Are Low Carb Fad Diets Effective?

Mind is All

You’ve heard of low carb fad diets, but you’re not sure if they work. You may want to investigate the truth about low carb diets, including effectiveness, before you try one.

Low carb diet plans are based on the idea that you will lose weight if you limit or cut out all carbs from your diet. There is a grain of truth underlying these diets; a low carb diet will help you maintain a steady blood sugar level, which will in turn allow your body to function while producing less insulin. High levels of insulin in your blood stream can result in your body storing excess calories as fat. As a result, people lose weight when they start a low carb diet plan.

However, most of these low carb plans don’t limit how many calories you can consume. A recent study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the Natitional Institutes of Health counters this assertion. The study measured the success rates of 800 adults on a variety of diet plans, including low carb diets. The study concluded that caloric intake was the primary determinant of long term weight loss, meaning you do indeed need to limit calories (or burn off the equivalent of calories) if you want to lose weight.

Low carb fad diet plans also don’t account for dealing with cravings that come up. Because your body needs carbs, you will find yourself fighting cravings, making it very difficult to remain on this diet plan for the long term.

One last concern is the serious loss of energy most people on these diets experience. If you want to exercise, you need carbs to burn. If you don’t eat carbs, it’s very challenging to perform well athletically. If you quit exercising, you may lose fat but you won't gain muscle, which in turn burns calories.

Now that you know the story on low carb fad diets, you can make the choice whether or not this diet is right for you.