A Case Against Low Carb Diets

CARB LOVERS... YOU CAN STILL LOSE WEIGHT

As a member of several health/fitness groups on Facebook, I’ve noticed something lately. SO many women are preaching low carb. Excuse me, WHAAAT? WHY?

First of all, I love rice and pasta and fruit and bagels… okay, you get the point. Why put yourself through the torture of giving up the food that makes you happy?

Let me be clear here, I am not saying cutting carbs won’t help you in the short term in a cutting/weight loss phase. BUT if you LIKE carbs… like a lot… Then don’t allow this kind of negativity in your life. Want to know why you see results from cutting out carbs? By taking away an entire food group you’re severely limiting your options and, therefore, you’re more likely to consume less. Period.

THE TRUTH ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS

Weight loss is ALWAYS simply a result of a caloric deficit - meaning you are taking in less calories than you’re burning. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if I take out all my carbs or fats or my dirty/processed foods, etc. What matters is that I FEEL good while I’m taking out those calories from wherever I choose, and also that I feel like I can sustain this diet long term.

FIRST COMES THE EXTREME DIET, THEN COMES THE REBOUND

But for now let’s say you try a low carb diet and it’s been very effective for you. You have lost the weight you wanted to lose. You’re relieved and excited to get off this diet! You miss carbs! You add the carbs back in-and probably do so very quickly. I’m talkin’ you go nuts because it’s been 3 months without bread. And when you add the calories back in, you put the weight back on. Surprise! Back to square one.

This is the case of the rebound. I am not against a low carb diet IF you plan to stay off carbs for good. If that feels good for you, then go for it! However, if you enjoy them, it’s likely that you will hit your goal weight, come off of the restrictive habits that it took to get there, and then overshoot your true maintenance calories - your maintenance calories being the number of calories it takes to simply maintain your current weight (anything over this and you will start gaining weight.)

YOU CAN LOSE WEIGHT EATING FOOD YOU LOVE

If you’re trying to get lean, guess what? You can still eat whatever you enjoy. In fact, allowing yourself to enjoy the foods you crave is KEY to a successful, long lasting healthy lifestyle and sustaining your weight loss. If you’re in a caloric deficit, you will see results whether you choose to give up half the food pyramid or not. Don’t put yourself through a diet you hate!

MY PERSONAL DIETING STORY

I first discovered the beauty of flexible dieting about a year ago while preparing for a bikini competition. After having a meltdown over having to eat chicken and broccoli for what felt like the millionth time that month, I found a podcast that explained the true nature of a sustainable diet and why counting macronutrients, or what is known as flexible dieting, was the answer to all of my problems.

For the first time, when I hit my fitness goal through a flexible diet, I didn’t go overboard and binge on all of the high calorie, high fat foods I have cravings for. I didn’t need to! I was still eating them but in smaller amounts. It finally felt like my diet wasn’t controlling my life. This form of dieting is still a secret to so many people!

So many of us have been convinced by those around us that the only way we can finally lose the weight is to give up the fun foods. Do not let the health industry convince you that you need to purchase and only eat special meals through their company to lose weight. Do not let friends convince you that you have to cut sugar, or carbs altogether, or fats, or meat, or anything else you might enjoy to lose weight. Do not allow yourself to go through misery to make changes to your health!

If you’re ready to make changes and feeling curious about dropping the weight without dangerous crash diets or miserable extremes, I highly suggest heading over to the free 7 Day Jumpstart Challenge: Eat & Train to Build Your Dream Body. You will be SHOCKED by the amount of information you will come away with in just 7 days and the progress you will make towards finally feeling your best when you step on the scale!