By Carbs have been the sworn enemy macro for many people aspiring to lose body fat and control weight.
To some extent, many people have had great success with this diet, whilst others have not. It all depends on the kind of carbs you eat, how insulin sensitive you are, and your training methods.
The evidence is all around us, showing that low carb is effective for weight loss.
Over 20 high-quality human studies support this. I’m almost sure that people around you have tried this method and experienced weight loss in some form.
Here is an explanation of the most popular low-carb diet around
The Keto diet
This diet focuses primarily on protein, fats and non-starchy veggies. Even though these foods contain carbs, they’re high in fibre. Therefore, they only have a minimal number of digestible carbs. This is the nature of a Ketogenic diet, which limits carbs to 30–50g per day. The key to this diet is to eat primarily fats for fuel. Protein consumption should be kept low.
This diet encourages your body to switch from burning glucose (from carbs) to burning ketones instead (which fat produces) for energy. It’s achieved with a little to no level of carbs consumed daily.
What to eliminate
To experience success with this diet, you must eliminate all refined, high carb and processed foods, fruits, sweet beverages, legumes, pasta and all starchy veggies.
Wins to your health
- Lower blood pressure
- Fast fat loss
- Decrease the risk of heart disease
- Reduction in belly fat stores
- Lowering your risk of metabolic syndrome
Losses to your health
- Constipation and low energy levels
- loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Bad breath
- It may decrease the abundance of nutrients in your diet
- Can cause long-term damage due to ineffective research
- You may gain weight when your regular diet is resumed
- You may magnify your bowel problems (constipation)
- Kidney disease only if you already have impaired kidney function
So yes, you will decrease your weight and body fat levels, but is this something you would want to do long term?
How to get around the method of cutting carbs
The only way to get around this carbohydrate issue is to pick and choose your carbs carefully, opting for the healthiest choices available. There needs to be a long term goal here, for weight loss, without the yo-yo effect or increasing your body fat levels to a dangerous level. Educated eating is a must. There are several methods available, such as carb cycling. Find what works for you and your current lifestyle goals.
Today’s food consumption has increased exponentially, and processed food has become the norm in everyday life. Most of these foods available are void of any nutritional value. They are a massive contributor to the obesity epidemic.
There is no clear evidence supporting the severe restriction of carbs as promoting long-term health benefits of weight reduction. This is because all carbohydrates are not the same.
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