Carbohydrates are a fundamental food group that play a very important part in physical and mental wellbeing.Yes you will see a quick drop in weight if you cut out carbs… but the devil is in the detail.
What is the keto diet?
Keto diet is an extremely low carbohydrate diet that forces your body into a state of ketosis – this occurs when extremely low carbohydrate levels force the body to start breaking down fat and muscle to use as energy.
The main advantage is the very quick results that can be experienced. Quick results can be very motivating and motivation is key to sustaining lifestyle changes.
But…
Majority of the weight loss experienced is actually water loss.
Your body consumes its own muscle which ironically makes it harder to lose more weight as muscles are key to your metabolism and without them metabolism (the rate at which you burn calories) drops – so now you need less food.
Even more importantly your heart is a muscle – the last thing you want your body to consume is your heart muscle.
Other uncomfortable side effects include:
Fatigue – lack of blood sugar deprives your body – and brain – of energy leading to fatigue and brain fog
Diarrhoea – lack of fibre can lead to diarrhoea and dehydration
Decreased athletic performance – the body uses carbs and muscle to perform. This diet attacks both
Eating carbs promotes the production of serotonin. Serotonin is nature’s appetite suppressant, it makes one feel satisfied even if your stomach is not full – so helps you eat less and lose weight
Carbs are your friend
Eating carbohydrates helps your body manufacture serotonin.
Serotonin is a natural appetite suppressant – it curbs cravings and shuts off the appetite.
Serotonin also helps you feel emotionally stable, more focused, and more tranquil.
But this seems to go against everything you have ever read about carbs!!
The difference is the quality of the carbs consumed – ideally we should be eating whole grain minimally processed carbohydrates. If refined processed carbs are selected instead, the appetite-suppressing benefits will be lost to the sugar high and subsequent crash that creates a craving for more refined carbs.
What should you be eating?
All the food groups – protein, carbohydrate and fats – are important to achieving and maintaining good health.
The Eatwell guide is an excellent starting point for working out what should be included in our diets and in what proportions.
If you would like assistance to assess your diet, enquire about our app and use this to get a detailed view of how your diet is providing you with all the macronutrients, vitamins and minerals your body needs to function at its best.
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