It's true -- thinking solely calories-in, calories-out, is flawed, because not all calories are equal -- 100 calories from meat and fat or oil metabolize a lot differently than 100 calories from sugar or starches.
I think the big misconception is that eating fat makes you fat. In my personal experience, the only time that is true in an eating lifestyle that is very low carb, is in eating too many nuts. I can eat bacon and cook in lard (IMO as healthy as olive oil and much more flavorful for certain dishes), chow down on cheese and nice fat lamb 'til the cows come home and not get buttered-up around my middle. But once I start eating handfuls of nuts (the same as if I start eating bread, crackers, chips, cakes, and other starchy snacks) ... I start pudging up, and I exercise regularly, vigorously and long.
That is my experience as well.
It’s true — thinking solely calories-in, calories-out, is flawed, because not all calories are equal — 100 calories from meat and fat or oil metabolize a lot differently than 100 calories from sugar or starches.””
Obviously they are metabolized differently, but the calorie content is still the same across foodstuffs. What is so difficult to understand about that?
I think the author of that article means well, and I believe he believes what he's written. Even so, much of what he says is just plain wrong and underscores his lack of education and experience.
It's true -- thinking solely calories-in, calories-out, is flawed
No it isn't. It is very simple, total calories is what's important. The ratio of macronutrients is not critical, providing it doesn't lead to malnutrition. The problem here is that telling people the truth, rather than demonizing one macronutrient over another, isn't a very good method for selling diet books and supplements. People don't willingly pay money for common sense advice.
100 calories from meat and fat or oil metabolize a lot differently than 100 calories from sugar or starches
You are stating the obvious and something that you will learn in any basic nutrition course. We have known for a long time that there are differing efficiencies for protein, crabs and fat. However, that doesn't change the fact that a calorie remains a measure of the amount of energy and it is always the same.
I think the big misconception is that eating fat makes you fat
Fat, just like protein and carbohydrates, will make you fat if you eat too much of it. Fat just happens to contain more than twice the number of calories, per gram, than carbs and protein.
Taubes is a quack, pure and simple. He relies on studies to support his opinions that use self reported caloric intake. Beyond that obvious flaw, he is extremely selective about what evidence he chooses to use and even prefers his own hunches over the available scientific evidence. Taubes continues to reference scientists who claim he is misrepresenting their work, and selectively quotes them to make it appear that they support his nonsense. Anything for a buck.
It seems that every dieter who tries to lose weigh, but can't, believes they have some special kind of physiology that defies science. That's when they find their way to charlatans like Taubes who tell them what they want to hear....It's not your fault.....then they come to forums like this to tell us all that it is a scientific fact that the first law of thermodynamics applies to everything on earth but them......because they can't lose weight, and it's not their fault.