Many people think of a low carb diet as a fad that was popular a decade ago. This is really not the proper way to describe this diet plan since a fad infers that is not a good diet plan. In reality the low carb diet is one the fastest and easiest diets to use to successfully lose weight.
Yes, low carb diets really work and they also help eliminate a great deal of excess fat. Low carb diets are very simple to follow since there are no calories to count and no need to starve yourself. Here is a brief overview of the most critical points of this diet plan in case you are not familiar with it.
Our bodies need some form of energy in order to function properly. Fats, carbohydrates and to a lesser degree, proteins are burned to create the necessary energy. The body always chooses to burn carbs first so it is important to limit the amount of carbs you eat if you are inactive. Carbs that are not burned for energy will immediately turn to fat. If you dramatically cut back on the amount of carbohydrates that you consume, your body will naturally begin burning fat for fuel. This means that you are guaranteed to lose weight if you reduce you consumption of carbs.
Carbs include bread, rice, fruit, vegetables, sugars, and starches. During the early stages of a low carb diet, it is necessary to completely wipe out all carb intake. Instead, replace them with meats, chicken, fish, eggs, cheeses, and other low/no carb foods. This way, the carbs in your body are burned up. Once they are gone and not replaced, you will drop a great deal of retained water (Carbs are a major culprit of water retention) and then you will start to metabolize your stored fat.
You should keep in mind that if you increase the amount of exercise you get you can lose weight more quickly. Exercise requires a great deal of energy and you will burn extra fat during your workouts since there are no carbs available.
This is the exact same strategy that body builder use when they are preparing for a competition. They cut all the carbs in order to get lean and ripped. While you don’t have to work out that hard, twenty minutes of light cardio will do wonders for your weight loss efforts.
In reality you really don’t have to work out very much at all. There are plenty of people who never exercise yet have great success with low carb diets. Again, the body has to burn energy in order to function properly. If carbs are absent it will perform its metabolic function with the use of fats.
It really is unfair to refer to the concept of low carb dieting as a fad. It is a very successful diet plan that has been used for decades and will continue to be used for many decades more for one simple reason. The low carb diet works.