Low Carb- good, bad or ugly?

One of the most famous diets in recent times the Atkin's diet was one of the biggest followed diet of it's time but is a low carb diet a sustainable way to go? A lot of people preach the no carb, low carb diet, and for some people it can do as it says on the tin. It can make you lose weight and it can make you lose weight fast but there are a few questions i would like to put to you....

Is it safe to cut out a whole food group?

Is it a way of eating that you could continue for the rest of your life and not feel bad when you have a 'bad day'?

Is a low carb diet actually right for you?

What are carbs, what's included?

I'll answer each of these in turn...

So is it safe?

Well did anyone see that program superskinny vs supersized last night? On it was young girl who had cut out carbs and the doctor on the program showed her the effects it was having on her body, weak bones which could lead to osteoarthritis, knocked knee's where she didn't have enough muscle to function properly. As well as that here's a few other problems with a low carb diet you are only allowed a very small amount of vegetables and fruit, come on thaat can't be healthy. Ok so here is a list of what you can expect if you went full hog on no carbs.

Vitamin A deficiency- night blindness and keratomalacia ( a dry cornea in the eye)

Vitamin B6 deficiency- Anaemia

Vitamin C deficiency - Scurvy ( not nice)

Vitamin D deficiency - Rickets or osteomalacia

These are just a few to get you thinking, not only that but do you really want to live your life chomping on chunks of meat everyday with hardly any flavour, because your not even allowed much tomato in a day.

Low carb diets have also been linked with heart disease due to the type of diet they have, as inevitably the diet will be too high in bad fats (I am not saying fats are bad, in fact its quiet the opposite fats are fantastic but the right ones and the right amounts).

So in summary no its not healthy to cut out any food group and that includes carbohydrates.

Could you continue the diet for the rest of you life?

I suspect like most people out there your reading this because you have tried diets before and then you gained weight again and so are looking for a new diet.... right?

Well let me tell you that this is going to be another one of those diets that you do then stop after you hit you goal or go on the holiday you have been losing weight for and then before you know it your 1 stone heavier and miserable. It's just not sustainable is it? If you went to someone's house for supper you cant expect them to cater for your low carb diet, they'll cook you a nice meal and all the time you'll be thinking that you shouldn't be eating it, worrying and thinking it's going to ruin your diet. Wouldn't it be better to have a diet that gives you the opportunity to eat a huge range of foods and be able to keep at it for the rest of your life? Well thats the thing there are diets out there that can let you do that, and it doesn't involve ridiculous calorie counting or cutting out food groups. 

So no it is not sustainable and it makes you gain weight in the long run... not a great selling point.

Is a low carb diet right for you?

Well this is where it gets tricky, some people work well off a low carb diet. Some people have loads of energy and feel great BUT they are probably on a diet that is high in protein and allowed to eat vegetables, fruit and allowed to eat certain types of carbohydrates. They wouldn't cut them out altogether, unless you have experienced what optimal health is you wont have lived, seriously its an amazing feeling when you suddenly hit it. You lose weight, you don't feel tired, you don't ache. Find the balance and your away.

Some people on the other hand work really well on carbohydrates, so if your one of these people you'll be chomping on chunks of meat and you wont actually be getting any energy from it, not ideal is it! If your one of these people you can lose weight on a diet rich in carbohydrates and lower in proteins.

So how do you know... read on

So is a low carb diet right for you? Maybe, maybe not! If not then your putting yourself through hell for nothing.

What are carbs?

Well carbohydrates are essentially glucose in another form. They will in essence be broken down into glucose. But are all carbs equal?

No there not! 

There are simple carbs (refined) and complex carbs (unrefined). White bread, pasta and rice are examples of refined carbs, these have a high figure on the GI scale, that means that when you eat them the glucose gets into the blood stream very quickly giving you a spike in energy and then suddenly no energy as the insulin is released very quickly to combat the glucose in the blood. This causes problems and leads to fat storage. On the other hand the unrefined carbs such as vegetables, brown rice, wholemeal or granary bread, wholemeal pasta will create a slower insulin response as the sugars contained within them are released more slowly into the bloodstream leading to prolonged energy and therefore satisfied hunger. Sounds good and all you have to do is just not buy any refined carbs!

So all in all lets sum it up, a low carb will give you...

Disease

Low energy

Its not sustainable

Doesn't sound great when you break it down

So what's the other option

Well you could go on jumping from diet to diet and never really enjoying your food or you could get a free diet which works and guarantees success... Sounds good doesn't it?

Well here it is...

The OC Diet

Just email me and its yours FREE!!

ollie@ocfitness.co.uk

Last diet of you life and your path to health, wellbeing and fitness.