Originally Posted by
BlazingPedals
We all 'burn' a little bit of fat along with the glycogen our muscles use. If you're talking about a low-carb diet to 'force' fat-burning, then it doesn't work the way you think it does. First, low carb causes you to lose water weight. Water weight may look like any other weight to the bathroom scale, but it's Good Weight if you're exercising. Lack of it means you're dehydrated. Secondly, while most of us have large reserves of energy via our body fat, it's not quickly accessible; meaning that it can only provide a trickle of energy compared to carbs. Muscles don't burn fat directly, your body has to convert it, which is an inefficient process at best. You cannot retrain your body's chemistry to do it more efficiently; you can only train it to 'get used to' the effects. When we're reduced to using only fat as fuel, it's called "bonk." Low-carb leaves your muscles depleted of glycogen, less able to sustain prolonged use, and makes recovery much slower.
The best way to lose weight is still to eat less. Don't be afraid of eating carbs; but make sure the ones you eat are complex and 'nutrient-dense.' Or, to put it another way, avoid sugar and if you want to weigh 150 pounds, eat like a 150-pound person.
I read a bunch of stuff pro and con on low carb high fat eating and decided to try it last March. I dropped 30 pounds (from 192 to 162 at 6') and have effortlessly kept it off since. At the same time I dramatically improved my triglyceride and HDL numbers. I am not hungry and I never pay ANY attention to calories. Zero impact on my riding other than I feel great to be at my college weight.
I suspect that the underlying reason for my weight loss is less calories but the reason that less calories is possible for me without constant food cravings is the higher fat/protein proportions in the diet. As for water weight, sure you may lose excess water in the first few days but if a 15% drop from 193 to 162 is all water then something was terribly wrong with the water.
As for bonking, read some articles on high performance in ketosis.
Now, having said all this, I will acknowledge that my experience is mine. What worked for me may not work for you. But I can say with certainty that the post above was not true for me.