Gary Taubes, science researcher and author, on how MJ might be working

[RelishingGrpSupport]

Hi

Taubes has written popular books on theories of weight loss in the past 25 years. He promotes the view that is not the amount of calories at issue but the type; hence low carb eating is the direction to take.

I found this substack piece interesting.
open.substack.com/pub/uncertaintyprinciples/p/why-do-we-lose-weight-on-glp-1-drugs?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=yclon

Really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I’m not a scientist, but his fuel-partitioning theory sounds like a plausible hypothesis. I’m so surprised at how consistently I’ve managed to lose weight on MJ. I obsessively calorie tracked at the start - both to stay in a deficit but also not to go too low when I started to feel exhausted. But as I’ve got nearer to goal I’ve been less bothered about tracking and have continued to lose 1-2lbs a week, eating more calories at a lower BMR, doing the same amount of exercise as when I first started. So my calorie deficit has shrunk, my BMR has gone down but the rate of fat loss has remained steady.

What he doesn’t mention is the muscle loss and how this is accounted for. Unless again, like a reduced appetite being a by-product rather than the cause, muscle loss is a by-product of the reduced calorie intake.

I read that this morning too, very interesting.

How interesting.

So he’s saying MJ works not primarily by suppressing appetite but by restoring access to “trapped fat”. Naturally slim people do not get so hungry because hormonally their body easily accesses fat stores for energy. A fat person’s body will struggle to do this, so they feel hungry, may then overeat, and create more (trapped) fat. That’s the gist I think… though there were some subtleties in the article I didn’t quite understand if anyone cares to correct me…

@DGonMJ didn't I read somewhere that percentage muscle loss, while it still existed, was somewhat less on MJ compared to other WLIs and traditional dieting?

Thank you I've got a lot of time for Taubes will be interested to read later.

I’ve seen this too, which if I think about it, could further support the theory that MJ works by switching on access to fat stores more than a calorie deficit alone can do.

This is very interesting. My smart scales reckon that a surprisingly small fraction (less than 2kg) of the 21.5kg I’ve lost is non-fat.

I do prioritize protein and do strength training, but not like everyday. It has been between 0 and 5 times a week, with 4 weeks at 0 when I had flu, and it is still seems to have been almost entirely fat that’s gone.

also have a lot of time for Taubes, his writing always makes a lot of sense.

IME, eating low carb has exactly the same effect as the injections. Stable blood sugar, body can burn fat.

wish everyone could experience this too. Makes life so much easier.

Extremely interesting, thanks.

Makes total sense to me