Archives for : Weight Loss

How Does Low Carb Dieting Work?

greek saladThere are a lot of reports and evidence to show that low carb dieting actually works. There have been many successful low carb dieting plans from William Banting in the 19th century through Jonny Bowden’s Metabolic Factor weight loss program. This particular low carb dieting program has helped more and more people to lose weight but the question here is, why does low carb eating work? Here are 2 primary reasons why low carb eating works.

1. Less Hunger- Fewer Calories

There are a lot of people who thing that low carb diets are actually high protein diets. For some diet programs, this is true but it is not always the case. Aside from that, there are several low carb diet programs that recommend not taking too much protein content since it can cause damage to the kidneys.

So where does the body gets the energy to function well? The answer here is fat. This may seem crazy but just read along and you’ll know why it makes sense.

Fats gives an individual a satisfied and full feeling for a long period of time after meal and this makes a person to crave less to eating more foods. Therefore, if you take more fats, then you will be satisfied in just having smaller meals containing fewer calories. By taking more fats, you will be feeling satisfied and you will less likely want to have a snack in between meals. Also, you will need fats when following a strict low carb diet program because this will be the body’s source of energy.

2. Eat Fat to Make the Body Use Fat

It’s not all about calories as to why low carb diet programs work. One of the main reasons that they work is because of the high fat diet routine. When the body is not getting enough glucose from foods, then the body will now enter the process of lipolysis or ketolysis in which the body will use fats as a source of energy.

Since low carb diet programs will restrict you from eating carbohydrate rich foods, then the body will use your fats as energy for the body to function normally. When the body is under this process, it will start converting fat into glucose to use it as energy. Therefore, you will start losing more weight effectively every time you work out. This does not just apply on working out but it also applies on any kinds of activity that you are doing each day.

Those are the 2 major reasons why low carb diet programs work. First, you will be feeling less hungry or you will less likely crave to eating more foods. Second, you will be losing weight on anything that you do in a day since the body will use the fats as energy.

The Atkins Low Carb Diet Plan and How It Works

currywurst sausage snackThe Atkins low carb diet plan is known to be one of the best low carbohydrate diet programs for many years. It was published by Dr. Robert Atkins on the year 1970. It is neither the first nor the newest low carb diet plan but it is popular since it has been proven to be very well established. It is also a low carb diet plan that motivated a lot of people to create wide range of recipe books which are based on this diet plan. Even today, there are still a lot of health professionals who accept this diet plan better than the newer ones.

If you are planning of following this particular low carb diet plan, then you should have a copy of the Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution because it is the revised version of this diet program that includes vegetables and it has been observed that it is a healthier program compared to the first one.

Low carb diet programs such as the Atkins’ program works through keeping an individual’s carb consumption low enough that he or she will enter a process called lipolysis or ketosis. This is a body’s natural condition which will be experienced when the body is very low in carbohydrates.

A lot of body functions will require glucose to be used for energy and this will be taken from carb foods that we intake. If the body is not getting enough glucose, it will simply switch to using the fats for energy and this is when you will start losing weight.

Unlike the other low carb dieting programs, the Atkins’ diet plan will not restrict fat consumption. This is because it will pose a health threat to the body when there is not enough glucose and not enough fats in the diet to be used for energy. Aside from that, fats will make a person full for a long period of time.

There are 3 stages for this diet program and the first one is called as the induction. In this stage, you will be restricted to taking more than 20 grams of carbohydrates. If you don’t know the carb contents of the foods that you are going to eat for the diet plan, then you can use sources such as the fitday.com to help you track the contents of that particular food.

If you think that the restriction is just too much for you, you don’t have to worry that much since you will just be following this phase for just 2 weeks. In the second stage, you will then be allowed to increase carbohydrate intake and you can now eat the foods which you were not allowed to eat on the first phase. This means you can now eat more vegetables such as starchy vegetables and some beans in just small quantities. You can also have more dairy products, whole grains, fruits and nuts.

The last part of the Atkins low carb diet plan is defined as the maintenance phase and this is when you will be achieving your desired weight loss.