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For weight loss, diet is more important than exercise, by far. There are several aphorisms about this: 1. "Abs are made in the kitchen." 2. "You can't outrun

For weight loss, diet is more important than exercise, by far. There are several aphorisms about this: 1. "Abs are made in the kitchen." 2. "You can't outrun a bad diet." Personally, I've found that carb restriction (e.g., Keto) has worked well for me for keeping my blood sugar (A1c) levels down (with an added bonus of weight loss). YMMV

Retric 8y ago
If you start burning 5,000+ calories per day eating enough can feel like a chore. That's outside the realm of possible for a 40+ hour per week office drone, but it does apply to some people.
- garrettdc 8y ago
  This is why we were given cheesecake :)
- lotsofpulp 8y ago
  5k kcal / day is professional athlete levels of activity. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/sports/olympics/cross-country-skiing-food.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/sports/olympics/cross-cou... Burning 15kcal per minute is a stretch for most people, and with family life and economic constraints, I doubt most people can spare more than 30 to 45 min per day for HIIT exercise. My point is its only realistic to budget burning 400 to 600 kcal due to exercise. It's far easier to eat more than what any normal person can burn even with excercise, so without a naturally high metabolism, a proper, restricted diet is a necessity.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
garrettdc 8y ago
I've seen keto work great for a lot of people. Generally, they have been those that tended to overeat on carbs and junk foods like chips, soda, pizza, etc. The mechanism at the end of the day is still caloric restriction that leads to weight loss. Keto is just a means to that end.
- KerrickStaley 8y ago
  One issue with keto weight loss is that some of the lost weight is water weight—the keto diet reduces your body's ability to store water. So keto may reduce your weight, but it's not actually reducing your fat stores, it's just reducing the amount of water in your body.
  - nategri 8y ago
    This is strictly a first week "problem." Having lost 22+ pounds since February on a (renewed) low carbohydrate diet, I can assure you not all of that was water weight. Previously I lost over a hundred pounds by eating this way and have managed to keep it off for years. It took a series of very large lifestyle changes to get me a little off track---something I'm now correcting.
  - goda90 8y ago
    But if weight is still being lost over weeks, that can't just be water reduction, or else there would be no water left to lose pretty quickly.
    - netman21 8y ago
      Right. 50 pounds down here. It took 6 months but I have stayed keto and kept it off four more months since starting. Losing 6 pounds the first week was obviously water weight but wow, that is the way to start a diet. I saw one good description of what is going on: You don't ever lose fat cells just the amount of fat each one stores. When you enter ketosis your cells give up some of the water they were using as place holders for the fat they are waiting to store. Thus the periodic "whoosh" that ketorers report. Every few weeks you notice you have to pee a lot and you lose a few pounds.
- bad_user 8y ago
  Yes and no, calories aren’t equal. E.g. insulin levels affects digestion, food high in sugars stimulates insulin secretion, which in turn leads to more fat being stored. Foods made of refined carbohydrates can give you diabetes and yes, you can eat more calories on a Keto diet, versus a high carbs diet. I know because I tried both, with strict measurements and daily notes. That said, I don’t think keto diets are healthy. Our body is made to eat vegetables. And we need carbs and sugars too — except that when they come from fruits and vegetables, you also get fibers, which diminishes insulin secretion, plus you get needed nutrients not found in white bread or cheesecake, so again, we’re talking of calories that aren’t equal.
hrktb 8y ago
What I find interesting with this article is how so many things can occur when changing habits. Some can be psychological, some can be a reaction of the body, or both. Looking around I see a lot of people giving diet advice after succeeding in losing weight, and often the people that already tried that but failed just nod politely to not antagonize the speaker. For some it’s food balance, for others it’s food volume, some started cycling, for me it was stretching. To my eyes it seems that successful people just found a niche where the counter reaction caused by the change is weak enough to let them lose weight, and it would be a fool’s errand to pundit on how the majority of people would react to any specific change.
z3t4 8y ago
Also for weight gain it's more important to eat then to exercise. Although a healthy amount of exercise will surely increase appetite. But for athletes and serious joggers getting enough calories can be a challenge !

Retric 8y ago

If you start burning 5,000+ calories per day eating enough can feel like a chore. That's outside the realm of possible for a 40+ hour per week office drone, but it does apply to some people.

garrettdc 8y ago
This is why we were given cheesecake :)
lotsofpulp 8y ago
5k kcal / day is professional athlete levels of activity. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/sports/olympics/cross-country-skiing-food.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/sports/olympics/cross-cou... Burning 15kcal per minute is a stretch for most people, and with family life and economic constraints, I doubt most people can spare more than 30 to 45 min per day for HIIT exercise. My point is its only realistic to budget burning 400 to 600 kcal due to exercise. It's far easier to eat more than what any normal person can burn even with excercise, so without a naturally high metabolism, a proper, restricted diet is a necessity.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

garrettdc 8y ago

I've seen keto work great for a lot of people. Generally, they have been those that tended to overeat on carbs and junk foods like chips, soda, pizza, etc. The mechanism at the end of the day is still caloric restriction that leads to weight loss. Keto is just a means to that end.

KerrickStaley 8y ago
One issue with keto weight loss is that some of the lost weight is water weight—the keto diet reduces your body's ability to store water. So keto may reduce your weight, but it's not actually reducing your fat stores, it's just reducing the amount of water in your body.
- nategri 8y ago
  This is strictly a first week "problem." Having lost 22+ pounds since February on a (renewed) low carbohydrate diet, I can assure you not all of that was water weight. Previously I lost over a hundred pounds by eating this way and have managed to keep it off for years. It took a series of very large lifestyle changes to get me a little off track---something I'm now correcting.
- goda90 8y ago
  But if weight is still being lost over weeks, that can't just be water reduction, or else there would be no water left to lose pretty quickly.
  - netman21 8y ago
    Right. 50 pounds down here. It took 6 months but I have stayed keto and kept it off four more months since starting. Losing 6 pounds the first week was obviously water weight but wow, that is the way to start a diet. I saw one good description of what is going on: You don't ever lose fat cells just the amount of fat each one stores. When you enter ketosis your cells give up some of the water they were using as place holders for the fat they are waiting to store. Thus the periodic "whoosh" that ketorers report. Every few weeks you notice you have to pee a lot and you lose a few pounds.
bad_user 8y ago
Yes and no, calories aren’t equal. E.g. insulin levels affects digestion, food high in sugars stimulates insulin secretion, which in turn leads to more fat being stored. Foods made of refined carbohydrates can give you diabetes and yes, you can eat more calories on a Keto diet, versus a high carbs diet. I know because I tried both, with strict measurements and daily notes. That said, I don’t think keto diets are healthy. Our body is made to eat vegetables. And we need carbs and sugars too — except that when they come from fruits and vegetables, you also get fibers, which diminishes insulin secretion, plus you get needed nutrients not found in white bread or cheesecake, so again, we’re talking of calories that aren’t equal.

hrktb 8y ago

What I find interesting with this article is how so many things can occur when changing habits. Some can be psychological, some can be a reaction of the body, or both. Looking around I see a lot of people giving diet advice after succeeding in losing weight, and often the people that already tried that but failed just nod politely to not antagonize the speaker. For some it’s food balance, for others it’s food volume, some started cycling, for me it was stretching. To my eyes it seems that successful people just found a niche where the counter reaction caused by the change is weak enough to let them lose weight, and it would be a fool’s errand to pundit on how the majority of people would react to any specific change.

z3t4 8y ago

Also for weight gain it's more important to eat then to exercise. Although a healthy amount of exercise will surely increase appetite. But for athletes and serious joggers getting enough calories can be a challenge !