Have a few friends who are interested in the BSD as I have been getting such good results on it, but they’re Slimming World alumni and wanting to know what the reasons are that Dr Mosley gives for high carb / low fat plans being bad. I can remember the vague details to do with overall health, insulin levels, sustainability and high sugar content but no more than that.

Anyone know more or have resources they could point me at? Thanks!

Eat fat stay thin is a great book, got it on amazon but can’t remember the author. Basically, it goes into the chemical reactions in the body, I understood it when I read it, but can’t fully explain all the details. Some wise person on the forum will be much better informed than me!

Carbohydrates spike your blood sugar which causes your body to release insulin to remove the excess sugar from your bloodstream. Insulin is also the fat storage hormone. The more of it you have charging through your body, the less excess fat you will burn. I read an interview with Gary Taubes, author of “The Case Against Sugar” and “Why We Get Fat,” and he used an analogy to explain the process. Insulin is like a lock on your wallet. It won’t let you access your cash (fat stores), so in order to get money (energy), you have to use your ATM card (easy carb-rich foods) over and over again. That only releases more insulin that locks your fat down even harder and the vicious cycle only gets more vicious.

Of the three macronutrients — carbohydrates, fat and protein — only fat has practically zero effect on blood sugar. Carbs either are glucose or quickly convert to it; protein spikes blood sugar about half as high as carbs, and any excess converts to glucose. If you have blood sugar issues like insulin resistance, pre-diabetes or diabetes, fat is the best macronutrient there is. It can even help reduce the blood sugar impact of carbs, so for instance a dessert made with a ton of butter wouldn’t spike your blood sugar as quickly as a low fat sweet.

Even if you don’t have blood sugar issues, the carbs->blood sugar-> insulin-> fat storage problem is still going to inhibit your burning fat, which is, after all, the whole point of any diet. Bodies can be lazy buggers. If you feed them carbs, they’ll just use that current source to power the system. If you deny them carbs, after a period of kicking and screaming, they will start burning the second easiest source of energy: your fat stores.

Enesco, what a great explanation. I found that much easier to quickly understand than the books I’ve read.