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Low-Carb
Diets, such as the Atkins Diet and the South Beach
Diet, can be extremely effective for fat loss
and weight control. You've no doubt known or heard
of someone going on a low-carb diet and dropping
10 pounds or more in a week. Low-carb diets are
very popular for their rapid results. Who wouldn't
want fast results like this?!
As
popular and effective as low-carb diets are, how
can there possibly be a significant downturn in
the low-carb diet's popularity? After all, aren't
low-carb diets supposed to allow people to eat
as much low-carb food as they want still lose
weight?
Low-carb
backlash (people turning against low-carb dieting)
and low-carb diet failure is a reality and I'm
going to tell you the reasons why.
Before
I do, I want to make one thing perfectly clear:
I believe low-carb diets do have their place in
nutritional science. They can be a very valuable
dietary strategy and can be very effective for
fat loss. I actually incorporate proper low-carb
eating into my fat loss program "Metabolic
Surge - Rapid Fat Loss!" It's the misinformation
and bandwagon profiteering currently becoming
associated with low-carb diets that really create
the problems we're seeing now with low-carb diets.
1. Manufactured Low-Carb Junk
Foods Are Sabotaging Low-Carb Diets
One
of the major reasons people used to lose so much
weight on low-carb diets was that there was a
very limited selection of foods to choose from.
These foods (like fish, meats, poultry, salads,
vegetables, etc.) are primarily unprocessed and
natural.
Enter:
big business. Spying the chance to make a profit,
big food manufacturers (and even little ones)
saw a way to create a whole new market for themselves
in the form of manufactured low-carb foods. Out
came the low-carb cookies, cakes, chips and desserts.
Basically, all the garbage foods that a person
wasn't previously allowed to eat on a low-carb
diet suddenly became available to eat again.
So
we're right back to square one with people eating
junk food. The problem is, now people think they
can eat as much of it as they want because it's
"low-carb!" If this sounds to you like
the "I can eat all the ice cream I want because
it's zero fat" attitude commonly found with
low-fat foods, you're absolutely right.
Just
because a food is "low-carb" doesn't
necessarily mean it's good for you or that you
can eat as much of it as you want. It's most likely
not going to be low-calorie and don't be fooled...even
on a low-carb diet, calories do count. If you
take in more calories than you burn, you're not
going to lose fat, you're going to gain it.
The
next time you're at the grocery store, look at
the nutritional information on the label of a
low-carb food package, specifically serving size.
One
small low-carb cookie could give you 10 grams
of carbs with another 10 grams in sugar alcohol.
The person who is buying low-carb cookies to satisfy
their craving for carb foods is not going to eat
just one cookie. A few cookies later, they've
eaten their entire carb allotment for the day
and what nutritional redemption do they have to
show for it (and creme-filled goodness doesn't
count)!
With
the current tremendous availability of low-carb
junk food, a person doesn't have to eat fish,
meat, eggs, salads and vegetables, which should
be the focus of a low-carb diet. They can eat
the same garbage that got them fat in the first
place.
This
is one of the main reasons low-carb diets are
starting to fail and why there is a growing resentment
towards low-carb dieting. Unknowingly, people
have undermined their dieting efforts by supporting
food manufacturers who make highly-processed,
low-carb junk food. People want to believe that
they can continue to eat the same foods they're
comfortable with and still lose fat.
The
problem is, you just can't keep doing the same
things you're doing and expect different results.
As
an aside, not only are these foods sabotaging
low-carb diets, they actually cost a lot more
than their normal counterparts (I've seen a small
loaf of low-carb bread for six dollars)! People
are paying more money for products that are screwing
up their diets.
2. Too Much Emphasis on Unhealthy,
High-Calorie, Fatty, Low-Carb Foods
A low-carb
diet is not a "bacon and butter diet."
A low-carb diet is not a "sausage and Diet
Coke diet." Granted, the fat in these foods
is not as much of a problem when eating low-carb,
but you should NOT base your eating habits on
preservative-loaded, saturated-fat-packed, high-sodium
foods. Just because you CAN eat them doesn't mean
you SHOULD.
Dr.
Atkins, in his diet program, actually discourages
overuse of foods like this. He focuses more on
unprocessed meats, fish, poultry, eggs, salads
and vegetables, etc., rather than the bacon, butter
and sausage. The general public seems to only
get the sound-bite message from the "don't-confuse-us-with-the-facts"
popular media, which is "eat all the bacon
and butter you want and still lose weight."
This is not and should not be the focus of any
low-carb diet.
Why
is eating fatty foods like bacon and sausage contributing
to a downturn in low-carb dieting? Because when
it comes right down to it, these foods will never
be healthy and should not be consumed in quantity.
Not only are they full of saturated fat and preservatives,
the high fat levels mean they are very high in
calories. As I mentioned before, calories do count,
even on a low-carb diet. If you take in more calories
than you burn (which can easily happen when you
eat 500 calories worth of bacon for breakfast)
you're not going to lose, you're going to gain.
3. Turns Out Carbs Are Not Actually
Evil
Carbs
are everywhere. They're in many of the foods we
love to eat. They're also in many of the very
nutritious foods we SHOULD be eating. There is
no denying that the human body is designed to
efficiently use carbs for energy. Carbs are NOT
inherently evil nor do all carbs need to be avoided
like the plague.
The
problem most people have with carbs is that they
eat the wrong types of carbs. Enriched, pulverized,
processed, sugary carbs are the carbs people have
fattened themselves up on for years. These are
the carbs that should be avoided and/or minimized.
Fruits,
vegetables and whole grains are not the problem.
They contain nutrients that are extremely important
to the body and contribute to health and athletic
performance. Look to high fructose corn syrup
and enriched white flour and you'll find the source
of the problem.
Most
people truly WANT to eat carbs and SHOULD eat
(proper) carbs, which makes it that much harder
to stick to a low-carb diet. This is another major
reason we're seeing resentment towards the low-carb
lifestyle.
4. Missing Nutrients
The
low-carb diet is a very unbalanced diet. Only
eating from certain food groups will catch up
with a person in the long run (potassium deficiency
can be a BIG problem with low-carb diets). The
body functions best when fed a variety of healthy
foods and people on low-carb diets should be very
careful to be sure they're getting enough varied
nutrition. Unfortunately, as we know, most people
aren't that careful.
If
what you're eating is not giving your body the
nutrition it needs, it will let you know. You
will get strong cravings for the foods you're
missing and you may even develop nutrient deficiencies.
Not a good situation. For most people, a diet
that can leave you vulnerable like this, if you're
not careful, is not going to be effective in the
long run.
***
If you are currently on a low-carb diet, be absolutely
sure you are at the very least taking a good multivitamin!
***
5. Sugar Alcohol - The Great
Pretender
Sugar
alcohols simply DO NOT exist in nature in the
quantities found in low-carb foods these days.
When a body ingests a large amount of a substance
it's not familiar with in large quantities, what's
its reaction? Bingo - flush it out the other end
as quickly as possible.
In
fact, if you read the small print on some of the
foods that contain sugar alcohols (such as maltitol
and sorbitol), you'll see a little notice that
reads: "Warning: excess consumption of this
product may have a laxative effect."
Maybe
it's just me but in my opinion, unless you're
eating something like prunes where you know what
you're getting into, the foods you eat shouldn't
have a laxative effect (and "laxative effect"
is the nicest way of putting it!). This reaction
is the body's way of saying something is not supposed
to be there.
Another
point is this: foods that contain sugar alcohol
also contain calories, which need to be accounted
for in a fat-loss diet. Even though the "impact
carb" count may be low, those non-impact
carbs still have calories [the term "impact
carb" only refers to carbs that affect insulin
levels in the body] that can make you fat if you
eat too many. You may be looking at a low-carb
bar that contains 200 calories yet has only 1
gram of "impact" carbs! Those calories
have to go somewhere.
For
more information on "impact" and "net"
carbs, read the following article:
Impact
Carbs, Net Carbs and Effective Carbs - Is Marketing
Slang Messing With Your Low-Carb Diet?
You
can just imagine there being resentment towards
a diet that has you eating foods that have you
sitting on the toilet half the day. You'll lose
weight, certainly, but it's not going to be how
you thought. Move over Olestra!
6. The Dreaded Low-Carb Plateau
What
is the main reason people go on a low-carb diet
in the first place? Results. So what happens when
the results slow down and stop? That major motivation
for being on the low-carb diet in the first place
is gone.
If
you're on a diet that is not only not working
but is actually uncomfortable, expensive and,
depending on how you're doing it, unhealthy, chances
are you're not going to stick it with very long.
And
this is what we're seeing quite a lot of. People
are making the mistakes that I've outlined here
by eating manufactured low-carb foods filled with
sugar alcohol. They're missing carbs (and the
nutrients associated with carbs) both mentally
and physically. Their results are slowing down
and stopping.
A significant
downturn in the popularity of low-carb dieting
is on the way and, unfortunately, it's leaving
a lot of people more confused than ever about
how and what to eat to lose fat and stay healthy.
My
advice to you: if you're on a low-carb diet, leave
the low-carb manufactured foods on the shelf and
focus on unprocessed, natural foods. If you're
not on a low-carb diet, do the same thing! Regardless
of what type of diet you're on, a focus on foods
that are unprocessed and closer to their natural
state will help you burn fat and keep your body
healthy.
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