I've gone and lost my butt. It's like it just went and whoops! slid off the back of me and is perhaps lying on the floor in a grocery store somewhere. The butt loss, coupled with thinner legs means that I am wearing a smaller jeans size than I was pre-pregnancy...Kind of weird, right? Except, it turns out it's not weird at all and in fact EXPECTED to happen to women after giving birth, at least according to Why Women Need Fat by William D. Lassek and Steven J. C. Gaulin, the latest book I read as part of the BlogHer Book Club. Unfortunately, bigger bellies and a few extra pounds are also expected after that first baby. Wamp, wamp.
Why Women Need Fat is a compilation of many years of research, both by the authors themselves and by others in the nutrition field. In the first part of the book, Lassek and Gaulin present the research and argue why a non-processed diet that includes plenty of omega-3 fatty acids is ideal. Unlike most research-heavy books, the authors then spell out how to apply this information to your diet and daily life. At the end they include an interesting, though complicated, way to figure out what your ideal weight is really supposed to be.
This book has an important message and provides compelling reasons about why we need to shift our diets away from processed food. In fact, it has inspired me to cut way back on tortilla chips and potato chips, something I was previously consuming a couple times a week. As a dietitian, I can fully step on board with the message they are sending - and I can assure you that is not always the case with diet books!
However, as someone with a research background, I found this book to be a bit sloppy. They would critize certain researchers for a myopic viewpoint and then turn around and do the same. I also think some editing to the book as a whole could have made for a more cohesive and smooth read.
I recommend this read for anyone interested in diet and nutrition and those searching for answers as to why they've gone and lost their bum after having a baby. Head over to Blogher's Book Club to see what other bloggers are saying and to read an excerpt.
This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.
I've gone and lost my bum, which I once referred to as "juicy"...it's on the drier side these days. I think I might need to read this and figure out why ha!
ReplyDeleteAre all chips processed foods? I guess I don't really understand the definition. Are homemade chips bad for you? I buy chips with just 3 or 4 ingredients - corn, salt, oil, and lime. Is that processed? I'm really trying to keep "real" food in our house, but I thought potatoes, oil and salt were all ok ingredients. :) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis has nothing at all to do with the book review :) I have just been thinking about you because Everyn has a white tongue...I am totally afraid of living your thrush nightmare! Gah.
ReplyDeleteDesi - Husband started calling my love handles juicy a long time ago. And it helped me feel better about them. High five, fellow juicy person. Or, uh, former juicy? :)
ReplyDeleteLish - The definition of processed is so confusing because even a package of fresh strawberries is technically processed, you know? But yes, chips are processed and the problem with them is the type of oil they are using for frying. I also just bought plain, few ingredient chips, but the soybean oil (or sunflower) is very high in omega-6 fatty acids, up to a gram per chip. Our diets are way too high in omega-6s and this further throws off the balance between omega-3s and omega-6s and causes various problems. I'm not cutting them all out, but cutting way back. Stupid nutrition books... Hee.
3 22nds - Oh, Julie, I really hope that white tongue was just milk. You do not need it! But it's winter and that will help. Ollie got it during those insanely humid hot July days and it just flourished. So perhaps even if it is thrush, it will simply be a little bout that Everyn's immune system can get back into balance. Let me know if something does develop - would love to help however I could. Good luck!