Low-carb diets are one way to lose weight and fat. From the Atkins to the Zone diet, these types of diets have received a lot of publicity and are as widely criticized as they are praised. Like most diets, you may be more interested in the results than the theory, so you may not know how it works or how falling off the diet will affect you.
Theory
There are many low-carbohydrate diets out there, from simple and well-known ones such as the Atkins diet to more extreme examples such as the Cyclical Ketogenic diet. They generally work on the theory of ketosis, which occurs when the body is unable to burn carbohydrates for energy as it normally does and instead burns fat stored in the body. By depriving the body of carbohydrates, the body's natural stores are depleted and fat stores in the body are burnt.
Problems
Low-carbohydrate diets, like virtually any other diet, are often associated with feelings of hunger. However this is normally less apparent because of the slower digestion of fats and proteins compared to carbohydrates, especially processed carbohydrates such as sugars, which are absent from the diet. Lethargy and nausea can also occur as the body is not accustomed to burning fat exclusively, and carbohydrate cravings are common.
Effects
Slipping off a low-carb diet for a single meal is not as bad as you might think. For example, advice on Ketogenic diet information website Keto.org recommends that you still ingest up to 30 g of carbohydrate a day, as otherwise the body begins to convert protein into fuel as well as fat. This will cause you to lose muscle, so actually a small amount of carbohydrates can be beneficial to you.
Considerations
There is also the concept of the cheat day in a diet. So long as you stick to the diet for six out of seven days in a week, the theory is that you can have a day where you can safely go off your diet. While this is a mental reward that keeps you on the straight and narrow, it also has a physiological effect. By increasing your carbohydrate intake significantly, as is the case if you fall off your diet for a meal, the body adapts by producing increased amounts of insulin to compensate and your metabolism spikes accordingly. This, in fact, helps prevent your body from adapting completely to the diet and slowing weight loss accordingly.
Significance
Going off your low-carb diet for a single meal is unlikely to damage your weight loss and may even be beneficial to you. However, the real danger in any diet is if you continue to break your own rules. Cheat days help, giving you something to look forward to as well as allowing you a grace period where you can reward yourself for eating well. If you fall off your diet for a single meal, remember that it is only one meal; don't use it as an excuse to blowing your diet for other meals.
References
- The Atkins Diet
- Keto: Ketogenic Diet Summary
- "The Food Doctor Diet"; Ian Marber; 2003
- "The Ketogenic Diet: A Complete Guide for the Dieter & the Practitioner "; Lyle McDonald; 2000
Member Comments