Low-carb diets restrict the intake of carbohydrates. Advocates of the Atkins diet, a popular low-carb diet, maintain that this restriction forces the body into a different kind of metabolism that requires fat burning. However, as the American Medical Association, or AMA, points out, restricting carbohydrates does not automatically lead to weight loss. For weight loss to occur, you must restrict calories in addition to carbohydrates.
Atkins Diet
According to the official Atkins site, restricting carbohydrates is an effective way to lose weight. Your digestive system converts carbohydrates into glucose. Glucose is the preferred energy source of various body tissues, including muscle and brain tissue. However, if you eat too many carbohydrates, your body will turn them into fat. The brain cannot use dietary fat as a fuel. However, if there is a shortage of glucose, it can use ketone bodies, a byproduct of fat metabolism, as an energy source. According to the contributors to the Atkins site, cutting carbohydrates will therefore force your body to burn fat.
Cutting Calories
According to the AMA, there is evidence that the Atkins diet can result in significant weight loss. But the AMA believes the weight loss occurs because a diet that contains mostly fat and protein will lead to a restriction of calories. If you are forced to cut carbohydrates, your food choices are limited, and fat and protein foods fill you up more quickly than carbohydrates. There is no evidence that cutting carbohydrates without restricting calories can result in a weight loss, they say. The biochemical explanation behind this claim is that while fatty acids cannot be turned into glucose, protein can. So, excess protein can produce glucose for the brain, which will make fat burning for brain-fuel purposes redundant .
No Weight Loss
Because calorie restriction seems required for weight loss, you won't lose weight if you consume too many calories. Keep in mind that weight-loss diets almost always slow down metabolism. So, the amounts of food that initially led to a weight loss may now be too big for a weight loss to occur. Atkins diet also allows for a slow increase in carbohydrates. Because the extra carbohydrates add additional calories, they may create a change in your weight loss pattern.
How to Lose Weight
To guarantee a weight loss on the Atkins diet, you may need to cut calories. Count the calories you consume for a day or two to make sure they are lower than the calories your body uses. On average, women who are moderately active use 2,000 calories per day, while men use 3,000 calories. According to Dr. Jim Levine from the Mayo Clinic, you can also do little things to speed up your metabolism. Besides exercising regularly, you can increase your metabolism by tapping your foot, dancing through the room, or rocking from side to side.
References
- Atkins: Thoughtful Approach, Powerful Science
- American Medical Association: A Critique of Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Weight Reduction Regimens: A Review of Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution
- Mayo Clinic: Atkins diet: What's behind the claims?
- Better Health: Article Comments Mayo Clinic's Dr. Jim Levine On How "NEAT" Good Health Can Be
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