Weight Loss - The Low Carb Diet Fad

Low carb diets are quite a fad and tend to focus on carbohydrates. These are sugars and are simple or complex. Simple sugars are found in fruit, some breads, and candy bars to name but a few. Complex sugars are found in some types of bread and pasta [to many to list] and live up to their name by taking longer to breakdown and be digested by our systems.

It is believed that carbohydrates are probably the largest cause of fat creation, weight gain and general lack of energy in a person. So the idea behind this diet is that by eating less carbs a person can lose weight pretty quickly, get their energy levels back up to where they were and it helps keep this energy throughout the day.

This diet substitutes other foods like protein and fat in place of the carbohydrates, one of the popular diets of this kind is the Atkins diet and many a person has had success with it.

A little about the Atkins diet - this diet does exactly what we have spoken about above, restricting the carbohydrates makes the body change its metabolism and start burning stored fat instead of glucose [sugar]. This is caused by your body entering a ketosis phase due to the lack of carbohydrates.

This low carb diet asks the dieter to switch from food with low carbs to food with high proteins and fats. Strangely enough even bacon is allowed/recommended in some of these diets which is pretty unconventional as it is rather fatty - a point to mention here is that not all fats are bad, a example of a type of bad fat is the trans fatty acids.

LC diets show a lot of promise, many people have seen good results in their quest to lose weight by using this diet but some find it very taxing to stick to as it is quite difficult to restrict carbohydrates over a long period of time.

There is a downside to this LC diet however. It is inconvenient for a start and if a person enjoys their breads, pastas and the odd sweet or two they will find the strict regulation of these foods quite harsh. Foods with carbohydrates are easy to store and often get used in a packed lunch. Never mind the traveling - this is a difficult one as it is hard to keep to your diet if you have no control over the menu and the foods you need to eat are difficult to pack and take with you on your trip.

Another downside of low carb diets is that it can be quite inconvenient to be on. If you are person that enjoys bread, pasta and sweets, these items are strictly regulated when on a low carb diet. And since many foods with carbohydrates are easy to carry and store, it can be quite difficult to travel or eat at work without eating foods that only fit within your diet's plan.

Remember - increase your fluid intake with whatever diet you go on, this is to assist with the removal of any toxic build up and prevent constipation due to the change in your diet.