Does low carb eating really work for weight loss? Many people would like to lose weight and they want to know what this style of eating is really all about. Can you really lose weight this way? If so, how?
The term "low carb," which is short for "low carbohydrate," means a diet that is much lower in carbohydrates than other diets or eating plans. Because there are only three macronutrients our bodies get from the food we eat - protein, carbohydrates, and fats - by reducing carbohydrates, we will eat more protein or fat (or both) if we maintain a similar number of total calories.
The idea behind low carb eating plans is that eating carbohydrates causes a rise in blood sugar within your body. This causes your body to react in certain ways, including telling the fat cells in your body to store body fat. By greatly reducing carbs in your diet, your blood sugar does not rise and, therefore, your body's mechanism for storing body fat does not get called into action.
Not only will you not gain fat, but you will lose excess fat you already have! That's the theory. Does it work?
Research shows that low carb eating plans have been documented to go back more than 150 years, and many people report losing large amounts of weight. Many, many people report losing well over 100 pounds of body fat, and countless others have lost lesser amounts because they had less to lose.
One of the problems people run into, however, is they want to have their cake and eat it too (pardon the pun - cake is loaded with carbohydrates). Food manufacturers have stepped in to offer "low" carbohydrate products that people normally eat on a regular-carb or high-carb diet, such as cake, pies, pasta, flour, etc. These modified versions of traditional treats are not really low in carbs, though. They are only low-er carb, as in lower than normal. People who eat these foods and think they are eating low carb are in reality only kidding themselves. These foods are not low in carbs -- or, at least, not low enough.
There is no common agreement as to what the definition of "low" carbohydrate eating really is. This is one of the problems for people when they look into low carb eating plans. There are many differences of opinion as to what it really means. Some say less than 50 grams of carbs per day is low carb, others say 20 grams or less, and others say something else.
Most likely, almost anybody can lose weight through low carb eating, but they do have to find out for themselves just how low they need to go. Some people can tolerate more carbs in the diet without gaining weight while others must restrict much more.
