Dearest readers, I will jump straight to the point- I may have discovered a huge mistake with low carb diet and lifestyle! I have been eating low carb for a few years now and have enjoyed certain benefits of sticking with it. Now, I would like to share with you what huge mistake I discovered about it, two ways of fixing that mistake, and the health problems you can experience if you do not fix this mistake. If you already think realized this mistake long ago, good for you- you rock! If you do not think you figured it out, read on and let this be a springboard into your own research.
Low carb diets involve cutting out a significant amount of carbs from your diet long term and perhaps for the rest of your life, in which case you move from using it to lose weight to incorporating it into your lifestyle. This, of course, includes the keto diet. This diet requires a significant carb restriction so your body abandons carbs and sugars as preferred fuel and switches over to using fat entirely, from which it makes ketones that feed your body and make it function. An amateur explanation, sure, but accurate enough for this purpose. Now, according to science, an average adult should consume 225-325 grams of carbs per day. Also, according to science, an average adult human needs around 130g of carbs at bare minimum to fuel the brain, liver and so on. Now, those who worship at the keto shrine instead of using it merely as a means to an end, would say that the human body does not need carbs at all in order to survive and thrive, but I am not going down that rabbit hole right now. They may as well be right, but it is exactly at this point that we arrive at the huge mistake many people are making, and many online resources on low carb diets keep spreading.
Ready? The mistake is that people do not see a huge "no-man's land" in low carb diets. If you are not strictly in ketosis, and you are not taking at least your 130g of carbs, anything between ketosis and low carb diet with at least 130g of carbs is dangerous and should be abandoned because your brain and organs are not getting enough food and you are basically destroying yourself! Think about it logically. When you are in ketosis, your body uses fat as fuel and, by virtue of the keto diet, you eat enough fat to get enough fuel for your brain and organs and everything else. But, one thing you learn quickly on a keto diet is that this type of diet is extremely difficult to maintain and, over long term, you get kicked out of ketosis too easy and you spend days trying to get back into it each and every time. Any time you try to get into ketosis, you feel really, really bad to the point everyone calls these symptoms keto flu. No wonder, considering what your body goes through in the process. Now, many people who cannot commit to the strictness of ketosis end up hovering around 40-80 grams of carbs and say ok this is fine, they are doing a low carb diet. I used to think this as well. But, science is still worth something and by keeping under the recommended minimum of 130g of carbs, you will likely experience low energy levels, energy crashes (even though low carb diets stabilize your insulin), dry skin patches that cannot be fixed with moisturizers, hair and scalp problems, vision problems, brain fog, even possibly cognitive impairment and more. All of these issues go away when you up your carbs to 130g or so. Doing this did not kick up my cravings and through exercise, calorie control and picking my carb and sugar sources carefully, I am getting everything I need from my food in order to achieve my health goals.
Therefore, if you plan to do a low carb diet, be very aware of this theory that is, in my case, proving itself to be correct. If you do not understand how to get into ketosis and you are not ready to fight tooth and nail to stay in ketosis, do not go below 130g of carbs or so or you may regret it. Even if you still eat carbs, at that level you can combine it with lower calories and daily exercise and your body's fat cells will still be forced to release their stored energy and consequently you will still lose weight. Once you reach your goal, remain mindful, up the calories from fat and protein more so than from carbs, and you should be able to stay at your goal weight and reap the benefits of it. :)
Low carb diets involve cutting out a significant amount of carbs from your diet long term and perhaps for the rest of your life, in which case you move from using it to lose weight to incorporating it into your lifestyle. This, of course, includes the keto diet. This diet requires a significant carb restriction so your body abandons carbs and sugars as preferred fuel and switches over to using fat entirely, from which it makes ketones that feed your body and make it function. An amateur explanation, sure, but accurate enough for this purpose. Now, according to science, an average adult should consume 225-325 grams of carbs per day. Also, according to science, an average adult human needs around 130g of carbs at bare minimum to fuel the brain, liver and so on. Now, those who worship at the keto shrine instead of using it merely as a means to an end, would say that the human body does not need carbs at all in order to survive and thrive, but I am not going down that rabbit hole right now. They may as well be right, but it is exactly at this point that we arrive at the huge mistake many people are making, and many online resources on low carb diets keep spreading.
Ready? The mistake is that people do not see a huge "no-man's land" in low carb diets. If you are not strictly in ketosis, and you are not taking at least your 130g of carbs, anything between ketosis and low carb diet with at least 130g of carbs is dangerous and should be abandoned because your brain and organs are not getting enough food and you are basically destroying yourself! Think about it logically. When you are in ketosis, your body uses fat as fuel and, by virtue of the keto diet, you eat enough fat to get enough fuel for your brain and organs and everything else. But, one thing you learn quickly on a keto diet is that this type of diet is extremely difficult to maintain and, over long term, you get kicked out of ketosis too easy and you spend days trying to get back into it each and every time. Any time you try to get into ketosis, you feel really, really bad to the point everyone calls these symptoms keto flu. No wonder, considering what your body goes through in the process. Now, many people who cannot commit to the strictness of ketosis end up hovering around 40-80 grams of carbs and say ok this is fine, they are doing a low carb diet. I used to think this as well. But, science is still worth something and by keeping under the recommended minimum of 130g of carbs, you will likely experience low energy levels, energy crashes (even though low carb diets stabilize your insulin), dry skin patches that cannot be fixed with moisturizers, hair and scalp problems, vision problems, brain fog, even possibly cognitive impairment and more. All of these issues go away when you up your carbs to 130g or so. Doing this did not kick up my cravings and through exercise, calorie control and picking my carb and sugar sources carefully, I am getting everything I need from my food in order to achieve my health goals.
Therefore, if you plan to do a low carb diet, be very aware of this theory that is, in my case, proving itself to be correct. If you do not understand how to get into ketosis and you are not ready to fight tooth and nail to stay in ketosis, do not go below 130g of carbs or so or you may regret it. Even if you still eat carbs, at that level you can combine it with lower calories and daily exercise and your body's fat cells will still be forced to release their stored energy and consequently you will still lose weight. Once you reach your goal, remain mindful, up the calories from fat and protein more so than from carbs, and you should be able to stay at your goal weight and reap the benefits of it. :)