So many diets have been created to date that you sometimes wonder which diet really works well. Obesity is a common problem in the Western world. People are often looking for a diet that will help them, preferably in an easy to maintain way, to lose the pounds. Diets are tried with shakes and diets with a low calorie intake and little fat. However, a strong feeling of hunger is often experienced during these diets and they are difficult to maintain in the long term. Maybe you have lost track and no longer trust the diets you already know. Yet there is one diet that allows you to lose pounds in a healthy way and also provides more energy: the low-carb diet, or rather, a low-carb lifestyle.
What are carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates are sugars. Also called saccharides. Just like proteins and fats, carbohydrates provide the body with energy. Carbohydrates can be divided into simple and complex carbohydrates. The division is made on the basis of the number of sugar molecules that make up the carbohydrate. The subdivision is as follows: monosaccharides (consisting of one saccharide), disaccharides (consisting of two saccharides), oligosaccharides (consisting of three to nine saccharides) and polysaccharides (consisting of long chains of saccharides).
The well-known sugar, a monosaccharide, that is often added to our food products is a form of carbohydrate that is quickly absorbed into the blood. A fast sugar is also called a monosaccharide. Starch is also a form of carbohydrate. This consists of long chains of sugar molecules and is therefore absorbed into the blood less quickly. Also called polysaccharide. Carbohydrates often end in -ose: sucrose (table sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), glucose, dextrose, galactose, maltose.
Foods with carbohydrates
Our table sugar, sucrose, is used to sweeten our food and drinks. It can be found in, for example, candy, cookies and soft drinks. Lactose, also called milk sugar, is found in milk products. Starch is found in potatoes, rice, legumes and in grain products that we eat such as bread and pasta.
What low-carb eating entails
Low-carb eating means that you consume a small amount of carbohydrates per day. This does not mean that you no longer eat carbohydrates at all! The body also needs carbohydrates, but not too many. The question that may then arise is: what is too much? And what are the good carbohydrates that you should continue to eat? First an explanation of what happens in your body when it ingests carbohydrates.
Increase in blood sugar levels
When you eat carbohydrates, the blood sugar level in the body rises. After consuming carbohydrates, there is a spike in your blood sugar level. In a healthy state, the body produces insulin to transport the glucose (blood sugar) in the blood to the tissues in the body where the glucose can be absorbed. If you eat too many carbohydrates, your blood sugar level will rise significantly. A lot of insulin is then needed to convert the glucose (this causes problems for people with diabetes). If a lot of insulin has to be produced more often, your cells may at some point lose the ability to respond properly to the insulin. The effect is that your body will produce even more insulin to lower your blood sugar. Your metabolism goes haywire. When there is a lot of insulin circulating in your blood due to blood sugar spikes, your body stops burning fat from which it would otherwise have gotten its energy. Now the body gets all its energy from the glucose it receives, from which enough energy can be obtained. Burning fat is no longer necessary to provide energy. If this happens too often, your body will hold on to your fat because it is not being used anyway. From that moment on, your body gets into the habit of getting energy from your blood sugar and no longer from stored fat. The excess glucose is also stored in the fat cells, which also increases fat mass. Now you can understand that an excess of carbohydrates causes excess fat storage in the body.
Keep your blood sugar levels in balance
How do you ensure that your body uses your stored fat to get energy and therefore reduces your fat mass? The trick is to keep your blood sugar level in balance, so that there are no peaks or valleys and therefore there is not too much insulin passing through your body or there is a lack of glucose in your body, which means it does not get energy. You can achieve that:
- If you eat low-carb and the carbohydrate-rich products that you still eat are carbohydrates with a low glycemic index. More about that in a moment.
- It is also important that you do not skip breakfast in the morning. Breakfast lays the foundation for your blood sugar level for the rest of the day.
- Then spread your eating moments evenly over the rest of the day and make sure you don’t feel hungry in between, because then your body is looking for glucose because the blood sugar level becomes too low. By eating something throughout the day, your blood sugar level remains stable and has no peaks and valleys.
If the blood sugar level is significantly low, the body is able to produce glucose itself. It will have to be done in order to survive. However, you do not want this because a glucose peak will occur, which will cause the body to produce too much insulin and this will cause your fat mass to be retained or even increased. It’s amazing how the body regulates this itself, but it is not desirable for weight loss.
The better carbohydrate-rich products
The better carbohydrates have a low glycemic index. This means that the intestines slowly digest the carbohydrates and glucose is gradually released into the blood. This prevents a glucose peak (too high blood sugar value). Products containing carbohydrates with a low glycemic index are:
- Legumes
- Whole-weat pasta
- Whole wheat bread
- Dairy
- Certain fruits such as apples and oranges
How many carbohydrates do you eat on a low-carb diet?
People who do not follow a low-carb diet generally eat about 50% to 70% carbohydrate-rich foods of all the food they consume. With low-carb eating you ensure that your diet contains approximately 20% carbohydrates in a day. So, for example, if you consume 1,500 kcal per day, 75 grams of that may be carbohydrates. One gram of carbohydrate contains 4 kcal. That is a good guideline to adhere to. What happens then is that your body starts to see the fats and proteins you consume as primary fuel. Your body will also use the stored fat in your body as fuel, which reduces fat reserves and reduces your weight.
How quickly can you lose weight with a low-carb diet?
No body is the same, so there is no standard number of pounds you should lose per week. On average, people lose about 2 to 4 kilos in the first week by eating low-carb. The weight loss is not just due to the reduction of fat. Mainly due to fluid that your body loses in the first week. This is because the body first uses the glycogen (polymer of glucose, which stores energy) from the muscles and liver when the body consumes fewer carbohydrates. Together with 1 gram of glycogen, the body loses 2.7 ml of water. In total this is about 1 to 2 liters of fluid. In addition, you also lose some fat mass. In the following weeks, an average of 1 to 2 kg of fat per week is lost.
Why you also need carbohydrates
Going without carbohydrates would not be healthy for your body. Reasons you also need carbohydrates are:
- Keep your bowel movements going. Products such as bread and potatoes contain fiber. Fibers are carbohydrates and are needed to keep the stool soft. This way you don’t get clogged. During a low-carb diet, linseed, for example in yogurt, can help keep the stool soft and prevent constipation. It also contains fiber. Eating cucumber, other green vegetables and drinking water also help with this.
- Carbohydrates are important for athletes because they directly provide the body with energy.
- Your brain functions on glucose.
- Carbohydrates contain vitamins that your body needs.
Withdrawing from carbohydrates
If you significantly reduce your consumption of food products that contain carbohydrates, you might notice the following:
Short-term
In the short term there are a number of symptoms that are unpleasant, but which you have to get through. In the longer term you will experience the positive effect of fewer carbohydrates.
- You feel quite cold for a few days to two weeks. This will go away after a while. It can take a few days to about two weeks.
- Headache
- tired
- Dizzy
- Nauseous
- Strong craving for carbohydrate-rich foods (sugar) in the beginning
In the longer term
- More energy
- Better skin
- More cheerful
- To fall off
- Less desire to snitch
Eating low-carb is not difficult
You hear about many diets: you can’t keep this up for long, can you? Low-carb eating, on the other hand, is doable. As mentioned before, it is more of a lifestyle than a diet. Most Dutch people are used to having breakfast with grains (bread, muesli, cruesli, crackers), having lunch with grains and fruit and eating potatoes during the evening meal in addition to their vegetables and meat or fish. The daily menu usually contains about three carbohydrate-rich moments. Not counting the cookies and snacks. A low-carbohydrate diet that many people follow is to introduce a carbohydrate-rich eating moment at one time of the day by preferably eating your carbohydrates within one hour. You are not supposed to eat your fill of all kinds of unhealthy things that hour, but you can choose to eat your potatoes, sandwiches or pasta at that time (preferably whole wheat varieties). It also ensures that you do not develop a carbohydrate shortage. However, the low-carb moments of the day can also be filled with delicious snacks. It may take some getting used to, but you will notice that you ultimately have more energy and feel fuller for longer and that you can still eat well. Some examples will be mentioned below.
Low-carb tips
Breakfast/Lunch
- Greek yogurt with linseed
- Boiled eggs wrapped in smoked meat
- Fried eggs with cheese, salami, tomatoes
- Almond flour pancakes
- Smoked cheese crackers topped with ham, salami, bacon
- Salad of lettuce, tuna, avocado, boiled egg, onion
- Salad of leaf spinach, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, onion, garlic
Meal
- Spicy stuffed peppers, with minced meat, mushrooms and chili herbs
- Stuffed zucchini with minced meat, cheese, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms from the oven
- Thai vegetables with chicken, crème fraîche and masala spices
- Vegetables with a piece of meat (omit potatoes, pasta and rice)
- Cheese fondue with fresh vegetables
- Egg quiche with fresh vegetables and, for example, salami or chorizo
Snacks
- Block or slice of cheese. Can be any type of cheese.
- Salami
- Fresh nuts (not too many, a handful)
- Tomatoes
- Smoke Cheese Cracker
- Olives
- Cucumber bare or with homemade egg salad, a slice of meat or cheese on top
Drinks
- Tea without sugar
- Coffee without milk and sugar
- Water; you can put a lemon in the water, or cucumber for a taste
- Carbonated water
These are just a few examples. There are a lot of tasty dishes available on the internet that are low in carbohydrates. Some examples of websites are Low Carb Recipe, All Kinds of Low Carb Recipes, Low Carb Chef.
