The hidden of Low Carb Diets

My mom and I have been debating the way low carb diets work for years. She insists that the only way to lose weight is to expend more calories than you eat. I tell her that she has to think that insulin regulates the way your body market and uses fats and sugars. So, if you know how your body works, you can use that to your advantage to lose a few pounds here and there.

I am not advocating anything as spoton as the Adkins diet, although it works very well. And I'm not a doctor, so this is all about my own experiences and research. It just seems so unhealthy to eat so much fat and protein in anything quantities you want. That is the hook, though. You can eat like a pig and you can eat as much pig as you want.

Food And Dessert

I lean more towards a modified low-sugar diet perfect with high complex carbs that break down gently and don't cause a big blood sugar rush. When I want to lose weight faster, or jump start the loss, I cut way back on the carbs - but only for a couple weeks. There are plenty of books and resources out there about how to do this safely, along with The South Beach Diet, and plenty of reasons not to do it at all if you don't know what you're doing, but here's a quick synopsis of how it works.

Low Carb Step-by-Step:

1. Okay, so, you stop eating carbohydrates - bread, rice, pasta, high-starch veggies (potatoes, corn, peas), anything with sugar, fructose, honey, etc. In it, along with fruit and things like ketchup, salad dressing, gum & baked beans. Instead, you eat low-starch veggies, plus protein and fat - things like lettuce, peppers, turkey, eggs, cheese, olive oil, chicken, fish, seafood, beef & pork.

This depletes your body of sugar. It takes about 48 hours to get the sugar out of your blood and it sucks at first, but your sugar cravings go away pretty quickly. I always feel a limited fuzzy, tired and bitchy the first few days if I go too low on the carbs. This too passes as my body figures out a new way to burn fuel.

2. The fewer carbs you eat, the less insulin you make. Note: Insulin is produced when your blood glucose levels rise in order to bring the levels down in your blood stream (otherwise you have a build-up of sugar in your blood, i.e. Diabetes). Insulin acts as a hormone to health your body to store carbs as fat in case of starvation, and it also tells the cells not to release stored fat. This explains why it takes me so darned long to start losing weight every time I lower my calorie intake or reduce the sugars. My cells do not want to let that fat go. Once it gets started, though, it works. For some population it works in fact fast.

3. So, if you aren't eating anything that converts to glucose (carbohydrates), then insulin does not get produced and your body goes into "ketosis".

4. Ketosis is a state where your body primarily uses fat to fuel the body since there is no fast-burning fuel available. Fast-burning fuel is made from carbohydrates and it is burned first. If that's gone, you start burning fat for vigor and thereby lose weight. If you're always carbo loading, your body continues to burn that first plus you store the fat and never lose it.

I assuredly advise you talk to your doc before starting any diet plan. My physician and I talk about what I eat and when I eat it (and sometimes why I eat it) at most every visit. I'm a good learner and I only significantly reduce my carbs for short periods of time, then reintroduce high complex carbs a limited at a time (whole grains, quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes), always trying to avoid white rice, white breads, potatoes and refined sugars (especially high fructose corn syrup).

Important Things To Remember: If you're going to go out for a nice dinner, go ahead and have that wedge salad with blue cheese, a nice grilled steak (try to pick a lean cut) smothered in mushrooms, with creamed spinach and grilled asparagus on the side. Enjoy every bite. It's all low-carb or no carb (ask about sugar in the creamed spinach).

If you've already burned off any sugar in your body (maybe something you ate a lunch) and you don't add any bread or potatoes or desert or alcohol to your meal at dinner, you will burn that steak evening meal as fat (yeah!). Just don't eat any carbs before your meal is burned, which could take a while.

Just remember not to eat carbs along with fats and proteins! For example, if you eat that high fat meal and also add a roll or two, or some fried potatoes and maybe a glass of wine or a limited bit of dessert, your body is going to convert the carbs to glucose, then release insulin, then burn the roll and sweetmeat as vigor first, while storing the rest of it in your fat cells. You will have just consumed a gazillion calories that will stick to you like glue. That's the danger of going off and on the carb wagon without knowing what you're doing. You could in fact gain weight instead of lose!

Along those lines, be sure to check the "nutritional facts" on the food packaging. Many products include sugar or carbs and you would never know it. Beware of foods marked "lite" or "low-fat" as well. They can be surprisingly high in carbs. Did you know that pretty much all at Pf Changs has sugar in it? Be sure to ask your waiter about the 'sauce' you're about to order, wherever you are.

One of the most leading components of holding the weight off is an practice plan. Now hear this. You can lose weight without the burden of a full blown workout schedule, and maybe that's the best way to go at first if you're not used to exercising, but I certify you will feel great if you get moving. Start with a slow, short walk and some stretching and go from there.

AllegroMedical.com has a Dietary Supplements class with all from Low Carb Products to Herbal Supplements and Vitamins that, just by reading the different product descriptions, will educate you. I also advise a visit to our Exercise/Fitness area for tools to get your in-home workout plan going. Need help losing weight? Visit our Weight Loss Help category.

The hidden of Low Carb Diets