calories in calories out...are you sure?

low carb diets result in your body burning glycogen to make up the calorie deficit, glycogen is stored along with water, so you see more scale weight loss on a low carb diet, but you're not burning any more actual fat than if you'd been eating the same number of calories but a higher proportion of them coming from carbs

the body burns and stores fat slowly, big gains and losses on the scale in short amounts of time, the weight is not just from fat.

Also, the water weight losses from low carb diets come back when you start eating carbs again, because your body simply stores them as glycogen, along with water. Water weight gains can seriously mess with your head if you don't know what's going on, so it's a good idea to track progress in actual fat loss through other methods, e.g. skinfold caliers, how your clothes fit, circumference measurements etc. These are more reliable indicators of actual fat loss than scale weight alone.

It is, unless you've got a metabolic issue. Make sure that you're weighing/measuring your food, logging accurately, and exercising at the right intensity. Do keep in mind that MFP overestimates the calorie burn from a lot of exercises. If you go for a month being honest with yourself and don't see any progress, see a doctor about a possible thyroid or pituitary issue.

I find I overestimated my carbs more...ie I think i ate a serving of cereal at 3/4 cups but really it was 1 cup but I will actually count out almonds. A hard boiled egg is a definite serving while a handful of pretzels is close to one serving. Maybe the protein you are eating are more exact in how they are logged, knowing that no entry is 100% valid, but you were guesstimating more on your carbs???

I find I overestimated my carbs more...ie I think i ate a serving of cereal at 3/4 cups but really it was 1 cup but I will actually count out almonds. A hard boiled egg is a definite serving while a handful of pretzels is close to one serving. Maybe the protein you are eating are more exact in how they are logged, knowing that no entry is 100% valid, but you were guesstimating more on your carbs???

I guess I could have been. I will keep a closer eye. I'm still eating the same things and I'm still eating all of my calories each day. the only things i changed was eating less carbs and adding more protein now my scale is moving. it still confuses me how those who are on low carb diets lose so much weight, but other posters say it's just the water.. does my body hold 80 lbs of extra water? but I will make sure my foods are more accurate in portion sizes. Thanks!

:noway: Hey cool, does that mean I'm not overweight, I'm really just a camel carrying around a LOOOOOOOOOT of water?:laugh:

LOL

I get SO confused with this. So carbs are stored as glycogen & water as food, in the muscles? W hat about when fat is burned, doesn't that get turned into glycogen & water, too? Also - what happens with the water thing when you hit maintenance - do you go up 3lb when you start eating your maintenance calories?

Sorry for the hijack, OP!

Carbs can be stored as glycogen. So can protein and fats.

It's energy that gets stored as glycogen. Glycogen is your body's primary source of fuel when you start moving. As the free sugar in your blood gets used, glycogen gets broken down to maintain blood sugar levels. As glycogen gets depleted, it turns primarily to fat stores and/or other body tissue to maintain blood sugar levels.

When your body has excess calories, they typically first get stored as glycogen. Glycogen storage also requires water. So if you eat a big calorie surplus after dieting for a while, your weight will bump up a few pounds as you replenish a bunch of glycogen. Then excess calories start getting stored as fat.

Think of glycogen as short-term calorie storage and adipose tissue (fat) as long-term calorie storage. Glycogen is fast and easily utilized, but there's a limited capacity of it. Fat is a bit slower but more stable over time and you can store more energy there.

Thank you! So whether it's carbs or fat or protein you're eating it's entirely irrelevant to the glycogen & water levels you're holding? Just double-checkin...

Interesting stuff. So Atkins etc... & other low carb weight-loss programmes - it's all irrelevant, just calories?

To the first part: pretty much, yes. There are some differences at the extremes, and protein plays a factor, but when it comes to body mass change it's calories that matter.

For the second part: carbs are basically irrelevant for weight loss. You want to make sure you get sufficient fat intake, since insufficient fat intake leads to problems with hormone levels and skin/nails/hair/brain function. You want to make sure you get plenty of protein, because protein intake helps preserve lean mass. You can't really get too much fat or protein unless you try, so carbs are kind of a sliding scale. You can reasonably get anywhere from no carb to "whatever's left over after you hit your fat and protein minimum." Very low carb can have negative effects on energy levels and will lead to some changes in body chemistry over time but don't have much effect on fat loss specifically.

In the end, calories are all that really matter for mass loss or gain. If your body has excess energy available, it will store it away as body mass. If your body is using more energy than it gets, it will break down some body mass to make up the difference.