2 ms·
"A calorie is a calorie" guy here. I'm also a "food affects metabolic rate" guy, they're not in opposition (that said, . The problem is that people are latching
by andreareina 6y ago
"A calorie is a calorie" guy here. I'm also a "food affects metabolic rate" guy, they're not in opposition (that said, . The problem is that people are latching to the idea that such-and-such diet allows you to eat however much you want, and you'll lose weight[1]. To which the answer is, that's not how things work, you still need to have a negative caloric balance to lose weight: "a calorie is a calorie".
Most of the effect of these diets (intermittent fasting, low/no-carb, etc) is due to spontaneous reduction of intake; I haven't seen credible reports of large effects due to metabolic rate change. Granted, I've stopped looking some years ago.
Worrying about "some calories increase metabolism" is majoring in the minors. "Some calories make me less hungry (therefore I eat less)", "some calories make me feel more energetic (therefore I move more)", "some calories come with more micronutrients", "some calories don't come along with poisonous crap" is what most of us should be worrying about.
[1] I know this sounds like a strawman, but this is the actual claim being made.
- nsl73 6y ago> The problem is that people are latching to the idea that such-and-such diet allows you to eat however much you want, and you'll lose weight. This argument is often used not to say you can literally eat an arbitrarily large amount of food and still lose weight but to say if you eat this diet you’ll most likely lose weight without having to feel hungry.
- andreareina 6y agoIt is often used to say that, in fact I allude to the same. It's also often used to claim that you can literally eat an arbitrarily large amount of <specific food> and still lose weight. I've seen it, I've argued "no what's really happening is that your appetite is what's changed", I've mostly given up arguing nutrition with random internet strangers.