• ISBN13: 9781402768255
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Description
Living low carb just gets better and better! This thorough revision of Jonny Bowden’s comprehensive guide includes all the newest data that support the long-term health benefits of a contemporary low-carbohydrate eatin… More >>

Living Low Carb: Controlled-Carbohydrate Eating for Long-Term Weight Loss

Just think of all of the “low carb” diets available…

– Atkins — South Beach — Zone

…just to name a few.

But why do so many weight loss professionals promote carbohydrate restriction?

Four words… it appears to work.

Those who restrict carbohydrates, often do lose weight quickly. And for individuals who are desperate to lose weight this quick slim-down seems like the “light at the end of the tunnel”. It appears to them that they have found the “holy grail” of weight loss in cutting carbs.

But have they only been fooled?

The answer is a resounding yes!

The truth is that your body depends on GOOD carbohydrates for the majority of its functions and when there is an absence of GOOD carbohydrates (As there is with carb restricted diets) your body will actually manufacture its own in order to maintain tissues that absolutely need them! Because the manufacturing of carbohydrates takes additional energy your body will burn an excess amount of calories… something that promoters of low carb diets call the “Metabolic Advantage”.

Along with the excess use of energy by the body to produce carbohydrates, people who are on low carbohydrate diets are also eating fewer calories because they are consuming far fewer BAD carbohydrates than they typically would on a day to day basis…

– French fries

– Boxed cereals

– Soda (diet or regular)

– White Bread

– Refined Pastas

– Salad Dressings

– White sugar

It’s this combination of an increased use of energy by the body to manufacture carbs and fewer calories from refined carbs going into the body that makes low carb diets produce quick weight loss…

…giving the illusion that the diet is actually working, when really it’s only a set up for massive failure!

So what’s the problem?

The problem is that most carb restricted diets make no distinction between good carbs and bad carbs. These diets simply teach the elimination of most carbs from your caloric intake. This is a huge mistake because eliminating good carbs from your diet causes the body to go into survival mode, meaning that it will store and ration the food you consume.

As a result, when a person who has been on such a diet begins to eat normal again, the body will store increased quantities of the food they eat as fat!

Your body needs good carbs like whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Vital organs such as your brain, kidneys and liver absolutely will not function without carbohydrates and when these carbs are cut out of your diet for any extended period the affects can be extremely dangerous! At some point you will have to consume good carbs or you will seriously impact your health!

There’s no need to partake in low carb diets to lose weight. There are other alternatives that produce faster, healthier and longer lasting weight loss!

Alright, I know that everyone must be ready to fight me on this but hear me out for a second.

I will give you this: I agree that low carb diets work for a VERY short period of time. That’s the key. All those low carb diet products out there focus only on the fact that this program does work but they leave out the part about very short time, specifically 2-3 weeks, if even that long. Usually, for most people, they only work for about a week or two. Rarely have I ever heard anyone say, in complete honesty, that low carb diets work for longer than 2 weeks.

The one good thing about low carb diets is that it forces you to cut out foods that you should be avoiding in the first place. Things that are banned in low carb diets are definitely candy, ice cream, chewing gum and high-starch vegetables, which can be eaten very occasionally. Those are always good to avoid based alone on the high starch or carb content in these foods. So that’s the one redeeming factor here.

The rest of the story is definitely not so great! For long term efforts, low carb diets do nothing for your weight loss goals. Instead of burning fat and losing weight, your body is doing something that seems totally alien to us but is completely natural in your body’s healthy functioning.

For those who (for some reason) stick with low carb diets for the long term, the body will attempt to balance out the acid build up in your blood from all of the protein this diet tells you to eat. There is so much excess protein (everything in moderation, I say) that it can leech calcium from your bones and cause acid build up in your blood. The body’s natural reaction is to balance everything out and keep it on an even keel. The medical term for this is osteoporosis! Clearly, this is a bad effect directly influenced from low carb diets.

Even if that is a result that is specifically for women, here’s something that will apply to everyone. The human brain uses tons of nutrients in his normal functioning, glucose being one of them. Yes, you’ve heard of glucose before; it’s a simple sugar, which is basically a carb. When you eat a low carb diet, you’re basically depleting your body of glucose. So basically, low carb diets can negatively affect your brain’s normal functions, something none of the low carb diets advertise.

I’m not completely anti low carb. I definitely think that low carb diets have its place, usually only in the first week of a new nutritional plan. And I don’t deny the results that do come from it, both good and bad. But my argument is completely for what is the best way to lose weight and low carb diets used for the long term is absolutely NOT the best way to lose weight; it’s not even a good way!

Low carb diets should ONLY be used for your first week of a new nutritional plan. And successful nutritional plan should, must, include a healthy diet balanced between proteins, carbs, fats and fibers and it should also incorporate an exercise regimen. While eating healthy will help you lose weight, exercising will put your results nearly over the top. There is no reason NOT to exercise. Even if you don’t start of exercising because of your weight, once you’ve lost that weight, you absolutely should exercise! To lose weight, you can’t get better than a great healthy diet plus effective exercising!

Alright, I know that everyone must be ready to fight me on this but hear me out for a second.

I will give you this: I agree that low carb diets work for a VERY short period of time. That’s the key. All those low carb diet products out there focus only on the fact that this program does work but they leave out the part about very short time, specifically 2-3 weeks, if even that long. Usually, for most people, they only work for about a week or two. Rarely have I ever heard anyone say, in complete honesty, that low carb diets work for longer than 2 weeks.

The one good thing about low carb diets is that it forces you to cut out foods that you should be avoiding in the first place. Things that are banned in low carb diets are definitely candy, ice cream, chewing gum and high-starch vegetables, which can be eaten very occasionally. Those are always good to avoid based alone on the high starch or carb content in these foods. So that’s the one redeeming factor here.

The rest of the story is definitely not so great! For long term efforts, low carb diets do nothing for your weight loss goals. Instead of burning fat and losing weight, your body is doing something that seems totally alien to us but is completely natural in your body’s healthy functioning.

For those who (for some reason) stick with low carb diets for the long term, the body will attempt to balance out the acid build up in your blood from all of the protein this diet tells you to eat. There is so much excess protein (everything in moderation, I say) that it can leech calcium from your bones and cause acid build up in your blood. The body’s natural reaction is to balance everything out and keep it on an even keel. The medical term for this is osteoporosis! Clearly, this is a bad effect directly influenced from low carb diets.

Even if that is a result that is specifically for women, here’s something that will apply to everyone. The human brain uses tons of nutrients in his normal functioning, glucose being one of them. Yes, you’ve heard of glucose before; it’s a simple sugar, which is basically a carb. When you eat a low carb diet, you’re basically depleting your body of glucose. So basically, low carb diets can negatively affect your brain’s normal functions, something none of the low carb diets advertise.

I’m not completely anti low carb. I definitely think that low carb diets have its place, usually only in the first week of a new nutritional plan. And I don’t deny the results that do come from it, both good and bad. But my argument is completely for what is the best way to lose weight and low carb diets used for the long term is absolutely NOT the best way to lose weight; it’s not even a good way!

Low carb diets should ONLY be used for your first week of a new nutritional plan. And successful nutritional plan should, must, include a healthy diet balanced between proteins, carbs, fats and fibers and it should also incorporate an exercise regimen. While eating healthy will help you lose weight, exercising will put your results nearly over the top. There is no reason NOT to exercise. Even if you don’t start of exercising because of your weight, once you’ve lost that weight, you absolutely should exercise! To lose weight, you can’t get better than a great healthy diet plus effective exercising!

Everybody has heard of a “low carb” diet especially since they are emerging as the newest trend in dieting.

But do they really work? And if so, are they the solution to weight loss that everybody is looking for?

I don’t think so, because most low carb diets have several problems which make losing weight very difficult for the “average” dieter.

For example, if you follow the Atkins diet (a popular low carb program) then the restriction on carbs for the first couple weeks is very severe (by almost any standards).

The Atkins program allows just 20 grams of “net carbs” per day during the first phase of the diet (which usually lasts for 2 weeks).

Just to give you an idea of how few carbs that really is – even a large apple has more than 20 grams of “net carbs”.

This low level of carbs is often too severe for the “average” dieter to tolerate for 2 weeks straight, and in fact eating such a low level of carbs can make a person feel “weak” and “miserable” all day long (because your body needs more carbs than that for energy).

Other low carb diets (such as the South Beach Diet) are not quite as severe as the Atkins Plan, but in my opinion even the South Beach Diet is not as easy to follow as it could be.

Good carbs VS bad carbs

First of all, the technical term for good carbs is complex carbs, and the technical term for bad carbs is simple carbs. Bad carbs (simple) are high glycemic. Good carbs (complex) are low glycemic. The term “glycemic” refers to the amount and speed a food will raise your blood sugar and insulin levels (which leads to fat gain).

“Bad carbs” (simple) are foods like white bread, white rice, pasta and all typical junk food high in sugar.

“Good carbs” (complex) on the other hand are foods such as oatmeal, whole wheat bread, brown rice, and other whole grains.

Does it actually work?

Yes, people have lost weight on a low carb diet. That is the truth. However, bare in mind that people tend to lose a lot of weight early with this method of weight loss because of all of the water they are losing. Due to eating only low carb foods, glycogen is used for energy, and this causes a decrease in water weight. Also bare in mind that limiting carbs is also limiting calories. A decrease in calories often leads to a decrease in weight.

My personal opinion…

As I mentioned before, the low carb diet can lead to weight loss. People have indeed lost weight using it. If the whole low carb foods craze appeals to you, then by all means, give it shot. If the whole theory behind it all seems like something that is right for you, go for it. I want to make that point clear. Some diets fit certain people better, and maybe this one fits you. However, to me the low carb diet is like hopping on 1 leg to get somewhere when you could have just walked. You may still get there, but your method of travel was unnecessary. My personal opinion? I prefer to walk instead of hop. However you get there is completely up to you.

I believe that a successful diet needs to be easy to follow – because that’s the only way that people will stick to the diet and lose weight.

I believe that diets should not make you feel “miserable” and “weak” all day long, because if a diet makes you feel miserable and weak then it’s going to be very difficult for average dieters to adhere to such programs.

I am not saying that all low carb diets are as restrictive as the Atkins Diet is, but I am saying that most low carb diets are so hard to follow that “average dieters” will probably wind up feeling hungry and weak all day long (which is not a good thing for dieting success in my opinion).

I believe that “low carbs” is not the answer to losing weight; since your body needs a reasonable amount of all 3 types of calories to lose weight consistently (protein, carbs, and fat).

The truth is that your body needs a reasonable amount of protein, carbs and fat calories daily to maintain its consistency and balance.

To lose weight quickly you must eat all 3 types of calories in the right proportions, and that’s why most dieters fail. They fail because nobody knows what the right proportions of calories should be.

To begin losing weight fast I recommend using a brand new type of diet never seen before, focusing on “calorie shifting” — since there are no specific “portion limits” at any meal and dieters can eat as much as they need to at each meal. Also, unlimited amounts of certain condiments can be eaten with every meal.