We are going to cover what a low carb diet is and what it isn’t. There are many positives to low carb diets and we discuss some of these in detail and the performance advantages over a traditional low fat diet and how these will help you adhere to your new plan in the long term
What are the important features of a low carb diet that has led them to be the most popular diet in the world over recent years. The root cause of the obesity problems of many industrialized countries lies at the hands of over consumption of carbohydrates. Foods that are high in carbohydrates include wheat based products like, pastas and breads and other sugary sweets like cakes, chocolates and candy. In the western world governmental health policy has been directed towards a low fat model which in return has led to an over consumption of high energy carbs which has resulted in increasing levels of obesity. Excess carbohydrate in the body gets converted into sugars which get into the blood stream, our bodies are sensitive to sugar and we end up removing that sugar with it being stored as fat.
What are the benefits of choosing a high protein low carb diet over other diets and why should you consider starting a low carb diet. There has been a lot of scientific research that has gone into comparing and contrasting different diets, overwhelmingly the data ends up supporting low carb diets in favor of low fat diets. A consequence of a low carb diet is a resulting increase in protein consumption. This has advantages in that protein will satiate you for longer with a resulting in decreased overall calorie intake. Protein also has thermogenic or metabolism increasing characteristics which are beneficial as well. A common drawback with many low fat diets is that a large portion of the weigh lost is actually lean muscle and not the unwanted fat. Low carb diets on the other hand are very good at preserving lean muscle and the majority of weight lost is fat. Loss of muscle mass is a considerable problem as muscle requires a lot of energy to keep it functioning optimally, it’s like having your heating on it uses a lot of fuel. Having your muscle mass decrease causes a slow down in your metabolic rate to stall.
Criteria for an optimum low carb diet As with anything there are varying extremes some diets promote just eating 10-20g of carbohydrate a day while some go up to about 50g of carbohydrate a day. The lower the carbohydrate content we often find lower levels of adherence over time as people often feel they are unhealthy as you are restricted on the amount of fruit and vegetables you can consume. An important part of selecting a new weight loss regime is how easy is it going to stick to in the longer term, if it is too restrictive or appears to faddy then ultimately it’s not going to work over a period of time. A low carb diet that focuses on a high vegetable content will likely increase your ability to stick with it as well as being healthier because of the increased levels of veggies.
We’ve explained the benefits of a low carb eating regime and how it’s been proven to work better than low fat diets and why it’s important choose a plan that you can sustain and you feel that is healthy. What are you waiting for give it a go. You will be surprised how easy it is to follow and the results you achieve.
Gavin Allinson the fat loss chef is based in Oxford, England. He provides sample recipes and eating plans on his website Ultimate Low Carb Diet.
categories: weight loss,health,fitness,nutrition,women’s issues,women,men’s issues,health and fitness,advice