Can low carb dieters eat all they want, and still lose weight? by Tanya Zilberter, PhD

"The Atkins Nutritional Approach counts grams of carbohydrates instead of calories... If you are losing weight, there is no need to concern yourself with counting calories. "

Source: atkins.com

You might be doubtful and chances are that mainstream diets are the reason. Of course you couldn't avoid opinions like the below Q&A posted by Health Care Reality Check:

Q: Can a person eat unlimited calories, and still lose weight, as long as they severely restrict carbohydrates?

A: No, she can not. The basis of ketogenic diets, such as the Atkins Diet, is a severe restriction of carbohydrate calories, which simply causes a net reduction in total calories. Since carbohydrate calories are limited, intake of fat usually increases. This high fat diet causes ketosis (increased blood ketones from fat breakdown), which suppresses hunger, and thus contributes to caloric restriction. -- Ellen Coleman, RD, MA, MPH

Is this a correct answer?

Let's first discuss whether it's a correct question. Or, rather, is this the real question so frequently asked by dieters. In my experience, this in fact sounds a little bit different but this makes ALL the difference.

This is what real dieters ask:

Q: Can low carb dieters eat all they want, and still lose weight as long as they only eat allowed foods?

A: Yes, they can. The basis of ketogenic diets, such as the Atkins Diet, is a restriction of carbohydrate-containing foods in favor of fat and protein containing foods, which causes the state of ketosis resulting in significant decrease in appetite. Since appetite decreases, most of low carb dieters consume significantly less calories WITHOUT INTENTIONAL CALORIE RESTRICTION.

Is there scientific evidence?

There is.

Study #1 by: Bassett Research Institute in

Cooperstown, NY and Durham (N.C.) Veterans Affairs

Medical Center.

Reported: Proceedings of North American Association

for the Study of Obesity, Oct. 29, 2000, Long Beach,

Calif.

Who participated:

18 obese men and women with 30 or more pounds to lose.

Average calorie intake before the study: 2,481

calories a day

Method:

Dr. Atkins' Book, the "New Diet Revolution" used as

instruction for the dieters.

Results:

1. Calorie intake during the most restrictive

induction phase (when only 20 g of carbohydrates were

allowed) was 1,419 calories a day on average and weight loss

was more than 8 pounds on average.

2. Calorie intake during the ongoing weight-loss

phase (when carbohydrate intake is being increased

gradually, by 5 g a day) dieters ate an average of

1,500 calories a day and lost an additional 3 pounds

in two weeks.

3. The calorie reduction was attributed almost

completely to carbohydrate abstaining. Intake of fat

and protein remained practically the same as before

the diet.

4. After 6 months on Atkins diet, 41 overweight people

lost an average of 10% of their weight. Most dieters

lowered their cholesterol by 5%, but there were a few

whose cholesterol increased.

5. 20 out of 41 dieters continued the program, and

kept the lost weight off for more than a year.

Study #2 by: Harvard School of Public Health.

Reported: American Association for the Study of

Obesity, October 16, 2003

Who participated: 21 overweight volunteers.

Two groups were randomly assigned to either lowfat or

low-carb diets with 1,500 calories for women and 1,800

for men; a third group was also low-carb but got an

extra 300 calories a day.

Method: All the food was prepared at a restaurant in

Cambridge, Massachusetts. Note that most earlier

studies including the above Study #1 simply gave out

diet plans.

So in this study, dieters were given dinner and a

bedtime snack as well as breakfast and lunch for the

next day, which made the setting a carefully

controlled one. Foods were mostly fish, chicken,

salads, vegetables and unsaturated oils. Red meats and

saturated fats were limited (as opposed to traditional

Atkins menus.)

All meals looked similar but were cooked to different

recipes. The low-carb meals were 5% carbs, 15%

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BIO:

Tanya Zilberter, PhD, is a researcher, health educator, exercise physiologist, and scientific journalist.

In health sciences since 1972, Dr. Zilberter authored several hundred scientific and popular publications, including four print books and more than a dozen of eBooks.

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