Shocker! How Low Carb Diet Food Makes You Fat!

For those asking, “will cutting carbs help me lose weight” the answer is not in the long run it won't!  Beware this approach to dieting is not recommended.  I will share with you why low carb diet food makes you fat, why it's not safe or sustainable and I'll provide a more effective and safe alternative to losing weight fast.

The reason low carb diet food makes you fat (by the way cutting carbs is the premise upon which the Atkins diet is based) is fairly simple. Removing a major part of your normal nutrients (in this case carbs) limits overall calorie intake….which is not sustainable over the long haul and which leads to incredible urges to gorge on carbs. You may be able to deprive yourself of carbs for a few months...but eventually mother nature kicks in and you eat lots of carbs leading to unwanted fat. We have seen this in thousands of people over and over again...it's because we're wired to need carbs to survive! Carb reduced diets also  carry health risks as outlined below.  There are a number of issues to consider before you move forward with cutting your carbs to lose weight.

First, let's take a look a look at some of the important things carbohydrates do and why removing them from your diet is dicey:

1.  Carbohydrates make energy.

2.  Carbs protect your muscles. When you need energy, your body looks for glucose (sugar) from carbs first.

3.  If no sugar (glucose) is available because your on a carb restricted diet, your body  begins to pull energy out of fatty tissue. Your body's next move  is to burn its own protein tissue (muscle). If this use of protiens for energy continues long enough, you run out of fuel and die. 

4.  A diet that provides adequate amount of carbs keeps your body from eating its own muscles. 

5.  Carbs also regulate the amount of sugar in your blood so that all your cells get the energy they need.

6.  Carbs provide nutrients for the friendly bacteria in your intestinal tract that help with digestion.

7.  Carbs help with how your body absorbs calcium.

8.  Carbs also help lower cholesteroland regulate your blood pressure. 

If your think about following the Atkins Diet or something close to it, this next part is convoluted, but stick with me here. The Atkins diet focuses on something called net carbohydtates that Atkins states are the carbs that impact blood sugar. Net carbs are determined by subtracting the number of fiber grams from the total number of carb grams (because fiber grams don't affect blood sugar). So a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich has 5 grams of fiber, 25% of your daily intake of vitamin C, 13 grams protein, and 30 grams of carbs. So by this calculation, this sandwich has 33 net carbs. Phase one of Atkins limits you to 20 net carbs per day! Eat this super nutritious PB&J food and you'll have to fast for almost two days to keep your Atkins diet intact. If your head is starting to hurt your not alone! This whole low carb plan is ridiculous!

Carbs are not our enemies! We crave carbs becasue we need them to protect us against a host of ailments. The Atkins Diet works temporarily not because it limits carbs but because it limits food intake. The longer we go without carbs, the more our bodies crave them. Eventually you have to fall off a carb restrcited diet because we're programmed for survival to eat carbs...like whole grains, almonds and walnuts among others.  However, society sells us junk carbs like white bread, cookies, cake, donuts and on and on. Once we've been deprived of carbs, most of us eventually go on a carb eating binge which results is making us even fatter.

Look, we have an obesity epidemic in much of the developed world. Much of the problem lies in how we are marketed to. One day it's,  "don't eat carbs", then it's, "don't eat fat", etc, etc. It's nuts and it's driven largely by big food companies greed. Food companies have a game plan..to make money. You need a game plan too!  You need a healthy and sustainable diet and exercise plan.

I hope this overview has been helpful. Losing weight is not rocket science but it will take your desire and drive to not quit. But with those two, and a solid diet plan, you will be on your way starting today!  Let me know your thoughts in the feedback section below. God Bless!  

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