[Effie_drine]

Low Carbohydrate Diets
There are many low carbohydrate diets available, so which one should you choose? Here we provide a summary of the most popular diets available, to assist you in your choice.
All of the low carbohydrate diets are based on the theory that weight gain is caused by an increase in the level of insulin in the body. This increase is caused when either carbohydrate rich foods or sugary foods are eaten.

Too much insulin results in too strong an impulse to eat, too often, and a body that too readily stores food in the form of fat.

Below I have provided a brief introduction to all of the popular low carbohydrate diets to give you an idea of what they involve.

There is evidence that it is possible to lose weight with whichever one you choose. The task is to decide which one best suits your lifestyle, which one is healthy and suits your body type, and which one you will be able to stick with.

I would recommend avoiding those that are crash low carbohydrate diets and not lifestyle recommendations, as much of the weight loss will be put back on afterwards. Keeping weight off means a change in lifestyle, not just altering your diet for four weeks. Also ignore any no carb diets.

In deciding this, there are thousands of web pages both for and against each diet so you will very likely end up confused. When conducting my research I found "Best of low carbohydrate diets invaluable and highly recommend it. They provide all of the information you need to determine which of the low carbohydrate diets is best for your body type, and provide you with a 20 week weight loss program tailored to you.


Atkins Diet

Of all the low carbohydrate diets this is the most popular.

Calorie counting: none. Providing your carbs are controlled you can eat as much as you wish. This is one of the reasons why the diet is so popular.

Carbohydrates: Dr Atkins believes that excessive carbohydrate intake is responsible for a host of health problems. In the initial phase carbs are limited to 20g a day. Afterwards it rises to level that is most accommodating for you to lose or maintain. This can be up to 90g a day depending on your activity level.

Proteins: as much as you want.

Fats: as much as you want. Limit saturated fats.

Meal frequency: three to five meals. Do not go longer than six hours without eating.

Exercise: recommends both aerobic and anaerobic. Exercise routine depends on age, Body Mass Index (BMI) and current activity level.

Ketosis: Yes.

Zone Diet

The Zone Diet is one of the more popular of the low carbohydrate diets.

Calorie Counting: None. Food is measured in palm sizes or fist sizes or by the amount of space that they occupy on a plate. Calories are restricted to 1500 per day.

Carbohydrates: 40% of diet – 140 grams per day. They are classified as either favourable or unfavourable. You are allowed 2 fist sizes of favourable, or 1 fist size of unfavourable.

Proteins: 30% of diet – 100 grams per day. One palm sized portion.

Fats: 30% of diet – 60 grams per day. Monounsaturated fats recommended. No guidelines other than adding some to each meal unless your protein source is high in fats.

Meal Frequency: Five meals per day – three meals and two snacks. The first one should be within an hour of waking up, the last one should be an hour before going to bed.

Exercise: Recommended. Do aerobic and anaerobic each day.

Ketosis: No.


Sugar Busters Diet

The Sugar Busters diet is one of the more popular low carbohydrate diets.

Calorie Counting: None. Your meal should be measured by size in the proportions shown below. Your meat and two vegetables should fit neatly on the bottom of a dinner plate. It shouldn’t be stacked or be up on the sides.

Carbohydrates: 40% of diet. Carbohydrates are not severely restricted such as on the Atkins diet, you just eat carbohydrates that are better for you, which are low or moderate on the Glycemic Index.

Proteins: 30% of diet.

Fats: 30% of diet. Less than 10% should be saturated. Monounsaturated fats recommended, saturated fats should be reduced.

Meal Frequency:Six small meals per day.

Exercise: Recommended. At least 20 minutes every day.

Ketosis: No.


Carbohydrate Addicts Diet(CAD)

This is one of the low carbohydrate diets that restrict the amount and type of carbohydrates that can be consumed while allowing virtually unlimited amounts of protein and fat.

Most low carbohydrate diets tell you which foods you should or shouldn’t eat based on the fat or calories that they contain. The Carbohydrate Addicts diet focuses on how your body reacts to certain foods.

You are allowed to eat two “complimentary” low carb meals a day, these contain no sugar, no fruits, absolutely no carbs to speak of. You then eat a third “reward” meal where you eat a low carbohydrate crave reducing salad, followed by equal portions of carbs, proteins and vegetables. This must be eaten within one hour. In the reward meal you can eat anything – burger and fries, spaghetti, dessert etc.

[marcy]

Finding the correct diet is so hard. I think it is better to think of it as a life style and not just a diet. I think that makes it easier to stick to it. I stick to just keeping my caloric intake at about 2,000 and making sure I work out 3 days a week. I know as soon as I start a fad diet I crave what I am keeping from myself. This was I can eat what i wont, just in moderation.

[makingthebest08]

Well thanks for sharing it, those were really good points there. I am doing fruit and vegetables juices right now as a substitute of my breakfast, snack and sometimes dinner.


Making The Best Result

[zimgo55]

Calorie level

Low-calorie Diets. Most weight loss diets provide 1,000 to 1,500 calories per day. However, the number of calories that is right for you depends on your weight and activity level. At these calorie levels, diets are referred to as low-calorie diets. Self-help diet books and clinical and non-clinical weight loss programs often include low-calorie diet plans.

The calorie level of your diet should allow for a weight loss of no more than 1 pound per week (after the first week or two when weight loss may be more rapid because of initial water loss). If you can estimate how many calories you eat in a day, you can design a diet plan that will help you lose no more than 1 pound per week. You may need to work with a trained health professional, such as a registered dietitian. Or, you can use a standardized low-calorie diet plan with a fixed calorie level.

The selected calorie level, however, may not produce the recommended rate of weight loss, and you may need to eat more or less.
Good nutrition

Make sure that your diet contains all the essential nutrients for good health. Using the Food Guide Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts Label that is found on most processed food products can help you choose a healthful diet. The Pyramid shows you the kinds and amounts of food that you need each day for good health. The Nutrition Facts Label will help you select foods that meet your daily nutritional needs. A healthful diet should include:

* Adequate vitamins and minerals. Eating a wide variety of foods from all the food groups on the Food Guide Pyramid will help you get the vitamins and minerals you need. If you eat less than 1,200 calories per day, you may benefit from taking a daily vitamin and mineral supplement.
* Adequate protein. The average woman 25 years of age and older should get 50 grams of protein each day, and the average man 25 years of age and older should get 63 grams of protein each day. Adequate protein is important because it prevents muscle tissue from breaking down and repairs all body tissues such as skin and teeth. To get adequate protein in your diet, make sure you eat 2-3 servings from the Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts Group on the Food Guide Pyramid every day. These foods are all good sources of protein.
* Adequate carbohydrates. At least 100 grams of carbohydrates per day are needed to prevent fatigue and dangerous fluid imbalances. To make sure you get enough carbohydrates, eat 6-11 servings from the Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group on the Food Guide Pyramid every day.
* A daily fiber intake of 20 to 30 grams. Adequate fiber helps with proper bowel function. If you were to eat 1 cup of bran cereal, 1/2 cup of carrots, 1/2 cup of kidney beans, a medium-sized pear, and a medium-sized apple together in 1 day, you would get about 30 grams of fiber.
* No more than 30 percent of calories, on average, from fat per day, with less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat (such as fat from meat, butter, and eggs). Limiting fat to these levels reduces your risk for heart disease and may help you lose weight. In addition, you should limit the amount of cholesterol in your diet. Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in animal products such as meat and eggs. Your diet should include no more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol per day (one egg contains about 215 milligrams of cholesterol, and 3.5 ounces of cooked hamburger contain 100 milligrams of cholesterol).
* At least 8 to 10 glasses, 8 ounces each, of water or water-based beverages, per day. You need more water if you exercise a lot.

The different types of diets

Fixed-menu diet. A fixed-menu diet provides a list of all the foods you will eat. The advantages of this kind of diet is that it can be easy to follow because the foods are selected for you. However the disadvanatge of this type of diet is that you get very few different food choices which may make the diet boring and hard to follow away from home. In addition, fixed-menu diets do not teach the food selection skills necessary for keeping weight off. If you start with a fixed-menu diet, you should switch eventually to a plan that helps you learn to make meal choices on your own, such as an exchange-type diet.

Exchange-type diet. An exchange-type diet is a meal plan with a set number of servings from each of several food groups. Within each group, foods are about equal in calories and can be interchanged as you wish. For example, the "starch" category could include one slice of bread or 1/2 cup of oatmeal; each is about equal in nutritional value and calories. If your meal plan calls for two starch choices at breakfast, you could choose to eat two slices of bread, or one slice of bread and 1/2 cup of oatmeal. With the exchange-type diet plans, you have more day-to-day variety and you can easily follow the diet away from home. The most important advantage is that exchange-type diet plans teach the food selection skills you need to keep your weight off.

Prepackaged-meal diet. These diets require you to buy prepackaged meals. Such meals may help you learn appropriate portion sizes. The disadvantage to this is that they can be costly. Before beginning this type of diet, find out whether you will need to buy the meals and how much the meals cost. You should also find out whether the program will teach you how to select and prepare food, skills that are needed to sustain weight loss.

Formula diet. Formula diets are weight-loss plans that replace one or more meals with a liquid formula. Most formula diets are balanced diets containing a mix of protein, carbohydrate, and usually a small amount of fat. Formula diets are usually sold as liquid or a powder to be mixed with liquid. Although formula diets are easy to use and do promote short-term weight loss, most people regain the weight as soon as they stop using the formula. In addition, formula diets do not teach you how to make healthy food choices, a necessary skill for keeping your weight off.

Questionable diets. You should avoid any diet that suggests you eat a certain nutrient, food, or combination of foods to promote easy weight loss. Some of these diets may work in the short term because they are low in calories. However, they are often not well balanced and may cause nutrient deficiencies. In addition, they do not teach eating habits that are important for long-term weight management.

Flexible diets. Some programs or books suggest monitoring fat only, calories only, or a combination of the two, with the individual making the choice of both the type and amount of food eaten. This flexible type of approach works well for many people, and teaches them how to control what they eat. One drawback of flexible diets is that some don't consider the total diet. For example, programs that monitor fat only often allow people to take in unlimited amounts of excess calories from sugars, and therefore don't lead to weight loss.

[sterlinprince]

You have shared nice information here. You have described some of the diet plans in the much better way to help out for selecting the proper diet plan. If you stick on your decided diet plan than you will definitely get the desired result. But you should select your plan as per the requirement.

[justinbarby]

Well This is really nice diet plan. You can also do that thing the calorie level of your diet should allow for a weight loss of no more than 1 pound per week after the first week or two when weight loss may be more rapid because of initial water loss. If you can estimate how many calories you eat in a day, you can design a diet plan that will help you lose no more than 1 pound per week.

[aenajones]

Really this is nice and useful. The effects of diet plan will be only when you follow it regularly. Not only following these diet plan you have to also do some kind of exercise.
Following these two options you will have best health.

[johnrembo09]

I like your post about choosing a diet plan. I definitely respect you're knowledge and wisdom about this topic. There are so many different diet plans are available for different person.According to my knowledge i think that Your diet plan should be realistic

[sherardsol]

So thanks for sharing it that there was a really good score. My breakfast, dinner, snacks, and sometimes as a substitute for fruit and vegetable juices, and now I'm on.

[juliepaul]

You described some of the diet plans in much better way to help you choose the plan a good diet. If you stick to your diet decision that you will certainly get the desired result. It is very informative information.