**Do carbs make you fat?**
When searching the web you will see both sides of the story. Some articles say yes, others say no, claiming that it is a myth.
The truth of the matter is that eating an excess of any caloric food will make you gain weight.
Let's define "excess" based off of this study:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7598063/
If you eat an excess of 50% compared to your baseline, you will burn most of those calories off, independent of the source of the calories. Though carbs burn better than fats.
If you increase the excess to 75%, then most of those calories will be stored and not burnt off.
More interesting studies:
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@barefootstache From my expierence carbs arent about how easy you burn them, its how long you have to urn them.
Excess carbs trigger insulin which causes your body to store the carbs as long-term fat. So you have a small window to burn it before they arent accessible.
Moreover it triggers hunger sooner compelling you to eat more.
@freemo One factor that is overlooked often is fiber.
Fiber will definitely make you feel fuller faster and there are some studies showing that people who eat high fiber diets, consume on average less calories than those who don't follow such diets.
@barefootstache Yes, unburned free sugars in your bloodstream definitely get stored as fat.
I'd recommend looking up the minimum amount of protein you need to eat based on your weight, activity level, etc, and make sure you hit that target every day. Then, mess around with carbs and fat and see how you feel. I have two copies of the hunter-gatherer gene variant (CLTCL1), so I do best on a low carb/no carb (keto) diet.
@thalweg I have looked into the whole diet realm and from most of the research I have read is that daily maintenance of macros and micros is not needed as long as the average is correct. Most negative effects of not eating enough of any micronutrient first happen after about three weeks.
Haven't taken a gene test yet, though from years of tracking my diet, I can say I function best on high carb diet. This eases my passion for being an endurance athlete, since the majority of them follow such a diet.
@barefootstache That is true with regards to fat and carbs, but there is a minimum amount of protein that each person should consume daily, depending on a number of factors. When I started paying attention to my protein consumption, I felt like my health really improved (I had been underconsuming).
I'm a big fan of Mark Sisson's books. He reads a ton of research, ties it all together, and cites all his sources. He even reads the research with contrary viewpoints and cites it all on his blog.
@thalweg
Briefly looking over Mark Sisson's books, especially "primal blueprint", it seems like he is in the same boat as Ben Greenfield.
I understand that the Paleo diet can help you in achieving your goals, but I cannot adopt it with a good conscience for two main reasons:
1. Since a good portion of the diet is meat, which in return is so expensive to make, that you could feed much more people, if they ate plant based. Currently the cheapest animal to feed is the chicken, where it takes 9 calories input to get 1 calorie. Thus the whole process is inefficient.
2. Further most animals that are used for meat need antibiotics to survive to their slaughter weight. This puts a huge risk on developing a super bug that if it mutates for the human population, we will revert back to medicine before antibiotics.
@thalweg
don't know if leaving grains behind is the best approach. An elimination diet would definitely help to see if all grains are the issue or only a minority of them.
Since you said that you are an "avid hunter" and have the "hunter-gatherer gene variant (CLTCL1)", if you haven't already, this book might help:
"Driven: Understanding and Harnessing the Genetic Gifts Shared by Entrepreneurs, Navy SEALs, Pro Athletes, and Maybe YOU "
Basically the idea is that there are two types of people on this planet: farmers and hunters. Whereas farmers like to have a schedule and do the same thing everyday. And on the contrary hunters like to have a new experience every single day.
(Haven't read the book yet, though am intrigued to do such.)
@barefootstache This book looks very interesting. Thanks for the recommendation. I will check it out.
@barefootstache You're right, it is expensive. That was the hardest thing for me to come to grips with when moving away from eating grains.
It should be possible for you to source local meat raised to a higher ethical standard (antibiotic-free) if you're willing to pay for it.
We raise some of our own meat. Plus, I'm an avid hunter, which helps a lot.