Research

Energy balance

A plant-based, low-fat diet (75% carb, 10% fat) significantly reduces ad libitum energy intake compared to an animal-based, low-carbohydrate diet (10% carb, 75% fat) in adults without diabetes, primarily due to lower energy density and higher fiber content.

If you want to naturally eat fewer calories without counting them, try a plant-based, low-fat diet rich in fiber. In this study, participants ate over 700 fewer calories per day on a high-carb, low-fat diet compared to a high-fat, low-carb diet, largely because the high-carb food had lower energy density. Focus on whole plant foods like vegetables, fruits, and grains, and limit added fats to see if this helps you eat less spontaneously.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Exposure to the LF diet resulted in significantly lower ad libitum energy intake compared to the LC diet, potentially due to its lower energy density and greater fiber content.
Isabelle Gallagher et al. · Current Developments in Nutrition · 2020

Why this rating

Randomized crossover design in an inpatient setting controls for confounders, though the sample size is small (n=16).

Source

Ad Libitum Energy Intake Differences Between a Plant-Based, Low-Fat and an Animal-Based, Low-Carbohydrate Diet: An Inpatient Randomized Crossover Study

Isabelle Gallagher et al. · Current Developments in Nutrition · 2020

DOI 10.1093/cdn/nzaa049_019

crossover · n=16Cited 2×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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