By The low carb pathway is filled with benefits and also pitfalls. I’m speaking from real-life experience here, as it’s the strategy I used for a long time whilst preparing for my bodybuilding shows. It can seem very alluring to think that cutting certain food groups (that aren’t bad for you, by the way) will result in weight loss. Initially, this can happen and probably very rapidly. But I like to think of weight loss as a long term strategy that will see you through, keep your weight in check at all times, as well as provide you with the flexibility you want (and have a right to) daily. There is no real cookie-cutter solution to the problem when it comes to weight loss, but the problem initially stems from a diet filled with inappropriate foods. It’s probably self-explanatory that eating refined carbs, sugars, soft drinks, and processed packaged goods aren’t the best for you now. They aren’t the best for anyone if we are all being sincere here. I also know that most people don’t like eating healthy. Once you start changing something in your life, it’s always complex and challenging – for a short period. Those who can accept and handle short-term pain for the long-term gain are a step ahead of most people. The same goes for specific diets that eliminate foods. Carbs aren’t bad for you – and I know most people will probably disagree. They are needed in your diet, but the kind of carb will help you stay lean or bring on the weight.I think many people also forget that almost everything (apart from animal protein sources) has some carbs in them. The difference is how your body handles that particular carb. A carb source filled with fibre is going to react differently than one filled with flour and sugar. It’s all about quality carb sources at a particular quantity. Going low carb for years put my metabolism in a shady place. Whenever I would eat carbs, the weight would pile on. I believe this was my body being carb sensitive, but it wasn’t. What I didn’t know at the time was that low carb diets weaken your thyroid. It took me many years to balance my body and increase it’s efficiency when handing carbs, fats and protein. My secret strategy was intermittent fasting. Why did this work for me? Not eating for more prolonged periods allows my body to become more efficient and use fat stores for energy. When I ate, I found that my body began to use calories to fuel me. How do I know this – well, my clothes size stayed the same, and I constantly felt energetic, alert. I could also eat more, including more foods into my meals, without the adverse effects I previously experienced. Carb cycling was a lot more effective when I needed to shed a few kgs quickly. That didn’t mean I was low carb all the time, but I swapped and changed the days I was eating higher carbs to run in conjunction with my training. Sometimes I would do the opposite and eat more carbs when I was resting. Why is that? I wanted to trick my body because when your body knows what’s going on, you will start to plateau. My advice to anyone who wants to lose weight is don’t sacrifice food groups unless you have a medical condition. Choose your nutrition carefully, and carb cycle instead. I believe eliminating carbs is not as effective as fasting, and fasting is a lot more manageable in terms of your lifestyle. This is what I’ve found in my experience. If you look after your body, it will most certainly look after you and attend to your fat loss needs. Treat it well by nourishing it with good food sources and eliminating the need to sacrifice foods for the instant gratification weight loss brings. Slow and steady always wins the fat loss race. I hope you found this article helpful, and I would love you to upvote it if you did. Please also join me on my various social platforms and do go ahead and download your Empowering habit changer guide. I’m also on Instagram.