Do Low Carb Diets Really Work?

Sure.

But, from my experience and from the experience of every person I know who has gone on a low carb diet and successfully lost weight, that weight doesn't stay off unless all but a tiny amount of carbs are always avoided.

A few years ago when low carb diets were incredibly popular, I went on one just like millions of other people. I lost 40 pounds in a little over four months.
But as soon as I started eating a normal amount of carbs again I gained the weight back very quickly. Every person I know that did a low carb diet had the same experience - successful weight loss but weight gain as soon as they resumed normal consumption of carbohydrates.

I'm sure there are people who have gone on a low carb diet, lost the weight, and kept it off. I just don't happen to know any of them so I can't personally recommend a low carb diet as a way to lose weight and keep it off for good.

But, low carb dieting did have its pluses for me:

I didn't have to count calories, just carbs, which was much easier

I never had to be hungry. On my low carb diet, there was always something I could eat. It might not have been something I was particularly hungry for, but I never had to deal with it being 5 pm and not having any more calories left for the day and having to be hungry the rest of the evening. Even if I had eaten my allotment of carbs for the day, there were always no carb foods like some cheeses and some raw vegetables that I could have.

I lost weight fairly quickly and steadily.

I was able to break myself of my perpetual cravings for high carb junk foods like potato chips.

But, there were cons too:

The biggest con is that I was unable to keep the weight off.

Carbs, even healthy ones like fruit and whole grains, were very limited on my low carb diet so I didn't feel like I was eating a healthy balance of foods every day.

My low carb diet didn't limit the types of protein I could have so I was able to eat way too much high saturated fat foods like bacon, especially during the first two weeks of the diet. I know that wasn't healthy.

If you want to try a low carb diet, do research to find one that doesn't limit your carbs too severely. A lower carb diet that emphasizes healthy carbs and lean sources of protein is now recommended by many health professionals. And, when you have successfully lost the weight, be careful when you start introducing more carbs into your diet so that you don't gain the weight back that you worked so hard to lose.

Dorrie Ruplinger has written several articles about weight loss. For a free report on how to lose 10 pounds before Christmas visit LoseWeightForChristmas.com.


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