New study: carbohydrates, not calories, make you fat

[IGotWorms 4,060]

I know we've probably all heard the theory that carbohydrates are bad, but this new study pretty much confirms the notion and suggests that the diet Americans have been told to eat is actually what has been making them fat:

 

A CALORIE is a calorie. This truism has been the foundation of nutritional wisdom and our beliefs about obesity since the 1960s.

 

What it means is that a calorie of protein will generate the same energy when metabolized in a living organism as a calorie of fat or carbohydrate. When talking about obesity or why we get fat, evoking the phrase “a calorie is a calorie” is almost invariably used to imply that what we eat is relatively unimportant. We get fat because we take in more calories than we expend; we get lean if we do the opposite. Anyone who tells you otherwise, by this logic, is trying to sell you something.

 

But not everyone buys this calorie argument, and the dispute erupted in full force again last week. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of a clinical trial by Dr. David Ludwig of Boston Children’s Hospital and his collaborators. While the media tended to treat the study as another diet trial — what should we eat to maintain weight loss? — it spoke to a far more fundamental issue: What actually causes obesity? Why do we get fat in the first place? Too many calories? Or something else?

 

...

 

Carbohydrates, with less than half the calories per gram as fat, were beginning their official transformation into heart-healthy diet foods. One reason we’ve been told since to eat low-fat, carbohydrate-rich diets is this expectation that they’ll keep us thin.

 

What was done by Dr. Ludwig’s team has never been done before. First they took obese subjects and effectively semi-starved them until they’d lost 10 to 15 percent of their weight. Such weight-reduced subjects are particularly susceptible to gaining the weight back. Their energy expenditure drops precipitously and they burn fewer calories than people who naturally weigh the same. This means they have to continually fight their hunger just to maintain their weight loss. The belief is that weight loss causes “metabolic adaptations,” which make it almost inevitable that the weight will return. Dr. Ludwig’s team then measured how many calories these weight-reduced subjects expended daily, and that’s how many they fed them. But now the subjects were rotated through three very different diets, one month for each. They ate the same amount of calories on all three, equal to what they were expending after their weight loss, but the nutrient composition of the diets was very different.

 

One diet was low-fat and thus high in carbohydrates. This was the diet we’re all advised to eat: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean sources of protein. One diet had a low glycemic index: fewer carbohydrates in total, and those that were included were slow to be digested — from beans, non-starchy vegetables and other minimally processed sources. The third diet was Atkins, which is very low in carbohydrates and high in fat and protein.

 

The results were remarkable. Put most simply, the fewer carbohydrates consumed, the more energy these weight-reduced people expended. On the very low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, there was virtually no metabolic adaptation to the weight loss. These subjects expended, on average, only 100 fewer calories a day than they did at their full weights. Eight of the 21 subjects expended more than they did at their full weights — the opposite of the predicted metabolic compensation.

 

On the very low-carbohydrate diet, Dr. Ludwig’s subjects expended 300 more calories a day than they did on the low-fat diet and 150 calories more than on the low-glycemic-index diet. As Dr. Ludwig explained, when the subjects were eating low-fat diets, they’d have to add an hour of moderate-intensity physical activity each day to expend as much energy as they would effortlessly on the very-low-carb diet. And this while consuming the same amount of calories. If the physical activity made them hungrier — a likely assumption — maintaining weight on the low-fat, high-carb diet would be even harder. Why does this speak to the very cause of obesity? One way to think about this is to consider weight-reduced subjects as “pre-obese.” They’re almost assuredly going to get fatter, and so they can be research stand-ins — perhaps the best we have — for those of us who are merely predisposed to get fat but haven’t done so yet and might take a few years or decades longer to do it.

 

If we think of Dr. Ludwig’s subjects as pre-obese, then the study tells us that the nutrient composition of the diet can trigger the predisposition to get fat, independent of the calories consumed. The fewer carbohydrates we eat, the more easily we remain lean. The more carbohydrates, the more difficult. In other words, carbohydrates are fattening, and obesity is a fat-storage defect. What matters, then, is the quantity and quality of carbohydrates we consume and their effect on insulin.

 

From this perspective, the trial suggests that among the bad decisions we can make to maintain our weight is exactly what the government and medical organizations like the American Heart Association have been telling us to do: eat low-fat, carbohydrate-rich diets, even if those diets include whole grains and fruits and vegetables.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/opinion/sunday/what-really-makes-us-fat.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1341165605-B737fsP16f2YRy+ntSesCg

[Phurfur 70]

I know we've probably all heard the theory that carbohydrates are bad, but this new study pretty much confirms the notion and suggests that the diet Americans have been told to eat is actually what has been making them fat:

 

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/opinion/sunday/what-really-makes-us-fat.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1341165605-B737fsP16f2YRy+ntSesCg

 

The Atkins diet, officially called the Atkins Nutritional Approach, is a low-carbohydrate diet created by Robert Atkins

[IGotWorms 4,060]

Not sure what you're getting at there Phurfur

[Phurfur 70]

Not sure what you're getting at there Phurfur

 

 

 

Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution is from 1972

[Savage Beast 1]

I think eating and then not throwing up after makes people fat?

 

I heard the super model diet works 100% of the time?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDrOLUnb1U0

[IGotWorms 4,060]

Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution is from 1972

 

That's correct Phurfur. Good job. But as this article pointed out, the Atkins Diet and other similar low-carb diets have been labeled as "junk science" by the establishment for years. Now we have a legitimate, scientific study tending to indicate that there is something to the low-carb movement.

 

Also, Atkins Diet probably doesn't achieve the right balance. Yeah it's great to eat less carbs. But a low-carb, high fat diet (like Atkins Diet) might help you lose weight but is probably detrimental to your health in other regards (i.e., it is not heart-friendly). The question is, where do you strike the balance?

[WhiteWonder 2,822]

anything can make you fat if they do a study on it.

[Me_2006 14]

I'm in the middle of a 22 year study. My findings:

 

 

If it tastes good, don't eat it. Run a lot. Drink lots of water.

 

 

 

Also don't take medical advice from the people who make their money selling you medication.

[Savage Beast 1]

anything can make you fat if they do a study on it.

 

 

Jack Sprat could eat no fat

His wife could eat no lean.

So Jack ignored her flabby t!ts

And licked her @sshole clean.

[WhiteWonder 2,822]

low calorie diets, no carbs, gluten free, no trans fats. Today wine in small amounts is good for you, tomorrow its bad. Same with coffee and other caffinated beverages. first it was yogurt, then greek yogurt. Pomegranate has been a craze. AH-VOH-CAH-DOH

 

We very much live in a society where "science" and "studies" will either tell us what we want to hear, or tell us something that food and health industries can make money off of.

 

I completely agree with Me200X. If it tastes good, its probably bad for you. I am very much of the mindset that you can eat whatever you want in moderation as long as you exercise regularly, drink lots of water and generally take care of yourself.

[IGotWorms 4,060]

I completely agree with Me200X. If it tastes good, its probably bad for you. I am very much of the mindset that you can eat whatever you want in moderation as long as you exercise regularly, drink lots of water and generally take care of yourself.

 

I don't agree that it tastes good it has to be bad for you. I think I agree more with your stance--anything in moderation, balanced by exercise and healthy living habits.

[Gepetto 1,389]

The article is an opinion page. It's an ad for the South Beach Diet I believe.

[IGotWorms 4,060]

The article is an opinion page. It's an ad for the South Beach Diet I believe.

 

 

It's on the opinion page because it is the author's stated position that we need more research in this area. This study must be done over the long term and we need to see if it can be replicated.

 

If it was an ad for the South Beach Diet, why does the author state that most people who lose weight will gain it right back?

[IGotWorms 4,060]

Born in Rochester, New York, Taubes studied applied physics at Harvard University and aerospace engineering at Stanford University (MS, 1978). After receiving a master's degree in journalism at Columbia University in 1981, Taubes joined Discover magazine as a staff reporter in 1982.[2] Since then he has written numerous articles for Discover, Science and other magazines. Originally focusing on physics issues, his interests have more recently turned to medicine and nutrition.

 

Taubes's books have all dealt with scientific controversies. Nobel Dreams takes a critical look at the politics and experimental techniques behind the Nobel Prize-winning work of physicist Carlo Rubbia. Bad Science is a chronicle of the short-lived media frenzy surrounding the Pons-Fleischmann cold fusion experiments of 1989.

 

His brother, Clifford Henry Taubes, is the William Petschek Professor of Mathematics at Harvard University.

 

Taubes has won the Science in Society Journalism Award of the National Association of Science Writers three times and was awarded an MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship for 1996-97.[4] He is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation independent investigator in health policy.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Taubes

[Voltaire 5,363]

I'm trying to lose weight so this is rather timely. I've always felt that I've eaten rather healthy but maybe conventional wisdom is being turned on it's head.

 

I've got no interest in Atkins diet. That's too extreme of a change for me plus is lacking in nutrition and promotes heart disease. What I am going to do is be more conscious of cutting down on processed carbs and redouble my efforts on fruit and vegetables. Especially fruit, it never finds it's way into our house unless I buy it. But I don't shop for food (or anything else) and only buy it erratically and thus eat less of it than I should. My wife complains fruit is too heavy to carry

[IGotWorms 4,060]

I'm trying to lose weight so this is rather timely. I've always felt that I've eaten rather healthy but maybe conventional wisdom is being turned on it's head.

 

I've got no interest in Atkins diet. That's too extreme of a change for me plus is lacking in nutrition and promotes heart disease. What I am going to do is be more conscious of cutting down on processed carbs and redouble my efforts on fruit and vegetables. Especially fruit, it never finds it's way into our house unless I buy it. But I don't shop for food (or anything else) and only buy it erratically and thus eat less of it than I should. My wife complains fruit is too heavy to carry

 

A lot of fruit is actually probably not too good for you. It's got a whole lot of sugar. Sugar makes your body produce insulin, and insulin causes your body to store more fat.

 

Obviously fruits have other health benefits so I think it's a little extreme to cut them out entirely, but I would not make a conscious effort to eat a lot of fruit.

 

Non-starchy vegetables are really the healthiest thing for you.

[Gepetto 1,389]

I don't know. I wanted to learn more about a low glycemic diet. What actual foods were eaten by the low glycemic diet study participants? I googled low glycemic diet and the South Beach Diet came up. Maybe it's a good diet. I don't know.

[Gepetto 1,389]

Here's a similar article (July 1, 2012) from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/glycemic-index-diet

[IGotWorms 4,060]

I don't know. I wanted to learn more about a low glycemic diet. What actual foods were eaten by the low glycemic diet study participants? I googled low glycemic diet and the South Beach Diet came up. Maybe it's a good diet. I don't know.

 

South Beach Diet is the most well-known form of the low glycemic diet, and Atkins is the most well-known form of the low-carb/high fat diet.

 

Both have been criticized in traditional circles as junk science and also for having negative impacts on health even if they do work to help people lose weight.

 

I think the author's point is not necessarily that the South Beach Diet and/or the Atkins diet are exactly right, but that there is something to be said for reducing carbohydrates.

 

Personally I wouldn't do Atkins diet because it's bad for your heart and probably has other negative health effects. I don't know a lot about South Beach Diet but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that it has its own drawbacks. The trick is to discard this notion that carbohydrates are actually helpful to losing weight and determine where the better balance belongs.

[NewbieJr 541]

Don't do diets. The results are temporary. Change the way you eat..everyday. Lifestyle change. It's permanent. And don't deny yourself a cheat meal every once in a while. Don't make your eating habits become torturous or you won't stick to them.

 

Very basic facts to know:

The body uses fats and carbs for energy. Since it is a machine built for survival, it will store excess fat/carbs for a time of need. It stores it in body fat.

The body uses protein for cell reconstruction/repair. Eat tons of it. I eat my body weight times 1.5 in grams of protein every day. That's about 330 grams daily. The body does not stoire excess protein. It eliminates it. Foods like tuna fish, chicken breast, eggs etc, are mainly protein. Eat lots of this.

 

Some foods (like small amounts of celery) burn more calories for your body to digest/eliminate than is introduced in the food. Therefore, eating velery is essentially a negative-calory snack.

 

Water instead of soda/ice tea. Zero calories.

 

The article is correct. Carbs are bad for that lean look. Only eat what you need to keep your energy up.

[Me_2006 14]

I don't agree that it tastes good it has to be bad for you. I think I agree more with your stance--anything in moderation, balanced by exercise and healthy living habits.

All foods that taste good may not be bad for you, but all foods that are bad for you taste good. General rule: If you're looking forward to eating it, you probably shouldnt eat it.

 

Basically only eat grilled birds and fish, vegetables, cottage cheese, the occasional fruits and water. Grains, eggs, peanut butter, milk, other meats, etc probably cause cancer or heart disease or something and if they dont yet, they will within the next couple of years.

 

I think they overanalyze the hell out of it.

[IGotWorms 4,060]

All foods that taste good may not be bad for you, but all foods that are bad for you taste good. General rule: If you're looking forward to eating it, you probably shouldnt eat it.

 

Wild caught Pacific salmon is some of the best food I've ever had. I always look forward to eating it.

 

Wild caught shrimp are also delicious and very healthy for you (provided you don't cook 'em in a vat of butter).

 

Halibut, trout, etc. Really most kinds of fish are delicious and healthy if bought wild, relatively fresh, and prepared right.

 

I also really like broccoli (roasted, not steamed), carrots and Brussels sprouts.

 

But yeah, I do get your general point.

[WhiteWonder 2,822]

i wish you all the best of luck with your flavor of the month diets.

[Phurfur 70]

That's correct Phurfur. Good job. But as this article pointed out, the Atkins Diet and other similar low-carb diets have been labeled as "junk science" by the establishment for years. Now we have a legitimate, scientific study tending to indicate that there is something to the low-carb movement.

 

 

Yup, but your guys are 40 years behind. Even I knew this by 1982.

[IGotWorms 4,060]

Even I knew this by 1982.

 

Well the American Medical Association did not.

[cbfalcon 827]

Don't do diets. The results are temporary. Change the way you eat..everyday. Lifestyle change. It's permanent. And don't deny yourself a cheat meal every once in a while. Don't make your eating habits become torturous or you won't stick to them.

 

Very basic facts to know:

The body uses fats and carbs for energy. Since it is a machine built for survival, it will store excess fat/carbs for a time of need. It stores it in body fat.

The body uses protein for cell reconstruction/repair. Eat tons of it. I eat my body weight times 1.5 in grams of protein every day. That's about 330 grams daily. The body does not stoire excess protein. It eliminates it. Foods like tuna fish, chicken breast, eggs etc, are mainly protein. Eat lots of this.

 

Some foods (like small amounts of celery) burn more calories for your body to digest/eliminate than is introduced in the food. Therefore, eating velery is essentially a negative-calory snack.

 

Water instead of soda/ice tea. Zero calories.

 

The article is correct. Carbs are bad for that lean look. Only eat what you need to keep your energy up.

 

This advice is dead solid perfect. I agree with every word of it. Diets are like treating the symptom instead of the cause. Change your eating lifestyle permanently, in the ways Newbie says here, and 95% of the work is done.

 

And once you've made these changes and your body adapts, everything gets very easy. You actually won't want unhealthy or giant meals because you will hate the way it feels being so stuffed. You won't want soda very often because it no longer tastes good. And you'll want to workout more and more because you'll have more energy from eating better, plus you'll be seeing results quicker and quicker which feeds the fire.

 

Basically, if you can change your diet in such a way, the results are exponentially increased. And the best part is once you've successfully made the lifestyle change, you don't have to deny yourself any food in particular. There isn't anything out there you can't have whenever you want it. Because your tastes will adapt, meaning you wont want those unhealthy things all that often. Which means its ok to partake when you do.

[IGotWorms 4,060]

I don't care how healthy my lifestyle is -- I will always want ice cream. Hell I'm fighting the urge to drive on down to the local Dairy Queen as we speak.

[cbfalcon 827]

I don't care how healthy my lifestyle is -- I will always want ice cream. Hell I'm fighting the urge to drive on down to the local Dairy Queen as we speak.

 

I am sure everyone will always have a weakness. Mine may be the milkshake.

 

Not to say my diet is quite as perfect as what Newbie suggests, but I follow the same general rules he laid out and am now in the best shape of my life without spending any more time in the gym than I did before.

 

But milkshakes....I still crave them and still drink them, but whereas it use to be a constant craving, I probably only want one once every couple of weeks now. And when I want one, I just go get one without any guilt. Because I know I'm eating very well overall.

[jerryskids 6,926]

I've been saying this for years; good to see some research finally occurring to confirm it.

 

Those of you bashing Atkins may not be aware that he was a cardiologist, and he used the diet to help the morbidly obese. If I recall he didn't recommend it to people trying to lose 5 pounds, and in its true form it is fairly severe -- carbs are virtually eliminated, putting your body in a state of ketosis (generating ketones which process fat; it is what happens in diabetics if their blood sugar gets too high). He only recommended that for a short period, then moved to a less severe diet.

 

Avoid processed carbs: desserts, sodas, bread, pasta. Also avoid potatoes and too much fruit. Also beer (sorry ). Do this at night and voila$#@! Weight loss.

[penultimatestraw 473]

I know we've probably all heard the theory that carbohydrates are bad, but this new study pretty much confirms the notion and suggests that the diet Americans have been told to eat is actually what has been making them fat:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/opinion/sunday/what-really-makes-us-fat.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1341165605-B737fsP16f2YRy+ntSesCg

Interesting, but I don't know if the body's response to a starvation state is generalizable. Low-carb diets haven't been demonized by the medical field BTW. There are plenty of studies comparing low fat, low carb and other diets (ex. Mediterranean). The bottom line is you can expect to lose 10-15% of your body weight on any diet, but will gain about a half of it back in a couple years. And lipid/cholesterol profiles are slightly better with low carb (higher fat) diets. That helps a bit, but bariatric surgery is the only really effective weight loss tool for the obese.

 

Better yet, don't gain the weight in the first place. There are plenty of delicious and healthy meal choices.

[penultimatestraw 473]

All foods that taste good may not be bad for you, but all foods that are bad for you taste good. General rule: If you're looking forward to eating it, you probably shouldnt eat it.

 

Basically only eat grilled birds and fish, vegetables, cottage cheese, the occasional fruits and water. Grains, eggs, peanut butter, milk, other meats, etc probably cause cancer or heart disease or something and if they dont yet, they will within the next couple of years.

 

I think they overanalyze the hell out of it.

This is ridiculous. Your palate adapts to whatever diet you choose. Truthfully the healthiest diet is probably vegan, with a few supplemental vitamins that are tough to get from plants.

[IGotWorms 4,060]

Interesting, but I don't know if the body's response to a starvation state is generalizable. Low-carb diets haven't been demonized by the medical field BTW. There are plenty of studies comparing low fat, low carb and other diets (ex. Mediterranean). The bottom line is you can expect to lose 10-15% of your body weight on any diet, but will gain about a half of it back in a couple years. And lipid/cholesterol profiles are slightly better with low carb (higher fat) diets. That helps a bit, but bariatric surgery is the only really effective weight loss tool for the obese.

 

Better yet, don't gain the weight in the first place.

 

Well that's more of what I'm getting at: what sort of diet you should have to avoid gaining weight. I've never had a problem with weight before and still don't now, but I can tell you that it's getting harder to stay fit. Metabolism must be slowing down, so my personal concern is how to compensate for that.

[naomi 356]

A lot of fruit is actually probably not too good for you. It's got a whole lot of sugar. Sugar makes your body produce insulin, and insulin causes your body to store more fat.

 

Obviously fruits have other health benefits so I think it's a little extreme to cut them out entirely, but I would not make a conscious effort to eat a lot of fruit.

 

Non-starchy vegetables are really the healthiest thing for you.

Agreed. Eat a reasonable amount of fruit.

 

It seems like people are starting to generally just avoid fruit because it's 'too' sugary. If you're in that camp (obviously not you Worms or Volty) this is a good read:

 

Is fruit too high in sugar?

 

The body needs natural sugar as a source of energy. When starchy foods such as potatoes and bread are eaten, the digestive enzymes break down complex sugar (starch) into simpler sugars. When fruit is eaten, the body uses the simple sugars (fructose or others) directly, without needing to break them down any further. However, this is not like eating refined sugar. In the case of refined sugar, the food is devoid of nutrients and fiber. Thus, the sugar enters the blood quickly and is not slowed down by the process of digesting fiber. Plus, the calories found in sugar are “empty” because they do not provide any vitamins or minerals. Fruit, on the other hand, is a nutrient-dense food. Which means that for every calorie it provides, it also gives many micro-nutrients - vitamins and minerals.

 

If you cut out most sweet fruit (sugar) and most or all complex carbohydrates (starch), then you will need to get your calories from other sources - protein or fat. It is difficult to get a lot of calories from protein, and high-protein diets are generally recognized to be harmful for health. So what will happen inevitably is that you’ll end up eating large amounts of fats. The consequences of eating a high-fat diet are well-researched. (See Klaper, McDougall, Fuhrman, Barnard, etc.)

 

Most leading vegetarian and vegan experts recommend a diet with about 10-15% of the calories coming from fat. Certainly, no credible health expert would recommend a diet with more than 20-25% of the calories coming from fat.

 

But many raw-food enthusiasts are not aware of this. They live on a very high-fat diet. They eat raw nut butters, nut pates, refined oils, flax crackers, etc. They’ll make a salad with 2-3 avocados thrown in there (sometimes more!), and the bag of macadamia nuts becomes their comfort food. On average, they get more than 50% of their calories from fat, often up to 70%. Without a doubt, such a large amount of fat in the diet is extremely unhealthy and is the main reason why most people fail on those diets.

 

An unfortunate side-effect of that unhealthy diet is that they can no longer handle sweet fruit. It has been proven that high-fat diets decrease insulin sensitivity (the effectiveness of insulin in carrying sugar to the cells), and thus raise blood sugar levels. 1 So those living on high-fat diets, that is, most raw-foodists, will inevitably experience more blood sugar swings when they eat fruit. So the problem is not the fruit per se, but the high amounts of fat consumed. Once you substantially reduce the amount of fat that you eat, by eliminating all oils and reducing the quantities of avocados, nuts, and other fatty foods, your body will be able to process and utilize fruit sugar much more efficiently.

 

With the knowledge that the primary source of fuel for the human body is natural sugar, the concept of fruit having “too much” sugar becomes illogical. The only way you can consume too much sugar in the form of fruit would be to overeat, which is difficult to achieve when eating high-water content fruit.

 

Carb wise...I crave them, especially potato stuff (which is not the best sign of something I'm forgetting as I type this..) and I need to gain weight.

[southcarolina 166]

And don't deny yourself a cheat meal every once in a while. Don't make your eating habits become torturous or you won't stick to them.

 

 

One thing that always worked for me was scheduling my cheat meals. It gave me something to look forward to, and made it so mush easier to stick to my plan when my willpower wasnt at full strength.

[heavy-set 39]

yes and no

 

taking in more calories than you burn makes you fat. the excess is stored as fat. fat by itself, does not make you fat.

 

also, there are good and bad carbs. bad carbs cause your blood sugar to rise rapidly, then crash. when crashed, you will feel the need to eat again.

good carbs are more slowly digested, making you feel fuller which reduces the urge to eat.

[Bert 1,128]

Everything makes you fat and causes premature death, everything gives you heart disease and causes premature death, and everything gives you cancer and causes premature death all the while the average life expectancy continues to increase.

[WhiteWonder 2,822]

guys i read a study that increasing your semen intake is very healthy and helps you lose weight.

[KSB2424 3,148]

I eat lean meats, veggies, fruits, water, nuts, whole grain carbs. No cigs/drugs, take an Omega-3 supplement and cut back a little bit on alcohol and caffine (moderation).

 

It's an interesting article, but what I got out of it is that Diets are sort of dumb. Counting calories while scarfing down pasta and bread isn't the way to go. However the Atkins diet for an extended period (what I don't think it was meant for) will clog your ateries.

 

A balanced diet not a crash diet.

[JTB 52]

This is why people are some what skeptical of MAN MADE Global Warming

 

 

Things change

[tubby_mcgee 701]

New report out:

A new study has been done that indicates that falling from an airplane from 20,000 feet won't kill you. It's the sudden stop when hitting the ground.

 

 

Most foods that Americans eat....get most of the calories from carbs...so it only makes sense.

 

Also, lions and tigers and whatnot eat pretty much only protein and fat. I assume not a lot of obese lions running around.

 

I see a lot of people attempt these sort of diets. It's the same thing always. After the first week to couple weeks "Oh my...awesome results...." Then...I'll see them a month later....and ask about it...and they'll be like "Well...I quit that...I couldn't stand not eating bread or some pasta or etc..."

 

Diets are difficult to maintain. A week in, ask yourself "Is this something I can do long term?" I think they had it right in the 70's/80s with the "moderation is the key" even though I disagreed with it all through the 90's.