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The Truth About Low Carb And Low Calorie Diets
Joy has a question for us: What is your take on Matt Stone's High Everything Diet to boost metabolism? This includes a lot of carbs. Also, what is your take on Cynthia Kenyon's low carb pattern of eating? Cynthia Kenyon says that sugar upsets the gains made on low carb diets in her experiments. According to experiments very low calorie diets with optimum nutrition extend life. According to Cynthia Kenyon the low carb diet does the same. It seems to me that the world and his dog tout all kinds of diets, but I am only really interested in the truth by scientific experiments. Thanks for your opinion.
Hi Joy, I'm not familiar with Matt Stone's diet or Cynthia Kenyon's diet, so I'm not going to comment on their programs. Weight loss diets are a dime and dozen, and there are many more similar diets in today's market.
You, as a consumer, should arm yourself with adequate knowledge so that you can be discerning and tell those real diets that really work apart from the rest. This is what my response to your questions will be about - low carb and low calorie diets...do they really work?
High carb or low carb?
Many people are confused over whether a high carb diet will work, or a low carb diet is better for weight loss. On one hand, you have experts saying that carbs is important to the body and helps fuel cardio workouts. On the other hand, you have experts saying that carbs can be easily converted to fat and can therefore be detrimental to weight loss.
The truth is, your body needs carbs as carbs IS the body's preferred energy source. What most people don't know is that there is a difference between simple carbs and complex carbs. Simple carbs is what most people consume on a daily basis - rice, noodles, white bread, etc. Complex carbs comes in the form of oats, cereals, whole grains (e.g. brown rice), etc.
What is the difference between the two?
Simple carbs are more easily digested, contains less vitamins, and can be converted into fats more easily by the body. When you consume simple carbs, you find that you get hungry faster, so you have to eat again soon and your energy levels tend to yo-yo. Complex carbs take longer to digest and they contain more vitamins and minerals. Here is the secret: Your body burns more calories just by digesting complex carbs. So go easy on simple carbs and consume more complex carbs if you are trying to lose weight.
How much carbs is enough then?
That depends on your personal nutrition plan. Usually, carbs should take up 50 to 60% of your daily nutrition. Protein should take up about 40 to 50%. Leave 5 to 10% for fat intake as fat is important for your body as well.
Once you work out how much carbs you need for the day, try to get as much carbs as possible from complex foods.
Too much carbs, your body converts the excess into fat. Too little carbs, and you don't have enough to fuel your daily workouts. So this is kind of a balancing act. To do this well, work with a nutritionist. Remember, everyone needs a custom nutrition plan to succeed in weight loss because your needs are different.
High or low calorie diets?
This question usually appears more relevant to those fed with this weight loss formula - consume less calories and therefore lose weight.
Those who tried using this formula usually succeed in the short term, only to fail in the long term.
This is because the body requires a minimum amount of calories to function on a normal level. This is usually between 1500 calories to 2000 calories (depending on body weight). Go below this level, and the body starts to weaken.
Also, going into starvation mode to cut down on calories certainly isn't going to help because the body will adapt and start to store up fat for crisis management. The solution is to eat small meals frequently to spread out those 1500 calories so that the body doesn't go into starvation mode.
So let's say you have calculated that you need 2000 calories for the day. How many calories come from protein, carbs and fat? See above.
In a way, Cynthia Kenyon is accurate in saying that too much sugar is bad for your health and low calorie diet with optimum nutrition is GOOD for your health. Just be mindful that low calorie means 1500 to 2000 calories daily and NEVER go below that. Optimum nutrition means that you eat plenty of complex carbs together with lots of protein and foods with vitamins.
Hope that helps.
