Carb Counting for Weight Loss

Can carb counting make a difference in your weight loss program?

The answer is a definite yes! In fact up to 50% of your calories should come from natural, unrefined carbohydrates.

For information purposes there is a link to a carb counter that will help you to see how many carbohydrates are contained in the most popular foods.

It is from the Atkins diet site, and even though the low carb approach does work, the low carb approach that I recommend is much more effective and way easier to actually follow.

It is ironic that I give you a link to the Atkins Diet site, but they have a very good chart with excellent information that includes the portion size, total carbohydrates, fiber, fat, protein and calories.

There is a PDF version that can be downloaded or printed out for your own personal use.

When you are just starting out in your weight loss journey, it is to your advantage to use the moderate approach in everything that you do.

This includes nutrition and exercise, and using a 50-30-20 nutrient ratio, where 50% of your calories come from carbohydrates, 30% come from lean protein and 20% come from good dietary fat is the most balanced way to create your daily meals.

I will not go into details on this page why low carb dieting is an advanced technique and should be used only when you have mastered the basics and fundamentals of proper nutrition and exercise.

The main reason is because there is a low carbohydrate diet section in this site, and all the information is in that section.

But I will say that using a low carb approach in the beginning of your weight loss program is very difficult and the increased appetite that is the consequence of low carbohydrate intake is not something most people can handle for very long.

Carb counting takes time and it is worth every second that you spend on it, because in the end the calories that you consume from this nutrient are what will be the most important part of an effective weight loss nutrition strategy.

Creating a lean, healthy body with an ideal weight requires that you consume just the right amount of carbohydrates on a daily basis.

Here is the link to the carb counter from the Atkins diet site that I promised you in the beginning of this page.

There are many good ideas in the Atkins diet by the way, it is simply has been taken to an extreme like many other fad diets.

Of course this is what the market wants, fast results, but from my experience permanent unwanted body fat loss is a process that takes time.

The best approach is to lose 1 pound of body fat per week, so by counting how many pounds that you want to lose, you can get a good idea of how long it will take.

It is also a good idea to multiply this number by two, because most people hit weight loss plateaus or get off track once in a while.

So giving yourself a little more time will help you reach your major health goal faster. Taking small steps is much easier and you will reach your ideal weight without slowing down your metabolism.

This is important because you will be able to maintain your daily calorie burning and can keep eating average sized meals.

This will help you to avoid the biggest pitfall of most diets, which is hunger and increased appetite.

So by carb counting and consuming just the right amount of natural complex carbohydrates on a daily basis, you will increase your chances of creating the body of your dreams.

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