Study of diets shows what truly counts: calories

[ZombieHorde]

Researchers compared several strategies -- low-carb, high-protein and more -- and none came out the winner. They concluded the best diet is a healthful one that cuts calories, consistently.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-diet26-2009feb26,0,7952962.story|Link to this story>

[Roadless]

1. The same as it's always been

Although I will say that you can really pig out on a zero carb diet and lose weight.

[JI7]

2. this is nothing new

[sam sarrha]

3. I'm very slim, 60 yrs old, 6'6"..208 lbs, co-workers think it's disgusting i put applesauce on my

pancakes.. with yogurt :puke: i made a face and said, "well i'm not go'n to put suger in them". pancakes have flax and oat bran. they are both on diets..:rofl: one eats 2 huge pieces of Piza..tripple cheese and sausage, and a big ham sandwich..FOR BREAKFAST.!! TYPICAL..and as much for lunch, ! yestersay, the other has a WHOLE COMMERCIAL CALZONE FOR LUNCH..as big as my arm. AND some lasagna. both these guys eat 3 meals.. 3 times a day, every day, plus lots at break between meals.! and look it.

i just finished a 14 day master cleanser fast. i also drink 8 cups.. 1/2 gallon, of green tea a day. my typical lunch is ~1 1/2 cups of Brown rice with veggies and a couple small pieces of chicken or a can of Pregresso soup. they always..EVERY DAY.. comment on "rice again?" and make a face.

at 60 i take no medication and look 50

[D-Lee]

4. You'd be better off studying the exceptions, including diabetes

For example, totally untrue for diabetics, who would be far better off reducing carbohydrates -- since they lack enough insulin to deal with ingested glucose (which comes from all forms of carbohydrates from starches, sugars and even veggies), the glucose which cannot be used is stored directly as fat.

And "low fat" foods are often engineered by reducing even healthy fats and replacing them with carbs from such items as potato starch -- which then can increase inflammation and the risk of arterial plaque deposits.

Calories are NOT the only thing that matters for many, many people.

[hedgehog]

5. Not so fast - read the fine print -

"it reinforces numerous other studies showing most people lose a modest amount of weight in the first few months of dieting and regain some or all of it over time."

Not to mention


"In the end, many of the participants were eating diets that were more similar than dissimilar."

[Warpy]

6. Exactly, there is no long term solution to obesity

and even surgery only provides temporary weight loss for most people.

Because the mechanism of obesity is so poorly understood, there is no real treatment. The naturally thin always point to their superior diets without realizing that some obese people have diets equally pious with little observable result.

It's not a moral issue.

[Dorian Gray]

7. It's simple

Calories out must be higher than calories in. Weight loss will ensue. Unless you have a thyroid or metabolic disorder.

[eridani]

12. You have absolutely no control over "calories out"

Reduce your calorie intake, and your metabolism adjusts to use less. How fast is subject to wide variation among individuals.

[AllieB]

8. We are not combustion engines. It's not as simple as 'calories in, calories out'.

Read Gary Taubes 'Good Calories, Bad Calories'. We are too hormonally and chemically complex to reduce our physiology to the principles that govern a combustion engine.

A good article:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E2D61F3EF934A35754C0A9649C8B63

[Lex]

10. it's interesting that they have bred mice to be fatter or slimmer

and the same amount of exercise and calorie restriction does not effect the mice the same

that research is set out in that book, iirc

[Lex]

9. But what you eat can make you hungier later, and so then you consume more calories.

If I eat low carb, my hunger drops, so I consume less calories.

If I eat high carb, my hunger goes up, leading me to eat more later in the day.

It *does* matter, at least for me, what the calories I consume are made of.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

11. I was 30 pounds overweight eating 2,000-2,500 calories a day

I added in an hour of cardio exercise per day and I try to eat 4 or 5 servings each of fresh vegetables and fruits and the weight came off fairly quickly. We're talking 3 or 4 months.