The food you consume not only affects your waistline, but can impact your sleep quality, overall energy levels, and productivity. Selecting a low-carb diet might, therefore, be beneficial if you want to have a better quality of life.
However, most people don’t follow a low-carb diet. According to Columbus nutrition consultant, Kelly Schmidt, most Americans consume more than 200 grams of carbs daily. However, for a healthy diet, the daily intake should be between 100 to a maximum of 150 grams of carbohydrates, and for those wanting to lose weight, carbohydrates should be limited to a maximum of 100 grams per day, with 20 to 50 grams for those who really want to shed the fat fast. If the carbs are restricted to between 20 to 50 grams daily, one’s metabolic rate moves to a state of ketosis. In such a state, one’s appetite is reduced, and one will lose weight. Plus, there are a few low-carb diets that should be mentioned. However, making use of a lowcarb meal delivery service may, in many cases, be the answer to ensuring that you get the real benefits of these low-carb diets. We all know that meal planning is crucial and sometimes difficult to maintain on your own.
The Basic Low-Carb Diet
A basic low carb diet is one in which there are no actual guidelines, except that carbohydrates are limited to 50 to 100 grams daily. Therefore, reducing the carbs is key. Healthy carbs, such as dairy, nuts, and seeds, as well as, vegetables, fruit, and whole grains must be introduced. However, as there is no strict diet plan, you don’t need to spend time counting the carbs that were consumed each day. This means that there is a great deal of freedom for the user of this diet. On the downside, this is not an easy diet to follow if you are unsure about what combination of foods is healthy and will result in a balanced diet.
The Keto Diet
The keto diet, or the ketogenic diet, unlike the basic low-carb, is a strict diet in which carbohydrates are limited to below 50 grams daily. In fact, the carb intake is normally between 20 to 30 grams per day, with active people allowed to opt for the higher amount of carbs. Nonetheless, with such a diet, more fat will be consumed, and this could attain as much as 80% of the diet.
This diet works by activating the body’s own fuel-burning engine, burning fat for energy, instead of relying as usual on carbohydrates. It is true that the results of this diet can be impressive, producing rapid weight loss; however, this diet is limiting. The diet will cover mostly the various sources of fat, some protein, and non-starchy vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, greens, onions, peppers, as well as, tomatoes. As a result, this type of diet can be difficult to maintain successfully – it is more of a short-term diet. To learn more about the Keto diet, we suggest heading over to https://www.ruled.me – the #1 resource for everything keto.
The Atkins Diet
Another low-carb diet recommended for weight loss is the Atkins diet. This diet, which was promoted by Dr. Robert C. Atkins in his book published in 1972, is still a very popular weight-losschoice.
With this diet, carbs are restricted, and protein and fat increased. The theory is that protein and fat will have an influence on insulin levels and appetite, which in turn will result in weight loss. More so, with this diet, the intake is similar to the ketogenic diet in that carbs are limited to 20 grams per day in the first phase. However, from Phase Two, more nuts, fruit, and low-carb veggies are added to the diet. The phases will then proceed to the stage in which more carbs are added to a point on Phase Four or the maintenance mode. Phase Four is the phase in which carbs are consumed, without resulting in weight gain.
The Low-Carb Paleo Diet
The paleo diet is based on the theory that 10,000 years ago, caveman lived on a diet of protein and fat, and very few carbs. More importantly, with this diet, starchy vegetables and fruit are avoided, as these are assumed to lead to an excessive carb count. More so, with this diet, unprocessed foods are consumed, with a bias towards a meat-heavy eating plan. However, some low carbohydrates are accepted, such as cucumbers, zucchini, or even tomatoes. Foods such as grains, dairy products, potatoes, salt, and refined sugars are avoided.
Although the long-term effects of this diet are not well documented, some results, besides weight loss, include enhanced glucose tolerance, improved blood pressure control, improved hunger-craving management, and lower triglycerides.
The Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet, as its name implies, has its origins in the Mediterranean region of the world. This diet focuses on the consumption of fish, eggs, beans, and poultry on a weekly basis. There must be a reduction in the intake of dairy products, as well as, red meat. A great deal of fruit, whole grains, veggies, and healthy fats may be consumed. More so, with this diet, saturated fats are swapped for unsaturated fat. Unsaturated fat is said to be beneficial for those with Type 2 diabetes. Consuming such fat could reduce people’s risk of heart disease.
Therefore, a follower of this style of diet will swap butter or cheese for olive oil or avocados. In short, this is an easy diet to follow compared to the previous entries, which are much more restrictive.
Conclusion
Irrespective of the type of low-carb diet that might be followed, to be effective, a diet should work with your lifestyle. The diet selected should be maintainable over a reasonable length of time to lead to the effects you might wish for, be it weight loss, improved energy, or an overall improvement in your general health. Factors such as the amount of prep time, availability of food items, and their costs, as well as, how active you are, should be considered. However, the research seems to indicate that a low-carb diet can be beneficial to those who follow it, particularly in the long term.
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