“A calorie is a calorie” is a much debated phrase, which is weird.
I am a strong advocate that, when it comes to weight control, calories are the single most important element in a diet. Which is handy, as they are.
Calorie count and protein intake are 95% of what you need to focus on for weight control.
It is not sexy, does not have any hyperbole marketing name and is very simple. Always has been.
Why forums, books and articles still debate the facts is weird. It can only be explained by people needing to make money and using snake oil to do so.
Gary Taubes made a name for himself with his book: Good Calories, Bad Calories (as have many other authors and internet “gurus”) where the basic premise is that carbohydrates are bad and that even on a calorie restricted diet, one can gain fat/weight if the diet is high in carbohydrates.
This is a very dangerous (to the public) money making game and an outright lie.
People tend to “buy in” to fads like this to justify why their diets haven’t been working in the past and overlooking or denying previous poor eating (and mostly drinking) habits.
“Oh well I eat pretty well most of the time so it must be the carbs making me fat”
Well my friends, it is not carbs. Never has been. Over consumption, over time is the real problem.
Gary Taubes went on to form the Nutrition Science Initiative to “prove” his theory was correct.
So far he has failed.
This study, highlights a study carried out by said initiative, which was very well conducted, showed no weight or fat loss advantage with a carbohydrate restricted diet, to a normal and well balanced diet when calories were equalised in groups studied.
There are many, many other studies that show the same results, so many in fact, that it’s hilarious that anyone with even an eye on the world of nutrition science has the humour/lack of morals to try and sell people on anything else.
Calories count. Count them.
- Control your calorie intake
- Consume enough protein to support your training
- Drink less alcohol than you do (So many people drink several bottles of wine each week and that’s a lot of calories)
- Drink more water, ice cold.
- Trainer harder, not longer (sprinter vs marathoner)