How Many Grams Of Carbs Per Day To Lose Weight?

According to MayoClinic.com, low-carb diets do promote weight loss, making them very popular, and there are a variety to choose from, including the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet and the Scarsdale Diet. However, it's not necessary to follow a specific diet program to experience the benefits of low-carb eating. Knowing how many grams of carbs you can eat a day is enough to help you shed pounds. Remember, with any low-carb diet, it is important to drink plenty of water throughout the day and to limit processed and junk foods. Consult your physician before beginning any diet program.

Significance

Controlling the number of carbs you eat every day is a simple way to lose weight. Too many carbohydrates in your diet cause weight gain because carbohydrates that aren't used as energy are stored as fat, notes the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. If you eat more carbohydrates than you need, you will gain weight. By limiting your carbohydrate consumption, you teach your body to use your own stored body fat for energy. This helps you lose weight by using up the fat you already have and by eliminating the source of new fat production.

Very Fast Weight Loss

Many low-carb diets have an induction phase that lasts for one to four or more weeks. The Atkins Diet, for example, has an induction phase that can last a year. This induction phase usually requires you to limit carbohydrates to less than 50 g a day, mostly from vegetables, starchy tubers and fruit. This very low amount of carbohydrates creates the state of ketosis, which means that your body is creating fuel for its energy demands by breaking down fat molecules in the absence of glucose, explains Arkansas physician Dr. Michael R. Eades. You can lose a great deal of weight very quickly by entering ketosis and staying there, but the low amount of carbohydrates makes this difficult to do for long periods of time.

Moderate Weight Loss

"The Primal Blueprint," a book on whole foods and healthy eating, describes "the sweet spot for effortless weight loss" as being 50 to 100 g of carbs per day. This amount of carbohydrates will allow you to enjoy a wider range of foods, such as dairy, and more abundant fruit intake. Individual responses vary, and this level of carbohydrate restriction may or may not put you into ketosis. Either way, you will see a noticeable weight loss. You can expect to lose about 2 pounds a week.

Gradual Weight Loss

To lose weight gradually or to maintain weight loss, "The Primal Blueprint" recommends you limit your carbohydrate intake to 100 to 150 g per day. This allows a wide variety of food choices and is best if you don't want to give up things like bread or high amounts of fruit or if you are an athlete. You can expect to lose 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of weight per week.

Misconceptions

There are possible negative side effects of ketosis, such as weakness and dizziness. It is important to remember that you may experience these side effects as your body adjusts to a reduced availability of dietary carbohydrates. This is usually temporary and doesn't last more than one to three weeks. Additionally, there may be some concern about ketosis being dangerous, but that may be related to confusion about the difference between ketosis, which an article in the Dec. 31, 2004, "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition" described as harmless, and keto-acidosis, which is a dangerous condition related to Type II Diabetes and is unrelated to ketosis caused from low-carbohydrate diets.