British Medical Journal: Effects of a low carbohydrate diet on energy expenditure during weight loss maintenance

When you read “total energy expenditure” below, it may make more sense if you substitute “calories burned per day.” If you burn your food calories, they don’t end up as stored fat on your body,

“In this controlled feeding trial over 20 weeks, we found that total energy expenditure was significantly greater in participants assigned to a low carbohydrate diet compared with high carbohydrate diet of similar protein content. In addition, pre-weight loss insulin secretion might modify individual response to this diet effect. Taken together with preliminary reports on activation of brain areas involved in food cravings and circulating metabolic fuel concentration, results of the current Framingham State Food Study (FS)2 substantiate several key predictions of the carbohydrate-insulin model. Regardless of the specific mechanisms involved, the study shows that dietary quality can affect energy expenditure independently of body weight, a phenomenon that could be key to obesity treatment, as recently reviewed.”

Source: Effects of a low carbohydrate diet on energy expenditure during weight loss maintenance: randomized trial | The BMJ