Why No-Carb Diets are No Good

"For me, it's all about moderation. I don't kick things out of my diet, like carbs. But I'm not going to eat fast food."                                             -Bobby Flay

Bobby Flay is right in not kicking carbs out of his diet. Due to the way your body works, depriving it from carbohydrates is bad for you, and eventually will make you gain weight. The no-carb diets are one of the most popular fad diets, and one of the worst.

Carbohydrates are an energy source for your body, so cutting them out can be very detrimental to you. When you consume carbs they break down into glucose and go straight into the blood stream where it is either used immediately for energy, or is stored as glycogen. Glycogen is a form that can be used for the same purpose as glucose, just at a later time. It is good to have these glycogen stores, but when you are on a no-carb diet, you are never replenishing the glucose available in your blood stream so you are forced to use up the glycogen stores. For each glycogen molecule lost, you lose three water molecules as well, and all of this combined will cause your muscles to shrink. So, the dirty secret behind no-carb diets is that the weight loss comes from water weight and muscle shrinkage, NOT FAT.

One of the most popular of the no-carb diets is the Atkins diet. In my opinion the Atkins plan does not seem healthy in the least, even on the surface level, and even if you didn't have the information stated above. For instance, its platform is quick weight loss, which should always be a red flag. If you are being healthy, weight loss should always be gradual. If weight loss is not gradual, you will not be able to maintain the lower weight.

Also, the Atkins diet comes in different phases in which you only eat a certain thing for a given time period, therefore not allowing you to get your daily recommended nutrition for each of the food groups. You will only be eating one at a time. Below is the chart that Atkins uses on their website to give you an overview of their plan.

 Phase 1, which consists of mostly veggies and nuts, lasts at least two weeks but could last up until you are "15 pounds away from your goal weight." This vague statement below could essentially have some people only eating these food for a very long time. If you are 250 pounds going into this diet and your goal weight is 120, you are probably going to be malnourished by the time you reach 135!

By the end of the program you have reintroduced most food groups but carbs are still the enemy in their eyes. Yes, if you eat too many carbs and do not use them, they will be stored as fat but that is why you eat a healthy amount of carbs, and exercise. Exercising even just a little bit could help with any excess carb intake.

The bottom line is that carbs are one of the three macronutrient groups that your body requires. Do not deprive your body of something that it needs or it will not function at its optimum level. So if health and wellness is your goal, no-carb diets should not be an option for you.

If you have any questions or comments please post them, and below this is a list of my resources for today's post. Thank you for reading!

-"The Dorm Room Diet" by Daphne Oz
-http://www.atkins.com/Program/Overview.aspx
-http://www.atkins.com/Program/Phase-1/When-to-Move-On.aspx