New Study Confirms That Carbs Make You Fat

[Tsing Tao]

To lose weight, you need to be in calorie deficit. If you just restrict carbs without cutting calories or burning more of them, then you're just going to lose the water in your muscles from the glycogen depletion. So the weight you will lose will be water weight, not fat.

This is simply not a correct statement, Fred, and there are many empirical studies that have detailed that low carb high fat/protein diets cause weight loss without any other change to activity. If you will read them, I will do the research and provide the direct links here. Will you?

It all goes back to insulin again, and the types of calories. Carbs cause an insulin response. Some carbs cause a very muted response, others a much more direct and instantaneous one. Proteins and fat cause almost no response. If you eat foods with a high glycemic index, these foods and those you eat with them will tend to store fat. Low index foods will be burned for energy (as long as they are not eaten with high foods).

 

[Frederick Foresight]

This is simply not a correct statement, Fred, and there are many empirical studies that have detailed that low carb high fat/protein diets cause weight loss without any other change to activity. If you will read them, I will do the research and provide the direct links here. Will you?

And as Ornish pointed out in the 2 short videos I posted earlier, you potentially mortgage your future health in doing so (complete with arterial scans and other sophisticated measuring tools for your viewing pleasure).

It all goes back to insulin again, and the types of calories. Carbs cause an insulin response. Some carbs cause a very muted response, others a much more direct and instantaneous one. Proteins and fat cause almost no response. If you eat foods with a high glycemic index, these foods and those you eat with them will tend to store fat. Low index foods will be burned for energy (as long as they are not eaten with high foods).

I'm familiar with the effect of insulin on fat storage. But just cutting carbs will only take you so far, unless you've been living on cupcakes and soda all this time. And then you will have to be in calorie deficit to continue to lose weight, if that is your aim.

You referred to sustainable dietary regimens either earlier in this thread or in a related thread. I do not believe that a very restrictive carb diet is sustainable over the longer term. Apart from the health risks (again, refer to the 2 brief Ornish videos), it would require the kind of willpower most people simply do not have. Nor need to have for that matter.

Look, I'm leaner than anyone I personally know anywhere near my age. On the morning of my 62nd birthday in early August, my blood pressure reading was 103/66. My bloodwork in January put me at a very low risk of getting CVD. I take no meds. Oh, and I love my (complex) carbs; they make up well over 50% of my caloric intake. I am never hungry since the carbs I do eat are loaded with fiber. And I love the food I eat; no willpower required.

 

[deaddog]

You referred to sustainable dietary regimes either earlier in this thread or in a related thread. I do not believe that a very restrictive carb diet is sustainable over the longer term. Apart from the health risks (again, refer to the 2 brief Ornish videos), it would require the kind of willpower most people simply do not have. Nor need to have for that matter.

Just anecdotal but I found it much easier to stick to a low carb lifestyle than low fat.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

Just anecdotal but I found it much easier to stick to a low carb lifestyle than low fat.

My diet isn't exactly low fat. I probably get about a quarter or so of my calories from fat, mostly unsaturated.

 

[Tsing Tao]

And as Ornish pointed out in the 2 short videos I posted earlier, you potentially mortgage your future health in doing so (complete with arterial scans and other sophisticated measuring tools for your viewing pleasure).

But this is a separate argument - and one I also don't agree with fully. One argument at a time. First, to lose weight you do not have to be in a calorie deficit diet. That's the point.

I'm familiar with the effect of insulin on fat storage. But just cutting carbs will only take you so far, unless you've been living on cupcakes and soda all this time. And then you will have to be in calorie deficit to continue to lose weight, if that is your aim.

I have to speak to this sentence before continuing, because I believe it is a crucial point. You discount the whole cutting carbs argument because you are judging the merit of the argument on how you eat and how you live. The fact of the matter is that the some 40-45% of Americans (as an example) that are obese are in fact living on garbage carbs every day. The poor, in particular, due to the cost of these carbs vs. the affordability and availability of fresh produce and protein. So when we talk about losing weight, we aren't talking about you or I losing 10 pounds to get to what we determine is acceptable weight. We're talking about Bubba Johnson in Arkansas who is 370 pounds with diabetes and high blood pressure. Or at least, I am talking about him.

You referred to sustainable dietary regimens either earlier in this thread or in a related thread. I do not believe that a very restrictive carb diet is sustainable over the longer term. Apart from the health risks (again, refer to the 2 brief Ornish videos), it would require the kind of willpower most people simply do not have. Nor need to have for that matter.

I'm not sure why you say this. I was on a keto diet that had very little carbs for well over a year. No issue with sustaining it. I know some folks (particularly on the AFIB forum I frequent) who have found these almost all protein diets to be the solution to their health issues and have been on KETO like diets for almost a decade.

Look, I'm leaner than anyone I personally know anywhere near my age. On the morning of my 62nd birthday in early August, my blood pressure reading was 103/66. My bloodwork in January put me at a very low risk of getting CVD. I take no meds. Oh, and I love my (complex) carbs; they make up well over 50% of my caloric intake. I am never hungry since the carbs I do eat are loaded with fiber. And I love the food I eat; no willpower required.

This is fantastic! Bravo, my friend. Excellent numbers. Just remember that - especially at this age - you are not the norm. You are the exception. And the diet that works for you does not work for everyone.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

And the diet that works for you does not work for everyone.

Perhaps if I had my own show and dined with Rocky and Bullwinkle I'd get more traction.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

I'm not sure why you say this.

That's because you didn't watch the videos.

 

[Tsing Tao]

That's because you didn't watch the videos.

You should still be able to explain your position, since you understand it. I'm not insisting you read any book to understand the basis of my opinion. I told you where it came from and recommended it, but I'm taking the time to explain my position because I respect you and the conversation.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

You should still be able to explain your position, since you understand it. I'm not insisting you read any book to understand the basis of my opinion. I told you where it came from and recommended it, but I'm taking the time to explain my position because I respect you and the conversation.

There is a considerable disparity of the time required between reading an entire (and reportedly misleading) book and watching a ~15-minute TED talk. And who doesn't like a good TED talk?

 

[Tsing Tao]

There is a considerable disparity of the time required between reading an entire (and reportedly misleading) book and watching a ~15-minute TED talk. And who doesn't like a good TED talk?

Ok, ok damnit. Give me the link again so I don't have to go find it and to make sure I've got the right one.