Eating high carb means low fat so you can eat more food. Carbs have 4 calories per gram while fats have 9. More food means more nutrients. Also less fat means less saturated and trans fats which is good for heart health.

Don't knock walking to work. I can't do it without breaking a sweat and elevating my heart rate after the 1/2 mile steep hill climb plus 6 flights of stairs elevation gain.

It's the "you can eat more food" mentality that ballooned the incidence of obesity during the high-carb fad; 4 isn't less than 9 if you eat more 4's. Now that high-carb dieting has been exposed as the fraud that it is, I can't believe anybody is still advocating it. It's really not that hard, folks -- eat less, exercise more. Do the math.

High carb diet equals higher insulin levels which then will help sustain the body fat which is exactly what we are trying to get rid of. The center of science has been feeding us crap for years on what not to eat and what we should eat. Eggs once use to be bad for us thanks to the center of science. Why? Because they contain saturated fat which the thought of a higher saturated fat is bad. Well now eggs are good for you and any sensible person can agree with that. Since everyone started to trend on low fat diets we have been brain washed on what a good nutrition plan is. Our bodies naturally work better on a higher fat and protein diet and show s more signs of energy and less depression on this kind of diet. Its hard enough to break down complex carbs as it is now they are saying to eat more of it!!! Our bodies utilize nutrition more efficiently if we take in more vegetables and more grass fed meat and animal fat as opposed to a high complex carb diet. I am proof of this. I am a top athlete and work even better on a higher fat high protein diet . I function at this high level compared to the lack of energy i had on a good whole grain high complex diet. Take if for it is but we have been getting brain washed from day 1 on what not and what we should do, and what whats wrong and right. Give it a chance because it truthfully works.

This article is terrible. More research should be done before brain washing people whats wrong and right on what we should eat. Most people do not eat enough carbs!! Are you kidding me thats one of the main reason why we find ourselves as the heaviest country and with the most depression. High complex carb diet with a low fat content equals disaster for energy levels and on a psychological level. Higher carbs equals high insulin levels which in result makes us hold on to body fat much longer. I will save my breath but i am highly upset with this article and someone should re think of writing it.

If you're training for marathons you've got to fig. out what works for your body BUT you need carbs for the long haul. You also need protein which has been neglected by some training gurus as well as good fats. I found oatmeal with chia seeds, cup of coffee and a boiled egg before a 19-20 mile training run works for me. WITH water, gatorade and chomping on choc. power bar at intervals during the run. You have to fuel the machine and carbs are part of it. To Josh, the obesity epidemic is from people who sit on their bums all day chowing on processed junk and soft drinks. Don't kill the messenger.

Josh you're right on!! High carb diet is killing America! High protein and high fat has not only sustained me but has caused all my 'numbers' to be better than good!

I have been on the Four-hour Body diet by Timothy Ferris, (what Ferris calls a "slow-carb" way of eating) pretty much what Josh advocates except with the addition of legumes, but no "white food": potatoes, wheat, sugar, rice, etc. Lost 30 lb in 2 months with no hunger, now have more energy than ever. Eat less, exercise more is a myth! Read Gary Taubes "Why We Get Fat (an What To Do About It) and learn.

The arguments above are are real. Body types and Metabolic Types respond differently to exercise and what balance of fats - carbs - and proteins we should consume. I recommend Metabolic Typing - it will determine what the BEST ratio of fat to protein to carbs you function best on for your body type and origin (I'm Swiss/Hungarian). BY THE WAY - I am a protein type and do incredibly well with bison or beef in the morning with a handful of almonds + water. My mid afternoon meal is steak or chicken or tuna with 5-8 cups of mixed greens and 1/2 cup of quinoa. My dinner is a 5oz bison steak with broccoli or cauliflower with MCT oil dumped on it for additional fat. I often eat a boiled egg or two or a teaspoon of coconut fat for my snack - this totally going against the high carb rule. I am 10% body fat (I'm female) and I weight train and do the right balance of high intensity cardio to create a lean body and a sinewy muscular long lined frame. I could easily compete in a body buiding competition with a week's notice. I do not diet and do not count calories. I eat exactly enough for what I will be doing in the next three hours. Read the Metabolic Typing Diet or Eating Plan. There is NO one formula for any body. Find what works for you. I feel great all the time and my energy is superb - my skin hair and eyes all glow and I run a impressive 3:30 Marathon without training other than the above.... this might blow the high carb thing right out of the water...

This totally explains why I'm so meloncholy and depressed all the time!!! :)) And thank you Miss D for some inspiration. I have some changes to make.

Are any of you people actually researchers? What's being advocated isn't new, most researchers have advocated a 60% carb diet for years. Perhaps more information should be obtained from Journals instead of magazines. People aren't fat because they're on a high carb diet, they're fat because they're consuming too many calories and not performing enough exercise. Fruits, vegetables and grains-gee, all carbs. What a novelty.

Are any of you people actually researchers? What's being advocated isn't new, most researchers have advocated a 60% carb diet for years. Perhaps more information should be obtained from Journals instead of magazines. People aren't fat because they're on a high carb diet, they're fat because they're consuming too many calories and not performing enough exercise. Fruits, vegetables and grains-gee, all carbs. What a novelty.

Agree with anonymous. People aren't fat because they eat too much carbs, not enough protein, whatever...they are fat because they eat more calories than they consume. Because most Americans eat an overabundance of carbs, going on a carb-restictive diet lowers their caloric intake and they lose weight. Human diets are complex...virtually no one eats a pure diet, as all have various mixtures of proteins, fats, and carbs...trying to equate this to insulin levels is simply voodoo. Insulin levels rise when we eat...it is an anabolic hormone.

Agree with anonymous. People aren't fat because they eat too much carbs, not enough protein, whatever...they are fat because they eat more calories than they consume. Because most Americans eat an overabundance of carbs, going on a carb-restictive diet lowers their caloric intake and they lose weight. Human diets are complex...virtually no one eats a pure diet, as all have various mixtures of proteins, fats, and carbs...trying to equate this to insulin levels is simply voodoo. Insulin levels rise when we eat...it is an anabolic hormone.

As a reader of mostly jounal articles and not so many magazines I would have to agree with Miss D. There is no one solution for everyone. Since metabolism, energy consumption and genetics are all different your diet has to be custom tailored to you. Metabolic testing can tell you some amazing things about yourself in relation to what you consume. It not only affects you physically but mentally also. Infomation on different types of diets is abundant but everyone needs to be careful and try different options with an open mind and understand that we all are unique and you may have to modify to accomodate what your body needs.

As a reader of mostly jounal articles and not so many magazines I would have to agree with Miss D. There is no one solution for everyone. Since metabolism, energy consumption and genetics are all different your diet has to be custom tailored to you. Metabolic testing can tell you some amazing things about yourself in relation to what you consume. It not only affects you physically but mentally also. Infomation on different types of diets is abundant but everyone needs to be careful and try different options with an open mind and understand that we all are unique and you may have to modify to accomodate what your body needs.

Um... this article is in an outdoor enthusiast magazine and meant for people who are active and don't spend their day sitting on the couch! The obesity problem in this country is from too much food intake and not enough exercise! If you had read the article it explains why it calls for a high intake of carbs. If you are very active you need energy! Energy comes from carbs. This wasn't written in USA Today!

I eat what my body craves, for example when I did the 2,300 mile At I ate more burgers, fries, pizza, apple pie, ice cream, pepsi coke than anything else on the towns along the way.

I totally agree that you should eat what suits you best. My doctor (at the time) once told me to lay off the potatoes as they were contributing to my weight problem. Her reasoning? All the butter/margarine I was using on them. I don't use either. She recommended a weight management program. She made assumptions about my eating habits based on my weight. I was eating salad for lunch every day, though I don't think she believed me. What I have since discovered is that I'm sensitive to both wheat and preservatives, and especially the preservatives. The preservatives screwed with my hormones, making me gain weight (and lose my hair!) even though I ate relatively little, and the wheat (which is also in the fillers they use to make "light" food) made me lethargic and depressed. I still eat pasta, pizza and cake, but they're all wheat and preservative free, and the difference is amazing. I have the energy to exercise every day, I've lost weight and gained hair (and believe me, that one was a relief!). So my conclusion on it is, take watching what you eat to the next level - not just whether they're carbs or proteins and how much of each, but also, how they're makes you feel, physically and mentally. Corn pasta isn't half bad!

Active people need carbs, but running 5 miles at a time two or three times a week isn't the same as actively training for a marathon or other event where you are running five times a week. Most people who work out 2-3 times a week and run 2-3 times a week eat too many carbs and then wonder why they can't lose weight. I imagine that 90% of Outside Magazine readers fit this profile, and as such, this article is the opposite of helpful.

Active people need carbs, but running 5 miles at a time two or three times a week isn't the same as actively training for a marathon or other event where you are running five times a week. Most people who work out 2-3 times a week and run 2-3 times a week eat too many carbs and then wonder why they can't lose weight. I imagine that 90% of Outside Magazine readers fit this profile, and as such, this article is the opposite of helpful.

Thank you to the previous poster. This article doesn't get into the specifics of exactly who they are targeting. Any exercise is fantastic for your health, but eating more of any type of food than you expend will make you fat. It doesn't matter what it is made of. Carbohydrates become more and more important the more intense the exercise. If you are seriously training (I have 11 workouts a week - sometimes I wonder why I took up triathlon) your energy requirement are quite different than if you do lower intensity exercise less often. Iif I tried to not listen to my body (I eat when I am hungry) and cut a lot of carbs I my performance would suffer - slower times and I would be tired, cranky and not recover well. Anyone can try and sell you a magic formula but what it really comes down to is in = out. A lot of the diet industry is trying to help people feel more satisfied on less food. I need carbs and simple sugars (like the guy talking about drinking pepsi on the AT). If you walk a mile every couple of days, you probably don't and it will end up on your waistline.

It was a very lazy piece of journalism, pity I would expect more from the mag. the formula is simple really eat as much as you need, and exercise. The amount you eat of cource varies on your output. Advocating one diet over another is just nonsence as every body responds to different inputs, carbs or protein, raw food or cooked. Just be kind to your body and eat unprocessed foods with as few steps from field or sea to mouth. Calorie counting is a way to become obsessed with food and looking at it only as fuel. Say this to an Italian mountaineer or cyclist and they would laugh. Food is pleasure, and not something to be paranoid about. Its this fad and diet culture which has contributed to the USA and UK in particular breeding a bunch of anorexic rock climbers and guilty overweight under exercised teenagers. Weight loss should be gradual and be a culture change of eating, it may be conscious to start with but eating also should come with a healthy attitude to food. Learn to listen to your body. Any regime that is too dictitorial will become an obsession and should be avoided.

Wow, I am glad this generated so much controversy. When I read the article I was astounded that someone was still actually recommending a 60 percent carb. diet. The really good science of metabolism, physiology, insulin levels, etc. has shown without a doubt that almost everyone would benefit from no more than 30 percent carbohydrates, with 2/3 of that being complex carbohydrates. I am an M.D. who has competed in everything from triathlons to eco-challenges, taught resident's and physicians about nutrition and run several weight loss programs. Now that we have finally moved into good nutritional science (over the last 10 years), it is frustrating to see articles that are just so "stuck in the 80's." I agree with all those who have advocated the higher protein, higher "good fats," and simply meeting the minimum needs of carbs. to fuel only the immediate needs of training and competition. The less you compete, the less carbs. you need. There is virtually no one out there who NEEDS a diet of more than 30% carbs. read it again - NO ONE!

@ 1FSTFRERIDE, Can you direct me to literature/ resources to convince my (skeptical) spouse of the new good science re: insulin & carbs? He is leery of anyone selling a book! Dr Oz has him convinced that "whole grain" is the answer to all of life's problems... thanks!

Worst article. No one checked this author before posting on the site??? Sad for the mag.