No difference between high carb and low carb diets.

 I was talking with a client this morning about his weight loss. He mentioned talking to his wife about a potential move to a low carb diet.

In today’s world we live in a time of weight loss hacks, shortcuts, and fad diets. Where we hear a whole lot about how carbs are bad and if you want to lose weight you need to be following a low carb or Ketogenic style of dieting.

Now, first and foremost I want to start by prefacing that there is nothing inherently wrong with a low carb or Ketogenic diet. Dieting in general is all about choosing a method that you enjoy and can adhere to for the long term, because if you can’t stick to it for the long term, it’s not going to do you any good.

If you listen to the average social media influencer/guru, you will very likely hear them touting that if you simply eat a bunch of fat all day your body will become fat adapted, and you will magically become this fat burning machine. Able to eat an unlimited amount of food and never have to worry about the overall number of calories you take in.

How if you simply follow a high fat diet you will be able to keep insulin low and therefor will not store body fat, as insulin is a “storage hormone” that causes you to do nothing but store body fat.

This disinformation is everywhere, and unfortunately it is for the most part NOT accurate.

The simple fact of the matter is that there is NO difference between the total amount of fat able to be lost, between a low carb and high carb diet when calories and protein intake are equated.  Studies have proven this repeatedly, time and time again.

It is just physics and the universal law of Thermogenics at work. This universal law states that energy CANNOT be destroyed, only transferred, or stored. One or the other, there are no other options. It does not matter who you are or what your current life situation is, NO ONE gets to break the laws of physics. The basis of any weight loss or muscle gain journey is calories in vs. calories out. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

The biggest problem we run into with research is that most of the time when put into practice the total amounts of protein and calories are almost never equated, and when studies don’t equate protein and calorie intake carefully, it leads to results showing that sometimes a low carb diet produces better results. But again, this is because calories and protein numbers HAVE NOT BEEN EQUATED.

Don’t let this make you think I’m talking down or against a low carb or Ketogenic style of dieting. Afterall I personally lost 93lbs utilizing a Ketogenic diet. I’m just saying that if your reasoning for wanting to use a low carb or Keto diet because you think there is something special or powerful about it, that’s the wrong reason to try a keto diet.

Again, I say whatever diet method you choose should be one that you can adhere to over time and sustain for the long haul. And while yes, some people can thrive on a low carb or Keto diet, the fact is that for most it is not a sustainable way to diet. Most people just feel better and perform better while consuming carbs.

Take athletes for example, the vast majority of athletes follow a high carb, high protein diet. There is no way that they would have the energy to perform to that level while utilizing a low carb or Keto diet. Your muscles need glycogen to be able to perform maximally, and that is what athletes from bodybuilders to football and soccer players strive for, MAXIMAL PERFORMANCE.  Carbs are the source of that glycogen, they aid in the ability to produce explosive muscle contractions and movements, they aid in the ability to recover, they also have been shown to reduce cortisol levels.

The keto diet was designed as a medically prescribed diet for those who have autoimmune diseases such as lime disease or MS, not a magical cure all diet. It has been turned into a way to make money! Gurus are always looking for the next big way to exploit people for more money, and when a large portion of the population is consistently looking for the next hack or shortcut to achieving their dream body, it’s all too easy to sell something like keto. Something that “allows you to eat without worrying about the number of calories you have taken in”.

But whatever you choose, do so because the diet is the one that is going to give you the best results for your body. Say maybe you are an insulin-resistant individual, you may do better with a low carb diet, as studies show insulin-resistant individuals often doing better with a low carb diet and insulin-sensitive individuals losing more weight, feeling, and performing better on a high carb diet.  

The choice is yours on the diet style you choose to utilize. Just make that choice based on what’s going to be best for your body, not because it’s what you think tastes better or what is popular. You are an individual not an average. Follow the path that is right for you, not the path some guru, or friend, or coworker thinks you should take.