Weight Loss and Fitness

We always hear about low carb diets whenever we discuss weight loss plans. It is believed by most of the people that the craze for low carbohydrate diet started with Dr. Atkins. However, in real, almost more than hundreds of years before Dr. Atkins, a guy named William Banting produced a book named as letters on corpulence.

However, the research and advice of Dr. Atkins and William Banting was really not picked up and understood by people before the 1990s. However, people soon realized the importance of carbohydrates in dieting and they soon, in the late 1990s, started following Dr. Atkins diet plans. It was the time when Dr. Atkins diet plans got real fame and name.

The Atkins plan was immediately followed by many other, similar, plans that suggest low carb diets. Examples of other such diet plans are The South Beach Diet or the Zone diet.

A Brief Theory of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates work inside our body in the following manner:

- We intake diet that is rich in carbohydrates.

- When we take carbohydrates, it increases the glucose level in our blood stream.

- The glucose level that has been increased by the intake of carbohydrates is called as free-floating glucose. Free-floating glucose has the tendency of damaging our body unless this free-floating glucose is allowed to penetrate into our body cells where it can be used as energy.

- After that, our body produces insulin. In very simple terms, insulin is a type of key that unlocks the door for the glucose to reach the body's cells.

- When the required energy is obtained from glucose, the remaining free-floating glucose becomes fat.

This is the reason why most of the diet experts recommend those diets that are low in carbohydrates. Those foods that are rich in fat but are not rich in carbohydrates can't raise the blood sugar/glucose level; hence making sure the suppressed release of insulin in our body. When our body uses and breaks fats, instead of carbohydrates, to use as energy, there is another chemical substance that is released; called as ketones. These ketones are then released in our bloodstream. These ketones are not life threatening, although people may feel various effects of these ketones like headaches, nausea etc. Another difference that they notice is the change in color and odor of their urine.

Dieting and Carbohydrates

Does low carbohydrate diet really work? According to recent studies, the time it takes to lose weight for a low carb dieter is quite less as compared to a low fat dieter. It means that those dieters who are following a low carb diet tend to lose weight quickly as compared to those dieters who follow low fat diet. However, it has also been observed that people that are on low carb diet find it difficult to continue it on a long run and hence they finally give up since it is quite hard to maintain.

Conclusion

Carbohydrates in dieting are one of the major factors of obesity; particularly in the United States. However, people usually want quick solution of obesity which is the reason why many people go for short-cuts. Cutting down carbohydrates from your diet is another solution that is usually not recommended for longer periods of time. The secret to weight loss is to have healthy food and exercise more.

Weight loss plans might help you burning fat quickly but there is a very small difference between such a plan and a crash diet. We will review the following weight loss plans: Top Secret Fat Loss Secret, Fat Loss 4 Idiots, Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle ,7 Minute Muscle System, eDiets.com, www.Diet.com, The Truth About Building Muscle and others.