Low Carb Diet 101

Low carb diets have been popular on and off since the dawn of the Atkins fame (and maybe even earlier?).

But, what exactly defines low carb? Does eating this way actually help with weight loss? Are there any other health benefits (or risks) to eating fewer carbs?

Let’s see.

What is a carb?

A carb, or carbohydrate, is one of our three main macro nutrients. Carbs, along with protein and fat that are needed for optimal health in quantities larger than vitamins and minerals which are micro nutrients.

Carbohydrates come in three main types:

  • Sugars
  • Starches
  • Fiber

Sugars are the smallest (molecule) carb. There are many different kinds of sugars, beyond the well-known table sugar (sucrose) or fruit sugar (fructose).

Starches are longer chains of many sugars bound together. Starches are broken down by our digestive enzymes into sugars. These sugars are then absorbed and metabolized in much the same way as if we ate sugar itself.

Fiber, on the other hand, is also a long chain of sugars, but these are not broken down by our digestive enzymes. Fiber passes through our system, feeds our friendly gut bacteria, and then takes food waste out the other end.  💩

Because fiber isn’t digested like sugars and starches, it’s often excluded from the carb calculation.

How we metabolize carbs

When we eat carbs, our body absorbs the broken down sugar into our blood, thus raising our blood sugar. Depending on how high and fast our blood sugar rises, our body may release insulin to tell our cells to absorb that sugar out of our blood and use it as energy now or store it for later.

This is part of the theory as to why eating low carb diets may help with weight loss – by preventing the release of insulin, thus preventing the storage of excess calories.

But, our bodies are a bit more complicated than that!

Low carb for weight loss?

A few studies recently put low carb diets head-to-head against low-fat diets for weight loss.

Guess what they found?

1 – There isn’t one universal definition of low carb (see the next section below).

2 – It’s more difficult for people to stick to low carb diets than low-fat diets.

3 – Both diets work for some people, and neither one is overwhelmingly better for weight loss than the other.

4 – The number of calories people eat is still considered a huge factor when it comes to weight loss success – more than whether the calories are from carbs or fat.

How many carbs is low carb?

There isn’t one single definition.

The average American eats about 300 g of carbs per day. Some people consider eating under 250 g of carbs per day to be the first threshold of a low carb diet. That’s really not that low in carbs, it’s lower carb, rather than low carb. Plus, if you’re new to cutting carbs, this level is easy to maintain and a good start (if you want to cut your carbs).

Taking that a step further, eating less than 150 g per day of carbs is considered a typical low carb diet.

On the extreme side, eating less than 50 g of carbs per day is considered to be very low carb – it falls under the ketogenic diet range. Eating so few carbs can actually change your metabolism into a ketogenic state. Eating this way can be difficult for many people to maintain.

Other health benefits of low carb diets

Low carb diets have the benefit of preserving muscle mass during weight loss. They can also improve heart health biomarkers like cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Not to mention that eating fewer carbs can improve how our bodies manage those carbs in terms of insulin and fasting blood sugar levels.

There can definitely be some non-weight-loss health benefits to eating fewer carbs!

Conclusion

Eating a low carb diet can be healthy, as long as it contains enough of all the essential nutrients. Some people may lose weight eating fewer carbs, and others won’t.

Low carb diets can help to improve how the body manages blood lipids and blood sugar, so it can be a healthy choice for some people.

As with most things in nutrition, there isn’t a one size fits all rule. Low carb diets can be a good choice for many people, but it’s not the magic bullet that some people claim.

Our macro calculator is a great tool to help you find out the amount of carbs you need for your goal.

What about you – have you tried (or do you currently) eat low carb? How many carbs do you eat per day? Have you had any great (or not so great) health effects from it? Let me know in the comments below.

Recipe (Low carb): Baked “Breaded” Chicken

Serves 4

2 pounds chicken drumsticks
½ cup almond flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika

1 tsp rosemary or thyme
½ tsp garlic powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450F.

Cover a large baking dish with parchment paper.

In large food storage bag, combine all ingredients except chicken.

Place a couple of pieces of chicken in the bag and shake until coated.

Repeat with the rest of the chicken.

Place chicken on a lined dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

Turn over and bake 15 minutes longer.

Ensure internal temperature of chicken reaches 165F.

Serve & enjoy!

Tip: You can roast veggies in another pan at the same time. Just chop, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. They might not need to cook as long as the chicken, so check them periodically.

References:

The post Low Carb Diet 101 appeared first on No Limits Fitness.

About No Limits

No Limits Fitness provides step-by-step programs to help busy adults get the body they’ve always wanted, without restrictive diets or time-consuming workouts, so they can lead more fulfilling lives. Life is a much better experience in a strong, healthy body!

Recent Posts

Crunch-Free Zone: 5 Exercises For Stronger Abs

By Will Matthiessen • 19 Apr, 2024
Crunches.  The go-to core exercise for a lot of gym goers. Yet, it’s one of the worst ab exercises you can do. Shocking, I know. You’re probably wondering why it’s one of the worst. Crunches put force on your spine and oftentimes strain on your neck. They force your spine into flexion, which is generally what people are told not to do in order to protect their back. Aside from the pressure it puts on your spine, crunches don’t activate your core muscles to the extent that a lot of other dynamic core exercises do. If your goal is to have sculpted abs like a lifeguard on Baywatch, crunches are not your solution. Aside from the aesthetic aspect, a strong core is important for your body’s balance and stability, posture, and reduction of back pain and other injuries. If you want to develop a rock hard core, here is a list of exercises better than the old fashioned crunches that you can start incorporating into your workouts: The Hard Style Plank Put your forearms on the ground and your arms set shoulder width apart. Your arms should be parallel to your body. Once you’re up in the plank, imagine squeezing your elbows to your knees and your knees to your elbows. Don’t be surprised if you start shaking like a leaf as soon as you create that tension. Dead Bugs Lie on your back with your arms straight up and your hands above your shoulders. Bend your legs at a 90-degree angle with your toes facing up at the ceiling. Imagine pushing your belly button into the ground and keeping your body tight enough to where if someone was pulling on your limbs, you’d be able to resist it. Next extend your right arm and left leg at the same time, without touching the ground. Keep pushing your belly button into the ground to avoid arching your back. The right leg that is still bent should stay completely still while the other leg is in motion. Bring your arm and leg back into the start position and then switch sides. When it comes to Dead Bugs, one of our favorite sayings applies: “Slowly is holy. Faster is disaster.” If you want to increase the intensity, add a kettlebell to the stationary arm. If you want to significantly increase the intensity, press the kettlebell once you’ve reached the fully extended position. Reverse Crunches Lie down flat with your back on the floor and your legs straight down, toes pointed up. Press your lower back into the floor and pull in your belly button as you lift your legs together up off the floor. Push your heels through the ceiling at the top and slowly lower them back to the ground. Fun, right? Double Kettlebell March Hold two heavy kettlebells in the racked position. Pull your belly button to your knees and your knees to your belly button to find max tension in your core. Once you feel that tension, slowly lift one knee up 90 degrees and then switch legs. Hollow Rocks I’ve saved the worst (I mean best) for last. Lay down on the ground with your legs a little bit off of the ground as well as your shoulder blades and head. With arms extended over your head, rock back and forth like a banana rocking back and forth on a counter. Or a see-saw…take your pick. Alright, now that I’ve given you the secret sauce to getting rock hard abs, it’s time to get to work people!

How To Lose Weight Without Counting Calories

By Juan Perez • 05 Apr, 2024
One of the first recommendations you’ll hear for someone wanting to lose weight is to begin by counting calories. Although weighing your food and counting calories does work for some people, the reality is that this approach to weight loss has an astonishingly high failure rate. If this strategy is “based in science”, why does it fail more than 95% of the time? The Top 3 Issues With Counting Calories The number of calories in the foods you eat are estimates. This is where the concept of counting calories being “based in science” can be misleading. The FDA allows companies to use 5 different formulas to estimate calories and a standard deviation up to 20% is acceptable. This means that something listed as 150 calories exists on a range between 120 calories and 180 calories. How ripe is your banana? The ripeness affects caloric availability. The second issue is that as individuals we each absorb a different amount of the calories from the food we consume. Thirdly, Americans are notoriously bad at determining healthy portion sizes. Our super-sized culture has heavily influenced our concept of a normal sized portion. The good news is that there is another way to lose weight without counting calories. The Three Pillars of Nutrition Whether or not you’re a card-carrying member of Camp Calorie Counters, the foundation of your nutrition is built upon three pillars: Food Quality, Food Quantity and Food Timing. Food Quality All calories are not created equal. The popular 100 calorie snack bags do not offer the same nutritional value as 100 calories from fruits or vegetables. When the majority of your meals are composed of minimally processed single ingredient whole foods (lean protein, fruits and vegetables), you’re more likely to get the micronutrients your body needs to thrive. Food Quantity As mentioned earlier, Americans aren’t known for our skills at eyeballing healthy portion sizes. Although using a food scale to determine portion sizes can be helpful, it isn’t always practical. This is the reason we recommend learning to use your hand as a guide to determine portion sizes. You can’t take a food scale with you everywhere you go but you’re always allowed to bring your hands!

Six Movement Patterns Your Program Needs

By Chava Cruz • 07 Mar, 2024
There are six fundamental movement patterns that every good program will include. Push, pull, hinge, squat, lunge, and loaded carry. These are all everyday movements that our bodies need in order to function more efficiently. Push Incorporating a variety of push exercises like the bench press, shoulder press, triceps presses and push-ups will help strengthen your upper body muscles. These exercises primarily target our chest, shoulders and triceps. Don’t want the wings under your arm that shake real bad when you wave? Start pushing.  We use push movements with tasks as simple as pushing doors open and pushing grocery carts to more difficult tasks like lifting ourselves up from a seated position. Pull Pull exercises are the counter to push, creating a balance. They primarily target our back, biceps and rear delts. It is crucial to have just as many pulls in your plan to avoid injury and overuse of your upper body muscles. Some popular pull exercises include bent over rows, single arm row, lat pull downs and trx rows. Aside from your muscles getting stronger, these exercises will improve your posture and help you pick things up like kids and animals. No kids or animals? You still have to pick up groceries or laundry, nice try. Hinge Hinging is something we do often without realizing it. It primarily targets our hips, lower back, glutes and hamstrings. Some of the most common hinge exercises are deadlifts, kettlebell swings, and hip thrusts. Performing hinge movements will help improve your stability, flexibility and hip mobility on top of strengthening your lower body. The more mobile and flexible you are, the easier it is to move. Hinge exercises will also stabilize your core muscles which is the root of everything. Daily tasks that mimic the hinge movement are bending over to lift heavy objects and bending to prepare to sit or stand. Squat Similar to pull being the counter to push.. The squat is the counter to hinge. You shouldn’t have one without the other. It’s kind of like having a plate of food without the silverware. You could do it, it’s just going to get messy. Squats primarily target the quads, hamstrings and glutes. Some of the most common types of squats include goblet squat, back squat, front squat, overhead squat and sumo squat. Performing these exercises will strengthen your lower body muscles and improve your core and stability. Daily tasks that involve squats include lifting heavy objects (after you’ve performed a hinge to go and get it), sitting down and standing up. Lunge Everyone's favorite, lunges. Aside from creating rock hard quads, the lunge is essential to a functional body and injury prevention. Reverse lunges, forwards lunges, lateral lunges and split squats are all examples of what you can incorporate into your program. Imagine falling and not being able to get back up. Not everyone wants to rely on life alert. Practicing and staying consistent with lunges will help allow you to avoid a fall in the first place because of the stability they create, but also to be able to actually get yourself up off of the ground when you need to. Loaded Carry Ah, loaded carries. You either hate them or love them but either way you’re going to be stuck doing them at some point. Loaded carries create a strong core which in return helps with your balance and stability. They will also improve your grip strength. Carrying groceries from the store to your car becomes a lot easier the more you practice these. Different types of carries include farmers, suitcase, racked, overhead, and mixed. We carry things every single day and we do it in different ways depending on the object. Include a variety of carries in your program so you’re prepared to carry anything. Conclusion Performing all six of these movement patterns every week will ensure that you are moving better day to day. The better we function and move properly, the better we feel and the healthier we will be. If you would like to meet with one of our experienced personal trainers to discuss incorporating these 6 movement patterns in your training program, click on the button below to schedule a free consultation.
Show More
Share by: