Post by Enchantress on Dec 6, 2004 8:03:35 GMT -5
Calories Don't Count: Fact Or Fiction?
By Jonny Bowden, MA, CN, CNS
The Weight Loss Coach
One of the biggest misconceptions among low-carbers is the following notion: I can eat whatever I want as long as it’s low carb.
Client after client has come to me telling me "I’ve tried that Atkins thing and it didn’t work." "Really?" I ask. "What were you doing?" They then proceed to list a day’s worth of high-protein, high-fat food (which rarely includes vegetables) and which typically totals to about 4,000 calories a day.
No wonder it didn’t work.
Because Dr. Atkins -- and other responsible low-carb writers -- told us not to count calories in the beginning, many of us came away with the mistaken idea that calories didn’t count. I’ve seen many a person devour astronomical amounts of food and when I asked them what they thought the calorie count might be, they simply shrugged and said "it doesn’t matter; it’s low carb."
Actually, folks, it does matter.
The reason for the original advice about not counting calories had to do with the fact that the low-carb approach concentrates on managing blood sugar and insulin. It concentrates on choosing foods natural to the human diet -- i.e. protein, fat and fiber from vegetables -- that naturally satiate the appetite and send hormonal signals to the brain that you’re full. That’s why it’s easier to stay on a natural foods lower-carb diet than a processed foods high-carb one, which stimulates hunger and cravings.
And that’s why we tell you, in the beginning, don’t worry about calories. Just worry about eating the right kinds of foods and your appetite will, hopefully, take care of itself.
But because calories are not the whole picture -- the way they have been in "conventional" weight loss programs -- does not mean they’re out of the show. They’ve just been moved from a starring role to that of a supporting -- but important -- player.
This was never better illustrated than in a brilliant study recently done at Harvard by Dr. Penelope Greene. Dr. Green took three groups and divided them into three different diets. Group one got 1,500 calories of low-fat food. Group two got 1,800 calories of low-carb food. (I’ll tell you about Group three in a minute). Group two -- the low-carb higher-calorie group -- lost more weight. (If it was all about calories, the higher-calorie low-carb group should have gained weight, not won the weight loss contest).
But then Dr. Greene threw in a third group. The third group also got low-carb food, but this time they got the same lower calorie amount that the low-fat group got: 1,500 calories.
And this group -- the low-cal, low-carb group -- lost the most amount of weight of all.
The point is: Calories aren’t the whole story -- but they do matter. If you’re stuck at a plateau and have stopped losing weight on your low-carb plan, maybe it’s time to do a little digging and see just how much food you’re actually consuming.
It might surprise you. And it might change your life.
www.ediets.com/news/article...._770380/cid_28/
By Jonny Bowden, MA, CN, CNS
The Weight Loss Coach
One of the biggest misconceptions among low-carbers is the following notion: I can eat whatever I want as long as it’s low carb.
Client after client has come to me telling me "I’ve tried that Atkins thing and it didn’t work." "Really?" I ask. "What were you doing?" They then proceed to list a day’s worth of high-protein, high-fat food (which rarely includes vegetables) and which typically totals to about 4,000 calories a day.
No wonder it didn’t work.
Because Dr. Atkins -- and other responsible low-carb writers -- told us not to count calories in the beginning, many of us came away with the mistaken idea that calories didn’t count. I’ve seen many a person devour astronomical amounts of food and when I asked them what they thought the calorie count might be, they simply shrugged and said "it doesn’t matter; it’s low carb."
Actually, folks, it does matter.
The reason for the original advice about not counting calories had to do with the fact that the low-carb approach concentrates on managing blood sugar and insulin. It concentrates on choosing foods natural to the human diet -- i.e. protein, fat and fiber from vegetables -- that naturally satiate the appetite and send hormonal signals to the brain that you’re full. That’s why it’s easier to stay on a natural foods lower-carb diet than a processed foods high-carb one, which stimulates hunger and cravings.
And that’s why we tell you, in the beginning, don’t worry about calories. Just worry about eating the right kinds of foods and your appetite will, hopefully, take care of itself.
But because calories are not the whole picture -- the way they have been in "conventional" weight loss programs -- does not mean they’re out of the show. They’ve just been moved from a starring role to that of a supporting -- but important -- player.
This was never better illustrated than in a brilliant study recently done at Harvard by Dr. Penelope Greene. Dr. Green took three groups and divided them into three different diets. Group one got 1,500 calories of low-fat food. Group two got 1,800 calories of low-carb food. (I’ll tell you about Group three in a minute). Group two -- the low-carb higher-calorie group -- lost more weight. (If it was all about calories, the higher-calorie low-carb group should have gained weight, not won the weight loss contest).
But then Dr. Greene threw in a third group. The third group also got low-carb food, but this time they got the same lower calorie amount that the low-fat group got: 1,500 calories.
And this group -- the low-cal, low-carb group -- lost the most amount of weight of all.
The point is: Calories aren’t the whole story -- but they do matter. If you’re stuck at a plateau and have stopped losing weight on your low-carb plan, maybe it’s time to do a little digging and see just how much food you’re actually consuming.
It might surprise you. And it might change your life.
www.ediets.com/news/article...._770380/cid_28/