Often times the road to weight loss is a road filled with many speed bumps and obstacles. One of the most common obstacles people have to find their way around before losing weight is just choosing the diet that’s correct for them. In today’s world, there are thousands of diets that all claim to be effective weight loss plans.
Of course, it helps a lot to break down a diet and understand how it works in order to decide whether a certain diet is the right one to further you down the road to your ideal weight. So, to help, we’re going to explain one of the more popular diets over the years – the low carb diet.
First of all, what is it?
The low carb diet suggests that you eat far fewer carbs than people typically do, which means that you will take in a higher proportion of fat. One of the most important facets of the low carb diet is that it minimizes your intake of sugars and starch. By limiting your carbs and largely lessening the amount of sugars and starches you consume, the low carb diet is supposed to allow you to have an easier time managing your weight and control your blood sugar.
One of the popular advantages of the low carb diet is that dieters do not necessarily need to count their calories, follow strict limits, or sacrifice many of the delicious foods we eat day to day for less tasty low-fat foods. Without such restraints, the diet is supposed to be much easier to follow.
How does it work?
Of course, it is important to understand how a diet works when breaking them down, so here is how low carb weight loss works:
All digestible carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars in the intestines, so the diet works by decreasing the amount of sugars and starches you consume. By doing so, your blood sugar stabilizes and your insulin levels drop. Since insulin stores fat and nutrients in the body and keeps fat stored, dropping insulin levels results in increased fat burning.
Additionally, because glucose levels in the blood lead to insulin production, which results in your body storing more fat and nutrients. Your body often perceives the fat storage and nutrient storage as a signal of nutrient and food shortage, so you feel hungry again in just a couple hours after eating. This, of course, leads to a cycle of overeating and weight gain. However, since low-carb diets lower your blood sugar and insulin production, this is prevented. Thus, caloric intake is typically much lower for people on low-carb diets even if they eat all they want on the diet.
Foods that help you lose weight:
Here a list of foods to eat to help you lose weight on a low-carb diet –
· Any kind of meat, fish, and shellfish
· Eggs (in any form)
· Natural fat, high-fat sauces like using butter and cream for cooking
· Vegetables that grow above the ground – this includes cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, spinach, olives, tomatoes, zucchini, onions, peppers, cucumbers, etc.
· Dairy products, but make sure to choose full-fat options such as real butter, cream (40% fat), sour cream, yogurt, and cheeses (however, be reserved with how much milk you drink as milk typically contains a lot of milk sugar)
· Nuts and berries
· Drink water, tea, and coffee on most days
Foods that you should avoid:
· Sugars, which includes foods like chocolate, cakes, buns, pastries, soft drinks, juices, candy, ice cream, cereal, etc.
· Starches, which includes foods like French fries, breads, pastas, rice, potatoes, chips, etc.
· Beer, fruit, and margarine
Unlike a lot of diets, low-carb diets allow a lot of freedom to what you can eat. While low carb diets have been popular for some time, it is fair to mention that they have been in question lately about whether they are really effective. Regardless, it is important to do your research before choosing a diet that is best for you, as many different diets offer many different advantages.