Research

Energy balance

During weight-loss maintenance, a low-carbohydrate diet (20% carbs) increases the estimated energy requirement by approximately 200-300 kcal/day compared to a high-carbohydrate diet (60% carbs), indicating higher energy expenditure on low-carb diets.

If you are maintaining weight loss, switching to a lower carbohydrate diet (around 20% of calories) may increase your daily energy expenditure by roughly 200-300 calories compared to a high-carb diet. This metabolic advantage might make weight maintenance easier without conscious effort.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Estimated energy requirement was higher in the Low vs High group by models involving ITT (ranging from 181 [CI 8–353] to 223 [40–406] kcal/d; P≤0.04) and PP (ranging from 245 [43–446] to 295 [91–499] kcal/d; P≤0.02).
Cara B. Ebbeling et al. · medRxiv · 2019

Why this rating

Randomized controlled feeding study with high adherence monitoring, though it is a secondary analysis of a preprint.

Source

Higher energy requirement during weight-loss maintenance on a low- versus high-carbohydrate diet: secondary analyses from a randomized controlled feeding study

Cara B. Ebbeling et al. · medRxiv · 2019

DOI 10.1101/19001248

preprint · n=164Cited 4×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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