Okay, so I’ve read the whole shabang about how you get into ketosis and you burn the fat as main fuel and I get that. But keto doesn’t necessarily mean restricted calories, right? So then if said person is eating at maintenance but just with no carbs and still losing, doesn’t that contradict the calories in/out philosophy?? Or is just everyone on keto dropping mad lbs because they’re counting calories?
In: Biology
Keto works because your body likes carbs. Carbs are easier to break down and use for energy. When you eliminate carbs, your body starts looking for something else to use or energy. Fat is it’s choice. It begins using fat for the primary energy source. So if your body is already using fat for energy, it will be easier for it to use fat reserves for energy when the calories you have eaten are depleted.
Been a few years since I studied this so I might not be exactly right.
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there are a few different forces at play here. yes, the idea of maintenance intake with a net weight loss does seem to contradict the calories in/out or “a calorie is a calorie” philosophy, which is probably for the best since that idea oversimplifies the situation, but the net loss can be accounted for without assuming people are counting calories more and just eating less.
how the body metabolises intake, processes it for use or storage, and determines how much/when to store or retrieve energy in fat reserves depends on a series of feedback mechanisms in the digestive tract and bloodstream. when something very simple like a processed carbohydrate is introduced, very litte work is done to convert it to its glucose form, and very quickly glucose builds up in the bloodstream. cue the pancreas to release insulin to direct the muscles to store the glucose for energy *and* to stimulate the conversion to stored fat when there is an abundance of glucose. fats and protiens (and high fiber carbohydrates) metabolise differently or much more slowly, however, and while their net calorie value may be the same, how they are used and stored and the effects they have on bodily functions can vary. additionally, the energy spent extracting energy from these sources is also higher, attributing to less net energy storage.
[ketoschool](https://ketoschool.com/the-science-behind-fat-metabolism-60f7a3f678d0) has a very informative article regarding the differences in how our body handles food of various compositions
TL;DR: keto focuses on carb reduction and forcing the body to process fats and proteins for energy. this can reduce fat conversion by slowing the energy release process, and also encourage the body to utilize fat it has in reserves as primary energy (ketosis)
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