For many years, people have thought that excessive consumption of fat leads to obesity and being overweight. The notion that eating too much fat is what causes someone to be fat is actually not true. This can be justified when a person tries to lose weight by removing fat from their diet and hardly notices any weight reduction or loss of body fat. What most people do not know is that excessive consumption of carbohydrates (starch and sugary foods) is the main cause of obesity and being overweight.
Switching to a low carb diet is therefore one of the best ways to lose weight and improve health as well. It is good to note that reducing fat intake instead of reducing the intake of starch and sugary foods can have adverse effects on your health. Reducing fat from your diet can cause certain nutritional deficiencies to manifest after a period of time. Symptoms of these deficiencies such as dry skin, joint pains and dandruff can be observed especially after fat has been removed from your diet for more than 6 months.
A good low-carb diet should reduce fat intake but still incorporate essential fats from sources such as nuts, avocados and fish. Losing weight at the expense of your health in not an option. An ideal low carbohydrate diet should be rich in proteins, healthy vegetables, fat, vitamins and essential minerals. It is important that you put some emphasis on protein when coming up with a low-carb diet. Protein will be the never changing constant in your diet and all other food constituents will revolve around it.
Stipulating how much protein you will be consuming on a daily basis is therefore the first step of coming up an effective low carbohydrate diet. Sources of good proteins for your low-carb diet include meat, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, high-fat dairy and healthy oils. These healthy proteins will be the backbone of your diet. They will offer you with the right amount of energy and calories to help you stay in shape and also improve your vitality.
The amount of carbs you incorporate into your daily meals will determine how effective your diet is. It is highly recommended that you consume varying amounts of carbohydrates such as starch and sugary foods on a daily basis. Varying the amount of carbohydrates from low intake meals to high intake meals means that you regulate the overall intake of carbohydrates you consume over a considerable duration of time. Being a ‘low’ carb diet, it is important not to completely put aside some of those starchy and sugary foods. Eating too little carbs can lead to the body having insufficient calories to perform optimally on a day to day basis.
The most important thing to remember when coming up with a low carb diet is that you should not make any extreme cut backs on essential nutrients. Fat should be kept at a minimal and carbs should be consumed less often but in sufficient amounts.