Low-carb diets: are they effective for fast weight loss?

Do you diet and eat healthy, complete your cardio religiously, lift weights hard, but still can’t seem to shake that ‘smooth’ look? If so, you may simply be one of those unlucky individuals who are highly sensitive to insulin. In other words, your body can’t process carbohydrates as well as its peers. You are healthy, you train hard, and your body fat levels are low. But you just don’t have that chiseled look. You still look smooth.

There is hope for you. Low-carb diets have been used for years by athletes who just can’t shake the bland look. Without such a high influx of carbs into the body, your muscle tissue uses up the sugars you have and suddenly you look much sharper. Cut carbs, increase protein and fat, and you should see a significant difference. You should also do cardio every day on an empty stomach to facilitate the fat burning process and really fire up the furnace inside of you!

A difference must be made between a low-carb diet and a ketogenic diet. A diet almost completely devoid of carbohydrates puts your body in a ketogenic state. Your mouth tastes metallic, your brain may function strangely, and you’ll lose a lot of fat and water. However, for more moderate weightlifters, a low carb diet that still provides you with 3-4 solid servings of carbs per day is a viable alternative.

Remember that a calorie is a calorie. One gram of carbohydrate or protein contains 4 calories, while one gram of fat contains 9 calories. If you significantly reduce your carbs, you can add an equal number of protein grams to make up the difference, a little less than half the fat grams, or some combination.

Drink plenty of water when you eat a lot of protein. Your body will need it to keep digestion running smoothly. Keep your fiber high to prevent constipation.

Using supplements like creatine can put your kidneys at a slight disadvantage due to the extra work they will have to do to process your high protein intake. Anything over 350 grams per day can produce strong-smelling urine, a sign that your kidneys are working harder than they should. If you have a personal or family history of kidney disease, then an extremely high-protein diet can be risky for your health. Always consult a doctor before starting this or any other radical diet that changes the normal functioning of your internal processes.

Anything less than what you are consuming right now will be an improvement. Your job is to find that happy medium between your current level of carbohydrate intake and the level at which your body enters ketosis. Get in the middle and you’ll see your body fat levels drop without some of the nasty side effects of keto.