Many people have heard about the various low carbohydrate diets out on the market today. “The Zone,” “Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet,” and the most famous of the low carb diet plans, the “Atkins Diet,” have been heard of by almost anybody familiar with low carb dieting.
First, being that I am a “the glass is half full” kind of guy, I’ll start with the advantages. Low carb dieting tends to decrease your appetite because they are usually high in proteins and fat. Unsaturated fats actually raise your good cholesterol levels and lowers your bad cholesterol levels which helps protect yourself from heart disease. Your appetite is suppressed because of the increased fat metabolism in your body for energy because of the lack of sufficient carbohydrates which causes your body to go into ketosis. The increased fat burning effect for energy is the reason low carb dieting helps people lose weight. On the other hand, there are some disadvantages to the diet. Because of the lack of food variety, vitamin shortages occur. It is highly recommended you take a multi-vitamin each day, but definitely while on a low carb diet. A Vitamin B-Complex is also recommended because the daily requirements are hard to fulfill from the low carb foods. If you are scared of swallowing those horse pills usually found in a multivitamin pill bottle, both the multi-vitamin and B-Complex can be found in effervescent or powder form and liquid form. A lack of fiber is also a problem because fiber foods usually derive most of their calorie content from carbohydrates which obviously doesn’t conform to the low carb diet. Fiber is important in the diet because it helps prevent cancer, heart disease, and the oh-so-horrible hemorrhoids. Again, because of the lower carb consumption, protein intake has to be increased. Obviously, you cannot just go eat steak, bacon, ribs, and other greasy meats, because they are all high in saturated fat. Chicken breasts are a good buy and you can trim any off the little amount of fat it has off before you eat it. An interesting tidbit I found was that diets with a lot of meat, in them cause bad breath because of sulfur-containing residues left in the mouth from the meat which can lead to odor-causing bacteria. In other words, keep a breath mint handy at all times.
Low carb dieting has consistently shown to cause mood changes. The lack of energy from reduced carbs may make you crabby.
Low carbohydrate diets, like anything else, have their advantages and disadvantages. It is a quick, usually effective way to drop some pounds if you are prepping yourself for spring break or any other look-good event that may arise. Low carb diets also will not allow you to build any substantial amount of muscle but just maintain what you already have. If you are considering a low carb diet, make sure you find a planned diet that suits you with foods you can deal with to prevent cheating.