Posts Tagged ‘Calories’

Is the Low Carb Diet Right for you?

Friday, August 28th, 2009

The rate of obesity in humans is increasing each year and it looks like the situation will not improve anytime soon. Even though there are so many different diets out there; none of them will work for every person.

There is a highly effective diet available that has seen successful results over a large amount of people. It’s called the low carb diet and is one of the more simple diets to take part in.

The word “carb” in low carb diet refers to carbohydrates. When losing weight it’s important to keep the amount of carbohydrates you’re eating to a minimum. It’s important to understand why exactly an excessive amount of carbohydrates will increase your weight, before we further discuss the rationale of this diet.

Carbohydrates, whether they come from pasta, bread or a couple of donuts turn into glucose. Glucose is primarily used for energy and some is also stored in our muscles. Your body can only store about 2,000 calories of glucose and the rest as you might have guessed is turned into fat.

Essentially how the diet works is by restricting the amount of carbohydrates you consume. By doing this, your body has no choice but to use your fat as energy, thus you lose weight.

You may be discouraged in trying another diet however you should give the low carb diet a try, as it’s very simple and the results can be great. Most of the diet requires you to just count carbs and read food labels, so it’s something even you will be able to do.

The diet can be so effective that a lot of people will find themselves losing 3 to 4 pounds in the first week.

This all sounds great doesn’t it? However we need to determine whether the this particular diet is right for you. Before making the commitment you should consult with your doctor first. However the following is a general outline to whether or not you have a carbohydrate problem that needs rectifying:

You’re overweight but you don’t eat that much food
You experience sweet cravings
You eat when you’re bored or emotional
You lose some weight but put it back on shortly after
You feel hungry after shortly after eating a normal sized meal

If any of the above applies to you and you’re overweight, you may have a carbohydrate addiction problem. The low carb diet would be ideal in your case and is something you should consider.

There are a few things to consider though when going on this regimin. There are potential short term side effects that you may experience, they’re

Bad breath
Constipation
Dehydration
Dizziness

Unfortunately not everybody will be able to go on the low carb diet due to potential health hazards, they’re:

Pregnant Women
If you have kidney problems
Alcoholics and Caffeine Addicts

If you consume alcohol and caffeine you can go on the low carb diet, however they may halt the dieting process.

If you’re looking for another diet to try and one that will give you results which is easy to take part in, definitely give the low carb diet a go. Even children can take part in the diet, but as always first consult with your doctor.

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Darrell Knox is a writer and entrepreneur with 15 years of home business and marketing experience.Website: www.leanoncemore.com/choice.pl/free/low/adkins.html/low-carb/pros.html

Do Low Carb Diets Work?

Friday, August 21st, 2009

They do work, but from my experience and from the experience of every person I know who has gone on a low carb diet and successfully lost weight, that weight doesn’t stay off unless all but a tiny amount of carbs are always avoided.

A few years ago when low carb diets were incredibly popular, I went on one just like millions of other people. I lost 40 pounds in a little over four months. But as soon as I started eating a normal amount of carbs again I gained the weight back very quickly. Every person I know that did a low carb diet had the same experience; successful weight loss but weight gain as soon as they resumed normal consumption of carbohydrates.

I’m sure there are people who have gone on a low carb diet, lost the weight, and kept it off. I just don’t happen to know any of them so I can’t personally recommend a low carb diet as a way to lose weight and keep it off for good.

But, low carb dieting did have its pluses for me:
I didn’t have to count calories, just carbs, which was much easier.

I never had to be hungry. On my low carb diet, there was always something I could eat. It might not have been something I was particularly hungry for, but I never had to deal with it being 5 pm and not having any more calories left for the day and having to be hungry the rest of the evening. Even if I had eaten my allotment of carbs for the day, there were always no carb foods like some cheeses and some raw vegetables that I could have.

I lost weight fairly quickly and steadily.
I was able to break myself of my perpetual cravings for high carb junk foods like potato chips.

But, there were cons too:
The biggest con is that I was unable to keep the weight off.

Carbs, even healthy ones like fruit and whole grains, were very limited on my low carb diet so I didn’t feel like I was eating a healthy balance of foods every day.

My low carb diet didn’t limit the types of protein I could have so I was able to eat way too much high saturated fat foods like bacon, especially during the first two weeks of the diet. I know that wasn’t healthy.

If you want to try a low carb diet, do research to find one that doesn’t limit your carbs too severely. A lower carb diet that emphasizes healthy carbs and lean sources of protein is now recommended by many health professionals. And, when you have successfully lost the weight, be careful when you start introducing more carbs into your diet so that you don’t gain the weight back that you worked so hard to lose.

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Dorrie Ruplinger has written several articles about weight loss. For a free report on how to lose 10 pounds before Christmas visit LoseWeightForChristmas.com.