Low Carb Explanation

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Sally-Anne Turner

Low carb dieting?

Is it worth cutting out potatoes, pasta and bread in your quest to lose body fat?

Note that we mention body fat here and not scale weight. Why? Let us explain.

A person loses 5 - 10 lbs of scale weight during week one and two of eating low carb.

This is because they have actually lost lots of water (stored in their muscles and liver) by switching to a low carb eating plan. It's not necessarily fat loss.

Did you know that each gram of carbohydrate you eat will store 3 grams of water? That’s a lot of stored water in your cells if you think that the average person consumes 200 grams of carbohydrate per day!

If you drastically lower carbs to less than 50 grams per day - similar to a ketogenic style diet - you will lose water - which will show as lost scale weight. Not necessarily body fat.

IF eating a low carbohydrate diet puts you into a calorie deficit then great, you’ll also lose fat, as well as the water stores.

But! Low carb is not always better than any other diet plan if you’re NOT in a calorie deficit.

• Simply put: A Calorie Deficit is required to lose body fat!
• A diet plan that you can MAINTAIN is best for fat loss! If you miss bread, eat the bread! In moderation.
• Eat less calories than your burn off
• Use a food logging app such a MyFitnessPal to keep track of every calorie you eat