Today we are going to talk about a diet that has been increasingly widespread today and has shown its most diverse benefits and advantages in weight loss.
The low carb diet acquired as a lifestyle, if well applied for weight loss and then, for its maintenance, low carb has shown that it really is here to stay!
According to the Ministry of Health, obesity is one of the diseases that has grown the most in recent years on a global level.
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that obesity and overweight rates have almost tripled since 1975.
Worldwide, there are at least 650 million obese people.
According to the 2018 study of Risk and Protection Factors for Chronic Diseases by Telephone Survey (Vigitel), in Brazil, one in five people are obese and more than half of the population of the capitals are overweight. Therefore, your combat is very important!
Follow the article that myhealthmyskin has prepared showing you what this diet consists of, how to do it and what benefits it provides in the short and long term. Check out!
What Is A Low Carb Diet?
The low carb diet proposes to reduce the amount of carbohydrates ingested.
The guideline in a conventional diet is that 50 to 55% of what is ingested in the day is carbohydrate.
In low carb methods, the macronutrient can make up between 45% to 5% of what is consumed in a day.
Less refined carbohydrates, more real food: this is the diet’s proposal to balance food.
When we consume foods rich in carbohydrates, there is an increase in glucose and basal insulin, which can lead to a robust reserve of the nutrient and, consequently, to an increase in body fat.
Therefore, when consuming less carbohydrate, insulin production decreases, leading to weight loss.
In addition, this method advocates prioritizing the consumption of low glycemic index carbohydrates, those whose glucose (sugar) is absorbed at a slower rate and therefore there are no spikes in glucose or insulin in the body. Examples of low GI foods are sweet potatoes and brown rice.
The consumption of whole foods that are rich in fiber is also encouraged in this method to lose weight.
We spoke with experts to understand what the pros and cons of this Low Carb Diet are.
How Does The Low Carb Diet Work?
This method contributes to healthy weight loss by suggesting that the diet prioritize low-glycemic carbohydrates.
This is because when a carbohydrate is ingested it has glucose that will be used by the cell for energy.
If there is excess glucose, it is stored in the form of fat and if it is used before the next meal, there is no weight gain.
In order for the body to be able to burn stored fat, it needs to release a hormone called glucagon that will remove this stored energy.
When the diet is rich in foods with a high glycemic index, many insulin spikes occur and sometimes they are so high that glucagon is never released.
Without glucagon, the stored fat is not burned and there is no weight loss.
Thus, when the diet prioritizes the intake of foods with a low glycemic index, there is a smaller change in insulin and, consequently, the production of glucagon occurs.
When there is the presence of fibers and proteins, the release of the hormone is also more effective.
When the low carb diet proposes a small reduction in carbohydrates, something up to 40% of what is ingested in the day, it also helps to lose weight.
Not only carbohydrate, but protein and especially fat must be well controlled.
With a 10% reduction and an improvement in the quality of what will be consumed, the person will achieve not only a good result, but also a reeducation of eating habits.
Benefits Of The Low Carb Diet
That being said, let’s take a look at low carb diet benefits:
Hunger Reduction — Any Diet’s Worst Enemy
Many people when they see the word “diet” usually already think of “starving”.
And they associate with that dull thing of:
- count calories,
- leave a meal always a little hungry,
- and even eat every 3 hours.
Especially the latter happens so much because people believe that “you need to eat every 3 hours to speed up your metabolism” — which is not true.
As for because they will actually get hungry: that is, you will actually get hungry quite often if you eat the wrong way.
In fact, the low-carb diet solves this problem. It is mainly based on:
- good fats (even running away from them is a big mistake),
- fiber-rich low-starch vegetables, and
- proteins of high biological value.
These are the 3 components of a high satiety diet.
That is, eating these types of foods and basing your diet on these 3 macronutrients makes it harder for you to feel hungry every little time.
Because the types of foods you’re going to eat will keep you full and satisfied longer after eating them.
That is, in low-carb, the focus is no longer so much on the quantity of food — and becomes more on its quality.
With this, it is much easier to follow this diet until the end, and even adopt it as a lifestyle. After all, hunger is one of the biggest enemies of any diet.
Because many people start diets with a lot of willpower and determination. But let’s be honest: no one can stand to be hungry all their lives!
So, on a low-carb diet, where you don’t go hungry and can eat real, nutritious, delicious food at will, it’s much easier to have lasting results.
Even because, as we always like to say: “the perfect diet is the one you can follow.” And the low-carb diet may be that diet for you.
Greater Weight Loss
Several well-conducted controlled studies have shown that a low-carb diet, when compared to a low-fat diet, leads to greater weight loss in a similar period of time.
In addition, as we said above, this weight loss tends to be maintained – precisely because you can adhere to this diet in the long term.
For most people, it turns out to be easy to turn low-carb into a lifestyle.
(Unlike what happens when you have to artificially control calories in an unsustainable way.)
That way, it becomes much easier not only to lose more weight, but also to maintain the lost weight.
Another positive point related to weight loss is that low-carb diets tend to provide greater maintenance of muscle mass during weight loss.
That is, even if in a given period of time weight loss is very similar between someone on low-carb and someone on low-fat, the person on low-carb is likely to lose more fat and less muscle than the person on low-fat. That is, one more point in favor of low-carb diets.
Blood Pressure Reduction
Several studies show that a low-carb diet comparatively tends to lead to a decrease in blood pressure in those people who have this high marker.
And blood pressure may not seem like such an important marker for someone who is still young and doesn’t have any health problems.
But it is strongly associated with diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and even kidney failure.
So, reducing this marker just by changing your diet is certainly a very positive thing for your health and longevity, and a great extra benefit of the low-carb diet.
Decreased Triglycerides In Your Blood
Triglycerides are molecules that naturally circulate in our bloodstream.
However, erroneously and unfortunately, many people believe that your amount grows beyond what you want when you eat a lot of fat.
However, triglycerides are precisely formed by sugars associated with fatty acids.
And when you reduce your carbohydrate (ie, sugar) intake and lose weight, that blood marker tends to go down dramatically.
So it’s back to normal and optimal levels for your health — which can be verified with a simple laboratory blood test.
So, a low-carb diet that can help lower triglycerides easily is a very positive dietary change for anyone who has a problem with elevated triglycerides.
As we have already mentioned in another text, in which we disprove that bullshit that carbohydrates would be our body’s preferred fuel, carbohydrates and sugars are, in fact, more toxic to our body.
That’s why they are burned with priority in our body and, when there is an excess of glucose in the bloodstream, this glucose is converted precisely into triglycerides.
That is, the higher the blood sugar level, the triglycerides will probably be higher too — because your body will prefer to make this transformation of sugars into triglycerides.
Decreased Blood Glucose And Insulin Levels
Low-carb diets are the most effective non-invasive treatment currently known for diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
And this is precisely because they reduce the constant rise in blood sugar and insulin levels, which is caused by spikes in carbohydrate intake.
Because of this, people can often benefit from a low- or very-low-carb diet to treat problems such as insulin resistance and chronically high blood glucose (which are the basis of known conditions like diabetes and metabolic syndrome).
After all, a low-carb diet is effective in reversing these chronic conditions.
A simple analogy is the following: That, just as someone who has lactose intolerance should have a diet that reduces the intake of this nutrient, someone who has diabetes has an intolerance to sugars.
Therefore, a low-carb diet, that is, with less sugars, will be more efficient for this type of person.
But it’s critical that you always check with your doctor, especially if you’re taking diabetes medication, before making any dietary changes.
Even when making this type of dietary change, you may need to reduce the dosage of these drugs and maybe even remove them after a while.
Therefore, it is very important that you have medical follow-up throughout this process so that no type of adversity occurs.
And another positive factor for the use of a low-carb diet in the fight against metabolic syndrome is the fact that a ketogenic diet can reverse non-alcoholic fatty liver disease — that is, fat in the liver.
Improved Cholesterol Profile
Many people think that a higher intake of fats, especially saturated fats (as can sometimes happen in the case of low-carb diets), will lead to an increase in cholesterol.
And that’s true. However, this elevation is not necessarily a bad thing as is often touted in the media.
When you eat more of these fats, what happens is that you will increase your HDL cholesterol, which is called “good cholesterol”.
And for most people, there is no problem with that. After all, HDL is a protective agent for heart health. In addition to changing your HDL, the low-carb diet can also change your LDL.
LDL is the lipoprotein popularly called “bad cholesterol”.
Although it’s not that bad (after all, it’s strange to call a substance that your own body produces and needs to survive bad). And a low-carb diet tends to give LDL an even better profile.
That’s because LDL is made up of 2 types of particles, one that is friendlier to your body and one that is slightly less so. And that depends on the size of those particles.
Because people who have predominantly small particles have a high risk of heart disease, and people who have mostly large particles have a lower risk.
On a low-carb diet, the tendency is to increase the amount of the more friendly type of LDL (the large particles) and decrease the amount of the less friendly type (the small particles).
Which results in a more favorable ratio between these two types. Even so, what can happen in some people is an increase in total cholesterol.
But it’s important to remember that there is no direct correlation between your total cholesterol and your chances of heart disease.
Besides, for some people LDL can even go down! And going back to what we said above (whether LDL goes down or not), total HDL tends to go up — and this type of lipoprotein has a protective effect for the body. heart.
It is very important to note that there are other markers of heart health that are more important than total cholesterol, such as:
- the ratio between HDL and total cholesterol,
- the ratio between triglycerides and HDL,
- the size of the abdominal circumference,
- among several other markers that are not easily identifiable in blood tests.
So, stay tuned. Because a low-carb diet can change your lipid profile — but for most people, that change tends to be for the better.
In all cases, you’ll want to have frequent blood tests and monitor your health with a professional you trust.
Some Celebrities Who Joined The Diet
Isabel Alvares
Chef Izabel Alvares is one of the people who managed to lose a lot of weight with the low carb diet.
During her weight loss process, she still managed to discover that she is gluten intolerant and managed to reinvent herself even as a professional: today she specializes in creating low carb dishes. In all, Izabel lost 35 kg.
Since December 2015, chef Izabel Alvares began to lose weight and managed to eliminate a total of 35 kg. On her social media, she was shocked by the change in her look.
In an interview with Portal da Band, she revealed that the initiative came about after watching herself on television: “I started dieting right after the program. I saw myself on TV and I was impressed with the real size”, said Izabel.
In addition, the chef also exercises daily, doing 30 minutes of treadmill and weight training. Izabel guarantees that she did not undergo any surgery.
Naiara Azevedo
Singer Naiara Azevedo lost 33 kilos in a year and in order to achieve the desired result, she needed to make some changes to her menu, such as choosing to follow a low carb diet.
When making the decision to lose weight, it is necessary to be aware that this change requires a lot of discipline and dedication.
After losing 33 kilos in a year, singer Naiara Azevedo reveals that she doesn’t have a specific secret to take care of her body.
“I try to stay in good shape with a healthy diet. I practice exercises during the show, because the show is an aerobics class, it’s very dancing, but now I’m focused on working out and I’ve been taking a fighting class mixed with functional”, he told Purepeople.
Since losing weight, the singer tries to avoid some foods and tells what she usually eats during her intense concert routine.
“I avoid fried foods and sweets. In the dressing room I like sashimi, Japanese food, because I find it very light.
And even in this type of food, I avoid frying and rice. I also order salad, chicken breast, chestnut and fruit salad,” said Naiara. In addition, she has included a routine street exercise.
In order to achieve the desired result, the artist had to make some changes to her menu, such as choosing to follow a low-carb diet that proposes to reduce the amount of carbohydrates ingested. In addition, she has included the practice of street exercises in her routine.
“I followed a low carb diet with a nutritionist. During this time I ate a lot of chicken breast, a lot of sweet potatoes, natural products, whole grains, detox juice and salad.
No sweets. In addition to going to the gym, I did functional training, crossfit and pilates”, revealed the singer.
However, the changes to achieve this goal did not come quickly and easily, it took years of great dedication on the part of Naiara Azevedo.
And the changes in habits helped shift her focus, and today her purpose is to have better health.
“I started in 2013 with a healthier life, where I learned to follow the diet, I started to get interested in the gym, aerobics. Currently, the goal is not to lose weight, but to keep the body healthy, to be healthy”.
Leo Santos
Former MasterChef Léo Santos surprised his followers by showing the ‘before and after’ of the weight loss process. He also went on the low carb diet and lost 80 pounds.
“No surgery, no stomach reduction, no abdominoplasty, nothing, believe me if I had done it, I would have said it without any problem,” he said, who also did not resort to medication.
“A few years ago (about 5 I think) I took it! I lost about 15 kg, gained a lot of weight afterwards, I don’t recommend it.
Why did I decide to go on a diet? Firstly, for health reasons, the time I spend standing working on the days of the event is very exhausting and being overweight bothered me a lot, I felt a lot of pain in my feet and back.
And because I wasn’t happy with how I looked. I did a year and two months of diet, I started with low carb for the first 8 months, then I started a professional follow-up with the nutritionist to adapt my food to my training, and improve the results “, he added.
Daniel Rocha
Actor Daniel Rocha also lost weight to prepare for the role of Acelino Popó Freitas, in the series “Irmãos Freitas”. It was two and a half months of low carb diet and exercises that made him lose 9 kilos in 1 month.
Many actors and actresses undergo visual transformations to live the most diverse characters. However, change is not always as simple as dyeing or cutting your hair.
In the case of actor Daniel Rocha, preparing to play Acelino Popó Freitas, in the series “Irmãos Freitas”, which will be shown on the Space channel, it was necessary to lose weight for the role of the fighter.
“It took two and a half months of preparation. I lost nine pounds in a month, thanks to a low carb diet and exercise,” he said in an interview with Purepeople.com.
“I had to cut out the sweets. It wasn’t easy, but I managed. I’m crazy about sweets. I trade any salt for one. I could have unsweetened gelatin, but it didn’t taste so good,” he adds.
What Can I Eat On A Low Carb Diet?
Greens And Vegetables
- zucchini
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- chard
- mushrooms
- celery
- Cherry tomato
- Green cabbage
- cress
- Bell pepper
- asparagus
- zucchini
- aubergine
- spinach
- cucumber
- onion
- chayote
- pod
- arugula
- endive
- leek
- celery
- lettuce
proteins
- skinless fish and birds
- lean meats like duckling
- filet mignon
- rump
- skimmed milks
- yellow cheeses
fruits
- avocado
- poop
- lemon
- passion fruit
- strawberry
sources of fats
- avocado
- olive oil
- lard
- butter
- oilseeds
Foods To Avoid On A Low Carb Diet
Proteins
Proteins such as bacon, sausage, sausage and ham should be avoided, as they are ultra-processed industrialized sausages and many contain sugar in their compositions.
If you are going to consume them in moderation, give preference to those made by hand. This is because they have a high concentration of unhealthy ingredients.
Sources Of Fats
The fats that should be avoided are trans fats present in industrialized foods such as cookies, snacks, among others. Often foods come with the description of zero trans fats.
However, they contain palm oil and hydrogenated fat, which are considered trans.
This type of fat increases the risk of overweight/obesity and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular.
Foods That Look Low Carb But Aren’t
Wholemeal breads and pastas may give the false impression that they are low carb, but they are not.
Although they have a low glycemic index because they contain more fiber, causing carbohydrate digestion to be slower, whole-grain pasta or breads are a source of carbohydrates, not being considered low carb.
Cereals such as brown rice, chickpeas, beans, lentils, among others, are also not considered low carb. Despite having a low glycemic index (slow digestion) all these cereals have a very large amount of carbohydrates, not being considered low carb.
Low Carb Recipes
Low carb chicken stroganoff
Ingredients
- 2 cups cubed cabotian pumpkin
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- parsley stalks
- 2 seedless tomatoes
- 1/2 cup of cottage cheese
- sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
How To Make
Wash the pumpkin and cut into cubes with the same skin. Place in a pan with a bay leaf and parsley stalks, add a couple of fingers of water and cook until soft.
Do not overdo the water as we will use it to beat the pumpkin. When it is soft, remove the bay leaf, parsley stalks and the peel, putting the pulp with the cooking water to beat in the blender along with the curd.
Clean and cut the chicken breast into cubes. In a pan, sauté the cubes and add a little water and sea salt and cook until soft. In the same pan, when the chicken is done, add and sauté the onion, garlic and seedless tomato.
Let it refine and gain flavor. When golden, add the pumpkin puree and curd, stir, adjust salt and pepper and serve.
Performance
- 2 servings
Low Carb Coconut Cake
Nutritionist Fernanda Granja revealed on her Instagram an amazing recipe for those who are sticking to their diet, but can’t stay away from sweets. This low carb coconut cupcake is an excellent option for all times, being healthy and very easy to make. Learn it:
Ingredients
- 4 units of egg
- 2 cups (tea) grated fresh coconut (or use the fibers left over from homemade coconut milk)
- 1 cup (200 ml) homemade coconut milk
- 1/3 cup (tea) coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon (dessert) of chemical baking powder, full.
Preparation mode
Beat the eggs and mix the other ingredients until obtaining a homogeneous mass. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes (or do the toothpick test).
Protein And Low Carb Chicken Balls
Want a practical snack recipe to eat on a daily basis and take anywhere? This chicken ball is perfect: it has few calories, is low carb and protein! The recipe still takes few ingredients and is ready quickly. Check out:
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1/2 bunch of cauliflower
- 1 kg of chicken breast
- 1 cs of coconut flour (20g) or other low carb flour, such as almond flour, eggplant, flaxseed, etc…
- A pinch of salt, pepper and seasonings of your choice
Preparation Mode
After cooking the chicken and cauliflower together in the pressure cooker with seasonings and onion, wait for it to cool down and hit the mixer with the other ingredients. Then roll the balls in the palm of your hand.
Tip: Dip lightly in flaxseed flour or toasted and crushed sesame seeds to get more crunchy. Finally, take it to the oven or airfryer for 15 minutes at 180º.
Blender Low Carb Bread
Recipe by functional nutritionist Fernanda Scheer: “This bun is super easy to make! It’s not that traditional bread recipe that has to knead and rest. I confess that I’m a little lazy about this whole process.
The flours used are rich in fiber and low in carbohydrates. A nutritious and light option for breakfast, snacks or dinner.
Tip: freeze slices to make it easier,” she says. Then, just heat the portion you are going to consume in a toaster or frying pan.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 2 col. of almonds in a blender
- 2 col. golden flaxseed soup
- 1 cup of coconut flour
- 1 to 2 cups of water (as much as is enough to beat)
- 1 col. oat bran soup
- Herbs of your choice
- 1 col. of oil soup
- 1 col. cake yeast dessert
How To Make
Blend everything in a blender, adding the ingredients and blending in the order listed. Grease and flour a loaf pan and place the dough.
You can pour half of the dough, sprinkle some seeds of your choice, such as toasted sunflower, walnuts, chestnuts, etc.
Then, add the rest of the dough. On top, it is also worth putting a few more seeds. In the preheated oven, bake at 180°C for approximately 40 minutes.
Low Carb Veggies
This recipe can be followed by fans of protein diets and low carb diets.
pasta ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 medium onion
- 1 pot of light lactose-free ricotta cream
- 3 tablespoons amaranth flakes or quinoa
- Sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 3 tablespoons light mozzarella
stuffing ingredients
- 1 thinly sliced zucchini
- 1 leek stalk
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 chopped red onion
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
How to make
Pasta: Blend all ingredients in a blender and set aside.
Stuffing: Sauté the onion, garlic, tomatoes, leeks and zucchini until they start to break down. Place in a refractory and cover with the beaten dough. Bake at 180 C for 35 minutes or until golden.
Performance
- 6 servings.
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