Is a low carb diet effective?

If you are looking for a way to lose weight without taking it back, it will be difficult to find a more studied method than a low carb diet. Research on the effects of carbohydrate reduction has been conducted since the early 2000s, with findings suggesting that a low carbohydrate diet can result in greater weight loss than a low diet in fat and even boost your metabolism. And if your BMI is already in a healthy range, there are other benefits to limiting your carbohydrate intake, provided you do it right. Here, experts explain how to make sure that a low-carb diet works for you and your health goals.

Why is a low carb diet so beneficial?

"Low carb diets are effective for weight loss because for most people, eating less carbohydrates dramatically reduces junk food in their diets" Monali Y. Desai, MD, a New York-based cardiologist, told POPSUGAR. "It could help reduce your risk of diseases such as diabetes, because you're removing unhealthy carbohydrate foods from your diet, which helps lower your blood sugar, but if you replace the carbohydrates that you cut with rich foods." in unhealthy fats, you can increase your risk of heart and vascular disease in the long run. "

To lose weight and reduce your risk of diabetes and heart disease, be sure to eat low-carb fruits and vegetables and healthy fats like nuts instead of the usual carbohydrates. (Here's a reminder of everything you can eat with a low carb diet.)

Is a low carbohydrate diet difficult to maintain?

That's the trap. Depending on the amount of carbohydrate you limit (most experts recommend between 50 and 100 grams of net carbs per day), you may find it difficult to stick to your long-term plan. "Carbohydrates are the preferred source of energy for our bodies and brains," POPSUGAR reporter Alyssa Tucci Krober, MS, RDN, CDN, director of nutrition at Virtual Health Partners told reporters. "It can make the extreme carb restriction difficult for most people to meet."

Once you reach your weight goal, Alyssa recommends switching to a moderate diet, focusing on healthy carbohydrates such as fruits, whole grains, beans, legumes and starchy foods, while trying to to consume less refined grains and sugar. You can regain a little weight, but you should keep most of your weight loss, and extra carbs will keep you from falling off the car (and falling into a pile of bagels).

How to start a low carb diet

Both experts recommend slowly reducing carbohydrates from your diet. "Have a goal to change a food every week, for example by cutting cookies or eating broccoli at dinner instead of a starchy carbohydrate," said Dr. Desai. "It's easier to maintain because you have time to solve the problem along the way." Alyssa also suggests keeping in your kitchen an arsenal of low-carb staples, including celery, cucumber, asparagus, peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, leafy vegetables healthy, including avocados, nuts, vegetable oils and seeds.

"Foods rich in protein, fiber and healthy fats are digested more slowly and your blood sugar level will not rise as fast as refined carbohydrates do," said Alyssa. It is this disruption of your blood sugar that makes you hungry and tired after eating foods high in carbohydrates, which gives you even more desire to regain your energy. "Instead, the nutrients in these low carb foods will satisfy you between meals, which will help reduce your daily food intake," she said.