Research

Energy balance

Long-term caloric restriction (12 months) induces metabolic adaptation (Total Energy Expenditure lower than predicted by body composition changes), regardless of whether the diet is High or Low Glycemic Load.

When you lose weight, your body naturally burns fewer calories than expected for your new size. This 'metabolic adaptation' happens whether you eat high or low glycemic carbs. It is a normal survival mechanism, not a broken metabolism. To counteract it, focus on preserving muscle mass (which LG diets may help with) and maintaining your weight loss, as the adaptation is a risk factor for weight regain.

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Changes in TEE, but not changes in RMR, were greater than accounted for by the loss of FFM and fat mass (P=0.001-0.013) suggesting an adaptive response to long-term CR... there was no significant effect of diet group on change in RMR or TEE.
Sai Krupa Das et al. · The Open Nutrition Journal · 2008

Why this rating

Robust measurement methods (Doubly Labeled Water for TEE, indirect calorimetry for RMR) in a controlled feeding study, but the finding is a general observation of CR rather than a specific intervention effect.

Source

Long - Term Effects of Energy-Restricted Diets Differing in Glycemic Load on Metabolic Adaptation and Body Composition*

Sai Krupa Das et al. · The Open Nutrition Journal · 2008

DOI 10.2174/1874288200802010076

rct · n=29Cited 27×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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