• Why Calories Don't Count

  • How We Got the Science of Weight Loss Wrong
  • By: Giles Yeo
  • Narrated by: Giles Yeo
  • Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (54 ratings)

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Why Calories Don't Count  By  cover art

Why Calories Don't Count

By: Giles Yeo
Narrated by: Giles Yeo
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Publisher's summary

Calorie information is ubiquitous. On packaged food, restaurant menus, and online recipes, we see authoritative numbers that tell us the calorie count of what we're about to consume. And we treat these numbers as gospel: counting, cutting, intermittently consuming, and, if you believe some “experts” out there, magically making them disappear.

We all know, and governments advise, that losing weight is just a matter of burning more calories than we consume. Here's the thing, however, that most people have no idea about: All of the calorie counts that you see everywhere today are wrong.

In Why Calories Don't Count, Dr. Giles Yeo, obesity researcher at Cambridge University, challenges the conventional model and demonstrates that all calories are not created equal. He addresses why popular diets succeed, at least in the short term, why they ultimately fail, and what your environment has to do with your bodyweight. Once you understand that calories don't count, you can begin to make different decisions about how you choose to eat, learning what you really need to be counting instead. Practical, science-based, and full of illuminating anecdotes, this is the most entertaining dietary advice you'll ever find.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Giles Yeo (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

What listeners say about Why Calories Don't Count

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Patience does not pay off

Unfortunately, this book fell flat. I listened patiently to get to the author's thesis, including lots of deep biochemistry that ultimately didn't matter. I didn't get anything of value from this book and the title, as others have said, is completely misleading.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Informative and thought provoking!

I truly enjoy when authors narrate their own books; as well are able to convey the passion for the the subject in such concise detail as found in this book.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Informative, But Slightly Meandering

This book is a great "zero to hero" course that introduces its readers to the very detailed history and mechanisms surrounding the calorie, as well as a reliving of my AP Biology class in high school. The first part covers some pretty dry stuff, but I admit that it's essential for a base for the more discussion-based latter half. The second half was more interesting for me, where Dr Yeo dives into interesting topics that I can relate with such as diet, processed foods, and societal inequalities that stem from food.

The information provided in this book is legit and fairly easy to digest. Dr. Yeo has that children's book author energy, Inserting some quips and punchlines here and there to keep the delivery of the content fresh. Sometimes though, he would start talking about a story that does connect back to the main topic but takes too long for me to stay focused. In that light, the quips and zany jokes do become more cheesy than cute. I don't blame a man for trying though.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book but no PDF available

This is a very entertaining science-based well researched book about nutrition in general and calorie specifically, and highly recommended. Audible does not have a PDF linked to the book, and this is frustrating because the author directs the listener to the PDF probably a dozen times………

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Fabulous

A great book with lots of science and humor. The author was a joy to listen to.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Informative and entertaining

The author/narrator was enjoyable to listen to. I liked that he didn't try to push any particular agenda too hard.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I’m glad for a scientific analysis

Science and moderation. Listen to the science and scientists around you, use your best judgement, have grace with yourself, make decisions for yourself and not others.

A great read!

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Mostly a boring lecture

The vast majority of the book is like a lecture on how and where we got the Term "calorie" and its many complexities.... just boring with no real world applications, the book is full of useless knowledge not worth remembering.

In Summery

1. a calorie is a calorie
2. eat less and exercise more.
3. Our understanding of food and how our digestive system works is a fairly new thing that is combobulated with everyones opinion.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great but wish it had the PDF

this book was great to help me recontextualize my thoughts around food. I just wish it actually came with the PDF. That's my only complaint. I loved the reading. It made it highly enjoyable.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

could have been much shorter

it seems the author needed to pad the book to make it longer... the beginning 1/4 is what you expect.. the rest of the book tells you all about other diets and the authors opinions on socioeconomic issues or how people make food choices they somehow shouldn't be accountable for. If the book was 3 hours shorter it'd get a better rating.

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