Hilary McClure wrote:Lynnet,

> Does the paper tell what, specifically, his regimen was? It's not very
> clear from the Times article. I'm wondering how much of what he took
> when. I'm also wondering whether it would work without the sugar, but
> just the oil. Maybe one could just start taking fish oil and cod liver
> oil between meals instead of with them.

Yes, he does say how much he used, but not exactly when, etc., maybe it
doesn't make a difference, also YMMV.  Fish oil/cod liver oil wouldn't work,
because the point is to have a flavorless source of calories that flies
beneath
the calorie/taste radar.  So you could try a light olive oil or maybe
refined coconut oil,
(not that yummy tropical traditions stuff).

Not everybody agrees with his theory, that strong consistent tastes combined
with calories resets your weight setpoint up.  But he makes lots of good
points, in
particular with fast food: strong tastes, absolutely consistent, lots of
calories
quickly absorbed, puts weight onto lab rats just like people.

This I think is a good place for experimentation, like the author did.
Things which
would tend to decrease the setpoint: low glycemic foods, the lower the
better
(the perceived reward lags far behind the taste); unprocessed foods with no
sauces, etc. (generally simpler, less strong tastes); great variety in
food (the
Pavlovian connection doesn't have time to be made); changes in flavoring of
the same food (home-cooked is one way; it never comes out the same twice),
in fact somebody did a study where they gave people specific flavors to put
on all their food, changing the flavors every week--these people lost weight
without restricting their intake.

It also goes far to explain why you can lose weight on practically any
reasonable
diet, at first.  (You've changed your taste/calorie combinations.) Then
in many
cases the diet "stops working". (Your body figures out the connection.)
Or if you go off a diet and try to go back on, it often "doesn't work".

Paleo eating works pretty well, according to this hypothesis: plain food,
mostly low glycemic. Also, the gathering paradigm would have you eating
a lot of some particular food (before the chipmunks get it), for a short
period of time, then you wouldn't have that food until next year, which
works
very well with the idea that it takes about a week for your body to make
the taste/calorie connection.  Then you're off to something else anyway.

I love this List.  An unending stream of interesting new ideas.

    Lynnet