There is a lot of discussion about low carb diets, and whether they are healthy or not. Everyone who has been on one knows that the first few days are hell. So why are people going on these diets? Yes these diets will help you lose weight but is this the most efficient way to do so? First some background on losing weight. Your body will burn the carbohydrates, fats and protein that you eat to fuel your every day activities. Each gram of carbohydrate and protein has 16KJ (4 calories) of energy where fat has 37 KJ (9 calories) of energy. Your body will use your carbohydrates as your primary source of fuel, fats for low to moderate activities and in extreme circumstances protein will be used as a last resort. If you eat less total kilojoules than you burn off you will lose weight and if your eat more you will gain weight. Under the low carb diet theory if you lower the amount of carbohydrates you eat, the body will start burning fat faster. This is not the case. Your body is a very smart, when you start dropping the amount of carbohydrates that you eat your body adjusts by slowing down your metabolism. Therefore you will be burning fewer kilojoules for the same activity. Yes you will loose some weight but this is not the best way to do it. You should not crash diet, loosing mass amounts of weight in a short period of time because chances are that you will put the weight on just as quick. Weight loss is a life style change. It is very inefficient for your body to convert carbohydrates into fat so to decrease body fat I suggest lowering your total calories eaten by consuming less fat. Remember that for every 1 gram of fat that you eat you will need to do double the physical activity, to burn the same amount of kilojoules in 1 gram of carbohydrates. Eat your low G.I (foods that are slowly digested with a slow energy release foods i.e. whole grain bread and pasta) which will keep you less hungry and lower fatty foods at night so your body will not store them when you sleep. Your exercise should consist of a cardio work out as well some weight training. Ideally the cardio should be done in the morning which will help kick start your metabolism and weight resistance training which will build lean muscle mass which raise your metabolic rate. If you follow this lifestyle change you will lose all the fat that you want and live a healthier life. |
