Is Counting Calories or Carbs Better for Weight Loss?

low carb diets work for weight loss low calorie diets also work for weight loss so with these two successful strategies available to us why isn't obesity a thing of the past this video takes a look at how weight loss happens via the calorie model and carbohydrate model and the one thing that destroys them both in the mid-1900s the calorie model was the blueprint for weight loss it went like this take in fewer calories than you burn and you'll lose weight okay that is true your body needs energy so if you're not eating it it will break down tissues to supply it acceptance of this model is when the reputation of dietary fat starts to go south and the reason was easy to see a gram of fat has more calories than a gram of carbohydrate or protein in fact quite a bit more each gram of fat contains about nine calories whereas a gram of carbohydrate or protein only has around four calories that calorie difference is why low fat diets became All the Rage after all calories don't add up as fast when you cut out calorie dense fat so low-fat diets made a lot of sense on paper however we have been trying to follow this Logic for the past 60 years and obesity rates have skyrocketed with obesity rates climbing at such a rapid Pace thinking started to shift away from Simply counting calories to the hormonal response that results from eating different foods when it comes to storing and releasing body fat the hormone insulin is the key player the growing understanding of insulin's role in fat metabolism is why the carbohydrate model for weight loss started to take Center Stage yes it's true that gram for gram carbs contain less than half of the calories of fat but they cause a much higher rise in levels of the fat storing hormone insulin and not only do carbs open the door to Fat storage they also burn up quickly leading to a more rapid onset of hunger so here we have two models that work for weight loss albeit from opposite directions a low carb diet is high in calorie dense fat but AIDS weight loss by keeping hunger and fat storage under control a low-fat diet provides fewer calories helping you control your weight so why isn't obesity a thing of the past could it be that we need to combine the two models well that seems like a logical answer unfortunately when you eat a low carb and low-fat diet you rob the body of both primary energy sources your body wants and needs energy when it's deprived it switches on hunger hormones making life very uncomfortable you can still eat protein but your body prefers to use protein to build and repair tissues rather than burn it as fuel so the answer to why obesity rates are going up not down requires a bit more digging what's interesting is that as obesity rates Rose so did the processing of our food supply before the upward Trend processed foods were just starting to show up on our grocery store shelves today calorie dense nutrient poor Ultra processed foods make up nearly 60 percent of our energy intake examples of ultra processed foods include things like sweetened cereals Cookies Cakes candies fries chips and soda these foods and drinks are typically refined carbohydrates that can be made cheaply thanks to subsidized grains and other inexpensive ingredients like sugar and fructose unfortunately it is those cheap ingredients that make these Foods so addictive and not only do these refined foods make you want to keep eating them they are also calorie dense which helps explain why the average person's daily calorie consumption has increased by 24 percent since the 1960s and yes there are processed Meats made with unhealthy additives you do not want to base your diet on hot dogs and lunch meat but the appetite stimulating additives they contain are offset by protein and fat making them less addictive the bottom line is that processing Alters the nutritional profile of our food supply leaving us hungry and undernourished but here's the Deep dive problem instead of outlawing Ultra processed foods the disturbing movement seems to be toward building a positive image of them perhaps the boldest move comes from tuft University's food compass according to their website food Compass is a novel food rating system developed by researchers at tuft University okay good they go on to say that these scores could be used in numerous ways including internally by food manufacturers to improve formulations or by consumers to inform food choices here's the problem this novel rating system ranks numerous processed cereals higher on their nutrition scale than Whole Foods like eggs cheese and meat in other words the conclusion of this university-based peer review study is essentially that we will have a healthier Society if we eat more fruit loops and fewer eggs no one has exposed this analysis better than Nina teichels who put this chart together based on the article's data I will leave a link in the description area I recommend reading her blog post as well as her book The Big Fat Surprise which is excellent so Fruit Loops are healthier than eggs fried in butter we want to believe this is true and we're willing to overlook little red flags like the fact that fruit of Fruit Loops is spelled f-r-o-o-t but if we just take a step back say what you will about a pat of butter but had this egg been left to Nature the nutrients it contains are enough to grow an entire chicken this handful of colored circles will grow nothing but fat cells in fact I'm not even really sure I want to feed these to a chicken yet we are being told to fear this and eat more of this Nina taishals points out what is ultimately the most glaring red flag of this new rating system when she reports that Tufts Friedman School of nutritions food and nutrition Innovation Institute receives funds from 60 companies including quite a few of those whose products get top ranks in the compass this includes Kellogg's a tuft Institute Gold Member which had 40 of its products included in the food compass nothing to see here these Ultra processed refined cereals and other foods have been proven to stimulate your appetite so you can say that the appetite stimulation of ultra processed foods killed the calorie model of weight loss however that doesn't mean that carb counters get to let their guard down low carb and keto diets have skyrocketed in popularity because they work but they work only when you eat Whole Foods when these diets started to take Center Stage food manufacturers found the crack in the door that allowed them to get a foothold into the keto craze that crack was net carbs when net carbs first became a thing the equation was simple this Apple has 25.1 total carb grams and 4.4 grams of fiber therefore it has 20.7 net carbs carbs minus fiber fiber is a nutrient that resists digestion so it just passes through you and doesn't need to be counted okay then other food products were identified that seemed to resist digestion meaning they could also be subtracted from the total carb count and the kicker was some of them were sweet so take the sugar out of traditional brownies and add fiber sugar alcohols and alulose and you can have your sweets and lose weight too now instead of being hampered by the 17 total carbs in each brownie you only have to count three net carbs by that logic you can eat seven or more of these brownies each day and your keto diet stays right on track this is why I say that net carbs killed the carbohydrate model for weight loss now in reality the models are not dead you can lose weight by being accountable for the number of calories you take in or the number of carbs you take in both are important the levels of each that can be consumed to vary from person to person because we are all different sizes so finding what is right for you does take some trial and error but really so much of the issue is naturally resolved when you cut out One Thing Ultra processed foods so there is a way around the madness the problem is not that all carbs are evil Foods classified as carbohydrates run the gamut from Ultra unhealthy to superfood greatness so it is as unfair to say that carbs alone are the problem when it comes to weight loss as it is to say that calories alone are the problem the bottom line Ultra processed foods make you hungry making it too easy to eat too much therefore eat Whole Foods this will naturally reduce your overall carb intake and hunger controlling calories with minimal effort if you want a list of whole foods that are also low carb choices download my list of 100 low-carb foods it's free and I will leave a link in the description area for you so Whole Foods are the solution I get that it kind of stinks processed foods are yummy and convenient so it is fine to feel frustrated but don't get defeated you have a lot of say in raising healthy kids and staying out of the doctor's office give yourself a gift this year by switching to Whole Foods learning how to cook at home is a way to get this permanently ingrained into your routine having something in the crock pot or home-cooked leftovers in the fridge is so much better than gritting your teeth and clinging to willpower start with learning how to make one meal a week in a year you'll know how to cook 52 things thanks for watching if you'd like a copy of my 100 low carb foods click on the image on screen or follow the link in the description area below this video that will take you to my website where you'll also find my cookbooks filled with whole food low carb recipes and please share this video with your community and click the Subscribe button I appreciate both have a great rest of your day

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