Unless you have been living under a rock; a big, fat, so-massive-it-takes-over-everything-so-you-can't-see-anything rock, you will undoubtedly have heard about a Low Carbohydrate diet. At the very least, you would have heard about some variation of a low Carb diet. The Atkins diet, Keto diet, and the High Protein diet are different titles for fundamentally the same dieting principles.
What are these principals?
It's simple, really. You consume very little carbohydrates and up your intake of protein. According to Dr Atkins, who is famously known for introducing the low carb/high fat diet, our bodies prefer to use the carbs we consume for energy.
When we limit that amount, the body has no choice but to turn to the fat it has stored instead. The result is weight loss. Lots of weight loss.
Now, you may be thinking, "If it's really that simple, why doesn't everyone do it?" Low carb Diets may be simple, but no one said they are easy. In order to shift the weight, you have to drastically reduce the amount of carbohydrates you consume. The amount permitted in a day is 20 grams of carbs. Doesn't sound too bad, right? 20 is a lot. How about if I told you that a single slice of bread has around 15 grams of carbs, and some brands have more. Now how does 20 grams sound?
See, not easy. But it's not impossible either. You eat food that is naturally filling and nourishing, like fresh vegetables, lean meat, fish, eggs, cheese and so much more.
You get filled up so you don't feel hungry. A study by a diet specialist, Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, suggested that 20 grams of carbs barely does anything to your stomach, whereas 20 grams of vegetables fills it up.
You become inventive with your meals once you eliminate carbs. Have an English breakfast, but without the toast and beans.
Enjoy a roast dinner but without the roasted potatoes and yorkshire pudding. Simple, but not easy.
By sticking to a "20 grams of carbs a day" rule, you start to lose the weight at a steady and relatively fast pace. That makes giving up the carbs a little easier. Seeing the weight drop off every week when you weigh yourself makes up for the fact that for lunch you had a tuna salad "sandwich" without the bread.
It's not forever
Once you lose the bulk of your weight, you gradually increase your daily carb allowance. From 20 to 25 grams. Then 30 grams, then 35, and so on until your weight loss slows down and you find that perfect daily carbohydrate amount that is unique to you and will stabilize your weight. Well, as long as you keep to that daily figure and don't have a carb-fest for every meal of every day.
How do I know this? Well, it's because I have been low carbing for a year now. In that one year, I have lost 5 stones (70 pounds). It has not been easy, but it has been rather simple.
