That being said, someone who would actually change, edit, post and then ban people publicly without giving them a chance to reply is despicable. It’s one thing for your readers and supporters to speak ill of him but reading Razwell’s comments speaks volumes about the guy.
Nothing surprises me about the Ad Homnivore an longer except that I can always count on him trying to exploit anything I write for his own self-promotion efforts. It’s sad, really.
it’s sad and it’s tedious. However, I still don’t know why I shouldn’t believe him when he says these metabolic ward studies absolutely prove the metabolic advantage doesn’t exist.
Of course, I don’t care, it’s just a minor academic point to me. If it does exist, in my case, it’s too small to even notice at all.
I don’t know why he gets himself into such a lather over it (except to promote his book, of course, but it seems to go deeper than that with him).
I’m glad to see the name I coined for him, the adhomnivore, is finally catching on! I still can’t believe he has the -nads/lack of self awareness/impaired memory/whatever- to attack anyone for ad hominem attacks. Jeeesus…..
Hey mrfreddy–
Don’t worry. The metabolic ward studies quoted don’t put a stake through the heart of the metabolic advantage idea. Only his interpretation of them. I really will get around to dealing with them.
mrfreddy
Don’t worry about Anthony Colpo. You gave him quite a caning a few months ago . So bad a caning in fact Colpo could not take the heat, that’s the only reason you were banned. You made the “Almighty Colpo” look mortal.
I can vouch for you that he edited what you say and then bans because he did it to me too, the ( formerly , stupidly, and never again) biggest syocphant of his forum- “Razzi”. The fact that I vouch for you speaks VOLUMES about Colpo’s integrity- he has none.
If Anthony Colpo needs to do as many sets and volume of an exercise that he says he must NOT be training that hard .
Keep on super slowing and putting Anthony Colpo’s puny build to shame.
Sincerely
Razwell
Raz, you’re confusing me, it seems, with Fred Hahn, the slow-burn guy. I know Fred, I work out at his studio, but I am, alas, not him. For one thing, I’m much better looking! (Ok, he’s a lot more muscular, but I got more hair, on my head anyway!).
btw, Anthony never did respond to Fred’s final caning, it’s a doozy:
http://tiny.cc/4ARwC
The caning from Fred was a good one. Poor AC. He’s likely covered with welts from the drubbings he’s recently taken.