Very low carbs diets
 

Very low carbs diets are not the ultimate answer to permanent weight loss and they are unhealthy. At best, they are a temporary tool that should only be use for short periods to achieve specific fat loss goals (preparing for bodybuilding competition, for example).

If you remove carbohydrates from your diet for a long period, you are setting yourself up for cravings and bingeing. The more you cut back the carbs, bigger the rebound will be when you put carbs back in. That is why 95% of people gain back all the weight they lose on a very low carbs diet. A healthy diet is one that has balance between protein, carbs, and fats and includes a wide variety of foods, not an overemphasis on one food or food group.

Very low carbs diets cause your energy levels to drop, you feel tired and irritable without carbs, but it will also affect your training: Low carbs = low energy. Low energy = poor workouts. Poor workouts = poor results.

You will definitely lose weight if you do not eat carbs, but much of the weight will be muscle and water. Suppose you lose 5 lb in one week on a low carbs diet: That sounds impressive, but if one pound is fat, two pounds are water, and two pounds are muscle, what good is that? Your goal should never be weight loss. Your goal should be to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week while maintaining your lean body mass.

Most people will lose fat simply by adding a regular exercise routine to their schedule and keep diets. You have mastered all the nutritional basics like eating small frequent meals, controlling portion sizes, cutting down on saturated fats, avoiding sugar and junk foods, etc

The conventional fat reducing diet looks at something like this:

50-55% carbohydrates
30% protein
15-20% fat

If you choose the low carbs approach to dieting, the best method is to decrease your carbohydrates moderately. Never cut your carbs out completely! It is not necessary and it is not healthy.

The “modified” low carbs diet might look at something like this:

40% carbohydrates
40% protein
20% fat

Competitive bodybuilders might decrease the carbohydrates to 25-30% of total daily calories, but only for short period right before competitions. They may also zigzag their carbohydrate intake so that they do not stay on low carbs all the time. After few days or so, they have a high carbs day