Atkins/keto calorie question

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npguy2013
npguy2013 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So i've always thought of eating and weight loss like a math game. If you eat more calories than you take in, you gain, if you run a deficit, you lose.

Here's what I wonder. Everyone I know who did atkins or keto keeps telling me they offset the inability to eat carbs by eating a LOT of meat, like tons of bacon, cheese etc. they describe wolfing down tons as if they were a caveman or barbarian.

It leads me to think they dont run a calorie deficit, yet they all say they lose weight by the tons. If you are not running a deficit, can someone explain to me how you might can lose weight anyway? Brand new at this so not sure of anything.
Chad

Replies

  • willnorton
    willnorton Posts: 995 Member
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    im with you there
  • anaxmann
    anaxmann Posts: 103 Member
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    My experience with Keto is that you feel like you are eating a ton of meat and cheese, but you aren't eating all of those carb calories, so it balances out to still being in a deficit. I still count calories in order to maintain a deficit. It typically only works for people who find fats to be satiating, otherwise you end up eating too much. Also, people on a long term low carb diet eat plenty of low carb vegetables to get micronutrients. You sometimes don't see this with the short term dieters.
    Also, many people start to eat a low carb diet because they find out they are insulin resistant or pre-diabetic (or even diabetic). Their bodies react differently to carbs, so what happens to them won't carry over to someone who isn't insulin resistant.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Are they talking short term results or long term? Long term: calorie deficit is king. But for short term, dropping carbs to next to nothing causes your body to also lose water weight which tends to show pretty quickly on the scale. And a 5-10 pound drop in water weight can mask the effects of eating a meat & cheese surplus for a couple of weeks.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    They may or may not be eating at a deficit the first week or so but if they're losing weight consistently they certainly are. What happens for some is meal frequency decreases so even though you're eating high calorie meals until you're full and satisfied, you don't eat again - or even think about food really - until you're hungry. People spontaneously create a deficit without counting just by cutting out the snacks and waiting until they're hungry to eat again.

    For example, even eating a "ton of bacon" and 4 eggs for breakfast at 800 calories and an indulgent 16 oz ribeye dinner at 1,200 calories that's still only 2,000 calories for the day. It feels like an insane amount of food and you're eating with zero regard for calories which is why to those who don't count their calories say things like they couldn't possibly be eating at a deficit. But those hungry, indulgent days are often followed by less hungry days and the calories work themselves out naturally.

    This isn't the case for everyone, of course. Some have shared their experience saying they snacked on family sized packages of chicken thighs and bowls of egg salad in between meals because they didn't have any concept of calories, or I guess, even the notion of eating less to lose weight? Either or the calories do matter.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
    edited May 2017
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    It is all about calories. Think of what they cut out. They eat grilled instead of fried. They cut out big portions of pasta, potatoes loaded with butter, syrup, cookies, pastries, etc.

    Cheese has carbs, btw. (eta- apparently not much though, depending on the type)

    Look at the calories in a lot of pre made biscuits and muffins and cand bars and CHIPS people eat so much of. They cut all that out.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    npguy2013 wrote: »
    ...If you are not running a deficit, can someone explain to me how you might can lose weight anyway?...

    You can't. Period.

    Despite some claims, there is nothing magical about keto. It does not defy or change the laws of energy balance.
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
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    Like pp said, if you drop your carbs you'll tend to lose a decent amount of water weight pretty quickly but that's not sustainable.
    I did lose about 20 lbs a year ago eating keto but I also logged everything on MFP. It had other benefits for me besides weight loss (which is why I've stayed keto/LCHF since then), but I was definitely in a deficit.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
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    Calories do matter, but many people find that keto suppresses the appetite. They don't feel hungry on keto...even if they have gone many hours without eating. That's how it was for me.

    Also, they eat none of the high calorie carb heavy foods that fill so much of the standard American diet...no cookies and other sugary treats, no big bowls of pasta (very high calorie!!!), no fries (very high calorie), no bread (also relatively high calorie). If you cut all of that crap out, it leaves lots of room for fatty meats and cheese and cream in your coffee. If you happen to like those things (and I do!) then keto...and low carb in general...is a way to eat that will keep you feeling full and happy while allowing you to relatively easily lose weight.
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
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    Yup, others have said what I came here to say. Some people find fats quite satiating. In my case I think it was more the high fibre (from low net carb fruits & veg) & moderate protein, but whatever the case it worked.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    MoiAussi93 wrote: »
    Calories do matter, but many people find that keto suppresses the appetite. They don't feel hungry on keto...even if they have gone many hours without eating. That's how it was for me.

    Also, they eat none of the high calorie carb heavy foods that fill so much of the standard American diet...no cookies and other sugary treats, no big bowls of pasta (very high calorie!!!), no fries (very high calorie), no bread (also relatively high calorie). If you cut all of that crap out, it leaves lots of room for fatty meats and cheese and cream in your coffee. If you happen to like those things (and I do!) then keto...and low carb in general...is a way to eat that will keep you feeling full and happy while allowing you to relatively easily lose weight.

    This was my experience too.
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
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    npguy2013 wrote: »
    So i've always thought of eating and weight loss like a math game. If you eat more calories than you take in, you gain, if you run a deficit, you lose.

    Here's what I wonder. Everyone I know who did atkins or keto keeps telling me they offset the inability to eat carbs by eating a LOT of meat, like tons of bacon, cheese etc. they describe wolfing down tons as if they were a caveman or barbarian.

    It leads me to think they dont run a calorie deficit, yet they all say they lose weight by the tons. If you are not running a deficit, can someone explain to me how you might can lose weight anyway? Brand new at this so not sure of anything.
    Chad

    I've been Keto for 4 years and lost 90lbs. There are those who tell everyone you can eat all the fat on keto. But no, it's not true. You still need to eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight. The number 1 reason people fail at Keto (or Atkins) is because they believe that if they just count carbs (while eating all the protein and fat) they'll lose weight. Then quit when they don't. There are a small subset of low carbers who are able to "naturally" eat at a calorie deficit due to reduced hunger, a side effect of Keto - but they are not the majority. And they are the ones who will shout long and hard about how you don't need to count calories, just keep doing what you're doing and you'll lose weight - to the people who are not having any success.

    For those who lost 'a ton of weight' they probably did initially, mostly water weight, or they had a huge amount to lose and were undereating (again due to the reduced hunger) they were not, I guarantee it, wolfing down lbs of bacon every day. For MOST people who do low carb, after the initial loss in the first week or two, they will lose at the same rate as anyone else, and have stalls like anyone else. This is another reason people quit low carb, they give it a half assed effort, eat all the fat/protein, and then collapse with disappointment when they can't lose 60lb in a month.

    I am a supporter of low carb, like I said, I've been doing it for 4 years. It has reversed my type 2 diabetes, and my hunger is under control for the first time in 25 years. It has it's benefits. But I get really annoyed with all the BS low carbers try and tell each other.
  • wsandy8512
    wsandy8512 Posts: 1,897 Member
    edited May 2017
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    EbonyDahlia wrote: »
    npguy2013 wrote: »
    I am a supporter of low carb, like I said, I've been doing it for 4 years. It has reversed my type 2 diabetes, and my hunger is under control for the first time in 25 years. It has it's benefits. But I get really annoyed with all the BS low carbers try and tell each other.

    ^^Thank you. I've met some Keto followers who are just as preachy and judgmental as die-hard vegans, so it's refreshing to see someone who isn't. A friend of mine has been overly sharing posts on social media of what I consider really bad articles, one of his most recent was that calories don't count. *Sigh* I politely pointed out that non-truth and his other Keto friends jumped all over me... I felt like an unbeliever walking into a fundamentalist Baptist church and shouting that there isn't a god. lol
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    EbonyDahlia wrote: »
    npguy2013 wrote: »
    So i've always thought of eating and weight loss like a math game. If you eat more calories than you take in, you gain, if you run a deficit, you lose.

    Here's what I wonder. Everyone I know who did atkins or keto keeps telling me they offset the inability to eat carbs by eating a LOT of meat, like tons of bacon, cheese etc. they describe wolfing down tons as if they were a caveman or barbarian.

    It leads me to think they dont run a calorie deficit, yet they all say they lose weight by the tons. If you are not running a deficit, can someone explain to me how you might can lose weight anyway? Brand new at this so not sure of anything.
    Chad

    I've been Keto for 4 years and lost 90lbs. There are those who tell everyone you can eat all the fat on keto. But no, it's not true. You still need to eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight. The number 1 reason people fail at Keto (or Atkins) is because they believe that if they just count carbs (while eating all the protein and fat) they'll lose weight. Then quit when they don't. There are a small subset of low carbers who are able to "naturally" eat at a calorie deficit due to reduced hunger, a side effect of Keto - but they are not the majority. And they are the ones who will shout long and hard about how you don't need to count calories, just keep doing what you're doing and you'll lose weight - to the people who are not having any success.

    For those who lost 'a ton of weight' they probably did initially, mostly water weight, or they had a huge amount to lose and were undereating (again due to the reduced hunger) they were not, I guarantee it, wolfing down lbs of bacon every day. For MOST people who do low carb, after the initial loss in the first week or two, they will lose at the same rate as anyone else, and have stalls like anyone else. This is another reason people quit low carb, they give it a half assed effort, eat all the fat/protein, and then collapse with disappointment when they can't lose 60lb in a month.

    I am a supporter of low carb, like I said, I've been doing it for 4 years. It has reversed my type 2 diabetes, and my hunger is under control for the first time in 25 years. It has it's benefits. But I get really annoyed with all the BS low carbers try and tell each other.

    I'm not a low-carber (I lost 80 lbs in 12 months eating over 50% carbs) but I have to say that is a good post.

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