Low Carbohydrate Diet

A low carbohydrate diet is not for everyone, and it is definately not a weight loss strategy to use on a daily basis.

It is an advanced nutrition strategy and should be used only temporarily to help your organism burn body fat and reach really low body fat percentage levels.

A photo shoot, a natural bodybuilding competition or any other reason where you want to look really lean could be a reason for using this approach.

Using it year round should be limited only to people that are very carbohydrate sensitive. When they consume too many carbs their blood sugar and insulin levels rise rapidly.

This process may increase fat storage and inhibit the release of enzymes that break down the stored fat.

If this applies to you, tracking your weight loss results on a weekly basis will uncover this, and then you can adjust your nutrition accordingly.

A low carb diet can also be used by people with an endomorph dominant body type temporarily to effectively lose unwanted body fat. But it is very important to lower your carb intake moderately and to track the results using your weekly weight loss chart.

Simply make adjustments to your daily nutrient ratios

The two nutrient ratios that can be used are 40-40-20, or 40-30-30. Simply leave your current daily calorie intake at the same level, and make new calculations for all your meals with these ratios.

For the 40-40-20 nutrient ratio 40% of your daily calories will come from carbohydrates, 40% will come from lean protein and 20% of your calories will come from good dietary fat.

If you are using the 50-30-20 nutrient ratio currently, then you will simply lower your carbohydrate intake and increase your protein intake. In the second 40-30-30 nutrient ratio you will adust your dietary fat intake also.

What is most important when you start the low carb diet is to continue to track your weekly weight loss chart. And to consume plenty of water on a daily basis.

Please read the section about drinking water for all the details. This is a must when you are on a low carb diet. Since your body uses a lot more water while digesting, processing and utilizing protein, you must consume plenty to help your organism to function properly.

People with heart problems must stay away from low carb diets, and it is a good idea to always to consult with your doctor when using a diet that suggests extreme intakes of one nutrient.

Track your results weekly, and make the adjustments in your nutrient ratios based on the results that you see in your weekly weight loss chart.

Keeping your calorie intake the same is very important, so that you keep providing your organism with the calories it needs to function properly.

This means that once you lower your carb intake, you must increase the consumption of lean protein, good fats, or both.

There is one major reason, why the low carbohydrate diet works so effectively when it comes to fast loss. Protein!

It is not the low carbs that work, but the higher protein intake...

Up to 30% of the calories that come from lean protein get burned up by your body during digestion. This thermic effect of protein is the major reason why a low carbohydrate diet is so effective for weight loss.

A low carbohydrate diet is an advanced strategy and should never be used when you start your weight loss program. A low carbohydrate intake always leads to an increase of appetite and hunger.

This is the major result why there is a 95% failure rate when it comes to long term weight loss results with any kind of dieting. This includes low calorie diets and fad diets.

The low carb diet, which is a fad diet, should be used only when you have mastered the basics and fundamentals of good nutrition, exercise and have produced some impressive results.

Once you reach this level, a low carb diet can be used as a temporary tool to produce even a lower body percentage.

Once these results are produced, make sure to get back to consuming a moderate amount of all the nutrients, by using a nutrient ratio of around 50-30-20.