Carb Diet
Low Carb Diet Basics - The Diet That Lets You Eat All You Want
Low carb diets promise you weight loss without restricting calories. There are many variants, including the Atkins Diet, The South Beach Diet, and many more. Typically your carbs are limited but you can eat all the protein and perhaps fat you'd like. So no pasta, bread, or dessert, but bring on the steak, lobster,eggs and bacon.
The basic idea is that insulin in your body converts any carbohydrates not immediately used by the body into fat. When you restrict your carbohydrate intake your body goes into a state called ketosis. Ketosis happens when your liver converts fat into fatty acids and something called ketones, which the body can burn as energy instead of carbs. Excess ketones are excreted as urine. So, there are no carbs that can be stored as fat or used as energy, and the body is burning fat.
In order to achieve ketosis you normally need to restrict carbs to 25 or 30 grams a day. This is very possible, but tough, because everything has carbs, even black coffee! In ketosis weight normally drops quickly. Note that not all low carb diets strive for ketosis or constant ketosis, and weight loss still occurs.
There are some problems with low carb diets, although they work very well for many people including me. The medical community is not so happy with these diets, especially the large amounts of fats that are often eaten. Long term effects are unknown. Also, it's hard for many people to stay on a low carb diet for long. And lastly, if you go from low carb to high carb, as in you pig out for a few days, you may find you really pack that weight back on quickly!
Harry Baldwin writes on health and recreation. See his latest at
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