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ghostrider
Joined: 27 Jun 2011
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 12:40 am Post subject: Myths Spread by Low Carbers |
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1) Carbohydrates should be avoided because they lead to high levels of the evil, fat storing hormone insulin.
Truth: High protein meals can also cause insulin spikes and the body has the ability to store fat even when insulin levels are low. Most people would have great difficulty losing weight on a daily diet of 5,000 calories of pure fat.
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319
2) The total number of calories consumed does not matter. What matters is the total number of carbs consumed.
Truth: The laws of physics are not mysteriously suspended on a low carb diet. Take in more energy than you burn and you will gain weight. The Japanese have traditionally eaten a high carb diet for centuries and have had few problems with obesity.
3) Obesity is not caused by overeating.
Truth: This claim is based on cherry-picked research by Gary Taubes. James Krieger points out, �It is well established that overweight people underreport their food intake on average. In fact, there is a huge volume of literature on this�so huge that it is surprising that Taubes missed it all.�
4) Physical activity doesn�t help people lose weight. There has been an exercise explosion in America since the 1970s but Americans keep getting fatter.
Truth: This claim is also based on cherry-picked research by Taubes. Taubes narrowly focused on the increase in gym memberships and gym revenues. However, according to CDC data, the percentage of Americans participating in physical activity during their leisure time has actually gone down. Furthermore, �There is also data estimating the cost of mechanization (dishwashers, elevators, cars, etc.) to our daily energy expenditure. It is estimated that we expend an average of 111 calories per day less, which, if not compensated by lower food intake, would result in substantial weight gain over many years.�
http://weightology.net/?p=265 |
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oldtactics

Joined: 18 Oct 2008
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 12:54 am Post subject: |
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The success stories on Reddit's /r/keto beg to differ. Weight loss is different for everyone. If low carb works for someone, why discourage them? |
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ghostrider
Joined: 27 Jun 2011
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 2:40 am Post subject: |
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oldtactics wrote: |
The success stories on Reddit's /r/keto beg to differ. Weight loss is different for everyone. If low carb works for someone, why discourage them? |
At least they should stop spreading nonsense. If a low carb diet is working for them it's because they're consuming less calories than they burn. Any diet will work if you consume less calories than you expend. This guy lost a lot of weight on an all beer diet:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7363458n |
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nero
Joined: 11 Mar 2009
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:41 am Post subject: |
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I was on a very low cal diet when I was younger - rice, veggies, I avoided ANY fat, I was afraid of protein (this was before the whole atkins thing) and i counted my calories like a fiend. My weight stayed the same. As soon as I switched to the same number of calories but changed the carbs to protein the weight dropped of. it was amazing. So, you can say what you want, but I am living proof.
As the above poster said - what does it matter to you? If it works for someone, let them do what they want. |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010 Location: In my Kingdom
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:20 am Post subject: Re: Myths Spread by Low Carbers |
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ghostrider wrote: |
1) Carbohydrates should be avoided because they lead to high levels of the evil, fat storing hormone insulin.
Truth: High protein meals can also cause insulin spikes and the body has the ability to store fat even when insulin levels are low. Most people would have great difficulty losing weight on a daily diet of 5,000 calories of pure fat. |
Protein with carbs indeed still causes spikes, contrary to what some say. Protein without carbs however doesn't create insulin spikes. Diabetics know this well. I have been eating low carb, HIGH PROTEIN foods six times a day since May and have lost 50 pounds in under the last three months. Meat, fish, nuts, cheese, whole milk, yoghurt, all day long protein with vegetables for a minimeal. The only things I keep from eating is sugar and non-veggie carbs.
Carbs are evil for those seeking a lot of weight loss, especially since they probably have insulin resistance and need to increase their insulin sensitivity.
ghostrider wrote: |
2) The total number of calories consumed does not matter. What matters is the total number of carbs consumed.
Truth: The laws of physics are not mysteriously suspended on a low carb diet. Take in more energy than you burn and you will gain weight. The Japanese have traditionally eaten a high carb diet for centuries and have had few problems with obesity. |
The calorie count of food entering the mouth doesn't matter. What matters is what the body absorbs minus what it uses right away, and the propensity rate by which the body stores energy. Google metabolism and insulin sensitivity and diabetes and weight loss for plenty of scientific research. Skip the bloggers.
BTW, why defend carbs so vigorously? It's addictive and of minimal nutritional value compared to vegetables, nuts, dairy and meats. Perhaps the 'evil' brand is a bit too far, but really, for weight loss, cutting out carbs is such an easy way of losing weight once gets over the withdrawl symptoms the first three or four days.
Keep your sugar, fruit, pasta, rice, bread and other carbs if your weight is optimum and you exercise vigorously. But if you want to lose weight, eat vegetables! and don't be scared of protein. I eat steak and salami and bacon and still am losing a lot of weight. But I'm not on an Atkins diet. I make such to eat a lot of vegetables every day, just not the highest carb ones like carrots or potatoes (broccoli I eat because the fiber slows down absorption and just as important: it's packed with nutrition). |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010 Location: In my Kingdom
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:23 am Post subject: |
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nero wrote: |
I was on a very low cal diet when I was younger - rice, veggies, I avoided ANY fat, I was afraid of protein (this was before the whole atkins thing) and i counted my calories like a fiend. My weight stayed the same. As soon as I switched to the same number of calories but changed the carbs to protein the weight dropped of. it was amazing. So, you can say what you want, but I am living proof. |
Exactly. Me too. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 10:55 am Post subject: |
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This is ghostrider's game. Strawmanning a wide, diverse group based on one person's views.
Most of these myths seem properly attributable, if at all, to Gary Taubes. Low carbers extend beyond Taubes disciples.
Anyway, enough of Taubes' views have been vindicated.
High-fat Diets won't harden Arteries
High Protein Diets: Fine from your Kidneys
No, Taubes is not perfect. But even more flawed was the saturated-fat-will-kill-you scaremongering that I grew up with. |
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Gorf
Joined: 25 Jun 2011
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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ghostrider, you're not even doing a good job trolling now. You gotta find a better segment to shoot for. Remember that most of the people on these forums are alcoholics, which bars them from being low carb. You gotta consider these things when you troll, dude. |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010 Location: In my Kingdom
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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Gorf wrote: |
Remember that most of the people on these forums are alcoholics, which bars them from being low carb. |
A 'better segment' you say ... those would include people who know that many kinds of alcohol do NOT have carbs at all: vodka, rum, whiskey to mention three of the most popular. Soju neither. And many wines have very little: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay and dry champagne.
Now, if you mean beer, yeah, it's got lots of carbs, hence the 'beer gut'. Just stay away from that and girly sweet mixer cocktails and you'll be fine in terms of effect on your weight loss goals. After all, alcoholics who aren't beer drinkers tend to be THINNER than nondrinkers. Google it. And those who drink one or two glasses of booze a day live the longest on average. Cheers! |
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rainism
Joined: 13 Apr 2011
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:30 pm Post subject: |
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nero wrote: |
I was on a very low cal diet when I was younger - rice, veggies, I avoided ANY fat, I was afraid of protein (this was before the whole atkins thing) and i counted my calories like a fiend. My weight stayed the same. As soon as I switched to the same number of calories but changed the carbs to protein the weight dropped of. it was amazing. So, you can say what you want, but I am living proof.
As the above poster said - what does it matter to you? If it works for someone, let them do what they want. |
^
THIS.
also living proof of the same.
Same (or even a little more) calories, but more protein and less carbs = SUBSTANTIAL weight loss. |
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eamo

Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:39 pm Post subject: |
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Louis VI wrote: |
nero wrote: |
I was on a very low cal diet when I was younger - rice, veggies, I avoided ANY fat, I was afraid of protein (this was before the whole atkins thing) and i counted my calories like a fiend. My weight stayed the same. As soon as I switched to the same number of calories but changed the carbs to protein the weight dropped of. it was amazing. So, you can say what you want, but I am living proof. |
Exactly. Me too. |
Me three.
Low-carb eating habits keep my weight in check and even makes me feel better on a daily basis. You don't have to do hard-core Atkins either. Just minimize the carbs. |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010 Location: In my Kingdom
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:15 am Post subject: |
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Our bodies want energy and glucose is nature's energy source, from plants to mammals, glucose is the preferred form of fuel for bodies. Glucose is in sugar and is easily converted to from carbohydrates, especially the refined kinds borne of human manufactured foods. The body first uses whatever glucose is in the gut, then the about 1-day supply stores of glucogen in the liver and muscles. When those resources of glucose are gone, protein in the muscles can be converted to energy, as can the fat cells, the place where excess energy is stored via insulin in the blood. Weight gain and weight loss is a byproduct of blood processes and the liver is a key organ in managing energy conversion. The form of energy stored in fat cells is NOT glucose and thus not of the preferred kind. Lipids get bad press but are the essential form of stored energy. Getting the body to use lipid reserves instead of readily available glucose is the fundamental process by which low carb consumption results in weight loss. The key is metabolism, the conversion rate(s). Increase metabolism and weight loss is increased. Carbs are an enemy of this process. Why the hell convert fat to usable energy when the preferred form of energy is right there to be used? And why crap out all that great glucose when it is so easily used by the body? Carbs as sugars are eagerly absorbed in the GI tract. Calorie counts are misleading because some kinds of calories are absorbed more readily than others, and the rate at which they are used up instead of stored also varies based on what kinds of energy source it is (glucose vs. protein vs. dietary fats). So, for anyone looking at significant weight loss, metabolism and insulin are more important key words than calories or exercise. The biochemistry is actually quite interesting and if one reads the science and medicine lit and avoids the bloggers and health claimers, one sees more consensus than dispute about how the body works. |
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Greyjoy
Joined: 12 Jun 2011
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:58 am Post subject: |
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ghostrider wrote: |
1) Carbohydrates should be avoided because they lead to high levels of the evil, fat storing hormone insulin.
Truth: High protein meals can also cause insulin spikes and the body has the ability to store fat even when insulin levels are low. Most people would have great difficulty losing weight on a daily diet of 5,000 calories of pure fat.
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319
2) The total number of calories consumed does not matter. What matters is the total number of carbs consumed.
Truth: The laws of physics are not mysteriously suspended on a low carb diet. Take in more energy than you burn and you will gain weight. The Japanese have traditionally eaten a high carb diet for centuries and have had few problems with obesity.
3) Obesity is not caused by overeating.
Truth: This claim is based on cherry-picked research by Gary Taubes. James Krieger points out, �It is well established that overweight people underreport their food intake on average. In fact, there is a huge volume of literature on this�so huge that it is surprising that Taubes missed it all.�
4) Physical activity doesn�t help people lose weight. There has been an exercise explosion in America since the 1970s but Americans keep getting fatter.
Truth: This claim is also based on cherry-picked research by Taubes. Taubes narrowly focused on the increase in gym memberships and gym revenues. However, according to CDC data, the percentage of Americans participating in physical activity during their leisure time has actually gone down. Furthermore, �There is also data estimating the cost of mechanization (dishwashers, elevators, cars, etc.) to our daily energy expenditure. It is estimated that we expend an average of 111 calories per day less, which, if not compensated by lower food intake, would result in substantial weight gain over many years.�
http://weightology.net/?p=265 |
Can't tell if trolling or just very stupid. |
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liveinkorea316
Joined: 20 Aug 2010 Location: South Korea
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 4:34 am Post subject: |
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eamo wrote: |
Louis VI wrote: |
nero wrote: |
I was on a very low cal diet when I was younger - rice, veggies, I avoided ANY fat, I was afraid of protein (this was before the whole atkins thing) and i counted my calories like a fiend. My weight stayed the same. As soon as I switched to the same number of calories but changed the carbs to protein the weight dropped of. it was amazing. So, you can say what you want, but I am living proof. |
Exactly. Me too. |
Me three.
Low-carb eating habits keep my weight in check and even makes me feel better on a daily basis. You don't have to do hard-core Atkins either. Just minimize the carbs. |
And that is exactly where you are all wrong. We all know that the calories in carbs are more readily available; therefore when replacing them with proteins you can increase the total calorie intake slightly and still absorb the same calories. But that is not brain surgery.
When you go and eat the same calories on a low carb diet you are actually REDUCING the calories available to your body.
I understand the conversion takes alot of energy. So replacing a 500cal mean of carbs might take 600 calories of proteins to give the same energy to your body.
If you feed your body the same nominal calories without taking into account the extra conversion losses and more energy for digestion, then you are actually just doing the good old fashioned starve-yourself diet and it is not the protein aspect that is helping you lose weight.
It is also well known that proteins make people feel fuller longer. That is a great thing and is a plus for the low-carb people.
But there is nothing magical in proteins that means you can eat the same amount of BODILY-AVAILABLE (after conversion) protein as carbs and lose weight. That is where you lose on the physics. The human body is good at converting proteins to energy and if you eat more available proteins in available energy than you need you will indeed get fat.
The main reason the low-carb diet works in my opinion is that it makes one fuller and suppresses the appetite. These are good things. But nothing that could not be equally achieved on a carb diet that restricted calories.
Here is a quote about insulin from another site:
Quote: |
From the work of Nutall et al published in 1984 and again in 1985, it looks like the insulin response to 50 g of protein is roughly equal to that of 50 g of carbohydrate.
Here�s the most thorough paper I know of on insulin response to various foods: �An Insulin Index of Foods: The Insulin Demand Generated by 1000-kJ Portions of Common Foods�.
This is the same research group that originally developed the glycemic index; the cited paper was working toward defining a similar �insulin index�.
Note a complication: while dietary protein and carbs both trigger a major insulin response, protein (but not carbs) also triggers a rise in glucagon, which is antagonistic to insulin in several respects (for example, while insulin inhibits lipolysis, glucagon encourages lipolysis). |
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rainism
Joined: 13 Apr 2011
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 11:03 am Post subject: |
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if it takes more energy to covert protein than carbs into fuel, that makes the body work harder, use more energy, therefore = MORE weight loss.
personally speaking, carb suppression doesn't make me feel fuller and doesn't suppress my appetite. In fact, often the opposite. It's the carbs that make me feel full.
why do you think Koreans stuff themselves with rice? to feel full. White Rice has no nutritional value whatsoever. |
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