Can you survive without pasta and rice? Bread? Can you pass up a bagel on your way to work? For many people, this is hard to do but is a mandate of their low carb diet plans. If you are considering going on a regimented eating plan and have questions about low carb diets, you probably want to know how fast you can lose weight on a low carb diet, how many carbs do you eat to lose weight, and how to balance proteins, carbs, and fats to lose weight. These are great questions, but here is one more: is a low carbohydrate diet for me? Is it healthy and safe for me to do?
Low carb diet plans and meals were the biggest weight loss movement of a few years ago. Pioneer Dr. Robert Atkins’s plan restricts the amount of carbs you eat and divides the diet into stages. During the first stage, you eat only 20 carbohydrates a day, which is how many carbs you need to lose weight. Gradually, as you lose weight, you can increase the amount of carbs you eat – replacing empty carbs with higher nutrition ones, like trading white bread for whole wheat bread.
The South Beach Diet also touts the benefits of a restricted-carb diet. Soon, more and more began to spring up – the Zone and Suzanne Sommers diets to name just two. While a lot of people were doing low carb diet plans, what does this actually mean and how does it work? When you eat carbohydrates, your blood sugar rises and your body releases insulin. Insulin takes glucose (sugar) out of your bloodstream and puts it into your cells. It targets muscles first, and when they are full, glucose gets pumped into fat cells. Your body burns the glucose in your bloodstream before turning to stored fat for energy. Low carb diets work on the theory that if you keep the sugar level down in your bloodstream, then your body will start burning the fat to get its energy.
Low carb diets are low in carbohydrates and high in protein and fats. Depending on the plan you choose, you are limited to a certain amount of carbs. After a while, you can start slowly introducing healthier carbs. In the first stage of many diets, there is absolutely no bread, pasta, potatoes, fruit, or rice. You can eat meat and a certain amount of vegetables with no carb dressings or sauce. During later stages, although the number of carbs increases, vegetables never make up a huge portion of your diet, usually only five to twenty percent. This has been a criticism of low carb diets. You have to be cautious about any diet that encourages you to eat all the meat and butter you want but cuts way back on your veggies. In fact, the Atkins, South Beach, and other low carb diets completely go against the USDA’s food pyramid guidelines. There is controversy on the health effects of low carb diets. One reason is that you consume more saturated fats and that can raise your cholesterol. If you are considering going on a low carb diet, research the health risks and talk to your doctor. They could be great for some people, but not healthy for others.
Another problem area with low carb diets is that it is hard to monitor the amount of calories you consume. The bottom line about weight loss is that you have to burn more calories than you eat. That simple formula is the only thing that works to lose extra pounds. Low carb diets are often high in calories. For example, a breakfast of a bowl of oatmeal, some 1% milk, and some fruit would be frowned upon in the early stages of a low carb diet. Meanwhile, a breakfast of eggs and bacon fried in butter are perfectly acceptable. Low carb doesn’t necessarily mean low calorie, and since you need to eat fewer calories to lose weight, a low carb diet may not be for you. You may need a more lean diet plan, with plenty of vegetables and whole grains.
When you’re looking for a healthy diet plan, make sure you choose one that is balanced and addresses all your body’s needs. A diet that restricts fruit and vegetable intake doesn’t allow you to get the vitamins and antioxidants they contain. You can find so many online diet plans, low carb recipes, and diet meal plans that it can very hard to know what to eat. Lowering your carbohydrate intake – from foods such as white bread and rice, junk food, and starchy processed foods - is a great idea. You don’t necessarily want to cut the great carbs found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grain foods. You can eat a well balanced diet without restricting yourself so much. A lot of low carb diet plans sell their own brand of diet food. If you do the Atkins diet, you can buy low carb chips, low carb snacks, low carb breads, and even low carb pancake mixes. If you eat sensibly, with a wide range of vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains, you have much more freedom, and it’s less expensive than purchasing diet food. You can create your own low cost diet plan that suits you.
Low carb diets are not for everyone. If you are thinking about starting one, check with your doctor and do some research. Low carb diets work well with some people, allowing them to lose weight quickly. A better alternative, though, might be to eat a well balanced, healthy diet and exercise. Dieting doesn’t really work, but having a healthy diet does.
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