Posts Tagged ‘Carbs’

Are Atkins Diet And Low Carb Diets Safe?

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Are low carb diets safe? How safe is Atkins diet? Are low carb and Atkins diets dangerous to your health? These are burning questions for dieters all over the world.

I have personally tried low carb diets and Atkins diet and these diets made me lose weight very quickly. However not only did I lose body fat weight, I also lost muscle weight. I had very obvious muscle and fat loss because I can visually see my reduced muscle mass in the mirror.

This certainly isn’t healthy. Furthermore, the more muscle mass that you lose, the less toned your body shape is. The end result is that you will end up thin and yet looked flabby with lose skin.

The frustrating part will be that after you are off the low carb or Atkins diet, you will very probably gain back all the weight that you have loss and even more. This is because your muscles are active and they continuously burn calories. Since you have less fewer muscle mass now, your body’s metabolism or capacity to burn calories slows down tremendously.

In other words, when you put on weight again, you are putting on body fat instead of muscles if you do not exercise. You will be fatter and less healthy than before you went on the low carb or Atkins diet. To compound matters, because of lesser muscle tissues resulting in lower metabolism and thus lesser calories being burnt, you are going to get fatter.

Since then I have stayed off both low carb and Atkins diet. Both types of diets are almost similar as they require you to cut down drastically on your consumption of carbohydrates. Atkins diet went a step further by advocating almost no carbohydrate consumption for 2 weeks before adding some carbs to your meals gradually thereafter.

Besides losing muscles, how safe are low carb diets? This is what Dr Lyn Steffen and Dr Jennifer Nettleton from the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health commentated in a Lancet report, “Low carbohydrate diets for weight management are far from healthy, given their association with ketosis, constipation or diarrhea, halitosis, headache and general fatigue to name a few.”

The doctors warned that the diet increases protein load on the kidneys and alters the balance of acid in the body. This also results in loss of minerals from the bone stores and affect bone strength. The doctors went on to say that, “Our most important criterion should be indisputable safety and low carbohydrate diets currently fall short of this benchmark.”

Dr Atkins, the creator of the Atkins diet died in 2003 after he was alleged to have slipped on an icy road and hurt his head fatally. However his medical report stated that he had a history of heart attack, hypertension and congestive heart failure.

Were Dr Atkins medical conditions related to his low carbohydrates diet is anybody’s guess. Do you want to take the risk by going on a low carb diet? I don’t think I will. If I ever want to lose weight again, I will rather go on the proven method of healthy eating and regular exercises instead of jumping on any fad diets.

Chris Chew is a fitness personal trainer of actors, fashion models, pageant contestants and celebs at Lose weight tone muscles naturally www.sgfitness.com and Be a personal trainer career www.sgfitnessonline.com/yourfitnesscareer.htm

Article Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com

Enjoying Low Carb Diet Benefits

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

After awhile, we give up and collapse in total fatigue, aggravation, and dissatisfaction – - with the same weight we originally started out with. When following a low carb diet, the results will be felt within a couple of weeks if the instructions are followed as close as possible. Low carb diet benefits are the result of less hard work than other diets, yet with better results and a fuller stomach.

Without Trying, A Diet Can Be Successful

A successful diet is one that allows you to loose weight – - easily, successfully, and with the least amount of change in your present life – - which is achieved by low carb diet benefits. Every diet is an individual thing, as each person wants something different to make their diet a success. The low carb diet offers something for everyone, while allowing them to make their own decisions about their future.

Diabetics who are on a low carb diet benefit from it by keeping their insulin levels down, as well as weight and hunger pains. The daily amounts of carbohydrates that are consumed on a daily basis will affect the blood glucose levels – - having an immediate effect on the levels because they are broken down into glucose (sugar) early in the digestion process. By following the recommended amount of carb, with some protein and fat at a meal, the levels will stay down and insulin may not be needed. The body is forced to use the available glucose and fat due to the decreased consumption of carbs, resulting in weight loss.

Diet and Exercise Go Hand-in-Hand

The person who tries to lose weight without exercise will not achieve it as well, as quick, or with the same results. One of the low carb diet benefits is fitting the exercise you want into your diet regime, about half an hour for three times a week. The burning off fat and energy is just as important as the diet’s lowering of carbohydrate intake, and together they speed up the weight loss as compared to one at a time.

Tips That Are Helpful to Low Carb Dieters

Three important things need to be taken into consideration to obtain the low carb diet benefits, and should be utilized throughout your life. The first one is to choose healthy saturated fats over unhealthy fats if you need to consider the intake of fats. Plant fats are healthy fats if they have not been hydrogenated – - which is more harmful than not, but it does make the fat more solid when warm or at room temperature. Some samples of plant fats would be nuts, olives, or avocados. The types of oils that are better than animal source fats are that from olives, canola, or peanuts. Excess animal fats are unhealthy and lead to many diseases, which makes the plant fat more attractive for health reasons.

Fruits and vegetables are always good for dieters, especially adding to low carb diet benefits. Even though they may be restricting at the beginning of the low carb diet, they are always brought back in limited amounts. They are known to lower diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and obesity.

Ernest is the owner of Low Carb Diets Today , for the latest facts and information about Low Carb Diets vist www.LowCarbDietsToday.com and learn more.

Article Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com

Dieting The Low Carb Way

Monday, August 17th, 2009

A lot of people are now searching for ways to look good and improve their health. People who are obese are now realizing that if they don’t lose weight their health will deteriorate and their life span will be shortened.

With so many diets out there based on various principles and methods, it should not be surprising to know that there has also been extensive critique about their effectiveness and long-term safety.

Low carb dieting remains one of the most popular and well-known diets. While many diet plans have been evolving nowadays, many people still prefer this diet because it provides the body with the basic nutrients it needs; does not deprive you of all the foods that you wish to eat and is based on sound medical and scientific principles.

Depending on your body weight, fitness targets and general lifestyle, low carb dieting can help you lose weight, and can also help you develop the overall health, or possibly both. Because this diet provides the body with what it needs and what is safe for the long term, some healthy people follow it to enhance and maintain their wellbeing. In addition to helping lose weight, this type of diet also helps you stay healthy and remain that way, while looking great.

Improved Health

Low carb dieting directly works on the real cause of the main health concerns and risks; namely:

* High cholesterol
* Obesity
* High blood pressure
* Diabetes

These diseases are related to being overweight; and are very fatal. Low carb dieting is effective because it generally improves one’s well-being and thus increases your body’s ability to fight diseases. It is important for those who are overweight and plagued by these main diseases to know that they need to seek safe diets that do not worsen their condition.

It is widely believed that a lot of excess weight comes from the carbohydrates we eat, particularly the highly refined ones such as potatoes, baked goods, bread, pasta and other convenient foods. Cutting out the carbs is therefore an effective way of losing weight. Lack of exercise also exacerbates the weight gain.

Basic Discipline

The basic discipline behind low carb dieting is to limit the consumption of foods, which are rich in carbohydrates. There are various low carb diets; with the main ones being the Atkins, South Beach, Zone and Carbohydrate Addict Diet – and they are all based on the same principle.

If you start on this diet plan, you must substitute the carbohydrates with fats and proteins. It is recommended that the majority of your daily calorie consumption come from fat, while carbohydrates account for a very small fraction of your calorie needs.

Benefits

Many medical and scientific experts recommend the low carb dieting plan for improving:

* Overall health and vitality
* Losing weight
* Fighting disease

Proper Food Choices

The other attraction of this regimen is that you can eat as much as you want until you are full; as long as you are eating the right foods, such as meats, fish, poultry, eggs, and cheese, plus a limited amount of green veggies like asparagus, spinach, and broccoli. Hunger and strong cravings for food are some of the reasons why people quit their diets, so basically this diet enables people to stick to it, lose weight and keep it off indefinitely.

It is therefore recommended to follow this regimen by eating less of the processed carbohydrates which cause rapid changes in blood sugar, trigger hunger, thereby encouraging overeating that ultimately leads to obesity.

Low carb diets encourage us to:

* Eat well
* Be healthy
* Have a better quality of life
* Look great!

What great benefits you can gain while reaching or maintaining your weight loss goals.

Article Source: ADB Article Directory

Lana Hampton is the publisher of www.177fastweightlosstips.com. Visit weightlossfantasy.com to subscribe to her free weight loss tips newsletter and also receive a copy of Lana’s “Confessions of a Weight Loss Expert” report today.

Meals for Low Carb Dieters

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

With so many diets to choose from, how will you know which one is the best for you? From the looks of it, South Beach Diet has proven to be popular not only with the ladies but also with the men.

South Beach Diet primarily consists of low-carb meals, therefore cutting the individual back on saturated fat, carbohydrates and sugar. It takes some getting used to but once the dieter gets the hang of low-carb meals, then South Beach Diet is simply a walk in the park.

For example, if you want a full meal that contains low carbohydrates, you can opt for cheese topped chicken with mashed cauliflower. All for the reason because the calories it contains are a mere 334 g and as for the carbs, it only has 12 g.

To prepare, you will be needing 140 g of boneless, skinless chicken breast, 2 tbsp of low-fat cheese that is grated or shredded, a sliced medium tomato, 1/4 tsp of black pepper, 1 tsp of canola or olive oil, 4 oz of cauliflower flowerets and finally 1 tsp of light butter.

Simply beat the chicken breast. After flattening it, place it in an over dish and splash oil all over it. Then cover it with foil. Cook it in an oven that has been preheated to 180 degrees. 20 minutes should do it.

Afterwards, remove the chicken from the oven. With the sliced tomato as a garnish, you can also top your masterpiece off with grilled cheese. Because of the heat generating from the chicken, the cheese will melt atop it. You can also boil the cauliflower or pop it in the microwave. When it is soft, spread it with butter and sprinkle with pepper for flavoring.

If it’s fish you fancy, we recommend salmon fillet flavored with vegetables and mayonnaises. It has 335 calories and contains 10 g of carbs.

You will be needing 5 oz of salmon cutlet or fillet, 1 tbsp of low-fat mayonnaise, 5 cherry tomatoes and 1/2 cup of cooked broccoli.

Put the salmon under a hot grill or broiler basted with tomatoes. Cook these for 5 minutes. Turn both sides once. When cook, spread mayonnaise on the salmon. This is served best with cooked broccoli.

And since the holidays are just days away, we recommend that you South Beach Dieters out there try stir-fried Turkey Strips and Salad. It contains 417 g of Calories and 11.5 g of Carbs.

You will be needing 6 oz of boneless, skinless turkey breast, 2 tsp of canola or olive oil, 1 clove of chopped or minced garlic, 1/4 tsp of paprika, 2 cups of lettuce, 1 cup of sliced cucumber, 6 cherry tomatoes, 1 tbsp of fat dressing and 1 tbsp of pumpkin seeds.

To prepare your low-carb Thanksgiving feast, slice the turkey breasts into thin strips. Sprinkle it with paprika. In a non stick pan or stillet, put oil and heat it. Then add the turkey strips and cook it. Turn it over for 4 to 5 minutes.

But it is not only South Beach Diet that provides dieters with the low-carb diet they are looking for.

An example is the Atkins Diet. Discovered by Dr. Robert Atkins, he published his discovery on “Dr Atkins Diet Revolution”. In a nutshell, he said that the way to lose weight was to eat less “stodgy” foods. Stodgy foods are potatoes and bread. How ironic that bread and potatoes are staple to the general American meal.

Nowadays, doctors recommend less saturated fat in an individual’s diet, all because these result to heart diseases. Low-carb high protein diets faded in the background as low-fat diets rich in carbs became the trend.

Here’s the secret to low-carb meals: eggs, cereals, muffins, biscuits, yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta, tofu, salad, pasta and chicken pot pie are only a few examples of food containing low-carb.

Just refrain from too much carbohydrate, fat and sugar in your meals. Sure the flavor will be bland and it is something that you never tried before but if you are that committed to Low-Carb diet, the first two weeks are the hardest. After that, it will be a breeze.

Hope this article provided you with your grocery list. We also threw in a Holiday recipe for the low-carb dieter.

Article Source: ADB Article Directory

Lee Dobbins writes for www.lowcarb-resource.com where you can learn more about low carb and low glycemic index dieting as well as learn about great low carb foods and meals.

Which Low-Carb Diets Are Healthy?

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

There are many diets on the market today that call themselves low-carb diets, but which ones are healthy. That is what is important. You may lose weight on all of them, but some of these low-carb diets are also high in fat and that is not necessarily good either. The best kind of low-carb diet is one that is balanced. You are not looking to eliminate all carbs, but you want to stick mostly with the whole and unprocessed carbohydrates.

You should have about 5 servings of carbohydrates per day and if possible, you want get them from foods that are as close to natural as possible. Here are a few suggestions for making healthy choices on a low-carb diet:

1. Legumes-they are a great choice for a carbohydrate serving. Beans, peas and peanuts are all examples of legumes. Legumes are high in protein and fiber. They are also low in fat and very economically priced.
2. Select whole grain foods-this is not always easy, because so many foods today are highly processed. Look for foods that list a whole grain as the first ingredient on the ingredients list. Whole grains are usually high in fiber, low in sugar and they also keep your blood-sugar levels more even.
3. Try to eat more soy products-Unfortunately soy is not known for its taste, but soy products have a lot of nutritional value. Most low-carb diets do not allow soy products, because they do contain carbohydrates. The nutritional value of soy far outweighs any negative impact that its carbs may have. Soy is high in protein and has been known to reduce the risks of cancer and heart disease.

Here are some foods that are normally limited on most low-carb diets, but they are natural and can be eaten within reason:

1. Fruits-they are low in calories and high in vitamins and fiber making them a healthy choice. They have a natural sweetness that can be used to satisfy that craving to eat sugary foods. However, not all fruits are created equal. Some do have more sugar than should be consumed on a low-carb diet.
2. Leafy green and non-starchy vegetables-They are full of vitamins and a healthy choice at any time.

The things that you will want to limit as much as possible are refined sugars and carbohydrates. They add calories to your diet and do not have much nutritional value. These bad carbs come in the form of breads, pastas and starchy vegetables. These food products do not do anything for you nutritionally and they cause your blood sugar levels to be very inconsistent.

Low-carb diets are very healthy as long as you do not load them with high fat protein. Like any other weight loss plan, this one is all about the choices you make and how well you can make it fit into your lifestyle.

Article Source: ADB Article Directory

Marjorie Salada is the owner of Weight Loss 3000, a website that contains information on weight loss, exercise, weight loss surgery and living a healthy lifestyle.