Lose Weight with Almonds

i posted something about this before, a doctor on youtube with the channel nutritionfacts.org talks about it and provides alot of articles regarding nuts.

i posted something about this before, a doctor on youtube with the channel nutritionfacts.org talks about it and provides alot of articles regarding nuts.

Rosanna,

If almonds were the magic food to aiding weight loss, do you think they would be readily available?

Don't believe everything you hear or see.

>>Almonds are rich in proteins and a good alternative to red meat and eggs. Studies reveal that an ounce of almonds actually contains almost the same percentage of protein that lean meat has.<<
Well, yes, compared to low quality lean meat they contain a similar amount of protein - 20% or so.
Something like cooked chicken breast can be about 31% protein. Ok, not TOO far off.
But the chicken breast is maybe 3-4% fat, so about 1:10 fat to protein.
While the Almonds are more like 50% fat. So instead of being 1:10, that's 2.5:1
When you consider that as a percentage of calories, you're getting massive amounts of calories from fat in the Almonds as there's more calories in fat that protein.

If this meets your macros and you need more fat, fair enough.

The 2003 study tested almonds vs complex carbs. They did not test something with similar macros to Almonds, which would have been a nice 'blind' bit (as much as you can for food.)

The 2007 study actually looks a bit better.
But it doesn't specify Almonds and just discusses nuts in general.
While they have adjusted for plenty of things, they don't seem to have adjusted for general diet - presumably considering that nuts might be part of the cause of that. But of course it may just be a correlation - that people that eat nuts also happen to be the people that eat other healthy things.
An interesting example is the claim that people that eat breakfast are healthier. But is that because people wanting be healthier had read that so eat Breakfast as part of their health regime? I suspect so.

Finally; Almonds have more calories per 100g than chocolate. About the same fat as chocolate, similar carbs and a bit more protein. However, to get anywhere near (what I consider to be) enough protein from almonds, you'd be getting massive amounts of fat and unlikely to be losing weight.

So I would suggest the article is deliberately misinforming to get clicks.
Almonds are NOT a good alternative to red meat or eggs that I see.

>>Almonds are rich in proteins and a good alternative to red meat and eggs. Studies reveal that an ounce of almonds actually contains almost the same percentage of protein that lean meat has.<<
Well, yes, compared to low quality lean meat they contain a similar amount of protein - 20% or so.
Something like cooked chicken breast can be about 31% protein. Ok, not TOO far off.
But the chicken breast is maybe 3-4% fat, so about 1:10 fat to protein.
While the Almonds are more like 50% fat. So instead of being 1:10, that's 2.5:1
When you consider that as a percentage of calories, you're getting massive amounts of calories from fat in the Almonds as there's more calories in fat that protein.

If this meets your macros and you need more fat, fair enough.

The 2003 study tested almonds vs complex carbs. They did not test something with similar macros to Almonds, which would have been a nice 'blind' bit (as much as you can for food.)

The 2007 study actually looks a bit better.
But it doesn't specify Almonds and just discusses nuts in general.
While they have adjusted for plenty of things, they don't seem to have adjusted for general diet - presumably considering that nuts might be part of the cause of that. But of course it may just be a correlation - that people that eat nuts also happen to be the people that eat other healthy things.
An interesting example is the claim that people that eat breakfast are healthier. But is that because people wanting be healthier had read that so eat Breakfast as part of their health regime? I suspect so.

Finally; Almonds have more calories per 100g than chocolate. About the same fat as chocolate, similar carbs and a bit more protein. However, to get anywhere near (what I consider to be) enough protein from almonds, you'd be getting massive amounts of fat and unlikely to be losing weight.

So I would suggest the article is deliberately misinforming to get clicks.
Almonds are NOT a good alternative to red meat or eggs that I see.

Oh my gosh. I love that you critically evaluated this article rather than taking it at face value. Not enough people do this. Thanks for the more in depth data.

I just want to point out that the primary lit that article cites is based on is only suggestive and not conclusive. One of them compares two groups of people not following any kind of intervention (just eating what they usually eat), allows subjects to SELF REPORT and then says "oh, the humans eating nuts tend to weigh less"...That information isn't very reliable, and definitely doesn't conclude that nuts are the reason behind the lower weight. The other study is a little better in terms of control, but the data is just as likely to be saying "a high complex-carb diet is bad" than "an almond-enriched diet is good". There's no way to separate those two results without adding a third test group. Not to mention that the intervention is asking overweight and obese people to cut either carbs or nuts from their diet for 28 weeks...if we could do that easily, we probably wouldn't be here.

I think the bottom line is: almonds/nuts might be filling, nutritious, and a good tool for maintaining your calorie deficit, but eating the same diet and then adding a handful of almonds a day isn't going to make you lose more weight. There is no research, and probably never will be any research, that supports that kind of claim. Eat what you want, be reasonable, and you'll lose weight.

Love this response. It is all about incorporation into overall diet plan.

I do.

Much better than the typical stuff I delete on another forum I mod on; but the only other post this user has made is a similar 'sell' for an article on the same site, though even more involved there.

May be she just likes the site, however - and we'll probably never know!

In what way are they better than other snacks with similar macros?
Why do you think this is the case?

For me, if I liked nuts, I'm sure I'd find the same amount of calories in lettuce, chicken breast (with some herbs and the like) and a little very low cal mayo much more filling.

Thanks for the link. I love almonds and eat them every day, including almond butter. However they do not aid weight loss because no food does. The secret to weight loss is to eat at a calorie deficit.

Hi! Thanks for your note.

Almonds may help if eaten as advised in the article because they are actually much better than most snacks and help you feel fuller.

Meh. Almonds suck. :sick: