To worry or not worry about calories?

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #21

Eh… Impo, it’s a small difference.

If I “must have sugar” it’s Splenda :wink: It’s awesome what a little chlorination does to sugar :grinning:

I agree on a little select fruit. We eat Blueberries, and Strawberries from our garden. They are great in fat bombs.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #22

John, that was a very reasonable post. Agreed.

#23

I would agree she debunks the 3500 mark. Which is why I said “overly simplified”. All “rules of thumb” can be proven wrong (e.g the “rule of 72” fails terribly on extreme values). A broken clock may be correct twice a day, while almost every working clock is never correct. It’s a question of usability, not accuracy.

In any case, the point I was trying to make with the comment is that a caloric deficit, be it from restriction of food or an increase in exercise, is typically a slow process for weight fat loss.

And the whole issue of a reducing BMR is a related issue. As I’ve asked before, is a lower BMR dangerous? It’s certainly not desirable if someone wants to eat more food for pleasure, but otherwise I would say a lower BMR would be a good thing. If the only purpose of food was to provide the necessary macro and micro nutrients, wouldn’t a need for less be best? The very definition of BMR means it cannot go too low (i.e. “keep the body functioning at rest”).

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #24

A BMR of 0 is probably not a good thing, I should think. :wink:

The problem with a BMR that is too low is what it prevents one from doing. I am not a great fan of exercise, but being unable to do more than lie on a couch and sleep didn’t amount to much of a life, in my estimation. I much prefer my higher, keto metabolism, which allows me to do household chores without complaint (and without days of recovery time afterward), and which allows my hair to grow out and my reproductive system to function properly and enjoyably. The lack of constant hunger is particularly enjoyable, I must say.

I grant you, however, the constant need to trim nails is annoying! :grin:

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #25

This is interesting:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #26

Fascinating article. They use the word “plausible” a lot—much more often than I like, and the research they cite was all done on obese subjects. I wish they’d included research on people with normal body composition as well. I would also like to see how they measured the lean mass and the insulin resistance of the obese subjects, because it would be helpful to know about their visceral adiposity and their ability to shed excess fat. They were clearly thinking hard about the subject, though.

I wonder if any of these authors have read the German literature from before World War II, and if so, what their analysis is.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #27

You’d think they could throw in a few normals as a control group once in awhile. :grinning:

#28

If zero energy expenditure could maintain a functioning body while at rest, it would be the equivalent of a perpetual motion machine. That would be a great thing. But it would violate the first law of thermodynamics.

I suppose the sci-fi equivalent of a BMR of 0 would be suspended animation. In real life, some animals can go into suspended animation or be dormant, with zero energy expenditure, or close to it.

You are confusing BMR with TDEE.

BMR is the number of calories required to keep your body functioning while at rest, so never includes additional activities. Additional activities require additional calories.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #29

So our hair grows only when we are active? Not my experience . . .

Yes, my post did conflate BMR and total expenditure to some extent, but the point was that having a higher BMR affords me the energy to get off the couch and do things, as well as for those body processes to work better that the body inhibits when BMR is low. Granted, I’m not actually engaged in reproduction at the moment, but I do enjoy having the system in good working order . . . :grinning: