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Calories are simply of measure of energy. I am eating a whole foods vegan diet for health and weight loss- and counting calories, too. Many people who eat my way feel like they don't need to count calories- that's fine, but it's those same people who hit plateaus and wonder why they can't lose anymore weight. It's also very easy to underestimate the food you are consuming if you aren't weighing and measuring.
The study you provided was conducted by feeding measured amounts of food to people in a hospital outpatient setting, therefore it was calorie controlled. The implications for human metabolism are interesting, but it doesn't provide an adequate basis for choosing a diet. That low carb produces short term weight loss for many people is indisputable in the literature- the long term effects are what concern me.
1. The article was not about non-calorie control vs calorie control. I already said that. It was more to show that where your calories come from matters. Originally Posted by Locke
I wasn't trying to claim that calories in / out are the only factor for weight loss or nutrition. My comment was on methodology. Even if you are eating strictly low carb ad libitum it is quite possible to consume more calories than you wish to. Calories are simply of measure of energy. I am eating a whole foods vegan diet for health and weight loss- and counting calories, too. Many people who eat my way feel like they don't need to count calories- that's fine, but it's those same people who hit plateaus and wonder why they can't lose anymore weight. It's also very easy to underestimate the food you are consuming if you aren't weighing and measuring.
The study you provided was conducted by feeding measured amounts of food to people in a hospital outpatient setting, therefore it was calorie controlled. The implications for human metabolism are interesting, but it doesn't provide an adequate basis for choosing a diet. That low carb produces short term weight loss for many people is indisputable in the literature- the long term effects are what concern me.
2. Low carb will produce long term weight loss as well. I have not seen any literature showing that those follow low carb stop losing weight or see it slow dramatically, unless they go back to a heavy carb diet. But that's with any diet, you go off it, it stops working. Likewise, calorie counting will produce short term weight loss...
3. After many years of reading, learning, and work, along with much of the new studies that are starting to show that the real culprit is not saturated fat, but rather carbs and sugar, I would say that my greater concern is the long term effects of those things in our diets. Now I'm not saying that whole grains like oatmeal are going to kill you. But our bodies evolved on a diet without several foods. Including grains and dairy. I am not a history buff, but these started to come about with farming and agriculture. I did the vegan thing about 10 years ago, but I was misinformed and I believe now that vegan is a very unhealthy diet. I believe it does lack much of what our bodies evolved to use as fuel.
4. I do agree that it is possible for people to adopt a "diet" and then over eat. Actually a friend of mine is vegan and very over weight. She's probably a size 16. And as she struggles to lose and talks talks talks about how she's going to get thin, my weight is just coming off. I was bigger than her after my last baby, and now I'm smaller. She eats uncontrolled thinking that because she's vegan, she's eating healthy. But she still eats a lot of processed, sugar filled stuff, fried foods, and she's simply over eating. I don't offer her advice because she hasn't asked. But I do feel if she went to whole foods, it would help a lot.
You are vegan. I don't know how long, but I can tell you as someone who was vegan you are not getting the experience that a paleo/primal gets with not counting calories. When I was vegan I filled up, but without that animal protein, I was not getting the satiety I needed to carry me meal to meal, so I had to be careful about what I ate too. The ability to over eat is greatly diminished with the paleo/primal type diet, which is why it is kind of touted is not having to count cals. KWIM?