What about high carb vs. The truth is, there are no studies that properly show a fat loss advantage between low carb and high carb diets. Theres been over 2. The Ketogenic Diet and How This Ties In. The thing about a ketogenic diet is if you tell people to eat as much as they want, they will tend to eat slightly less than other diets. Naturally, you will eat less if youre eating food that can satiate you easier. You will have more fullness from vegetables, satiety from protein, feel fuller for longer from the fat, and endure higher levels of thermogenesis from unprocessed foods. So what does that all mean In a nutshell, it means that you will eat less food, and therefore less calories. Your body can dig into your fat stores, since youre naturally restricting calories, and youll lose weight. With high carb diets, usually with a good amount of processed foods, you will see swings in blood glucose. This makes it easy for people to give in to cravings, and succumb to the carb addiction created from serotonin and dopamine. There are no magical metabolic advantages to a ketogenic diet. But, the small benefits that make it easier on us is also the reason that it works. Weight loss on a high carb diet calories determine the fat loss. Weight loss on a normal carb diet calories determine the fat loss. Weight loss on a ketogenic diet calories determine the fat loss. Weight gain on a high carb diet calories determine the fat gain. Weight gain on a normal carb diet calories determine the fat gain. Weight gain on a ketogenic diet theres no scientific data. If only there was some sort of pattern here. Keto might be magic, but as far as I know there are no studies that support this idea. The scientific consensus is that eating too much will make you fat. Using Calorie Counting as Only a Tool. It doesnt have to be some obsessive practice, to the point where youre always counting exactly how much energy you are taking in, but used more as a tool. You can get a food scale to properly track your intake for a few weeks to get an idea of your baseline. After you have rough estimates, you can gauge what you should and shouldnt be eating. While you dont have to be 1. Its a way to measure how much energy you are actually taking in, and then adjust it to your needs. Obviously a fasterslower metabolism, activity levels, endocrine problems, etc. Calories In vs. Calories Out A Basic Overview. Keep in mind that the basic calorie incalorie out formula is exactly that basic. If you are talking in a realistic perspective, the formula stays true but you have to adjust the calorie expenditure for metabolic rates, activity levels, effectiveness of ones endocrine system, etc. The basic formula is Energy stored energy in energy out. Say your body needs 1. Weight loss will occur because your body uses roughly 5. Energy stored energy in energy out 5. This leads to a theoretical weight loss of 1 lb per week 3. If you ate 1. 30. That means that 1. If that isnt the case, the formula does not work. Energy stored energy in energy out 1. This fails basic mathematics. It just doesnt work in math, and it also doesnt work in physics. So for keto, or any diet for that matter, to lead to more weight loss you have to get to a higher energy expenditure of calories for it to hold true. This means increasing your metabolic rate, increasing activity levels, etc. Energy stored energy in energy out 1. So, how many calories should you actually eatWell obviously that will be different from person to person based on current weight and the current state of their endocrine system. To be short, you never want to go into a caloric deficit that is lower than your fat stores can handle. How many calories are covered by your fat stores I went into more depth in this in a previous article, but you can get about 3. That means if youre 2. Self Reported Studies Debunked. There are a number of self reported studies that people have been using to debunk the whole calorie in vs. The problem with these is that they are usually misconstrued and presenting incorrect information. We might take a look at Volkes study, which is free living and self reported. Its a short term study that only allowed 2. James Krieger also published a meta analysis of low carbohydrate and weight loss which he has since claimed is unreliable and most likely wrong. As the knowledge and science improves, our perspective is changing. Argument that Calories are Poorly Derived. Some may argue that the calorie is a poorly derived unit of energy, which also poorly translates across carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. How To Cook Basmati Rice. This simply isnt the case. We understand how cell respiration works, and there are numerous studies on how it works. Lets take a look at how we found these values Digestible fiber is 2 calories per gram. Carbohydrates are 4 calories per gram. Protein is 4 calories per gram with 2. Fats are 9 calories per gram. Counting calories has shown to be accurate. Theres a large database that exists on the energy expenditure. This study shows that the energy expenditure is actually similar to the recommendations adopted by FAO and WHO. These recommendations have been adopted because studies have been done on these units, and confirmed that these are good approximate values for human digestion and utilization. Argument that We Excrete Excess Nutrients. Some people are saying that we will excrete excess nutrients if we dont use them in terms of protein and fats. This study shows that we will only excrete about 3 grams of fat when we eat 2. Another study shows that over a 1. We dont just excrete the nutrients we eat the energy we eat gets absorbed and used or stored in the body. Gary Taubes on Calories. Lets take a look at what Gary Taubes has said, as I know people will be thinking of him as they read this article. Twenty calories a day times the 3. If it were true that our adiposity is determined by calories incalories out, then this is one implication you only need to overeat, on average, by twenty calories a day to gain fifty extra pounds of fat in twenty years. You need only to rein yourself in by this amountundereat by twenty calories a dayto undo it. Twenty calories is less than a single bite of a Mc. Donalds hamburger or a croissant. Its less than two ounces of Coke or Pepsi or the typical beer. Less than three potato chips. Maybe three small bites of an apple. In short, not very much at all. Twenty calories is less than 1 percent of the daily caloric intake that the U. S. National Academy of Sciences has recommended for a middle aged woman whose idea of regular physical activity is cooking and sewing its less than half a percent of the daily quota of calories recommended for an equally sedentary middle aged man. That its such an insignificant amount is what makes it so telling about the calories incalories out idea. The fatal flaw in this reasoning is that we dont have the same energy expenditure as our fat mass increases. I just want to point out that the calories incalories out system doesnt claim to predict exact energy expenditure, weight gain, or weight loss. Its just a system that shows how energy intake and expenditure are linked with energy storage and energy loss for the average person. Whether the system is exactly accurate down to 2. What it does is give a reference point for people to individualize their intended weight loss. Let me dispute what Gary Taubes said with Gary Taubes, in a 2.