Burn: The Misunderstood Science of Metabolism

Well, I couldn't disagree more with those reviewers he felt the author was too cynical. I was with him, maybe I'm too cynical too, but when he got a bit exercised about he simplistic assumptions often made, I felt he had a point, and he always came over as a real person with a bit of a personality, which made me trust him more. I personally liked the no-bullshit approach, maybe some people find it a bit too informal and outspoken. Despite the more conversational asides, the author explains beautifully how life forms use energy all the way up from the basic principles. If you don't care about the biochemistry you can skip those bits. There is plenty of interesting information about the authors research (both the research findings and how they went about doing the research, which is often rather entertaining). There is also enough useable advice on how to best apply the findings in the service of keeping healthy - and losing weight if necessary. This advice is not overly detailed but that is because the author's conclusion on that question is that the detail doesn't really matter a lot - much as people have a seemingly insatiable appetite for ever more new miracle diets, the actionable advice is simple: eat a varied and ideally unprocessed diet, reduce calories if you want to lose weight, and exercise regularly in order to stay healthy and keep the weight off long-term. I really enjoyed the journey of reading this book as well as the debunking of over-sold trends like paleo and low-carb diets. And as a bonus, right at the end the author explains the bigger picture of energy use that I had never before appreciated: how use of energy underpins all life and how our lifestyles (back in prehistoric times, centuries ago and now) can all be quantified in terms of calories, and thus compared in a really simple way. It makes for a stark conclusion to the book. This is one of my two favourite reads this year and goes very well with the second one, The Story of the Human Body by Daniel Lieberman (author of Exercised, another good book), who happens to have been Pontzer's supervisor during his studies or PhD if I remember correctly.

Enjoyable and easy read except the part explaining the kleb cycle I came across this when doing a short course on nutrition and never really understood it and still dont. I get the concept and moved on. It is quite a long read and I did not get as much out of it as I would have liked. You only burn 50 kcals walking a mile, calculation of basic metabolic rate. Very interesting when explaining how your body has a limit on how many calories you burn no matter how much you exercise. Need to move more etc and wonderful references to the latest scientific studies from all over the world. Exercise is not effective when trying to lose weight but great for other things and also for keeping your weight off once you lose it. I originally ordered this book then cancelled it when I checked the index and there was no mention of alcohol which is 10% of my daily diet and much higher for friends and family. I am glad I changed my mind thought. I don't understand how he says a mans daily calorie intake is 2,500 -3000. I did a food diary for 1 year and mine was just under 2000 a day to maintain my weight.

Enjoy reading the book. Written in a well-flowing style. Presents with explanations and rationales for conclusions. A great read

The book provides an excellent overview of the state of our knowledge on diet, body mass and exercise and how it all plays together. It is a much needed antidote to the multitude of dietary advice and based on actual scientific evidence. The author is not only an internationally leading expert in the field but also an excellent writer who makes this book not only highly informative but also immensely readable.

(personal opinion - and of course I'm not a scientist!) however I had mixed feelings about the subject in this book. I'm not quite sure enough depth was explored, and that the title of the book was entirely answered. There are many valid points, but I would argue we are still to understand about metabolism and about the nature of how our bodies individually work. One area - I thought was missing was looking at the nature of gut microbes. Some people might have more 'glucose guzzlers' in their gut other people might not inherit any. We also need to explore the science of endocrinology and look at the differences between the genders and the factors about ageing Being a personal trainer / coach - I can understand why this book might 'irk' the fitness community, but we have been sold a lie about calorie expenditure. On the other hand the book had some good points - but perhaps it will need an update in the future (as all 'good science' should)

It's engagingly written with facts and stories and some unexpected findings which were only determined by being able to actually properly measure human metabolic activity over a sustained period. I always puzzled a bit when reading all the usual dietary and fitness articles as to how your body knew whether it should store or burn fat at any point as it wouldn't know whether you were going to eat or exercise later. This explains that it's not the simple base rate plus exercise that many other sources quote but a complicated web of interconnecting factors where your body does its damndest to stop you burning too much or eating too little and in many ways the choice of diet doesn't matter (for weight loss that is, nutrition is another matter). The findings of why the hunter gatherers were lean flew in the face of the usual logic. I've read it twice already.

It’s a very interesting modern up to date look at burning calories and the rubbish that floats about the internet and on some tv programmes. Just hope the science passes the test of time. It is heavy reading in parts as it’s science based. Well worth a read.

This book gripped me from the start. OK, so I am a scientist, albeit I worked on plants, and this helped me with following the biochemistry described in parts of the book. Over the years I put on quite a bit of weight, but over the past two and a half years I lost 4 stone, mostly through cutting down on my calorie intake in a way I knew I could sustain in the long term. Reading this book has helped me understand why simply cutting down the calories allowed me to lose weight, when years of strenuous exercise did virtually nothing for my weight loss. This book is well worth reading: it is very well written, easy to follow, and is a real eye opener. And it makes sense. I encourage anyone wanting to lose weight, and even if you simply want to understand more about how the human body controls our metabolism and weight, to read this book.

これダイエット本に偽装した人類学の本です。 人類学の部分を楽しめれば星5 ダイエット本として見れば星2か3 合計して星4 ダイエット本としては 次の2点を知ってれば良い ・運動は脂肪を燃やすには役に立たないが、体重維持効果がある ・ダイエットが成功するかどうかの99%は食事で決まる

Clears up a lot of myths about metabolism, diet, healthy eating. Proper science. Read it

O livro do Professor Herman Pontzer mudou o meu pensamento a respeito do nosso metabolismo. Pelo menos para mim, ter acesso à informação que há um limite para o nosso gasto energético diário e que a atividade não aumenta esse gasto foi esclarecedor. Ademais, ainda que a atividade física não contribua diretamente para a redução de peso, a explicação do Professor Pontzer a respeito de como ela reduz os processo inflamatórios no corpo foi fantástica. É um daqueles livros que tendem a mudar nossa percepação a respeito da realidade.

Excelente leitura Conteúdo rico e profundo

Excelente libro para entender cómo funciona el metabolismo energético del Homo sapiens.