Posts Tagged ‘Lack Of Energy’

The Problem With Almost All Low Carb/High Protein Diets

Monday, August 31st, 2009

Do they work? Yes — you do lose weight initially on a High Protein/Low Carb diet but 90% of your initial weight loss is water. And that’s where the problems begin.

What happens after your body has shed its water weight? It starts to burn the left over fat and then, because it lacks carbohydrates to burn for energy, it starts to burn protein – your muscles. These diets induce a metabolic condition known as ketosis which is really an unhealthy condition found in people who suffer from kidney disease and diabetes. It is not usually found in healthy people. Burning protein is not healthy because protein is nature’s building material and is vital for repairing and rebuilding your body’s cells, tissues and organs. Advocates of the Low Carb/High Protein/Fat diets play down ketosis and claim it’s proof your body’s burning fat. That’s true in part. Ketosis does burn fat but will also, eventually, burn your body’s muscle tissue.

If you’ve ever been on one of these diets, you’ve noticed that your urine gets yellow. This is due to ketones which is a by-product of ketosis. This is evidence that your body is burning and breaking up muscle tissue which is protein. That’s dangerous because if too much of your body’s protein is broken down you could suffer irreparable liver and kidney damage. Further symptons of muscle breakdown is evident in general weakness, fatigue and lack of energy.

Another thing to consider about Low Carb/High Protein diets is that during the process of ketosis your body also breaks down fatty acids and converts them to ketones and acetones which are used for fuel. A side effect of this is that your body loses vital minerals like potassium and sodium. This reduces your thyroid hormone level which in turn slows down your metabolism and subsequently your rate of weight loss. Furthermore ketosis could boost your blood cholesterol levels which is definitely not a safe situation.

Once you stop the regimen the weight piles right back on and then some.

There’s a simple way to avoid this. Do not restrict your diet to any one food group or category.

Rather than blindly cutting Carbohydrates and increasing protein and fat intake, you should opt for a healthy ratio of 30% protein, 15% fat, and 55% Complex Carbohydrates. This ratio will help you to lose weight steadily and safely. The key is to reduce fat and SIMPLE carbohydrates not Carbohydrates in general.

Another downside of Low Carb/High Fat diets is that studies show that the less carbs you consume the more likely you are to consume more fat. And this excess fat is stored up in your body’s fat cells where they’ll linger indefinitely, clogging up your arteries with unhealthy cholesterol. Thus the more fat you eat the more your body will retain no matter how little carbs you eat, even if you eat no carbs at all.

Now here’s the secret about eating complex carbs. Because complex carbs have a low glycemic index your body has to use 250% more energy to convert these carbs into fuel than it does to convert fat into fuel. Your body works harder to metabolise and burn calories from complex carbs than it does High Protein/Low Carb. The result? Safe, systematic weight reduction – the best way to avoid health problems and sagging skin caused by too rapid weight loss.

Haley Abrams is a Nutritionist and Researcher at SunSlim-Diet sunslim-diet.com?is1 and AsherHealth asherhealth.com?is1.

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The Secret to Healthy Weight Loss Diets

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Losing weight is seemingly simple – expend more calories than you take in and you will lose weight. As millions of dieters can tell you, though, losing weight isn’t as easy as it sounds. In order to use more calories than you consume, you either have to eat fewer calories, burn more calories through exercise, or a do combination of both. The problem with this is that eating fewer calories often results in hunger and lack of energy.

A diet that will provide nutrients and energy, as well as a satisfying amount of food, is one that will result in permanent healthy weight loss. So what is this diet?

The secret is the concept of calorie density. The best foods for weight loss are bulky and high in nutrients while being low in calories. This is why vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes are excellent foods to eat for weight loss. They contain a large amount of water and fiber to satisfy hunger, and they also contain a lot of nutrients to provide energy and promote overall health.

On the other hand, the foods dieters should avoid provide very few nutrients, contain little water or fiber, and are high in calories. Fat and/or sugar are what make foods calorie dense and nutrient poor. We all know which foods these are! Ice cream, hamburgers, deep dish pizza, and cake are just a few examples.

If you want to be satisfied and feel healthy on a weight loss diet, you have to eat foods that contain a lot of water, fiber, and nutrients. Eating these foods will make you feel great! And when you feel good and see the scale moving in the right direction, it can be easier than ever to keep losing weight.

The reason many diets fail is that they just plain make you feel miserable. They rely on nutrient-poor, fiber less foods like meal replacement shakes and bars. These diets are destined to fail because they can’t be sustained over the long term. No one can eat like that forever!

Diets that do work are ones that make you feel so good you want to keep it up. Eating nutrient-packed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes along with low fat meats and dairy products (if you so desire) is healthy, satisfying, and will result in reaching your perfect weight and optimum health.

Thomas writes articles and guides for people who want to lose weight. Take a look at newest Weight Loss Tips and Articles on my blog.

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The Secret to Healthy Weight Loss Diets

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Losing weight is seemingly simple – expend more calories than you take in and you will lose weight. As millions of dieters can tell you, though, losing weight isn’t as easy as it sounds. In order to use more calories than you consume, you either have to eat fewer calories, burn more calories through exercise, or a do combination of both. The problem with this is that eating fewer calories often results in hunger and lack of energy.

A diet that will provide nutrients and energy, as well as a satisfying amount of food, is one that will result in permanent healthy weight loss. So what is this diet?

The secret is the concept of calorie density. The best foods for weight loss are bulky and high in nutrients while being low in calories. This is why vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes are excellent foods to eat for weight loss. They contain a large amount of water and fiber to satisfy hunger, and they also contain a lot of nutrients to provide energy and promote overall health.

On the other hand, the foods dieters should avoid provide very few nutrients, contain little water or fiber, and are high in calories. Fat and/or sugar are what make foods calorie dense and nutrient poor. We all know which foods these are! Ice cream, hamburgers, deep dish pizza, and cake are just a few examples.

If you want to be satisfied and feel healthy on a weight loss diet, you have to eat foods that contain a lot of water, fiber, and nutrients. Eating these foods will make you feel great! And when you feel good and see the scale moving in the right direction, it can be easier than ever to keep losing weight.

The reason many diets fail is that they just plain make you feel miserable. They rely on nutrient-poor, fiber less foods like meal replacement shakes and bars. These diets are destined to fail because they can’t be sustained over the long term. No one can eat like that forever!

Diets that do work are ones that make you feel so good you want to keep it up. Eating nutrient-packed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes along with low fat meats and dairy products (if you so desire) is healthy, satisfying, and will result in reaching your perfect weight and optimum health.

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Get The Low Down On Low Carb Diet Foods

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Carbohydrates come from a wide array of foods – bread, pasta, fruits, doughnuts, ice creams and pie. Carbohydrates refer to a group of molecules that is made up of small sugar units composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They are needed by the body and therefore included in our diet as a major source of energy. Some carbohydrates are simple and are made up of small units of sugars while others are made up of several units of sugar arranged in chains or branches. A healthy diet cannot go without these molecules.

Carbohydrates give body cells the source of energy to support all their activities. This is the reason why when the body’s sugar level is so low, the person experiences a feeling of weakness and lack of energy. This can be observed with diabetics when their blood sugar level go below the normal level. They also provide us with fiber, one of nature’s brooms to purge the body of toxins and waste materials. However, one major concern in carbohydrates is that when they are taken in excess, some of them get converted to stored forms such as fat and stored in certain tissues of the body, usually under the skin. This accounts for pot bellies and love handles and other unsightly bulges on certain areas of the body.

If you are very serious about trimming your waist and dropping pounds, one diet program that you might want to try is one that is low on carbohydrates. Low carbohydrate diet programs are quite popular these days in the form of the South Beach Diet, Atkins diet and Zone Diet. Basically these diet programs promote one thing: restriction of consumption of carbohydrates.

This is on the basis of researches that show the connection between high carbohydrate consumption affecting blood insulin levels to cause metabolic syndromes and obesity. Low carbohydrate diet programs therefore limit or replace foods rich in carbohydrates with those that contain more proteins, fats and fiber. In a low carb diet, there is less bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, and cereals. They usually eat more vegetables, meat, fish, cheese, eggs, and nuts. When one opts to go on a low carbohydrate diet, one has to replace carbohydrates with fats and proteins. Carbos in fact make up less than 10 percent, and in some cases, less than 5 percent of the daily calorie intake.

Low carbohydrate diet for one, go for foods that are low in sugar. Processed sugar should be greatly reduced, if not totally eliminated from the diet. Low carbohydrate diet food is made up mostly of vegetables, more specifically non- starchy ones. A serving of at least 3- 5 cups per day is highly recommended for this type of diet.

Protein is also an essential parts of a low carbohydrate diet so foods rich in it are highly recommended. One low carbohydrate but protein rich food is soy – based food like tofu and certain meat substitutes.

Fruits that are low in sugar are also tops in the list of low carbohydrate diet foods. A serving of 1-3 per day is enough. As much as possible, it is recommended to eat the fruit itself and to not simply drink the juice to also meet the body’s need for fiber and vitamins. Fruit juices also tend to increase the body’s blood sugar so it is best to eat the fruit instead.

Nuts and seeds as well as legumes are also some low carbohydrate foods that can be included in the diet. Nuts and seeds are even used by some to replace starchier foods. They are also excellent source of healthy oils and fiber. Legumes like beans and peas may contain carbohydrates but they are those that can easily be broken down and digested so there is no need to get rid of them entirely. The same thing is also true for whole grains like brown rice and whole grain pasta.

As for oils and fats, a low carbohydrate diet opts for oils coming from olives as well as from fish. Fish oil is rich in omega-3 which is good for the heart. So eating more fish to get the full benefits of omega 3 and protein is highly recommended too.

Going on a low carb diet does not necessarily mean sacrificing a lot of food and getting deprived. It simply means shifting to foods that are less in carbohydrates and more on proteins and even fats. The foods included in the low carb diet are even more flavorful since they contain proteins and fats.

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Lee Dobbins writes for www.lowcarb-resource.com where you can learn more about low carb and low GI eating along with useful diet and exercise tips.

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