For a few decades, the prevailing advice has been to up your carb intake and reduce your fats if you want to lose weight and maintain the loss. However, this seems to have backfired, with lots of dieters feeling hungry and then developing problems like unstable blood sugar and even type 2 diabetes. Bringing fats back into the diet seems to do a lot of good, as long as they’re from good-quality sources and backed up with lots of protein.
Low-carb curbs the appetite
Protein and fats fill you up! Realistically, they stay in the stomach for much longer than carbs do and they also don’t cause spikes and drops in blood sugar that lead to hunger pangs. Reducing carbs and upping fats and proteins actually means fewer calories each day.
Low-carb diets mean rapid, effective weight loss
Low-carb diets mean that people can eat as many calories as they need, as well as have a varied and satisfying diet and still lose weight. Low-carb diets help to eliminate excess water from the body, curb junk-food cravings and lower insulin levels – the perfect formula for weight loss.
With high-fat, high-protein diets more abdominal fat is lost
Not all fat is created the same! Where it’s stored most is also very important as to its health impacts.
You have subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is under your skin, but visceral fat is stored in the abdominal cavity – overweight men have a lot of this latter type. Visceral fat is associated with insulin resistance and inflammation, two big western problems.
Your triglycerides will drop
Triglycerides are fat molecules that circulate in the bloodstream and high levels are a serious heart disease risk. These high levels are also made worse by eating too much sugar and having a sedentary lifestyle. Cutting down carbs causes a steep reduction in blood triglycerides.
You get higher levels of high-density, “good” cholesterol
The higher your proportion of high-density lipids (HDL) to low-density lipids (LDL), the lower your risk of heart disease and good-quality meat is a great source of HDLs.
Feel like a big juicy steak now? You should! Just go easy on those fries…
