It’s very simple.
Calories in - Calories out = X
X > 0 = Fat
X < 0 = Not Fat
Ya don’t live longer without meat it just seems longer.
I went on a no carb, no sugar diet and lost 35 lbs in 2 months.
Gastric bypass, etc. proves this.
What you said. Still - some carbs are better than others (wild rice vs donuts)
You are correct about this of course. And getting too fat is bad for your health.
A few years ago I had appendicitis that I tried to ignore until it almost killed me. Because my appendix had been ruptured for a week before I went in, I had a considerable amount of fecal material in my abdominal cavity and a bad infection had developed. The surgeon told my wife that there was a good chance that I would not make it. To save my life they had to remove my intestines and wash them and everything else in my abdominal cavity with antibacterial cleaners and they packed me full of antibiotics.
The procedure and the antibiotics saved me, but the balance of good bacteria in my intestines was very screwed up and I had a hard time completely digesting lots of things that were not a problem for me previously. I tried taking various probiotics and various foods to reestablish the bacteria that I had before. The thing that I discovered the hard way is that you have to eat a balanced diet to feed and maintain a good balance of bacteria in your gut. That is something that seems to be missing from many of these discussions. If you do not eat a wide variety of foods the bacteria in your gut which is turns out is a very important component of health will suffer.
Many people who try to take some sort of metabolic shortcut by completely cutting carbohydrates out of their diet often lose some weight but cause suffer from other health problems as a result. Other types of unbalanced diets have bad consequences as well. The study cited in the article reaches some valid conclusions about high protein diets. Any diet that is not diverse enough to support a healthy gut genome is probably a mistake.
Perhaps scientifically true. But in practice, I found that it is the composition of those calories in that make all the difference.
I've been tracking my calorie intake (as well as carbs, fat, protein, and fiber) on a regular basis since 2003. My ideal calorie intake for maintaining an ideal weight of around 200 pounds (I'm 6'3") is about 2,400 a day. However, if I am to be satisfied (not hungry) with 2,400 calories a day, it makes all the difference in how those calories are apportioned between fat, protein and carbs.
I've battled with weight my entire adult life and if I'm hungry, I'm going to eat. I don't think I'm alone in that. So the key to me being "not hungry" on a 2,400 calories a day is to maintain a feeling of fullness. That means a high-fat, low-sugar (carb) diet.
So under this regime, my typical breakfast is two eggs fried in butter with high fat yogurt and blueberries (400 calories). My typical lunch is a salad with nuts, cheese, and a tin sardines packed in olive oil on top. (700 calories). Dinner might be a steak, broccoli, and another salad (about 1,000 calories). The other 300 calories is either two glasses of wine or a couple of low-carb beers. Other than that, it's just black coffee and lots of water. My daily carbs average around 50 net grams (after fiber is subtracted) and added sugar is close to or at zero. I am NEVER hungry so long as I eat three good meals as described above.
With the routine above, I'm almost never hungry and rarely have a need to "snack." Easy to maintain and I have no problems at all with being tempted to eat sweets. For example, I took my wife to the Cheesecake Factory for Valentines Day a week ago and I ordered an omelette (yes, the Cheesecake Factory makes omelettes!). So no matter what restaurant I go to, I can maintain my low-sugar diet. Last night at the Red Robin, I had a wedge burger (no bun) with sauteed mushrooms dumped into a Caesar salad along with a few dry chicken wings for an appetizer. Delicious and filling.
Now when I go off the low-sugar (low-carb) diet, I find my my daily calorie intake quickly shoots to 3,500+ a day (and my carbs shoot up to 250 grams plus). I simply do not have the willpower to stick to 2,400 calories a day when I'm eating a lot of carbs (sugar) - I'm just too damn hungry and I find myself snacking between meals as well.
As soon as I switch back to eliminating added sugar (basically all processed foods, junk foods, pasta, breads and rice), it becomes very easy to stay under 2,400 calories a day and the excess weight starts sliding back off. I also feel much better, have more energy and even my skin improves.
I think the biggest factor in health is heredity. There are countless other factors that may or may not contribute to this. Everybody is different and comparing insects to humans is retarded.
Thats not really correct. Fat protein and carb calories are not equal. Carbs (sugar) are the worse calories. They burn faster and spike your blood sugar. Fat is the best one as they burn longer. The optimal diet is a high fat low no carb diet.
Actually, it is NOT that simple. The body has lots of mechanisms to trigger more efficient use of calories, or to make them easier to shed. Heck, think of cholesterol. Some people eat it and retain it, while most will have excess dietary cholesterol dumped from their bodies. Most of us have known skinny people who can eat a ton and barely maintain weight, and others who can eat little and barely lose.
Not all cars get the same gas mileage, so to speak.