Low Carb Wizard - Low Carb Diet

Low Carb Diet

If you're thinking about starting a low carb diet, make sure you read the book that explains how to do whatever diet you choose. This cannot be emphasized enough. We tend to only hear about the basics of most low carb diets, so you probably don't know that the Atkins diet has four phases. In addition, the South Beach diet isn't really a low carb diet overall. It's only a low carb diet for the first two weeks. Then it allows you to have some carbs, i.e., the right carbs, which are also known as complex carbohydrates. Reading the books--and following the programs to the letter--can prevent you from having some of the serious health problems associated with a low carb diet, and teach you about nutrition.

The Focus of Low Carb Diets

When you hear of a low carb diet, you probably think, "Yeah--you get all the meat, cheese and eggs you want, but you can never have bread, cereal, pasta, rice, potatoes, fruit, vegetables or desserts ever again." But that's only partially true. The first two weeks of most kinds of low carb diets are like that, but complex carbohydrates are reintroduced gradually after that. In the end, most of these diets limit the amount of food you eat that's made with refined sugar (like desserts) and white flour. (Basically, if you eat cake, pie, cookies, brownies, ice cream, cheesecake, etc. every day, chances are you'll have a hard time losing weight.)

Problems with low carb diets are obvious. Without fruits, vegetables and grains, you're likely to be constipated quite often. To remedy this, you'll need to take a fiber supplement. But you'll still be missing out on other key nutrients. For that, you take a multi-vitamin. Still, the best way to get your vitamins and minerals is through the right foods. Eventually, most vegetables are allowed on these diets, and even a couple of fruits (like some berries). The problem is, that isn't until late in some of those diets. And some people see such great success in the first two weeks that they don't move on to the next phase. They want to continue losing at lightening speed. So instead of following the diets to the letter, they do it their own way.

Another problem is ketosis. During the first two weeks on these diets, when your carb intake is severely restricted, your body is learning to metabolize fat and protein instead of carbs, because it's not getting any carbs to burn. This fat burning process releases uric acid and ketones in your bloodstream, which are released through your urine. This is a state known as ketosis, and on the Atkins diet, you're in ketosis throughout Phase One and Phase Two. Depending on how much weight you need to lose, you could be in Phase Two for a long time. Being in ketosis this long could cause kidney damage.

There's a lot more to it than that, but the point of this page is to make you realize the importance of reading the book about whichever low carb diet you choose and follow the instructions!!! If you don't you could do more damage to your health than a low carb diet will on its own.

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