You long for firmer muscles and smaller -waist. Everybody does. Do you think you can’t lose -weight? Yes, you can. But the truth is you can’t lose -weight -without a diet – a plan.

Lo-w Carb Diet

-weightloss experts and diet plan authors all agree that much of our excess -weight comes from the carbohydrates -we eat, especially the highly refined or processed ones such as potatoes, baked goods, bread, pasta and other convenient foods. To aggravate the problem, fe-w of us get enough exercise to -ward off excess pounds.

The basic science behind the lo-w carb diet is to limit the consumption of foods -with a lot of carbohydrates. The lo-w carb diet includes many popular -weightloss programs such as the Atkins, South Beach, Zone and Carbohydrate Addict Diet.

Does It Really -work?

one of the food groups -which the body needs to survive is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates also referred to as carbs come in t-wo types – sugars and starches. Sugars is simple carbs usually s-weet tasting like biscuits and s-weets and easily digested. -whereas, starches is complex carbs found in bread, pasta, noodles and rice and take longer to digest.

The body transforms all these digestible carbs into glucose, the sugar that our cells use as fuel or energy. -when glucose molecules pass from the intestine into the bloodstream, the pancreas releases insulin, a hormone that mobilises cells to absorb it. Muscle, fat and other cells then absorb the excess glucose from the blood and insulin levels return to normal.

After a meal high in glycemic index (ranking of foods according to ho-w fast their sugars is released into the bloodstream), bloodsugar levels rise higher and rapidly. The insulin needed to fill all that sugar into muscles and fat cells also -weaken the activity of glucagon, a hormone that signals the body to burn stored fuel -when bloodsugar levels fall belo-w a certain point. Glucose level drops so lo-w leaving the body starved for energy. The brain and intestine then send out hunger signals. Ne-w cravings is created requiring more carb intake. -we, then overeat that leads to more fat, rise in blood insulin level, more hunger, and more -weight gain and the cycle goes on.

on the contrary, adhering to a lo-w carb diet puts an end to this cycle. Reduced carbohydrates -would mean decreased insulin level, increased glucagon level, -weight loss, improved triglycerides (fats carried in the blood -which is necessary but -when excessive cause coronary damage), decrease in LDL (bad cholesterol), increase in HDL (good cholesterol).

The bottom line – Give refined or processed carbohydrates -which cause rapid changes in blood sugar, trigger hunger, thereby encouraging overeating that ultimately leads to obesity smaller spots on your plate. Any-way, nobody ever died from skipping potatoes, pasta, rice and -white bread.

That said; go get yourself a fe-w good lo-w carb cookbooks. Better still, leaf through this site’s 1,000+ lo-w carb recipes – a seemingly endless variety of recipes. Try every recipe imaginable and make this diet as enjoyable and diverse as possible.

Yes, you can diet. Lose -weight! Live longer!