Originally Posted by
Brandon Hurlburt
It's been my experience that diet inspires more magical thinking than just about any other topic in Western society. I'm generally pretty quick to point patients to the first law of thermodynamics when they ask me about Keto, Atkins, Vegan, South Beach, HCG, colon cleanses, juice fasts, and just about any other bullshit proposition for weight loss that some genius has decided to make a quick million on. It is literally impossible (at least inside this universe) for your weight to move opposite of your caloric balance over the course of weeks to months unless you have a malabsorption issue. It's like playing craps. The odds are the odds. The house wins. Starve yourself and get weaker. The data shows that the vast majority of people return to pre-diet weight in a relatively short period of time. I'd be willing to bet that there's data that shows that body composition is generally worse after each loss/gain cycle considering that you'd only regain the muscle it takes to move the regained extra fat unless you're deliberately training for strength.
Calories in minus calories out. The position of that number relative to zero will indicate your trajectory. Eat a 6000 calorie/day bacon diet while sitting on the couch and test it. Does it matter what you eat? ABSOLUTELY! Do carbs, protein, or fat possess magical weight loss/gain properties when combined in certain ratios or when abstained from altogether? NO!