Why carbs don’t make you fat

Everyone’s mileage may vary.

But when I reduced carbs (incl sugars, pastas, breads) and increased fats (salmon, olive oil, avocado, butter, good quality cheese), my stomach fat and love handles went away.
My personal experience may be different than others. But at 40 years old with an 8 pack compared to 30 years old with love handles, I’m much more satisfied.

I don't know all of the science, but I do know that carbs sit heavier in your stomach and are relatively new to the human diet in terms of history.

We only began to cultivate crops (grains) about 8000 years ago.

Carbs were never a strong part of our diet until the very recent past.

Personally, too many carbs and I feel bloated/lethargic.

I definitely crave more carbs when I'm exercising more. And when I limit them, I feel lighter in the midsection.

I would say carbs do make you fat. They convert to sugar and cause your midsection to grow.

Agree YMMV. Am curious if you know if you were eating fewer calories on low carb or eating about the same calories but still losing weight?

The diet of the earliest hominins was probably somewhat similar to the diet of modern chimpanzees: omnivorous, including large quantities of fruit, leaves, flowers, bark, insects and meat (e.g., Andrews & Martin 1991; Milton 1999; Watts 2008). Do know what the calories are in fruit, leaves, flowers, and bark? All carbs.

People can lose weight by restricting EITHER fat OR carbs. Since carbs are not a necessary nutrient and fatty acids are, it makes sense from a health standpoint to go low-carb. Plus low-carb usually means more animal foods which are much more nutrient dense, especially with bioavailable protein. But yes, there are plenty of skinny (and frail) high carb/low fat vegans.

There is also the wild card of the gut biome, and how it responds to specific foods.

The one guaranteed way to pack on the pounds is to have high intake of both refined carbs and seed oils. This is the typical junk/processed food diet. If you are a younger runner and eat this way, you are only an injury (or a decade of typical running) away from a sudden increase in visceral body fat.

In order of importance:

1) Amount of kcal.

2) Quality of food (not highly processed trash food).

3) Carb vs. Fat: Doesn't really matter as long as Kcal is equal. If you are pre-diabetic, lean towards fat rather than carb. And always keep protein at 1g/lb lean bodyweight.

Keto zealots are annoying. Yeah, that's great that you lost 200lb on your keto diet, but carbohydrates are NOT evil. All of these morbidly obese megafauna roaming the United States didn't get fat from eating apples and Steel cut oats.

Calories in, calories out.

CICO.

If you only eat 3500kcal of salad a day you will get fat.

If you only eat 1000kcal of candy a day you will lose weight.

Nutrient dense foods are things such as kale, berries, broccoli, spinach, potatoes, seaweed, and garlic. Granted some seafood is categorized as nutrient dense too.

Eat a mostly unprocessed diet and you really can't go wrong.

Alan

None of those are nutrient dense in bioavailable nutrients and are loaded with toxins and anti nutrients which block absorption.

Carbs and fats are the same, both are carbon-hydrogen molecules that carry energy.

Protein is the one that has to go through 2 stages to make you fat.

It has to become glucose first, then fat second, which is why its loved by bodybuilders and other weight watchers.

I think this is excellent advice for the average sedentary obese American.

But for runners, it gets difficult. Things like GERD and GI distress occur when I attempt to consume 3500-4000kcal from unprocessed whole foods. And at 135lb, if I don't get that 3500kcal, I will literally end up in the hospital.

So, then I get into this argument with myself as to what is considered processed. Is extra virgin olive oil a processed food? What about Whey protein powder? Pumpkin puree?

A problem just for obsessive weirdos I suppose.

There isn’t a universal scientific definition of “processed” that is binary or refutable and correlates with health harm. Raw sugar is processed, but so is salt, and neither or both are bad in excess but fine in moderation. Common food additives, of which there are less than three dozen, go through FDA authorization and none are known to be harmful. There is no scientific research to show that diets rich in foods that are more processed are more harmful.

There is evidence for foods that cause insulin spikes causing insulin resistance and related health downsides, and many packaged foods that we typically think of as more processed (like white bread, added sugar snacks, soda etc) also cause insulin spikes. But processed foods like say packaged wasabi peas or tofu even potato chips with or without preservatives are not harmful unless they cause caloric surplus or macro/micro imbalance.

Eating foods that are easily recognized as having been on a plant or animal recently — also what we think of as less processed — makes people be more thoughtful of what they put in their bellies and makes them psychologically feel better, which has its positives.

Est twizzlers, cup cakes beer and pasta every day and tell us how it turned out.

Why am I being downvoted?

Eat a low-fiber, high animal food diet of mostly meat, fish, eggs and dairy fat and 3500+ will not cause G.I. issues. Fruit in season in moderate amounts. In fact it will heal the damaged gut indefinitely. I and many others have done just that.

When you say things like this it shows you know nothing about diet. You come off like a flat earther throwing ice cubes at the sun.

There is no performance benefit to a low carb high fat diet. Ask any dietitian, not a "nutritionist" who took an online class and argues anecdotally.

Because people have an emotional attachment to the misguided weight loss idea that what you eat matters more than how much you eat.

Rice...potatoes....

Instead of pasta....bread....

Alan