One of the main aims of low-carb diets, other than weight loss, is to avoid slowing metabolism, making it easier for you to lose weight. According to the American Medical Association, however, when the diet works, it is not all that different from other diets, which means that it will slow metabolism.
Atkins Diet
The main principle of the Atkins Diet, a well-known low-carb diet, is carbohydrate restriction. According to the official Atkins site, there is no need for you to count calories. If you count carbohydrates and keep the intake of these molecules below the specified level, you will lose weight. The idea is that carbohydrates convert into glucose, which in turns can be converted into fat. The body prefers to metabolize fat to metabolizing protein. When you significantly restrict carbohydrates, the body begins to metabolize its fat deposits to keep the body alive.
Calorie Restriction
The members of American Medical Association express skepticism about these claims. They admit there is lots of evidence the Atkins diet works as a weight-loss diet, but they disagree with the late Dr. Richard Atkins that calorie restriction is not an important part of the diet. If you consume more calories than your body uses, and some of these calories are consumed as proteins, then the body can use excess protein to produce glucose, which in turn can be converted into fat. The diet works, they say, because fat and protein are more filling than carbohydrates, so the carbohydrate restriction automatically makes people restrict calories.
Slowing Metabolism
Calorie-restriction diets slow metabolism. When you cut calories, the body enters a weight-loss mode. However, the body cannot distinguish between voluntary dieting and starvation. It will seek to preserve its energy sources, which results in a slowdown of metabolism. The smaller amounts of energy available will make you move and think at a slower pace, which preserves energy. There may be a small diet advantage to eating mostly fat and protein, in that metabolizing protein and fat is more complicated than metabolizing carbohydrates. However, there is no conclusive evidence for the claim that there is an independent advantage to the Atkins diet besides its tendency to lead to calorie restriction.
Dr. Levine and Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis
You can increase your metabolism significantly by being more active during your daily routine. Instead of just vacuuming the carpet, you can dance through the room vacuuming. Instead of just reading this article, you can tap your foot while reading it. Dr. Jim Levine from the Mayo Clinic has studied non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or energy use when you don't exercise, and found that the main difference between obese and lean individuals is that the latter do a lot of dancing, tapping, rocking, walking, singing, playing the guitar, and so forth, compared to the former. These little movements can add up to 300 to 400 extra calories burned every day.
References
- Atkins: Science Behind Atkins
- American Medical Association: A Critique of Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Weight Reduction Regimens: A Review of Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution
- MayoClinic.com: Atkins Diet: What's Behind the Claims?
- Better Health; Mayo Clinic's Dr. Jim Levine On How "NEAT" Good Health Can Be; Maria Gifford; September 2010
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