If metabolic syndrome is the cause of your weight gain, a diet that is low to moderate in calories coupled with an exercise plan may not be enough to lose the weight. And if you continue to eat the wrong foods, exercise and diet may not help at all.

In the late 1970s the government mandated we get the fat out of our food. The food industry responded by putting in more sugar. And that, we see by historical data, correlates to the time when America’s obesity epidemic began. Read my article, “Cause and Cure of Obesity in America.”

In the New York Times best seller Fat Chance: Beating the Odds against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity and Disease, author Dr. Robert H. Lustig, a renown expert on obesity, points out that “a calorie is not a calorie.”

Not all calories are equal. Whether the calorie comes from fructose, glucose, protein or fat is important to its metabolic effect and how much fat that calorie accounts for.

Fructose and glucose — just two of the many names that sugar goes by — and even protein are said to be the culprits behind insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome are two primary causes of obesity in both adults and children.

If you are struggling with the problem of an overgrown waistline, aka “belly fat,” this may be an indicator of these health conditions. Read my article, “Belly Fat is a Danger for All People.”

If metabolic syndrome is the cause of your weight gain, a diet that is low to moderate in calories coupled with an exercise plan may not be enough to lose the weight. And if you continue to eat the wrong foods, exercise and diet may not help at all.

What are the Wrong Foods?

Sugar goes by a variety of names, about 52 in all, including glucose, maltose, sucrose, and fructose. The result has been an altering of our biochemistry that has driven our eating out of control, according to Dr. Lustig. Dr. Lustig further states that so-called healthy sugars such as agave, coconut and palm sugars are all “crap.” Checkout this HealthCentral sugar infographic named Sugar is to Blame:

http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/380545/179644/sugar-blame-infographic/

Dr. Andrew Weil, a well-known guru for holistic health and integrative medicine, agrees on this point. Dr. Weil warns that sugar is toxic, and coupled with modern industrial food, has disastrous effects on the hormones that control hunger, satiety, and weight.

Both Dr. Lustig and Dr. Ron Rosedale, author of The Rosedale Diet, advise that branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) and protein contribute to insulin resistance and obesity. I’ve been eating a high-protein diet and taking BCAAs because I thought I was doing my body good.

Whey protein, which I and the majority of bariatric patients have been conditioned to consume, is one of the worst foods for releasing insulin in the body according to Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, a Swedish medical doctor and specialist in family medicine.

Dr. Eenfeldt, commonly known on the web as the “Diet Doctor,” interviews Dr. Lustig on the "Causes of Obesity" in the video below (or watch it on

).

The Bottom Line

If you think metabolic syndrome may be the cause of your weight gain, then eating a traditional “healthy diet” combined with exercise may result in failure to lose weight. Talk to your nutritionist.

Further, you may wish to explore three diets for metabolic syndrome from Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Robert H. Lustig, and Dr. Andrew Weil in my article, “Metabolic Syndrome and Weight Loss.”

Living larger than ever,

My Bariatric Life

Yes, I am in the field - and what I find of particular note is that Dr. Lustig has a slew of top fellow physicians there at UCSF, not one of whom has come out in favor of his POV. I just find it...odd. UCSF is one of the top medical research facilities anywhere.

That said, there is certainly nothing to be lost in eating whole, rather than processed foods. I've done so for years, which has not, unfortunately, led to controlling my weight, nor avoiding the creeping signs of pre-diabetes.

I have to say several of these "doctors" are so full of crap. Sorry to be blunt, I do believe that sugar is my problem, and i lose as long as i avoid them, but fats play a huge role as well. and i'm sorry but anyone who listens to doctors who are selling a diet, a book or a series of videos or a website etc, deserves what they get. They are simply in it for the money. To say that sugar is toxic and coupled with industrial food? Andrew weil is about as realistic as luke skywalker.

Im sorry but i have a major problem with people who were fat their whole lives ( like me, and yes i am not afraid to say FAT) then all of a sudden they lose weight and as fast as that they are suddenly experts and start telling others how they are living badly. People shouldn't answer questions they were never asked.

@2goldengirl good point and thanks for sharing your POV. I firmly believe we should look at the points and counter points and trust our gut, so-to-speak, in the end.

@Stevehud we each should discern what is true for one's self. but to say that anyone who is deceived deserves what they get is unjustified. are you truly telling me that a patient who puts his/her trust in a doctor or medical professional and is deceived by that doctor, and then suffers health consequences for it, deserves what s/he gets? surely i have misunderstood you.

i am not sure if your second paragraph refers to me directly, but if it does, then i will tell you that you assume you know who i am, but you do not. i could be a former fatty turned self-proclaimed expert as you say or i could be a biochemist. i may have worked in healthcare my entire career. i might be an experienced researcher and writer whose work has been paid for and published. i will further tell you that two of those statements are true.

you say that these "doctors" are so full of crap and it causes me to wonder if you are exhibiting the very same personna that you admonish, "who were fat their whole lives then all of a sudden they lose weight and as fast as that they are suddenly experts. after all, what makes you an expert to say these doctors are so full of crap?

@Stevehud we each should discern what is true for one's self. but to say that anyone who is deceived deserves what they get is unjustified. are you truly telling me that a patient who puts his/her trust in a doctor or medical professional and is deceived by that doctor, and then suffers health consequences for it, deserves what s/he gets? surely i have misunderstood you.

i am not sure if your second paragraph refers to me directly, but if it does, then i will tell you that you assume you know who i am, but you do not. i could be a former fatty turned self-proclaimed expert as you say or i could be a biochemist. i may have worked in healthcare my entire career. i might be an experienced researcher and writer whose work has been paid for and published. i will further tell you that two of those statements are true.

you say that these "doctors" are so full of crap and it causes me to wonder if you are exhibiting the very same personna that you admonish, "who were fat their whole lives then all of a sudden they lose weight and as fast as that they are suddenly experts. after all, what makes you an expert to say these doctors are so full of crap?

Let me say this is other terms. And im not trying to be mean spirited. When someone comes out and says, "hey, i know , and you're being deceived" that's a big red flag for the ultimate in a destructive personality. People like to hold on to some bt of knowledge they think gives them an edge or step up, over people they deem less knowledgeable and lower than them in life. Its a means of an inflated ego and used as a sort of pseudo self confidence. It happens a lot. A very famous

I remember reading a paper , ( for the life of me i cannot find the author) a few years back, and it dealt with people who make a huge lifestyle change and then they absorb the change so much they become an "expert" in the change that they themselves could not undertake for such a long time. Its why we have so many people that go through this journey and then become "experts" in weight loss and fitness etc. While they dont really acknowledge the facts of their own failures and faults in the exact field they have grown to become so involved in. I do believe one of the points of the paper had to do with addicts becoming addiction counselors and being shown to have a higher rate of empathy, but a lower rate of success than those who never had addictions.

Im sorry but to say anyone is being deceived is a gross misrepresentation of the truth. No one is out there thinking mcdonalds is healthy. Every one of us knew that we were eating badly. We all know about sugar being bad. Anyone who says "i never realized" is lying out their butt. We knew it, we ignored it, we chose our lifestyle, its part of overcoming this. We have to take responsibility for ourselves. Or else this is all just a simple exercise in blame and futility. Seriously look at these forums, you'll find hundreds who say after 2 or 3 months post op, they are munching on 2 or 3 Protein bars a day, regardless of the facts the nutrition information on them shows they are terrible for weight loss. But people so it. All they have to do is read the nutritional info on the label. ANd they just ignore it. Its part of our humanity that we decide to ignore what we want. No doctor who claims we should blame it on some hidden cause and only THEY know the answer, will ever be anything more than a money grubbing danger to people in general. That kind of svengali like cult leader attitude will cause nothing but problems for those who folow. I have a friend who lost a lot of weight, and then proceeded to constantly explain to everyone why they just needed to do this and that, and how the gmos were out to get them etc. End result? That person alienated a whole ton of friends who no longer wish to be a part of this persons life. This is the exact same response you get when someone is taken into a cult.

Added sugar existing in 85% of everything in a typical supermarket is pretty freaky. Imagine if 85% of everything in the supermarket contained added cucumber or tomatoes. Why is one single ingredient so prevalent?

added salt is even higher. why its like asking why does nitrogen occur in the air. Simply put, that's what we WANT. people WANT sugars in their food. plain and simple. If we didn't want it, they wouldn't make it because it wouldn't sell.

@Stevehud

That is odd. I posted a reply to you days ago but it is not here. Oh well. I want to ask if you study consciousness or psychology or spirituality? I ask this because your comments seem to indicate that, specifically in the area of taking personal accountability for one's self:

"Anyone who says "i never realized" is lying out their butt. We knew it, we ignored it, we chose our lifestyle, its part of overcoming this. We have to take responsibility for ourselves. Or else this is all just a simple exercise in blame and futility... Its part of our humanity that we decide to ignore what we want."

It always surprises me when people give away their own power (myself included). When we come to realize how truly powerful we are, we realize that we are unstoppable, that in fact the only thing holding us back is ourselves.

We create our own Heaven or Hell by our perceptions and our choices. Obesity and everything that goes along with it is Hell, not only for one's self but for our families whom we drag down with us, whom we burden with taking care of us when it is we ourselves who need to take care us.

Yes, there are food manufacturers who engineer packaged foods/processed foods/fast foods to be addictive, particularly by manipulating fat and sugar. That has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. You are free to choose to believe that or not. Likewise they have engineered artificial sweeteners and GMOs knowing they are detrimental to human life. In fact, I interviewed the former lead FDA investigator on aspartame, who quit the FDA because he could not stomach the lies and corruption that went on in the clinical trials.

Part of the overcoming as you call it, or as I call it: "waking up," is seeing the Truth that is so plainly in front of those who have eyes to see (paraphrasing Mark 8:18). Then we must make the choices that serve our highest and best. But here is where we disagree, Steve: Its not enough to come to this awareness and keep the information to one's self. We must share the knowledge we have gained so that others can overcome, or wake up, to the Truth as well. When you see someone post that they are three months out from surgery and eating 3 Protein bars a day, do you try to help that person by gently exposing them to the truth or do you condemn them and make fun of their ignorance to that truth?

There but by the grace of G-d go I.

The stuff that passes for absolute truth on these boards, although no different from The Huffington Post content, would require more time than I have to debate it. So I usually don't.

But throwing out a few well-known, well-substantiated facts -- like too much sugar and too much salt are bad for us -- does not warrant that all other comments and advice uttered thereafter are grounded in anything other than the poster's personal beliefs and experiences.

What works best for you and what works best for me don't always coincide. And the presumption that my truth will solve everyone else's problems and become their authentic, legitimate truth really does strengthen cults and other rip-offs, whether it's Scientology's weirdess, Dr. Mercola's supplements business, Joel Osteen's church, or the Arbonne multi-level marketing company.

Protip: If your guru wants your money, it's a cult.

As with other cults, every dietary cult needs a super-villain. We've all seen rants and articles and cultish advice advising WLS patients to eschew these villains: trans-fats, saturated fats, non-virgin-olive oil, canola oil, beef, chicken, all animal Protein, eggs, milk, corn syrup, gluten, wheat, corn, celery (those evil strings!), raspberries (those devilish seeds!), artificial sweeteners, sugar, all alcoholic drinks, caffeinated teas, coffee, bottled Water, well water, filtered water, chlorinated water, unchlorinated water.

Although my truth is no more valid than anyone else's truth, here's mine: Don't smoke (my only "eschew" truth). Eat less sugar. Eat less salt. Eat better fats. Eat slower food. Drink less alcohol. Stand up more. Walk more. Stretch more. Make your bed. Watch less television. Read more. Talk to your family at mealtimes. Take your meds. Have more sex. Smile more (fascinating, persuasive research about that one). Brush your teeth.

And some unsolicited advice: Don't start a cult, and don't join one.

Except for the making my bed part, and the fact that high fructose corn syrup IS evil, and I don't have any money: can I join your cult? Or, at least be invited to the parties?

LOL ... @@Inner Surfer Girl ... my post was just a Saturday morning rant. Not sure it's even worth a party.

And yes, I think you're right (and the OP is right) that corn syrup isn't a great food additive.

I completely agree that there are times and places when specific foods aren't appropriate. For instance, eating sweets during the weight-losing phases after WLS surgery makes no sense at all to me.

But does that mean that eating sweets is always a bad idea or (gasp!) "evil"? I'm not sure that it does.

It is so un-nuanced and so fundamentalist and (yes) so very American to demonize things that make us uncomfortable. We are an incredibly dual-categorizing culture that defines behaviors, people, jobs, cities, and even foods as "good" or "bad."

There are many cultures, e.g., France, Italy, Sweden, where sweets are found on daily menus -- in moderation, in small amounts, eaten deliberately and not mindlessly, and not hidden in every dish on the menu.

I'm trying to become more like that. (And, yes, I am laughing at myself right now for being so self-righteous about not being a fundamentalist!)

:-]

VSGAnn2014 I would raise an eyebrow to any claim of absolute truth. I am sharing information that I find credible and useful. As you note well, what works for one person may not work for another. It is up to each of us to decide for ourselves if claims made by authoritative sources, be it the FDA that approves GMO Foods or Dr. Mercola who promotes his supplements or Dr. Oz who promotes the latest weight loss miracle, is "good for me or not." We would be naive to believe that all parties have the highest good intended, as sadly money can corrupt morals. That said, there are institutions full of gurus (teachers) who take your money. That does not make them a cult. That makes them a university.

Its a sad fact that the old adage is very true: Let the buyer beware. As well as: Follow the money.

I never anticipated that an article on sugar would raise such an interesting philosophical discussion. I appreciate everyone's point-of-view. BTW in my research over the years, I have found so many causes (or at least correlations and contributing factors) for obesity cited by credible resources, from birth order to pollution.

PS many years ago I was in France. The amount of people smoking, drinking wine, and eating bread by the loaves was mind-blowing. And everyone was thin... just about no where was an overweight person to be found.