Carbohydrates and the Low Carbohydrate Diet : Part 3
Part : 1
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For your low carbohydrate diet ("low carb diet")
to be a success, it’s absolutely critical that you understand carbohydrates
("carbs") and their roles, how to select the right kind of
carbohydrates and the carbs to avoid, and several low carbohydrate diet
techniques that can help you achieve excellent results. In addition
to this helpful article on low carbohydrate diets, be sure to take our
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There are all sorts of low carbohydrate diet plans out
there that can help you lose weight (not necessarily fat), but they
are so miserable that it's impossible to stay on them very long - even
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the low carbohydrate diet program. We wanted to create a low carb plan
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Low carbohydrate diets first emerged
decades ago; today they are enjoying something of a renaissance as the
diet of choice. Everywhere you look there are low carb bars, low carb
drinks, low carb meal replacements, low carb frozen dinners, etc. Low
carbohydrate diet books like The Atkins Diet, Protein Power, and Sugar-Busters
have all been best-sellers.
Virtually 100% of all bodybuilders and fitness competitors
use some version of a low carbohydrate diet when getting ready for contests.
But despite their immense popularity, low carbohydrate diets have many
drawbacks and are still the subject of controversy.
Because of the popularity of low carbohydrate diets, carbohydrates
in general have gotten a bad rap. Many people believe carbohydrates
are fattening. This simply is not true! Carbohydrates are not fattening
as long as you eat the right kind and you don't eat too many of them.
However, it is true that a reduction in carbs and an increase in protein
will give you some interesting hormonal and metabolic advantages for
fat loss. It's also true that some people don't respond well to the
conventional high-carb, low-fat diet.
Some people are "carbohydrate-sensitive" and
"insulin-resistant." This means that these people release
more insulin than normal when they consume carbohydrate foods. When
excess insulin is present, they do not release stored body fat as readily
and they are more likely to store free fatty acids into adipose tissue.
The result is that even on a low-fat, low-calorie diet combined with
regular exercise, some people still have a difficult time losing body
fat if they eat a lot of carbohydrates.
Reducing carbohydrates and increasing protein with a low
carbohydrate diet gives you a metabolic advantage: the high protein
in these diets speeds up your metabolism because of the "thermogenic"
effect of the protein. This means that protein foods speed up your metabolism
because your body has to work harder to digest, process, and utilize
this nutrient as compared to fat or carbohydrates.
Protein has the highest thermogenic effect of any food:
nearly 30%. For example, if you eat 100 calories of chicken breast,
30 of those calories are burned off just to digest it! Therefore, the
net caloric value is only 70 calories. Too much of any food will be
stored as body fat, but because of its high thermogenic effect, protein
is less likely to be converted to fat than any other food type.
Reducing your carbohydrates with a low carbohydrate diet
from the traditional recommendation of 50-55% of your total calories
to 40%-45% of your total calories may help you lose fat more quickly.
Some "carbohydrate-sensitive/insulin-resistant" people might
benefit from reducing carbs to as low as 30% of total calories for very
brief periods (do not do so without the recommendation of your physician),
but under no circumstances should you ever remove all or even most of
the carbohydrates from your diet.
Unfortunately, many people take carbohydrate restriction
too far when on a low carbohydrate diet, often going close to zero carbs.
These diets are almost impossible to stick to, and most people end up
gaining back all the weight they lost as soon as they re-introduce carbs
to their diet. Going to such extremes is not necessary and may be hazardous
to your health. Other disadvantages of very low-carb diets include reduced
energy levels, irritability, inability to concentrate, slower metabolic
rate, and loss of lean body mass. This is why you need to understand
how best to use a low carbohydrate diet..
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results in the shortest period of time by eating the perfect foods combined
at the right times in the right amounts - all customized specifically
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lies!
This article was provided by GHF.
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