Low Carb Diets - But Your Body Needs Carbs To Function Properly

Low carb diets have hit the news over the last few years because of the way that they have the effect of rapid weight loss on the human body. Although this weight loss at first looks good, it is not sustained weight loss, and neither will your will power to stay on the diet be sustained. Your body needs carbs to function at a level you need to stay physically and mentally tuned.

Why your body needs carbohydrates

The human body has been designed to need an adequate amount of carbohydrates, healthy fat and protein to function properly. When you start a fad diet that eliminates or drastically cuts down on one of these macronutrients then you'll start to feel the effects. These foods are all fuel for your body and mind, so it's not just the physical reasons that you need to keep your carbohydrates intake up to a minimum daily requirement.

Your initial weight loss

When you start a low carb diet your initial weight loss comes from water and your muscles. Fluid loss is common with any diet that restricts any form of food or calorie intake. When you eliminate or lower your carb intake your muscles begin to suffer as well.

When you stop feeding your muscles with carbohydrates they will decrease in size, and this has an effect of lowering your metabolic rate. When your metabolism slows down your body burns less calories when you are resting, and stores more calories as fat. After your initial fluid and muscle loss your body will hit a point where you'll no longer lose any weight unless you start eating even less every day.

Your mental health

When you deprive your body of carbohydrates you soon become depressed. This is mainly caused by you having no energy to exercise. The idea of going on a diet is to lose weight and gain more energy, but this is impossible when you're not eating enough carbohydrates every day.

Exercise also releases endorphins so you're always happier, and the only way to do this is eat a healthy diet that is balanced with the correct amount of carbs, healthy fats and protein. To lose weight safely and successfully you must exercise so you increase your metabolic rate, and then you burn extra calories every day. No carbs, or low carbs in your diet means you'll have no energy to exercise.

Putting weight back on

When you start eating normally again, which is usually when your body and mind need to start eating carbohydrates the weight will come back and you'll end up weighing more than you did before. Your new slower metabolic rate will ensure that you store all the extra calories you're eating as fat.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off all you need to do is eat a healthy balanced diet, and start exercising. Exercise increases your muscle mass and speeds up your metabolic rate. These are the two things you must do to burn the unwanted fat from your body.

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