Selena Deleon – THE WORKOUT DESPITE THE controversy surrounding low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins Diet, many people have found these diets effective for weight loss.
High-protein, low-carb diets advocate consuming more protein-rich foods such as eggs, meat, fish and cheese and less carbohydrate-rich foods like bread, potatoes and pasta.
Many nutritionists do not support these diets because the risk of heart disease is greatly increased on a low-carbohydrate, low-fibre diet that is high in animal protein, cholesterol and saturated fat. Other disadvantages are poor long term weight control and reduced athletic performance.
However, the more overweight you are, the more likely you are to have health problems in any event; heart disease, stroke, diabetes, certain types of cancer and gout are a few examples. Weight loss by any means can help to improve the harmful effects of being overweight.
One of the most common criticisms of a low-carb diet is that it can harm your performance in the gym. However, what's not so well known is that overweight people burn less carbohydrates and more fat when they exercise.
Studies have shown that during 60 minutes of exercise, overweight men burn almost 50 per cent less carbohydrates than lean men. While a low carb diet might not be the best way for athletes to maximise their performance, it's an effective way to eat if you want to lose fat - even if you're exercising regularly.
VARIATIONS
There are many different variations of the low carb diet, ranging from an extremely low-carb diet (such as the induction phase of the Atkin's Diet) to a moderately low carb diet (such as The Zone). What all types of the low-carb diet have in common is the fact that they reduce the amount of carbohydrates your body stores. Carbohydrates are stored in the form of glycogen in your liver and muscles. On the whole, your body can hold 400-500 grams of glycogen (the equivalent of 1600-2000 calories). That's the same amount of carbohydrates found in 25 slices of bread. Of course, this does vary from person to person because the more muscle you have, the more glycogen you can store.
Your body has a remarkable ability to adapt to what you eat. Follow a low-carb diet for just a few days, and your body will start to adapt by producing more of the enzymes that convert stored fat into energy, using fat as its main fuel source as oppose to glycogen.The bottom line is that for people who want to lose fat, keeping glycogen stores topped up is less important than for someone aiming to improve athletic performance.
The fuel your body uses during exercise depends on how fat you are. Some evidence for this comes from a trial published in Obesity Research.
Seven obese and seven lean middle-aged men with a similar level of aerobic fitness exercised on a bike for 60 minutes. Results showed that the overweight men burned almost 40 per cent more fat calories than the lean men, and the amount of glycogen used was also 50 per cent lower.
If you do intense cardiovascular exercise on a regular basis and you follow a low-carb diet, you'll feel sluggish and weak. Carbohydrates are crucial for both performance and endurance. At least 50 per cent of your total caloric intake should be made up from carbohydrates, a simple task if you follow these guidelines:
Top choices: bran cereals, whole-grain and dark, heavy breads, whole-grain crackers; eat your carbs early in the day - Your metabolism works at peak capacity between mid-morning and late afternoon, making it an opportune time to eat your main fuel source; processed/refined flour is easily stored by the body, so make your carb choices natural.
Selena DeLeon is a certified professional trainer.
