subject: Why Lowering Carbs Can Help You Lose Weight [print this page] Why Lowering Carbs Can Help You Lose Weight
Everyone's heard about the famous Atkins diet, but not everyone knows why low carb diets are so effective at burning fat. Low carb isn't a fad diet or a way to sell protein powder, but rather a way of understanding the science of nutrition to live a healthier, happier life. The low carb diet controls the hormone that dictates whether your body stores or releases fat: insulin. Insulin is the hormone that spikes when you eat carbohydrates. When your insulin spikes, it tells the body that it needs to store fat into fat cells, versus burn it for fuel. If you can control your carbohydrate intake, you can control your insulin. If your insulin doesn't spike, your body doesn't receive the signal to store fat, and can instead burn it for energy. This results in fat loss.The common belief that a high carb, low fat diet leads to good health is in fact much disputed by nutritional scientists. Our ancestors lived on a diet of animal products, with very little plant life available to them. They had no agriculture, so there was no grain, bread, or cereal to consume. However, these ancestors fared better than their modern-day counterparts. For example, the Egyptians were one of the first races to have a diet based largely around grain and plant fats versus animal fat. Unlike our ancestors, they developed many of the "diseases of civilization," including tooth decay, heart disease, malnutrition, and stunted growth. So, how do you learn to cut carbohydrate and gain better health? It's simpler than you may think.Instructions:1) Go through your pantry and remove any bread products, including pasta, cereal, and snack foods. "Whole Grain" foods actually spike your insulin as much as pure sugar, since they both break down the same way when ingested.2) Look through your leftover condiments and snacks to see how much sugar they contain. Remove anything with over 10 grams of sugar. Notice that when something has a lot of sugar content, it also has a lot of carbohydrate. They are the same thing as far as your body is concerned.3) Your first two weeks on a low carb diet, try to keep your carb intake to less than 30 grams a day. Check your food labels to get into the habit of tracking your carbs. If there is fiber in what you're eating, subtract that number from your total carb count, since fiber can't be digested. Example: If your low carb tortilla says it has 17 grams of carbs, but 10 grams of fiber, it's got 7 net grams of carbs. You should count 7 grams of carbohydrate.4) You will most likely feel run down as your body switches from burning glucose, or sugar, for fuel, to burning ketones, which are basically fat. Your body will be releasing fat stores to be burned for energy, versus burning glucose and storing fat. Keep at it! This run-down feeling should only last for a few days, and then you'll start to feel great. Sugar cravings will also subside as your body adjusts.5) After two weeks, feel free to adjust your carb intake to 50 grams per day. Your body should be adjusted to burning fat for fuel versus glucose. Remember to count your carbs, and watch out for "hidden" carbs that appear in sauces and condiments. Congratulations! You're ready to start losing weight while eating foods you love, like steak, bacon, and creamy dressing on your salads. Documentaries like "Fat Head" have shown that not only can you lose fat faster on a low carb diet than high carb, but you can maintain a healthy cholesterol level as well. Here's to good health and good eating.
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