Layne is a PhD in nutrition science, record holding powerlifter/bodybuilder, and renowned coach. So he has academic credentials, personal success, and has successfully helped others. There are very few people in nutrition that you can generally trust, and he's one of them. So when he says something, it's generally OK to accept it on face value.
It's a bit of a cliche, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. The claim that someone can do 2-3 hours of cardio a day; eat only 800 to 1000 calories, and not lose weight is extraordinary. To back up a claim like that, you would need to do a study where the subject was carefully monitored with doubly labeled water or confined to a live-in laboratory.
Did he personally monitor these people he is describing?
Most of the people that get to that level are bodybuilding competitors. If the population weren't specified, I'd agree with your suspicion, since it is pretty well demonstrated that most weight loss issues are related to inaccurate food reporting/consumption. However, folks that are serious about bodybuilding are pretty meticulous about following diet plans, and aren't strangers to hard work, denying physical urges, and doing really uncomfortable stuff for their sport. I'd agree that a typical obese person is almost certainly just underreporting their c...
Eliezer and I have put together this first pass at a recipe for DIY ketogenic soylent--or, as he prefers to call it,The Mildly Surprising Super Ketonic Dietary Replacement Weight-Loss Fluid - It's Not Food, It's Dietary Replacement Fluid!(R) (I am not in full support of this particular preference...)
So let's play Make a Prediction. It seems more likely to be useful than "free associate with why soylent/ketosis is awesome/stupid". Imagine that Eliezer has around a week's worth of infinite willpower (that can only be spent on resisting food cravings etc.). Further, imagine your crystal ball shows you that a month from now, he hasn't lost any weight. What does it tell you about why?
Ketogenic Soylent v1
1 scoop Gold Standard whey protein
1½ tsp calcium citrate powder
1 tsp creatine
½ cup+1 tbsp ground flax
4 tbsp Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder
2 tbsp lecithin
⅗ tsp potassium citrate on day 1, increase gradually to 1tsp by day 5, don’t exceed 2tsp
½ tsp iodized salt
⅛ packet Emergen-C
⅕ cup olive oil
1¼ tbsp flaxseed oil
⅗ cup MCT oil
Sucralose to taste
We might need to add water to get the consistency right.
Pills
1 capsule vitamin D supplement/day
2 Opti-Women vitamins per day
1 capsule MSM
Totals Per Day
Calories: 1866
Fats: 193.5g
Carbs: 12g
Protein: 54g
Fiber: 25g
Biotin 250mcg
Calcium 150mg
Chromium 120mcg
Copper 2mg
Folic Acid 600mcg
Iodine 200mcg
Iron 18mg
Magnesium 75mg
Manganese 5mg
Methyl-Sulfonyl-Methane 1000mg
Molybdenum 70mcg
Niacin 20mg
Pantothenic Acid 20mg
Potassium: 5g
Riboflavin 20mg
Selenium 70mcg
Sodium 3g
Thiamin 20mg
Vitamin A 5,000IU
Vitamin B6 20mg
Vitamin B12 100mcg
Vitamin C 250mg
Vitamin D 1600IU
Vitamin E 100IU
Vitamin K 80mcg
Zinc 15mg