I’m a podcast addict these days, listening to shows on my daily commute as well when I workout. One show that’s on my weekly schedule is NPR’s Science Friday, and recently, they had author Gina Kolata who recently wrote,
Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss–and the Myths and Realities of Dieting. I plan on reading the book and doing a book review, but for now, I highly recommend the podcast which I found very interesting.

The book focuses on all the recent studies on nutrition and dieting, trying to be the objective observer in a world that is fraught with agendas and the lure of fast cash. People spend a lot of money on diet and exercise related products, and it’s hard to separate out the good data from the bad. Ms. Kolata, who is a science reporter for the NY Times, seems to have done a lot of research on many topics I’ve wondered aloud myself including how successful diets really are, why it’s so hard to keep weight off, and how really bad is being overweight to begin with.

One of the things that struck a chord with me is her discussion on how the body wants to gain back weight after a diet. I’ve been fighting this right now, having lost a significant amount of weight and now unable to keep it off unless I cut my calorie intake down at least 30% from what is the recommended amount. I think it’s a significant reason why people yo-yo so much on diets, and by the sounds of it, it will be something I have to do for quite a while if I want to keep this weight off.

Keep an eye out for a review as soon as I have a chance to read this book.