The estimated treatment difference in weight reduction after 12 weeks … showed a pronounced effect in favour of SI (−6.3 kg with (95% confidence interval)
This a 30-person weight loss study. The SI group got continuous glucose monitors (only for 2 weeks), low-carb diet advice, the voluntary option to use a low-carb meal formula, and lost over a pound a week more than the control group over a 12 week period. The low-carb group also had other measurable benefits. The basic point of this diet approach is to control insulin levels (high blood glucose spikes from carbs result in a lot of insulin being released).
Although I’ve never been a fan of calorie counting, I used to believe the widespread “calories in, calories out” (CICO) view of weight loss (as a concept rather than a calorie counting method). DD is a big fan of CICO and shared it with me when I didn’t really know anything about the topic. Over time, as I’ve learned more about food, health and biology, I’ve become increasingly skeptical of CICO. I think the types of calories matter, specific biological processes matter (like how insulin and energy storage work), and your body reacts a lot to what you eat. E.g. your body can lower your metabolism (do less, think slower, to save energy) if you eat less (your body’s algorithm basically interprets eating less as meaning there’s a food shortage, so the algorithm gives saving energy for later a higher priority).