Low Carb Diet

By Amanda Davies, FreeDietReviews.com

The main purpose of dieting is either to lose weight or to improve health or sometimes, both. In the case of a low-carb diet the emphasis is on a high-fat and moderate-protein diet as the fat intake should account for at least 60 to 70 percent of the total calorie intake. In a low-carb diet, carbohydrates should constitute less than 10 percent and sometimes, less than 5 percent of the total calorie intake for the day.

About three decades ago, you would have been eliminating potatoes, pastry and biscuits and reducing bread from your diet if you were planning to reduce your weight. Nowadays, low fat diets are very popular but reducing the fat content makes the food insipid. Moreover, the sugar content is higher in all processed low fat diets and as such you are liable to put on weight if you are on a low-fat diet.

The body metabolizes the sugar in the body to convert it into energy, which is needed to perform the daily activities. If sugar is not available, carbohydrates are the next targets and if you are on a low-carb diet even the carbohydrates will not be available. The body will then turn to the stored fats, which will be converted to energy. When a low-carb diet is being followed, the body will crave for the carbs and it will be difficult to resist the same, as people get addicted to them.

The quantity of carbohydrate that can be consumed is strictly regulated with a stringent induction phase in a low-carb diet plan. Moreover, the quality of the carbs is important in a low glycemic index diet which recommends that you should consume a low fat and healthy diet.

For the best possible weight-loss target, a 28-day low-carb diet plan should be followed. Three delicious low-carb meals and three snacks are provided each day, selected from over 40 easy recipes and an impressive range of snacks. There are no special diet foods or protein supplements in this plan. There are two phases in the plan, with the first phase covering 14 days and allowing an average of 30g carbs daily. The permitted total calories and carbs for each meal and the total calorie and carb count for each day are specified. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and 3 snacks with an average of 55g carbs per day constitute phase two which is also a 14-Day Plan. The permitted limits of calories and carbs are specified as for the first phase.

In the beginning of the low-carb diet plan, the body starts burning the stored carbohydrates (glycogen) as the intake of fresh carbohydrates is reduced. Water, and not fat, is released by the body and weight loss takes place, often rapidly. When the carbohydrate store is exhausted, the body starts burning the fat stores but this leads to the build up of ketones (which are byproducts of the fat metabolism) in the blood stream. This is known as ketosis and the ketones are passed out of the body by the kidneys. Ketone production is considered to be safe and necessary for weight reduction by the proponents of low-carb diet plans.

During the induction period of the low-carb diet plan, the following should be avoided: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, processed flour, salt and nitrates (as found in lunch meats). You will have to undertake a trial and error method to find out which of the above are detrimental to weight loss and which are not. You might have to cut out more than one of the above and work out how much you can tolerate. You have to continue with this experiment till you can establish which items need to be eliminated from your diet and to what extent. The basic theory of low-carb diet is that in the absence of carbohydrates, the body will burn the fat and thus you can lose weight.