Caloric Deficit.

[Driven]

Now I keep reading over and over about needing to create a caloric deficit as a physiological requirement to lose weight.. Does this apply to a very low carbohydrate diet as well? I've read some people's food logs and blogs and I'm seeing daily calorie intakes consistently in the 3000 to 3500 range and weight loss continues.
If it was as simple as creating a caloric deficit, why are low calorie diets considered to be terrible?
I'm not thinking of starting on a strictly low calorie diet, believe me I love this WOE. I'm just curious to know what's up.

[Suzanne_H]

Re: Caloric Deficit.

I thought it had to do with changing our body chemistry to burn fat instead of sugar in the bloodstream?

[ziggy]

Re: Caloric Deficit.

here is my opinion on how this works

calories dont really play much of a roll in weight loss and heres why

fat loss/gain is more a hormonal balance the hormone insulin does many things in the body and one being it tells the body to store fat now you dont need a large amount of insulin in the body to be healthy but if you have to much insulin in the body your body will be told to store that much more fat

if you have normal healthy insulin senseitive cells and have only ate food you would find in nature then your body will not be told to store much fat but eating foods such as fruit will make it so your body will be told to store a little more fat than normal but its nothing to worry about fruit most of the time will not spike your blood sugar so high into toxic levels causeing insulin resistant cells

but with unatural man made foods such as refind grains , white flour , tortilla chips with white corn , candy etc etc these foods are posion to us they spike are blood sugar levels into toxic levels and if are glucose burning metabolism cannot burn it all then it must be stored as fat because if it is not stored as fat it will reach are kidneys and permanently damage them

but also if this is keept up for long periods of time and the person stays fat for along time then his cells become more and more insulin resistant resulting in massive weight gain for example a healthy person eats a piece of fruit and has normal insulin senseitive cells so they only need to release a little insulin to bring there blood sugar back under control but a person who has insulin resistant cells thanks to all the man made food they have ate in the past depending on there insulin resistance level they could require 2 - 5x? as much insulin resulting in that piece of fruit being 2 - 5x? more fatning for them so by this it makes the whole calorie thing not make much sense

anyways people who eat man made food for too long there cells become more and more insulin resistant to the point they get type 2 diabetes and when you have this then them toxic blood sugar spikes your body cannot release enough insulin to satisfy your insulin resistant cells so not all the toxic blood sugar spike is stored as fat and it reaches your kidney and will permanently damage it to the point you die or get a kidney transplant

a person who has sufferd from this and now has a permanently damaged kidney can no longer handle to much protein in there diet doctors think impaired kidneys are caused by to much fat/protein in the diet? but it was from to many bad carbs that caused it

insulin resistance can start as soon as a baby in her mothers womb the bad carbs a mother eats also effects the babys cells and insulin resistance

it sucks but fat people who have insulin resistance cells can no longer even though its around 1-2 months naturally in nature eat large amounts of fruit unless somehow there insulin resistance cells would revert back to being senseitive some how over time which maybe is possible by eating healthy for along time

anyways the atkins diet works really well for people who are fat and have gotten insulin resistance cells it can make it so even though we have the insulin resistance disease we can still live like we did not have it

calorie restrictions are mostly just used to slow your metabolism down if you wont have much food avalible

it also will burn muscle mass and that could result in more weight loss but you will look ugly and unhealthy and it will put your body into starvation mode so when you do eat it will store more fat than normal

but if your eating a gaint amount calories and want to make it so you eat just a medium-large amount then that may help your body by relieveing stress on it from makeing it not have to digest so much food all the time so in that way it would help you by eating less calories

oh ya when you eat very high fat , medium protein , very low carb your body switches to a fat burning metabolism and that helps big time with fat loss too

and your muscles are your bodys largest glucose storage so by exerciseing and draining that glucose it can greatly help with fat loss cause the glucose that does enter your body will be soaked up by your muscles and if your muscles dont get enough glucose then 58% of the protein you eat will be converted to glucose and you will be fine

alot of active people who dont have insulin resistant cells eat alot of fruit but also work out alot so instead of all that glucose damageing there body it is just soaked up into there muscles instead thats how some people can remain glucose burning metabolisms and eat lots of fruit and still dont get fat but if they ever stop exerciseing they will most likely start geting fat

[Georgiana]

Re: Caloric Deficit.

Now I keep reading over and over about needing to create a caloric deficit as a physiological requirement to lose weight.. Does this apply to a very low carbohydrate diet as well?

Yes. The laws of thermodynamics do hold on a low carbohydrate diet.

I've read some people's food logs and blogs and I'm seeing daily calorie intakes consistently in the 3000 to 3500 range and weight loss continues.
If it was as simple as creating a caloric deficit, why are low calorie diets considered to be terrible?

When people think of a caloric deficit, they imagine the "calories in, calories out" story something like this: my BMR is 1800 kcal, computed based on my height and weight; I go to the gym 2 hours a day and do <insert exercise> and <insert exercise>, and it tells me I burned 600 kcal; I am also pretty active throughout the day and online calculators tell me this burns another 800 kcal; so it means I can eat 3200 kcal and maintain my current weight. Wrong. All these caloric needs are estimates, since no two people have the same body composition.

Furthermore, these calculators do not take into account our diet. There are studies showing that people following low carbohydrate diets have a so-called "metabolic advantage". This means that someone following a 2000-kcal low carbohydrate diet will see weight loss at this caloric intake even if this person would have only maintained when following an isocaloric high carb diet.

The "problem" with low calorie diets is that they often do not provide the nutrition (energy, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, etc.) required to keep the metabolism running efficiently. There is some research showing that low calorie diets have a negative effect on thyroid function (esp. when they are also low carb, which is why eating enough kcal is important on Atkins!). Moreover, in my opinion, it is difficult to make a diet on which one feels deprieved and/or hungry a lifestyle, especially if this diet does not teach one healthy eating habits; there are plenty of ways to keep one's calories low without necessarily eating healthy, nutritious foods.

[matawguro]

Re: Caloric Deficit.

Low-carb and calories | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D.

Let’s look at what happens when we cut carbohydrates in the diet. First, we don’t get enough carbs to replenish our blood sugar, so the body has to convert protein to glucose to make up the difference. The signal to do this comes from a rising level of glucagon, a hormone made in and released by the pancreas. In order for glucagon to do its job, the level of insulin in the blood has to go down, which it does. A low level of insulin and a high level of glucagon send a signal to the fat cells telling them to release their fat. You can think of it as opening the doors to the fat cells so that fat can easily get out. The body burns this fat for energy. As the body burns more, the fat cells release more. When the fat cells dump their fat, they become smaller. When your fat cells or adipose tissue becomes smaller, you become smaller. And you lose weight. Which is how it’s supposed to work.


But there is a little glitch in all of this.


Although the lowered insulin and elevated glucagon open the doors to the fat cells allowing fat to come out to be burned, the fat comes out only if it’s needed. If you are meeting all your body’s energy needs with the food you eat, the body doesn’t need the fat in the fat cells. On a low-carb diet your body burns fat for energy. But it doesn’t care where this fat comes from; it can come from the diet or it can come from the fat cells or it can come from both. If you are consuming enough fat to meet all your body’s requirements, your body won’t go after the fat in the fat cells no matter how severely you restrict your carbs. You will burn dietary fat only and no body fat. And you won’t lose weight. It’s that simple.

Low carb and calories, part 2 | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D.

As you may recall from the earlier post, a lowered insulin levels opens the door to the fat cells, allowing fat to come out to be burned. If your dietary intake meets all your body’s energy needs, however, your body will simply use these dietary calories and leave the calories in your fat cells alone. And you won’t lose. But lowered insulin levels pretty much prevents fat from going into the fat cells, so even if your caloric intake goes up – as long as your insulin stays low – you won’t store more fat in the fat cells. And your weight will stay the same.

Take away points:

• Eat low carb = you CAN’T GAIN fat.
• Eat low carb ≠ you WILL LOSE fat. [unless, of course, you create a caloric deficit]

[Driven]

Re: Caloric Deficit.

Great answers guys, thank you!