Many of the popular diets on the market espouse a no- or low-carbohydrate plan. These diets make carbs the enemy and promise to help you lose weight fast, once the carbs are gone. To be safe, carbs should be eliminated slowly, realistically and cautiously, to keep you healthy and safe.
Are Carbs So Bad?
Carbs are made out to be evil by diet planners and creators. Because carbs are broken down into sugars and then fat, logic says that eliminating carbs will eliminate sugar from the body. If you have a carb-heavy diet, your body may be getting more sugar than it needs every day. If you are not working off those carbs, your body may be packing them away as fat.
Bad to Boycott
It seem logical to ban carbs, causing your body to work off the fat on your body as you burn calories. It’s important to realize that carbs are necessary in the diet. You need to them for energy, to allow you to exercise and to burn those calories. However, you may be getting too many carbs per day. If that’s the case, removing some from your diet can lead to rapid weight loss.
Carb Count
Go through your diet, and add up how many carbs you get per meal and per day. According to an article on Health.com, you should get 130 grams of carbohydrates per day to get all the energy you need. A single slice of bread contains 13 grams. A serving of pasta contains 42 grams.
Be Realistic About Weight Loss
According to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, if you get 500 fewer calories per day, you can lose 3,500 calories or 1 lb. per week. This is a realistic goal that you can accomplish and continue with, as opposed to an intense weight loss that is difficult to maintain. That noodle serving, for instance, contains 200 calories alone, while one bread slice may have up to 80 calories.
Substitutions
Rather than eliminating them from your diet altogether, substitute some of your carbs with low-calorie vegetable options. For instance, you can use lettuce or portobello mushrooms on the outside of your sandwich. Instead of using noodles, pour your sauce over shredded squash or some hearty cooked greens.
