Claim: "Cutting out carbs is the only way to lose weight"

Question

Cutting out all carbohydrates is a common misconception when it comes to the topic of losing weight. Our bodies need some and certain types of carbs in order to thrive, so getting rid of carbs altogether would only do more harm than good. On the other hand, there are low-carb diets which are more helpful when losing weight; maintaining the carbs your body needs, while removing the bad and excess carbs. Our bodies only need a certain amount of carbs before it becomes too much and then leads to our bodies storing it as fat, or adipose tissue. These "good" or "natural" carbs include grains, vegetables, seeds, fruits, nuts, milk, and legumes. To say that there also aren't complications with this would also be false: fatigue, constipation, low energy, and headaches. Furthermore, to say "cutting out carbs is the only way to lose weight," would be the biggest underlying myth as there are a variety of ways and methods when it comes to weight loss. Weight loss is a personal journey and experience and what works for one person might not work for another.

Comments

meant to answer to the claim, not create a factcheck

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First of all, I find the claim being made to be a bit misleading given the fact that there are multiple ways for one to lose weight. Although cutting out carbs can be a big factor, losing weight looks different for everyone. After doing more research on the topic, I found that carbs are a necessary nutrient for your body because it produces glucose, which the body needs to function. On the website www.webmd.com in an article titled "What Happens When You Stop Eating Carbs" it states that, "A very low-carb diet, like keto and the early phase of the Atkins Diet, triggers your body into nutritional ketosis. Your liver starts to make ketones -- a fuel that kicks in when your body doesn’t have enough sugar to run on -- by breaking down fat. " This proves the fact that yes, cutting out carbs will promote weight loss but with negative side effects. All in all, the main claim is a little misleading in making it sound that the only way to lose unwanted fat is to cut out carbs which technically is true but doesn't consider other more healthy ways of weight loss.

Answer 1

I agree with your claim however I believe that you contradicted yourself in your statement. As you said “ there are a variety of ways and methods when it comes to weight loss”, earlier in your statement, you said that “ Our bodies need some and certain types of carbs in order to thrive, so getting rid of carbs altogether would only do more harm than good”. You state that having carbs is good, however our body’s only need a certain amount before it becomes too much for our bodies. This proves that cutting carbs is really the only way to cut weight. Yes there are many ways to cut carbs from diet but that also includes calories and other implications of a diet. According to WebMD, “ A sudden lack of carbs will make you lose weight. It’s mostly water weight at first, though. This is mostly because cutting carbs also wipes out the glycogen stores in your muscles.” This proves the claim. 

Comments

I think that the carbs are ultimately just a part of the diet variety we have and is not an actual key factor in losing weight. It might help, but doesnt solve the challenge of losing weight. The contradictory in a lot of articles shows pretty well that it is not the only way of losing weight.

Answer 2

Doing some research on this, it seems that it is not the only way to lose weight. When it comes to losing weight, the actual factor that determines the amount of weight is the amount of calories in, and the amount of calories burned (many carb dense foods are also generally calorie dense). When we talk about losing weight via a no carb diet, evidence does support that less carbs can lead to less insulin, and in turn making it easier to lose weight; however, if you choose to go into a no carb diet, and still eat in a surplus of 3000 calories, you will still gain weight. In any situation, if your body is burning less calories than it is intaking, it will result in weight gain. So, for those with genetically slower metabolisms who do have the disadvantage in losing weight, can still lose weight if they are eating less proportionately to their calorie intake.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cico-diet#weight-loss

^^^ calories in, calories out

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/carbs-calories-weight-loss/

^^^ suggests that insulin is the key change in a no carb diet