In my last blog I talked about the two types of carbohydrates; simple carbs, and complex carbs. In that post we went over the difference between the two, how they are used, and why. If you need a refresher, follow this link to “Complexed About Carbs.” Here is the kicker about carbs… Our body doesn’t need much of them to survive! The Atkins, South Beach, and Ketogenic diets are based off this principle of low to no carb intake in order to lose weight.

To understand how these diets work, we need to look a little deeper into how our body uses carbohydrates. We already know from my last blog how they are used and the fact that our body can store them for later use. During normal everyday activity our body relies on fat and stored glycogen to provide us energy. The problem with most Americans is we never fully deplete our stored glycogen. Your body can only store so much of it, and when you have too much, it becomes stored as fat! This additional storage of fat is what can lead to weight control issues.

Low and no carb diets take advantage of this by making sure you never take in more carbs then what your body can use. When glycogen supplies are low or not available your body goes into ketosis. Ketosis is basically a measurement of the count of ketones in the body. Ketones are created when our body breaks down fat for energy. So essentially, on a low carb diet your body is using fat as its primary energy source, which makes it easy to lose weight.

Are these diets effective? Yes, they can be extremely effective when done properly, but like any diet they are a temporary solution to what should be a lifestyle change in order to lose weight. There is still a lot of controversy about the subject, and about how healthy these diets truly are for you. Your best bet for weight loss is to get in contact with a nutritionist who can make a balanced diet specific to your needs, and to STICK WITH IT!

-Scott