Best Posts in Thread: Wtb stationary bike.

I'm not saying they don't work. I'm saying they don't work better than any other calorie restricted diet. I can lose just as much weight on chips and Twinkies as I could on keto or carnivore when calories are matched. What macro nutrients you choose to consume (or not consume) makes no difference, a calorie deficit is what causes weight loss.

Not saying that. He makes money selling a specific diet. For $14/month he will tell you how to not eat carbs. He is extremely biased. Almost every influencer/celebrity/doctor on the internet heavily promoting a certain diet is trying to sell you something. They don't make as much money by being honest and telling people that calorie restriction on any nutrition plan will result in the same weight loss in the long term.

People want short cuts and "hacks" to weight loss. The weight loss industry over the last half century has conditioned people to believe that cutting out certain foods or macros is the magic cure to obesity and health. It is not. Calorie restriction is. Which, btw, every single one of these diets, and every other diet that has ever existed, requires to lose weight. No diet breaks the laws of physics.

Just a personal opinion here; if a diet requires you pay a doctor for guidance it is probably not safe for the average person to attempt.

 

A caloric deficit is good for losing weight. Keto can be good for diabetics, people that have seizures and losing a lot of water weight in the first month. Other than that there is absolutely no benefit to a keto diet. It is also incredibly hard to be consistent with, which is everything when it comes to diet.

Intermittent fasting is good for those with a low TDEE that want to fight off hunger. Other than that there is little to no benefit.

Flexible dieting (or iifym) is the most sustainable and natural approach. It is an inclusive diet, as opposed to a restrictive one like keto. Nothing is off limits, everything in moderation.

Exercise helps you raise your daily energy expenditure (TDEE) by a couple hundred calories every day you do it (which is erased by a couple beers), but not a replacement for a caloric deficit. Adding muscle mass (through lifting, not cardio), is the best way to raise your TDEE as muscle is a metabolically expensive tissue for the body to maintain.

 

I'm all for a high protein diet, I'm on one myself, but cutting out all carbs is an extreme and completely unnecessary measure. Unless you have some type of medical condition there really is no reason for it. If you are somewhat lean (between 10-18% body fat) 1 gram of protein per pound (2.2 grams per kg) of bodyweight. If you are overweight or obese 1 gram of protein per cm of height is a good starting point. More if you are older as protein synthesis declines as you age. Adjust carb and fat intake to your lifestyle and energy requirements.

You mention health concerns on an extremely restrictive diet. I agree 100% and that was my point. Things like the carnivore diet are just as risky as a 711/Twinkie diet for becoming malnourished. You would need a nutritionist or doctor to guide you to foods that contain the proper micronutrients while avoiding hypervitaminosis. You can't just gobble down chicken livers to get your vitamin C in. You will OD on vitamin A and destroy your liver in the process. It is also a very expensive diet. Not only would you spend a sh*t ton of money on meat but you would also break the bank on supplements...which are not as efficient as natural sources of vitamins found in fruits and vegetables (carbs). We are not carnivores, we are omnivores. Trying to eat like a carnivore is likely to result in health problems. A balanced diet of protein, fats and carbs is pretty fool proof....and there are a lot of fools trying to lose weight.

The thermal effect of protein is usually quoted at 30%. Carbs at 10%. Fats at 0-3%.

One should not try to take this into account while dieting though. Not all proteins, carbs or fats are created equally. Whey protein powder gets absorbed quickly while casein protein powder or chicken breast is much slower to digest. Refined sugars take next to no energy to digest while fruit and vegetables do. Olive oil will take less energy to digest that a chunk of fat from a steak. I'm sure there are differences between individual digestion efficiency as well. It would be misguided for a person to think that "I'm eating protein so I can eat 30% more calories now." Protein also usually comes with fat, especially if you want to enjoy eating. The low thermal effect of fat (and there will be a lot of it if you cut out carbs) is going to even out the higher thermal effect of the protein. I think the averaged thermal effect for any diet is going to float around 10 to 15%.