Posts Tagged ‘south beach diet’

Low Carb Diets

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

There are many diet programs out there on the market today. Some of them claim that you can lose 10 pounds in three days by eating next to nothing, or that you can eat a magic little pill and then eat whatever you want. How are you supposed to tell what diet plans are legitimate and which ones are scams? It’s hard, isn’t it?

Low carb diets seem to be all the rage these days, with the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet being at the top of the list. Both of these diets focus on eating little to no carbs, and foods that are high in protein. Both of these low carb diets have taken some flack for also being high in fat. For instance, bacon, eggs, sausage, and cottage cheese are on the list of foods that are okay to eat. However, there are also lots of high protein, low fat choices on the menu also. Chicken, fish, and salads are also on the list. The reasoning is that your body usually uses up carbs to produce the energy it needs for exercising and performing your daily actions. However, if you have drastically reduced your carb intake, then your body is forced to begin burning fat to find the energy it needs.

While low carb diets have gotten a bad reputation, there actually good points to this diet approach. Both the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet have undergone many reforms in the years since they originally came out. Nutrition has taken a higher priority and has a great amount of scientific validation. The plans have been improved to the point that you can actually maintain this lifestyle. However, you should talk with your doctor about starting any of the low carb diets before you make such a drastic adjustment to your food intake.