-Diablo's Journal, 11 May 21

"Carbs DO NOT CAUSE OBESITY! At least not in the absence of excess energy intake It’s time to talk carbohydrates (CHO) again! I know I’ve debunked the myth that sugar, or CHO in general, cause obesity, but you know how much I like to back up my claims with scientific data. So, today I want to cover a study (PMID: 19559132) that looks at the relationship between dietary patterns in regard to CHO consumption & obesity rates in nearly 4,500 adults In this study, data from participants were stratified into quartiles based on their CHO intake. Intake of CHO/day from quartile 1 to 4 are as follows: 179, 234, 269, and 319 grams per day. So, Q1 is lowest carb & Q4 is highest carb What did the results show? Total energy intake was relatively similar between all quartiles (within 200 kcal). However, high carb consumers ate more overall fiber & less protein compared to low carb consumers. This makes sense, since many grains are high in fiber & perhaps low carb consumers are just eating way more meat, which has protein What about obesity rates? Interestingly, those who ate the least carbs had a significantly higher chance of being obese! Actually, the authors concluded that consuming a low-carb diet may not be an effective strategy for weight maintenance & may increase the risk of obesity! Remember, diet was not manipulated in this study, scientists simply surveyed general dieting habits. Therefore, this doesn’t mean low-carb makes you fat either. It just means that amongst free living individuals, for some reason, those that eat more carbs have lower rates of obesity This could be due to a number of reasons. Maybe it’s due to fiber’s TEF, or maybe CHO provided more energy so those who ate more carbs had more energy expenditure from physical activity The point is that there is no strong evidence that CHO make you fat. If CHO caused obesity independent of energy intake then we should see a linear relationship between CHO intake & obesity risk, but we don’t." -Dr. Layne Norton You don’t need to restrict CHO to lose fat. However, if you enjoy a low carb diet & it’s sustainable for YOU, then it’s a perfectly reasonable methodology to reduce body fat http://www.biolayne.com 

❤️❤️❤️ Love this, as always. I'm waiting for the day fiber gets as much attention as the macros do. 😆  

After eating a “normal” diet over the weekend, it’s obvious that the extra calories come from fat. Yes, eat bread, but know that the tablespoon you put on the bread is about the same number of calories. Pizza? May be the fatty meat and cheese. Think fried cauliflower is better than fried potatoes. Nope! 

Thank you. Still trying to wrap my head around article. Definitely informative 

she loves, living up to her name. :D And yes, fiber is a big deal. It's probably the key in the healthiest countries. Their diets are high in carbs but probably not highly processed ones. 

L2E, I know that when I overdo it, it isn't on gummy bears. It's usually doughnuts, pizza, cake, etc. A beautiful delicious combo of fat and carbs. 

If you overeat anything you will gain weight. Healthier food choices most of the time, less than healthy choices once in a while. Control your portions, balance your macros and MOVE. I have mentored dozens of Obese people over the years with a 100% success rate and no regains.. this does not have to be so hard. 

Layne strikes again! I'm so glad he does the aggressive take-downs of the zealots, if it weren't for him, I'd still be sitting around all day, pouring cream into my tea, and worrying about trace carbs in bacon.  

Ya know, often notice when people say they “can’t stop eating carbs” it’s usually left out that the carbs they’re referring to are also filled with lots of fats, oils, butter, cream, salt, AND sugar. Granted sweet stuff makes our brain go “I like that glucose gimmie more!”. (Probably due to the braiding running on glucose to a degree) But All of these carb snacks create these yummy high palatability food products that are literally engineered to make us “crave” more. Usually Turning on the, I think it’s “reward response”, & simultaneously fooling our bodies into thinking we aren’t full or eating food. Until its too late and we’ve already eating a whole pack of Oreos! Chun chun! to put simply, but often times the amount of fats In those foods contribute to a higher calorie intake than the carbs in them too. the other thing that’s wrong is carbs CAN be more satiating than fats, only if the carb intake is purely from vegetables, you can have a whole bowl of veggies or several, or you can have a spoonful of peanut butter for the same amount of calories. Which do ya think will be more filling? On a minor note, if you like funny videos, on YouTube look up “The Onion, Cucumbers Are Everywhere”, it’s funny because it’s true lol 😆 

High-fiber diets have been systematically linked to decreased risk for coronary disease, lowered blood pressure, decreased risk of stroke, decreased risk of diabetes, decreased risk of obesity, weight loss, improved insulin resistance, improved blood lipids (interestingly it has its greatest impact on LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, while pretty much leaving HDL, the "good" cholesterol, alone), decreased risk of diverticulitis, possibly a decreased risk for colon cancer, possibly a decreased risk for inflammatory diseases overall, and an improved microbiome diversity (which itself has been linked to alot of the above, plus tentative links to decreased anxiety and depression). Americans get half the recommended daily consumption (recommended: 14g of fiber per 1000 Calorie intake), and as a population we suffer from all of these ailments. The foods richest in fiber are fruit, beans, pulses, whole grains and leafy vegetables - and many of these are on the "minimal or none" list for low-carb diets. It isn't carbohydrates that are the issue, it's overly processed foods! If we stick to these foods - and our calorie budget! - we'll be much healthier. Keto undeniably works for weight loss, but I do worry about its potential long term health effects. (My sources, if you're interested: PMID 19335713 and 29071061). 😊 

As a vegetarian/vegan, if someone told me to reduce my carb intake, I'd laugh at them. I eat fresh fruits & veggies all day, and weigh less than most people making the claim that carbs are the enemy. I think that they confuse baby carrots with carrot cake. And I have never met anyone who could stick to a strict, low-carb or meat-only diet without cheating constantly. Our bodies want carbs. The trick is to train them to be happy with plain, fresh strawberries instead of strawberry shortcake, and save 500 calories. 

JB, I get so triggered by anti-carb propaganda because I think it's cruel to deprive people of the body's preferred energy source and make them think they should be afraid of it. I can tolerate calorie cuts if I'm smart about what I eat on them, but I felt utterly deprived and miserable when most carbs were off-limits, even in a surplus. I also laugh when people say carbs are fattening, and then all their examples are fat/carb combos with more calories from fat in the majority of cases. 

When you tell people that the healthiest countries eat mostly carbs the zealots brush you off. The problem is everyone associates high fat and carb foods as "carbage". It's easier to say carbs than highly fatty and carby processed food. So unfortunately, it will remain this way. Then you have people like Fung complicating the simple process if fat loss.  

Yea Diablo, Ugh That fung guy should change his name to dung. He’s full of sh!t. And easily debunked, look at any diabetic who is building muscle, guess what, they’ll get fat on low insulin diets in a surplus just like everyone else. Ya know there’s actually a website I found a few years ago called myzerocarblifestyle.com I think that was it, this woman blogs about her journey, and she did keto, and before she started losing fat, she actually gained 20lbs in 6 months, mostly fat, she estimated eating something like 4000 calories daily or something. That’s an insane amount, that’s 1300 more than what I eat just to maintain my weight. Marketing and BS and stupidly drives the problems of fitness and health and nutrition, especially here in MERICA! Lol. Put simply Insulin causes fat storage not fat gain, if your body doesn’t utilize stored fat for energy, tags along, and when more calories are consumed and that stored fat turned into a surplus, tadaaaa you’ve gained fat. Hell even the roided out bodybuilders that literally inject themselves with insulin don’t gain fat from it. I’ve seen lots of posts on here and the rest of the internet with people trying to do these low carb diets, which is fine, but it becomes problematic bet they end up going overboard and then their metabolic rate slows down, then after they eat normally again, after losing (usually muscle), they gain fat so much more easily and then go “must be the carbs” but the worse part is they rinse and repeat the same diet and it becomes a cycle of yo-yo’ing for however long. If most people just toon all of the foods they eat, cut them in half, cut out the junk and stuck with the basics, they’d probably find dieting much more efficient, still eat foods they enjoy, and have less issues along the way. Unfortunately, the internet and society and media is plagued by nonsense, so whenever you try talking sense into the nonsensical, it’s brushed off like lies. As the saying goes, “it’s easier to fool people, than convince them they’ve been fooled”, I’ve tried convincing people, it’s annoyingly difficult lol. Because forget logic and evidence and reasoning when someone writes a Dr certified buzzword filled “magic pill” of a diet book that basically comes down to “stop eating too much food”. 🤦🏻‍♂️ but hey I’m just the messenger. 

Diablo and all the others on this thread with your wise words of wisdom finally got through this thick Irish head Thank you. Been again on this keto diet and yes I’ve been successful but not happy. Miss my fruits most of all not that I occasionally miss my potatoes and pasta. Admittedly didn’t like adding all these fats like butter, use of heavy cream, cooking in bacon grease etc just in attempt to reach my 70% fat for the day never mind keeping my carb count at 10% or lower. After reading Diablos text went deep in thought including into this morning. Now you guys added the icing to the cake. I use to look at the posted pictures of meals with sweet potatoes, beans - all the no no’s on keto and they where losing weight. Overwhelmed my mind how did they do it. I know it’s portion control - ear my dinner on a luncheon plate occasionally not finishing but was taught to be afraid of all carbs Hopefully I’m making sense but my main objective was to say thank you to all of you. You just made dieting easier with no more tears from totally feeling deprived  

I know this is true lol but for me.. I think I feel more comfortable eating more fat and less carbs because I don't feel as hungry. Plus I have trouble staying active although I try.. I have lost muscle and strength to keep going. That's why I'm trying keto. But I do know CICO works.. it's just mentally a challenge for me 😅 

Yes, Deadpool, great post! It only works for me because I lift things and put them down. It makes my body process food differently(smh). These charlatans use their title as doctors to be convincing to the general public. Preying on the newbies. I just recently saw an ad where a guy is claiming he can help you reset your metabolism. There is no end to the misinformation. Too much money to be had from the desperate.  

Irishdancer, I love posts like yours cause that is exactly my aim. I was one of the hundreds of thousands that didn't know any better. I struggled so much more with getting into shape when I thought I needed to eat 100% "clean". I would eat something off plan and think my day was ruined. Glad those years are waay behind me. 

Wa No, I don't post these studies or science to shame people for the diet they chose. CICO actually just proves that any diet can work. We just have to find the one that will make our goals a reality. Some people can do keto just fine. Whatever works! 

Irishdancer, I also love being able to share with people that it doesn't have to be so hard. The months without carbs were awful and I will speak out whenever I can against charlatans who misuse their degrees or platform to misrepresent the facts (I'm looking at you Jason Fung, Andreas Eenfeldt, Gary Taubes, Eric Berg (huge quack), William Wheat Belly Davis) because I know personally the damage they can do and have done.