How To Lose Weight - Diets To Lose Weight

What Are Carbohydrates?

A lot of people think that to lose weight all they need do is limit the amount of carbohydrates that they consume and all will be well. But, for this to be true, you need to know what carbohydrates do and what role they play. So what do carbohydrates do?

Carbohydrate is one of the macronutients of the body, the others being protein and fat. The body needs a fresh supply every day because it can only store a limited amount. Carbohydrates, are different forms of sugars, comprising glucose, chemically bonded in different ways and amounts:

Single sugars (monosaccharides; glucose, fructose and galactose),
Double sugars (disaccharides; sucrose [table sugar], maltose and lactose), or
Polysaccharides, which comprise many molecules of single sugars that can be hydrolysed (broken down) into single sugars by the body's digestive enzymes (potatoes, bread, flour, rice, maize/corn and starchy vegetables).

Why Do I Need Them?

You need at least 50% of your energy source from carbohydrates, because there is no way the body can perform at a high intensity levels without glycogen. Unfortunately, there is a limit to the amount of carbohydrate that a person can store - between 500 grams (g) to a kilogram (kg), depending upon your size and gender. This means that you will run out of 'petrol' any where from 30 mins to 2 hours if you are performing at a high intensity level. The body cannot perform at a high intensity level with glucose and that is the major reason why you need carbohydrates. So now you can answer "what do carbohydrates do?"

Carbohydrates are the main fuel for the body. Without them you can't exercise and will feel very energyless. At least 50% of your diet must come from carbs - but which carbs are necessary if you are to loss weight?

Lets answer some of the questions you may have

Can't you eat less carbohydrates rather than having to exercise and won't you lose as much weight?

Eating less, whether it be fat, protein or carbohydrate, without exercising results in lean body mass (muscle loss) and a reduction in your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Research has shown that weight loss as a result of a high-protein and/or low-carbohydrate diets, comprises only 50% fat loss - the remainder coming from precious lean body mass and water. Most of these diets also state that you don't have to exercise to loss weight, which is just as well, because you would not be able to in any case as you would have no energy and would be feeling miserable most of the time.

Will I lose weight quickly?

Weight gain is gradual, so weight lose must also be gradual. If you are losing weight very quickly, then it generally means that you may be losing lean muscle and body water rather than fat (adipose tissue).

An important question, one of the most important I think is,"Will I be able to eat this new way for the rest of my life?" or put another way, what will be your eating pattern when you have finished this diet. Is your new diet going to add to your eating problems in the future or will it be a simple experience that you can manage travelling, eating out at parties?

In our experience, clients who follow 'fad diets' or 'quick loss diets' for 3 months are generally so starved (this often happens with low carbohydrate diets) for normal food that they end up eating all the forbidden foods. The result is that they end up weighing the same and even more before going on the diet.

To achieve permanent weight loss you must have a long term perspective and stop worry about losing 15 lbs in the next 8 days. It is more a question of what will you be like in 6 or 8 months time and how comfortable will you feel about your eating then?

Won't I put on weight with carbohydrates?

This is a "yes, but" answer. the wrong type of carbohydrates and you will put on weight. Simple put, too many refined or high-GI carbohydrates, like biscuits, crakers and white bread (essentially refined carbohydrates), too much visible and invisible fat (especially saturated and trans-fats), not enough exercise and eating for the wrong reasons (feeding the 'lonely heart' and 'comfort eating'). And add cravings for refined or high-GI carbohydrates which result from the high 'sugar spikes' from high-GI carbohydrates and you have a certain disaster on your hands.

So it is not carbohydrates per se that is the problem, but the wrong carbs and the combinations that they tend to come in (with 'bad fats') and then the problem arises. Funnily the solution to the problem also lies in carbohydrates, but in low-GI carbohydrates, lower fat consumption and fewer calories.