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Primal Fat Burner: Live longer, slow aging, super-power your brain and save your life with a high-fat, low-carb paleo diet

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'Wonderfully actionable, compassionately taking the reader from 'why' to 'how'.' Dr David Perlmutter, author of the international bestseller Grain Brain

Expert nutritionist Nora Gedguadas, bestselling co-author of Going Paleo with Pete Evans, explains the science and evidence behind the revolutionary new health message: Eat fat to burn fat. In her new book, Primal Fat Burner, she explains the benefits behind a ketogenic (or fat-burning) diet, which switches your metabolism from a dependence on sugar to running on healthy fats. As Gedgaudas reveals, numerous studies in recent years refute the long-promoted anti-saturated fat and anti-cholesterol agenda. Now Gedgaudas explains the science that fat isn't a 'no-no' but rather a 'yes-yes'-if you know the right kinds of fats to eat. In her accessible, enjoyable style, she also lays out a practical meal plan with recipes.

When you follow a ketogenic diet, you consume fewer calories overall, feel better, look better, think clearer, and live longer.

348 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2017

175 people are currently reading
380 people want to read

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Nora Gedgaudas

8 books26 followers

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5 stars
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80 (23%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Sarah.
33 reviews3 followers
July 5, 2017
Classic Nora on her favourite topic. More accessible and more of a direct how-to than Primal Body, Primal Mind, Primal Fat Burner is direct, concise, and hilarious - a perfect primer on strict primal keto.
Profile Image for Tracy Schillemore.
3,810 reviews11 followers
January 22, 2018
Kind of sciencey at times. I was surprised that it is not only recommended that you do not eat any carbs but is also recommended that you restrict protein. Butter sprinkled with sea salt for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Count me in!
Profile Image for Donna.
4,546 reviews162 followers
September 4, 2023
Genres: Health/Science/Nonfiction

I'm not Paleo but out of all the eating plans out there, this is one I know least about. This book was informative and I liked the author. She presented the information in an easy conversational way and what I loved about this, is that she didn't spend a lot of energy or words pointing fingers at others and their research. She stayed in her lane and frankly, she owned it. I can always appreciate that kind of focus.

I listened to the audio so I could not benefit from her lists or recipes. I certainly have questions...most of them start with why.

Overall, I learned from this and it was an easy listen but I still had questions and I'm not sure I care enough to deep dive...so 4 stars.
Profile Image for Victoria.
79 reviews2 followers
February 20, 2017
Can be adapted to a vegan lifestyle. Makes an excellent case for a higher-fat, lower-carbohydrate diet to treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease, adrenal insufficiency, and anxiety disorders, among other conditions. Fats have been demonized in recent years to the detriment of our health. Avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut... eat'em all and enjoy!
Profile Image for Jess Macallan.
Author 3 books111 followers
January 14, 2017
I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I give this book 4.5 stars. Nora Gedgaudas knows nutrition, and her books will go on my auto-buy list from this point forward. She also understands the health challenges people currently face, and addresses them thoroughly. I was impressed with the science in this book, and that it was presented in a way the average reader without a science background will understand. Her reasoning for a ketogenic diet is sound, her expertise is apparent, and her plan is simple. However, this plan isn't necessarily going to be easy for people currently on the standard American diet (SAD). You're asked to give up a common and convenient way of eating. I do think the convenience factor will be a challenge for some readers. However, I also believe the science supports making this shift for better health.

I love that Ms. Gedgaudas puts emphasis where it belongs--on the right veggies, healthy fats, and the right amount of protein. She offers a calculation so every reader can figure out their daily protein intake. The emphasis is on a small to moderate amount of the right types of proteins--not a protein free for all. I greatly appreciate that throughout the book she recommends professional assistance when undertaking this way of life for medical conditions. I also liked the list of resources in the back of the book for everything from support groups to labs for testing to foods to purchase.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants a better understanding of the ketogenic diet and the science behind it.
Profile Image for Alex Devero.
536 reviews63 followers
July 7, 2018
A very good guide to high-fat, or ketogenic, diet and switching from carbs to fat burning metabolism. The book starts with explaining the benefits and science behind a ketogenic diet. It does so by exploring the history of human evolution and our eating patterns and explaining the consequences. Then, it describes the mechanisms and role of hormones in our diet and why switching from carbs to fats is beneficial for our body. Nora also goes through many of the public campaigns that were used to show fat is the "bad guy" and promote "healthier" carbs. Finally, the book also contains a very simple step-by-step plan for starting low-carb/high-fat diet, along with information about vitamins and minerals, useful supplements and practical meal plans with recipes. Nore also addresses how to adopt this diet if one is a vegetarian or even vegan.

In overall, this is a very good book packed with information supported by scientific evidence. This side of the book, the one focused on pure science, may discourage some readers. I suggest taking the time and reading it anyway. It is worth the time. You will learn a lot about your body and how to make your diet and overall lifestyle much healthier.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to give this diet, and lifestyle, a try. High-fat diet can help you solve many issues and make your life much better. This book is a very good place to start.
Profile Image for Laurie Thurston.
418 reviews5 followers
February 25, 2017
I began carb cycling/applying Keto practices eight weeks ago and this book is crazy helpful explaining the science and what to expect on the journey. Not sure that I'll go to some of the extreme menu items mentioned here (ie: make your own chicken feet bone broth), but I have taken several of her pantry recommendations and stocked my shelves accordingly. I also appreciate the tips for what to expect as your body converts from being a sugar to a fat burner, as well as what to expect from your athletic performance. I'd made many changes a couple years ago, but these last eight weeks, I've switched to under 30 carbs most days (though I have upped that to 50-80 carbs on two days prior to a heavy weight lifting sessions). Those first three weeks were TOUGH in the weight room, but since then, my sprint times have improved and I've even broken a couple lifting PRs. In four more weeks, I'll get another blood panel done, weigh in and get my body fat profile tested. Looking forward to the numbers!
Profile Image for Elizabeth (Liz).
181 reviews
September 12, 2017
I am impressed with the level of detail and research that has gone into this book. I am truly looking forward to start making my own recipes, seeing the weight fall off, and become a more efficient athlete. I have been on a journey of changing my lifestyle to one of health for almost a decade, and can only hope that my example encourages others to do the same. To that end whenever I discover gems like this, I am more than eager to put the principles described here into practice and see the results.
Thank you for putting all this information in writing in easy and understandable language. Cannot wait to begin answering those "How did you do that?" questions.
1,785 reviews9 followers
December 11, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some books truly change your life. They don’t just make you think—they push you to change your habits for the better, and in a lasting way. This is one of those books.

While I had read something similar before, this one stands out for being more comprehensive and well-developed. The author explains how we’ve been wrong in prioritizing carbohydrates in our diet. She argues that by reducing them to a minimum, we can significantly improve our health: better cholesterol levels, balanced blood sugar, and overall well-being.

I experienced this transformation in the past. I changed my eating habits and managed to stop taking medication for blood sugar and cholesterol. Over time, I fell back into my old ways, but this book has inspired me to get back on track. I’m aiming for a full recovery!

I’ll share my progress in 6 months. Who’s ready to try this with me?
Profile Image for Chan-joo Moon.
91 reviews
February 27, 2018
This book is saying that our bodies were meant to run on energy from fat rather than glucose. It states that the epidemic of diabetes and obesity is a result of changing over to carb based diets, and that going back to a fat-based diet will reverse this. There is a story of an Eskimo tribe that did just that. The book sounded convincing so I've been trying out this diet. I mostly cut out breads and grains, and am emphasizing leafy greens and meats, including bacon. After a week my blood sugar levels have gone down significantly so maybe it's working.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
461 reviews21 followers
April 16, 2019
A bit polemical and extreme for my taste, but Gedgaudas does have a lot of science behind her, and added usefully to my information on useful blood tests and supplements and cholesterol levels when eating LCHF.
Most of the recipes included were not very interesting, I thought. I'd describe her as more evangelist than cook. Some better recipes included in the Going Paleo book she wrote with Pete Evans, who is a cook.
Profile Image for Mike.
670 reviews15 followers
August 20, 2019
So many points in this book were spot on, yet it was also a bit extreme for me personally. I found some of the advice to be so extreme as to exclude the possibility for following the dietary recommendations for most Americans. Besides, who wants to eat kangaroo or emu? Who even knew that eating emu was a thing?
15 reviews1 follower
January 27, 2020
Wry good book. The author paid out the information very well and had hard facts and data to back up her claims. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is done with the status que of diets and health.
166 reviews
September 21, 2020
Mostly easy to read. I enjoyed her prose, her enthusiasm, and her expertise. I didn't quite buy her paleo argument, but the rest of the science convinced me. Some excellent recipes (her primal roast chicken is amazing!)
34 reviews
January 9, 2022
Doubled-down

This being my second book by Nora, once again I came away with plenty to ponder. Like she says, this book is not for the dietary dilettante. If you’re committed, I highly recommended it. Take the red pill.
Profile Image for Mark Merris.
125 reviews
May 14, 2017
Same information found elsewhere expressed a little more articulately.
Profile Image for Emma.
442 reviews43 followers
March 3, 2018
If possible, I would buy a book for all my friends and loved ones, to improve their health and mental capacity in the simplest of way while they lose weight. It's a drastic change, becoming a fat burner and a fat eater, instead of a sugar burner, but I can feel the difference already. Mentally and physically. And my scalle suddenly has become my friend :)
Profile Image for Gina Weber.
11 reviews
June 22, 2018
One of the best books I've read on this subject! Loving Nora!
Profile Image for Erin.
134 reviews
September 8, 2018
Very interesting with lots of information, I actually purchased the book after reading from the library to have as reference.
Profile Image for Mckenna Davis.
15 reviews
December 5, 2020
Pretty good information but really nothing new. 2nd half of the book is recipes, which do look good if you're feeling uninspired.
Profile Image for Jayne.
5 reviews
December 31, 2020
Excellent read, full of her research.

Full of information. Very scientific and written as you would expect a researcher to write, but she has a great wit sprinkled along.
Profile Image for Robert Baugher.
21 reviews3 followers
November 11, 2021
Not as good as her first book, Primal Body Primal Mind. This book was very repetitive and more like a typical trendy diet book.
Profile Image for ediddy999.
10 reviews
March 8, 2017
A ton of information based on science. Not for the novice as much of the information may go over their head. Recommended if you want to dig deeper into nutrition and lifestyle change.
11 reviews
March 16, 2017
Great book. Gedgaudas is so knowledgeable and technical while being totally engrossing and readable.
Wonderful inspiration to be 100% paleo again.
Profile Image for Jess Dollar.
668 reviews22 followers
February 27, 2017
Found this at the library and figured I'd give it a read. I've read her previous book and am completely on board with keto already.

This is paleo keto and emphasizes proper food sources. It's demanding and I only found one or two recipes I thought were doable or interesting to me. If you are into paleo keto then also read The Wahls Protocol.
Profile Image for Ariadna73.
1,726 reviews120 followers
August 9, 2017
This book is the following book on the same topic written by the same author.

Her topic is how fats from some animals are good for our health, in her words, a diet based upon these kinds of fats can make you "]...]feel better, look better, think clearly and live longer"

The subtitle of the book in "How a Ketogenic Paleo Diet Can Make You Think, Slow the Aging Process, Super-Power Your Brain, and Even Save Your Life"; and in all the work, the author tries to tie all possible knots she can think of to make her point: that certain fats are good for you and that sugar is very bad, very bad.

These are the front and back covers of the book, presentation jackets, dedication and a note to the readers: the author is not your doctor, and if you will do anything, please consult first with yours.

She dedicates her book to famous nutritionists that have contributed a lot to our wealth of knowledge about this topic:

This is the table of contents. The book has four parts: historic explanations of why fat is good for us, historic account of how we evolved to eat things that are bad for us (a.k.a sugar), reinforcement on how going back to fat consuming will be good for you, and then the practical stuff in part four: a detailed 21-day plan, recipes and the like.

This is an excerpt of the very convincing foreword of this book, written by David Permutter

Excerpts of the introduction/sales pitch:

A very interesting explanation on why women get fat:

Example of the recipe of a soup that sounds delicious:

This is a list of sites where you can get products that meet this book's criteria:

This is a "welcome to the tribe" by the author. If you go on following her diet, you will be a proud member of a healthier tribe.

And finally, the meat (or the fat) of the book: the 21-day meal plan and the set of rules to follow to death. I am OK with the plan, but the rules are another story. I maintain that she should consider her storage rules. It is not very healthy for the wallet to be buying coconut and olive oil on a daily basis.








Yes, I liked this book very much. The thing I liked the most was the scientific explanation.

My takeaway will be the precious tidbit that says that our food is the way our body has to communicate with the world. Our food tells our DNA what is going on in the environment, and our bodies act accordingly. It is a fantastic idea that had never crossed my mind before, and I think it will help me enormously in my future dietary adventures.



***

I also have a blog! Link here:

http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com
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