Protein vs carbohydrates etc

tomhurst
tomhurst Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just out of curiosity, say I was trying to lose and was eating around 1200 calories a day...
What would be the difference if those 1200 were mostly carbs e.g. Bread
Or if they were mostly protein e.g. Chicken

Thanks!

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    For weight loss, calories are king. There are minimum amounts of protein and fats that your body needs, though, and you should try to eat a varied diet to help get your micronutrients in. Once you've covered those basics then you can fill in the rest of your calories with whatever you want.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Is there a difference for weight loss?

    No. If 1,200 puts you in a deficit, you will lose weight on 1,200 calories whether those calories are mostly protein or mostly carbohydrates.

    For your health, fitness, and satiety levels?

    Yes.

    You need protein to live. Your body uses protein to retain muscle mass while you are losing weight. And many people find that getting sufficient protein helps them feel fuller while they are in a deficit.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited June 2016
    It would further depend on the source of carbs. There numerous sources of carbohydrates that really require your body to work to break them down and thus they would have a relatively high TEF due to fiber...things like legumes, lentils, oats, brown rice, vegetables, fruit, whole food starches like potatoes and sweet potatoes, etc....I would think it would be relatively on par with a higher protein diet (which would also have a higher TEF)

    If you were eating more simple carbs you would still lose, but probably at a slightly slower rate than a diet that was higher in protein and/or fiber because TEF would be somewhat lower...but you'd still lose weight.

    By the by, most vegetarians and vegans eat very high carbohydrate diets. There are numerous sources of highly nutritious carbohydrates...they aren't the devil and don't need to be demonized....they are just one of the three macro-nutrients.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    The bridge is AND not VS. All the carbs and protein, and fats. When I was on a medically supervised VLCD, my protein intake was carefully monitored. Not enough protein and you start to have other problems like muscle loss. You really don't want that.

    The way I see it, the calorie count will determine if you lose weight. Protein count is a minimum to prevent other problems.

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