Low Carb Crib - Low Carbohydrate Diet

Low Carbohydrate Diet

Almost 65% of Americans today are overweight. Out of all these people, only an estimated 38% are actually trying to do something about it. And of the Americans that are trying to take off the weight, one-third of those are doing it with a low carbohydrate diet. That is a lot of people trying to cut a lot of carbs. Although many people have been able to take off some of the weight with their low carbohydrate diet, most of them end up gaining it all back anyway. Why is it that the diets, especially those that promote fast weight loss, that are hot at any given moment never stand the test of time?

Maintaining a low carbohydrate diet

When you embark on a low carbohydrate diet and you stick to its guidelines, it will produce weight loss. But the weight that is lost is mostly water and when you go off the diet that weight is quicky packed back on. When you decrease your carbohydrate intake, your body's carbohydrate stores are depleted along with the carb stores goes the water that is associated with them. As soon as you begin to eat carbs again that process is reversed. Because a low carbohydrate diet so limits your choices as to what you can eat, people cannot stay on the diet for long periods of time.

Moving on to another problem that is associated with a low carbohydrate diet. The diets that are high in protein are inevitably also high in fat, particularily saturated fat. Both Atkins and the Protein Power diet provide for about 20-25% of calories form fat, while the American Diabetes Association recommends that less than 10% of calories come from saturated fat. The high levels of saturated fat associated with a low carbohydrate diet can result in a raise in blood cholesterol levels which can lead to coronary heart disease. It is , at the end of the day, more important to be healthy and live a healthy, active lifestyle, than to loose a few pounds in a short time. If you do decide to go on a low carb diet make sure that all of your low carbohydrate recipes are also low in fat.