I’m re-reading Gary Taubes books.

I re-read them, and similar books, about once per year to brainwash myself to stay off the simple carbs. It seems to only stick for about 6-9 months before I need a reminder re-brainwashing.

I’m lean, but it takes work.

At core, calories in, calories out (CICO) works, but there is an undeniable level above that and it’s a level of simple carbs. For whatever reason, my frame fattens quickly when I eat them and staying lean requires complete abstinence.

Once that is locked in by habit, I can then focus on CICO to sharpen things up.

So what do I eat? Whole fresh meat and vegetables. When things are working well, I’ll let in whole fresh fruit.

The thing I need reminding about is what I call the “Insulin System”. No idea what the medical name is, perhaps “insulin-mediated fat metabolism”.

Here’s a summary from grok3:

Insulin regulates fat deposition and burning by controlling glucose and lipid metabolism. When blood sugar rises (e.g., after eating), insulin is released from the pancreas, signaling cells to uptake glucose for energy or storage. In adipose tissue, insulin promotes fat storage by:

  1. Stimulating Lipogenesis: Insulin enhances the conversion of glucose into fatty acids, which are stored as triglycerides in fat cells.
  2. Inhibiting Lipolysis: It suppresses the breakdown of triglycerides into fatty acids, reducing fat release into the bloodstream.

During fasting or low-carb states, insulin levels drop, triggering fat burning:

  1. Lipolysis Activation: Low insulin allows hormone-sensitive lipase to break down triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol, released for energy.
  2. Ketogenesis: Fatty acids are oxidized in the liver, producing ketones as an alternative energy source.

Balance hinges on insulin sensitivity. High insulin (e.g., from chronic overeating) favors fat storage, while low insulin (e.g., during fasting) promotes fat burning. Dysregulation, like insulin resistance, disrupts this, leading to obesity or metabolic issues.

Paraphrased:

High insulin drives fat storage by promoting lipogenesis and inhibiting lipolysis, while low insulin triggers fat burning through lipolysis and ketogenesis.

Restated simply:

When insulin is high, your body stores fat; when insulin is low, your body burns fat.

The systems thinking around this helps me. It’s not binary, it’s proportional/directional and I can tilt the system.

So we avoid low carbs to keep the insulin levels low, burn the fat, and stay lean.

True or not, it’s a motivating story that I need retold to rationalize the work required to fall back into the low carb habit.

It usually takes 2-4 books on the topic re-read consecutively before the habit is reformed.

If CICO at base is true, and the insulin system is scientific fact, can we say that the insulin driving nature of simple carbs are particularly fattening, perhaps above their calory content?

I think this is debatable. I think Gary Taubes says yes. I think Peter Attia used to say yes, and has changed his tune recently (based on comments on his podcast). He comments that at base, the problem is that of over nutrition.

Grok3 thinks “yes”:

Yes, that’s broadly true, with some nuance. At its core, calories in, calories out governs weight gain or loss based on energy balance. However, the type of calories matters because of how they affect hormones like insulin, which influences fat storage.

Simple carbs (e.g., sugars, refined grains) are digested quickly, causing rapid blood sugar spikes and higher insulin release compared to complex carbs, proteins, or fats. This insulin surge promotes fat storage by enhancing lipogenesis and inhibiting lipolysis, as I mentioned earlier. Studies, like those by Ludwig et al. (2018, BMJ), show that high-glycemic-index foods (simple carbs) can increase hunger and fat storage more than lower-glycemic foods, even at similar calorie counts. This means simple carbs can be “particularly fattening” beyond their raw calorie content due to their metabolic effects.

However, the degree of this effect varies by individual (e.g., insulin sensitivity, activity level) and diet context (e.g., total carb load, presence of fiber). It’s not that simple carbs have some magical fattening power, but their insulin-spiking nature can tilt the body toward storing more fat than other macronutrients per calorie, especially in excess. If you want, I can pull specific studies or analyze related data to dive deeper.

I tend to think yes, but I keep an open mind.

For example, the simple carbs may drive additional hunger (lower satiation), driving over consumption and in turn greater net caloric intake.

Whatever, same cause and effect, just with a longer chain of intermediates. Story holds. Stay off them.