low carb diet...fab or bad?!!

It was about 10 years ago that I first heard about the "low carb" or the "Atkins" diet. At first I simply couldn't understand it or get my head around it. It went against everything I'd ever been taught or told about nutrition and weight loss. I was very intrigued and decided that I had to learn more so I purchased and read Dr Atkins book. At the time I will admit I was amazed. The book and everything he said seemed to make so much sense...but it left me very confused...as I previously said, it had gone against everything I had ever been told...yet now it seemed to make a lot of sense to me. So I decided I had to try it for myself.

As many of you are probably aware the Atkins or the low carb diet does not involve counting calories in any way meaning that you can eat as much as you like...also you are not restricted in the amount of fat you can eat...so foods such as fried bacon and eggs, cheese, and even things like pork scratchings are all very much part of the menu...yet Dr Atkins still guarantees you will lose weight! What Dr Atkins was saying was that if we eat carbohydrates we will increase our insulin production. By doing this we will prevent our body from burning our stored fats. Atkins said we won't gain weight by preventing our body from eating carbohydrates.

I must admit at first I really enjoyed it...it felt great to be eating all of these foods that normally I'd only eat on very rare occasions. And I have to admit I did lose weight...and very quickly. At this stage I really thought it was the most wonderful and revolutionary diet ever to be thought up. I couldn't work out why no one had thought of this before. A diet where you can eat as much food as you like and still lose weight. I thought it was amazing. But it wasn't long before I changed my mind. After a week or 2 the foods you are restricted to eat become bland and boring. And I can't describe the cravings I was getting. I was literally going out of my mind and foods such as bread and chocolate were all I could think about! And it wasn't long before my training started to suffer. When in the gym I just had no energy. I could lift nowhere near what I was used to and any form of cardio was simply out of the question. My body simply wouldn't do it. So with my mind lost just thinking about food and my body unable to perform anywhere near its usual standard physiologically it was very bad. It got to the point where one day I was driving home from training with a client and I had what can only be described as a blackout. I was so dizzy and drained I could not focus. I had to pull over and eat some fruit just to get some form of sugar into me. From that day on I started eating carbs again.

To be blunt our bodies need carbohydrates. Our bodies breakdown carbohydrates to yield the simple sugar glucose, which we then use for energy. Although protein and fat also supply energy to the body, some tissues require energy I'm the form of glucose. Specifically, red blood cells and brain cells derive energy from glucose almost exclusively. When you decrease your carb intake you decrease your glycogen. When you consume enough carbohydrate your liver and muscles will form enough glycogen to help you prevent muscle loss and dehydration. So basically a low carb diet will result in muscle loss and you will end up dehydrated. That's why you lose weight so fast. It’s not because you lose your stored fat. Without enough carbohydrate to burn your excess fat your body will produce ketones. This will cause side effects such as headaches, nausea and bad breath. Another problem with diets like the Atkins diet is that consuming such a high volume of fat adds more risk to your heart.

Carbohydrates don't make you fat. Excess calories make you fat. With protein containing 4 calories per gram, carbohydrate containing 4 calories per gram and fat containing 9 calories per gram. For weight loss the priority is reducing total calorie intake, so reducing the amount of fat in your diet will make the biggest difference.
 
Keep posted as I will be soon posting some of my favourite foods and snacks for before and after training as well as those I like to eat during an endurance event.
 
Bye for now!
 
Glenn