question about carbs

Lemme just go eat 5000 calories of steaks and lard instead of my usual moderate carb, fat, and protein diet of 1300 calories. Maybe that'll help my diet. No carbs right?... No?....

/sarcasm

Lemme just go eat 5000 calories of steaks and lard instead of my usual moderate carb, fat, and protein diet of 1300 calories. Maybe that'll help my diet. No carbs right?... No?....

/sarcasm

I mean, I asked the girl if I could drink 20,000 calories of pure olive oil with no carb intake, and she responded with:

"you can't gain fat without the presence of carbs."

So excited to start my 10,000 calorie, 0g carb diet tomorrow!

When you eat carbohydrates they get broken down into glucose molecules. When you body senses glucose, insulin is secreted to help you either use those glucose molecules or to store them later. The more carbohydrates you eat, the more insulin is secreted. Okay, insulin signals your cells that glucose is available and ready to use and then through those fancy biochemical pathways, the glucose gets transferred into the cell for use. When all of your cells have had enough glucose, those insulin cells signal your liver to turn the glucose molecules in to fatty acids to be stored in, that's right, fat cells.

Let me educate you real fast. A calorie is a unit of energy. Your body uses calories (energy) for it's basic function and daily processes and tasks. The first Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can never be created or destroyed. What does this mean? Well, it means if you consume 2,000 calories and burn 2,500 calories in a day, the other 500 calories that you did not eat cannot just randomly manifest itself, and therefore is taken from your body. If you over consume calories in a way that there is more calories (over time) that your body can use for energy, it is stored.

Some make the claim that a calorie is not a calorie.. well, yes and no. By definition all things are equal because a calorie is a standardized unit of energy. With relation to food the argument can be made that specific macronutrients undergo different metabolic pathways, some of which are more or less efficient resulting in variances in net caloric expenditure (this is referred to as the thermic effect of feeding in some cases). With that said, these miniscule variances are not enough to overthrow, disregard or demonize any particular macronutrient.

While different macronutrients may, in short term, lead to different oxidation and storage processes by the body; in the long term they balance out.


Please read this for a better understanding: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/nutrient-intake-nutrient-storage-and-nutrient-oxidation.html


I fear you do not realize the micro-analysis of short term oxidation and storage has no relevance in the content of daily nutrition and energy balance. There are no benefits, and unless you provide accurate scholarly journal articles (without bias and flaws) to your claim - you have nothing but a theory lacking a foundation in science.

You are such a jerk. And you obviously didn't even read my post. I DID NOT discount having to consume less when trying to lose weight, just that it's easier if you go about it by eating fewer carbs.

Plus, everything I wrote about insulin is proven science. Look it up, I'm pretty sure that's how it works.

Other than that, I'm over this thread. It's not like I researched a reason to be extra unhealthy. I spend A LOT (probably too much) time researching this stuff because I love it. I started in February, and I didn't discover Paleo until early August. I'm just doing what I honestly think is best for me from EVERYTHING that I've learned thus far. So I give up. I will not be treated like an idiot.

I'm not exactly sure what the arguement is about.

Eat a calorie deficit = lose weight

Carbs are not a necessary macronutrient. And if you eat high carb but still stay under your TDEE, you will still lose weight.

Did I miss a beat here?

According to some of us: absolutely correct.
According to carbophobes: WRONG!

When you eat carbohydrates they get broken down into glucose molecules. When you body senses glucose, insulin is secreted to help you either use those glucose molecules or to store them later. The more carbohydrates you eat, the more insulin is secreted. Okay, insulin signals your cells that glucose is available and ready to use and then through those fancy biochemical pathways, the glucose gets transferred into the cell for use. When all of your cells have had enough glucose, those insulin cells signal your liver to turn the glucose molecules in to fatty acids to be stored in, that's right, fat cells.

If your carbs are being stored in fat cells, it means your body hasn't used them.. maybe its not carbs that are causing people to become fat... its a combination of overconsumption of carbs and minimal use of their bodies. if someone moves more, they need more. hence low carb wouldn't work for them. calories in - calories out = weight loss [period]

With consideration to the Laws of Thermodynamics and the biochemical metabolic pathways of carbohydrate oxidation and storage; can you please explain to me in detail how carbohydrate intake can effect body weight/composition in a way that negates basic energy balance?

Please respond.

Well since you were so rude about it, I guess I'll have to.

Do you actually know how insulin works? I'm going to try and explain this as simple (and as short) as I can for the benefit of everyone.

When you eat carbohydrates they get broken down into glucose molecules. When you body senses glucose, insulin is secreted to help you either use those glucose molecules or to store them later. The more carbohydrates you eat, the more insulin is secreted. Okay, insulin signals your cells that glucose is available and ready to use and then through those fancy biochemical pathways, the glucose gets transferred into the cell for use. When all of your cells have had enough glucose, those insulin cells signal your liver to turn the glucose molecules in to fatty acids to be stored in, that's right, fat cells.

Okay, great right? You eat too many carbohydrates, your body stores the access as fat. We all knew that. But there is more to the story...

At the fat cell wall, there is an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL). LPL tells the fatty acids to enter the fat cell to be stored as fat. Inside the fat cell there is another enzyme called hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) which releases the fatty acids from the fat cells to be used as energy. OKAY - both of these enzymes are sensitive to the presence (or absence) of insulin. When insulin is present, LPL is signaled to start storing fat. When insulin is low/absent, HSL is signaled to start releasing stored fat for energy.

That's a bare bones explanation and it's all from memory. I don't discount that you have to eat less than you burn to lose weight, but I've read at least 5 studies that show people on a low carbohydrate diet lose more weight than people on a low fat diet of the same caloric level.

And I lost weight while still eating over 300g of carbs a day. I mean, yea it's possible. BUT I was ALWAYS hungry. Now that I keep my carbs reasonable (between 50-100g) and have added more fat to my diet, I am in way more control of my hunger and feel very satisfied with 1500 calories a day, and I can live with 1200. I would have chewed off my arm before if I was only eating 1200 calories (plus intense exercise).