Low Carbs Diet

So you’ve heard a lot about low carb diets and how great and affective they can be.   In this section we’ll go over a simple overview on low carbs diets to get a better understanding on what they are and why they work. 

First let’s start off by saying that it is low carb and not no-carb. You’re body runs on the food you eat and carbohydrates are a necessary form of energy for all the bodily systems, especially your muscles and brain.

What we don’t need is the amount of carbs the average person consumes and especially the types of carbs that are thrown in front of your face on every corner, magazine page and menu.  

Let’s get down to basics which are being healthy right? So let’s focus all our nutrition plans on creating a menu of whole unprocessed foods.  The closer the food can stay to it’s natural state, the better. This way it maintains the most fiber and nutrients. 

So you want a simple way to create a low carbs diet? Here are some quick tips to help you out:

1.       Go for fruits!! -  These are sweets in their most natural form. 

2.       Green means go!! – Green vegetables are rich in chlorophyll and nutrients

3.       Say NO to refined sugars!! – Watch out for hidden sugars in breads, lunch meats, dressing, soda, candy and cookies.

4.       What’s a Legume? Glad you asked.  These foods include beans, peas and peanuts.  Foods rich in fiber.

5.       Whole gains only!! – When eating carbs, stick to products that contain only 100% whole non-refined grains.  These have a much better stabilizing affect on your blood sugar.

6.       The joy of soy!! – This magical bean has been used to replace just about anything.  Not only is it high in fiber but it can reduce the risk of several types of cancer and heart disease.

So with those quick tips I’ll also give you an easy rule of thumb for a low carb diet: Allow yourself 5 servings of complex carbohydrates a day. A serving is a slice of toast, a serving of oatmeal, rice, crackers, and potato. I know everyone has different serving sizes, but for simplicity, half the size of your fist or it’s about a ¼ cup uncooked, ½ cup cooked.  For a real push in slimming down, make your last serving no later than 6pm when your body is slowing down and has little demand for these calorie dense foods.

Now let’s get into a little bit of technical stuff on how and why a low carbs diet works.  First off most calorie dense foods come in the form of simple sugars and refined wheat products.  When you eliminate these types of foods from your diet, you’re eliminating huge amount of calories.  This also includes regular sodas and coffee drinks with added flavorings. 

The first two weeks of a restricted carb diet, you body starts to break down glucose from your muscles and liver.  This glucose contains a large amount of water which is commonly referred to as “water weight.”  For this reason during the first two weeks or so, many people can see dramatic results which unfortunately will taper off.  This weight loss is primarily water, but weight none the less. 

After the first two weeks, if you continue a diet with less than 50 grams of carbs a day, you body will start burning fat for energy!!! This process is called ketosis.  A byproduct of the breakdown of fat is called a ketone which is released in the blood stream and filtered through the kidney.   To help the kidneys filter this increased level is it important to drink a little more than the recommend 8 cups of water a day while on a low carbs diet. 

This section on Low Carbs Diet is continued on Page 2.

Page 2 of this Low Carbs Diet Guide is here: Low Carb Diet Food.