Yet how many people really believe that the “coconut milk and meat” only diet can bring sustained weight loss or improve health? You’d be surprised!
There are certain fad diets do exist that claim to have clinical results that show weight loss. Some of these are quite famous low carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins Diet and The South Beach Diet.
Many who begin these diets become zealous and will badger you to try a low-carb diet, claiming it’s a miracle. They haven’t yet discovered the truth about low carb diets. You should resist their temptation!
These diets, according to their gurus and their followers will help you lose weight because carbohydrates are broken down into sugar and then the sugar is burned as fuel for the body with the aid of insulin but some sugar is also stored in the body. This stored sugar if not consumed by the body is stored as fat. So, making a long, complex digestive story short, low-carb diet proponents come to the simplistic conclusion that carbohydrate consumption makes you fat.
But what these gurus won’t tell you is that there’s a HUGE difference between carbs from processed foods like cookies, cracker, chips, and fries than carbs from natural, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, berries and legumes. If you really want to lose weight, the key is to eat as much natural, unprocessed food as possible and cut out the processed junk that’s loading your body with empty calories, toxins, hormones, endocrine disruptors, and oxidized fats.
So here is the truth about low-carb diets.
Low Carb Diet Fact 1.
It is true that most people will quickly lose weight initialy on a low-carb diet. However, once they begin eating carbs again, the weight comes back.
Low Carb Diet Fact 2.
Prolonged low-carb diets lead to “carb sensitivity.” This means that when those who have followed a low-carb regimen begin eating carbs the body’s digestive system begins to gleefully store them as fat as it views them as long lost digestive needs that it may not get again.
Low Carb Diet Fact 3.
Substituting protein for carbs may actually increase your weight, not reduce it. The reason for this is the body burns carbs for energy. If carbs are not available then the body converts protein to sugar for energy by a process called gluconeogenesis. When gluconeogenesis happens it reduces muscle mass, slows your metabolism so that you burn fewer calories and add fat. In short, you add weight through gluconeogenesis by slowing your metabolism.
Low Carb Diet Fact 4.
Carbs and Insulin do not cause weight gain. Insulin helps the body to burn glucose, low carb champions claim that carbs cause insulin to work less efficiently at burning glucose so the body stores the excess as fat. Yes insulin plays a role in moving glucose to cells to be burned as fuel, but insulin moves sugar to our muscles too. The strategy we need is to maintain a consistent amount of blood insulin levels and avoid trying to repress insulin production.
Low Carb Diet Fact 5.
Losing weight quickly is not healthy. Rapid weight loss may cause your body to produce more of a hormone known as T3. this is produced by the thyroid gland. Exercise and rapid weight loss confuse the body and the production of T3 causes the body’s metabolism to slow down, so, fewer calories are burned.
Low Carb Diet Fact 6.
Carbohydrates help build muscle mass. A low-carb diet weakens muscles and leaves you feeling tired and slow. You can not increase muscle mass without carbs, nor can your brain be efficiently fueled (remember, your brain uses as much as 20% of your total caloric intake to fuel itself, and it must be in the form of glucose – carbohydrates).
Low Carb Diet Fact 7.
Carbohydrates hang out with water (fruits and vegetables are 70-90% water). For every gram of carbs you reduce from your diet, you will lose 3 to 4 grams of water. A lot of weight loss from a low-carb diet is water, not fat.
Low Carb Diet Fact 8.
Replacing carbs with proteins is very unhealthy. High protein diets are high-fat diets, especially if you’re eating unhealthy processed foods or conventionally grown meat and dairy products. Unexpected consequences for the dieter can be increased risk of:
• Heart disease
• Kidney damage
Now that you know the truth about low carbohydrates diet you can counter your friends who swear that these diets have been the magic bullet. Tell them you will wait a while and see how they are doing. Remember though, real friends will share the knowledge of how harmful these diets can be and that at best the diets only provide a short-term weight loss!