Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know all about health trends such as the paleo and keto diets.
These popular diets have argued for the elimination of many of the carbs and grains we consume on a daily basis such as bread and pasta.
While this advice might go against the food pyramids issued by governments around the world, there’s a body of research suggesting that there might be something in it.
So what’s the truth about giving up carbs, is it actually healthy to do so?
While it’s beyond us to tell you what you should and shouldn’t eat, carbohydrates aren’t necessarily healthy. You can find evidence to support both sides of the argument, but adhering to a low-carb diet isn’t the worse thing you can do for your body.
If you’re someone who’s curious about what is healthy and what isn’t, then it’s in your interest to look into low-carb diets.
With nutrition (and fitness) you can find research to back up just about any claim, so at the end of the day all you can really do is try to seek out the most reputable sources and try things out for yourself.
If you wondered whether the low-carb diet would give you more energy to tackle the challenges of life, then why not go ahead and try it?
Even if someone on TV says it’s a bad idea, or your work colleague laughs the idea off, you won’t know for yourself until you give it a go.
These days it’s the carnivore diet that seems to be under heavy scrutiny, since many question how eating just meat could possibly be good for you.
But then popular figures such as renowned podcaster Joe Rogan and author Jordan Peterson claim to have enjoyed amazing results with it.
As such, in this guide we’re going to suggest the ways in which you can give the low-carb diet a go for yourself, as well as covering some basic information about what it can potentially do for you.
Why Try a Low-carb Diet?
There are many compelling reasons to try a low-carb diet, if you’re willing to listen.
The benefits range from physical performance boosts to sustainable energy that will help get you through the day without crashing.
Let’s take a look at the most commonly cited reasons for trying out the low-carb diet so you can se for yourself whether it’s worth the effort:
Weight Loss
If you’re looking for a killer weight loss diet to follow, you could do a lot worse than a low-carb diet like keto or paleo.
Why?
Because you will naturally take on fewer calories throughout the day due to how calorie-dense carbs like bread and pasta can be.
But also because your body will start burning your fat stores to find energy as opposed to extracting it from the sugar of carbohydrates.
Low-carb diets can also help cut out hunger pangs to some extent, because you’re going to be eating a lot more nutrients in the form of fiber, fats, and protein.
Muscle Development
Building muscle is difficult, so why not make things as easy for yourself as possible?
While there are no guarantees you’ll turn into a muscle-building machine, giving up carbs could help you develop strong muscles.
This is because carbohydrates are one of the unhealthiest food groups, including everything that includes sugar, corn syrup and other nasty additives.
But if all calories are equal when you’re bulking up, why does this matter?
Well, simply because if you’re filling up on carbs you likely aren’t going to be able to get enough protein in your diet which is the building block of muscle.
Energy Boost
Even if you have no health or fitness goals, you could still benefit in a big way from sticking to a no-carb diet.
Rare few people wouldn’t appreciate an energy boost to help them navigate the challenges of life, so if you can get that from your diet wouldn’t it be worth it?
There are a lot of foods that provide you with long-lasting energy that aren’t carbs, such as fruits, quinoa and more.
How to Give Up Carbs
Giving up carbs is difficult, but not impossible.
The best way to remove carbs from a diet for some is to go cold turkey and cut them out completely. For others though, a slow and steady approach is best in which you gradually remove carbs from your diet one at a time.
Both approaches can be effective, so it largely depends on your personality, motivation, as well as other factors.
If you jump into a low-carb diet with no preparation, you are preparing to fail.
At the very least, you want to buy a recipe book and get some ideas of what kinds of dishes and snacks you can eat. Otherwise, you will revert to your old habits and will likely succumb to your overwhelming cravings for carbs.
Carbs are in large part made up of sugar, so you can imagine just how addicting they can be, which makes the challenge of giving them up that much tougher.
How to Replace Grains in Your Diet
Replacing the grains in your diet is a lot easier now than it was ten or more years ago.
These days, the rising popularity of diets such as keto and paleo has led to an influx of new products on the market.
Today you can go to your local supermarket and buy a ready-made paleo-friendly bar or a keto-friendly snack.
Online there are whole stores and websites dedicated to low-carb diets, not to mention the thousands upon thousands of low-carb recipes.
As such, you have access to a huge wealth of resources surrounding the low-carb diet which should make it a lot easier to stick to.
If you’re really concerned about how you’re going to replace a particular grain in your diet, and you can’t find the information online, it might be worth consulting your doctor or seeking out a nutritionist.
That way, you can get tailored advice for your situation which will make it almost impossible for you to go wrong.
Of course, that isn’t to say that making the switch from grains to low-carb replacements is in any way easy, but it’s definitely not impossible.
Frequently Asked Questions About Carbs
Can you survive on a no carb diet?
Yes, you can survive on a no carb diet, but it is a tricky diet to maintain.
While it’s possible to live a health life without sugar in the form of carbohydrates, we do rely on this macronutrient to provide us with energy.
If you asked athletes to cut out all carbs from their diet, most would probably laugh out loud since they depend on them for an energy boost pre-race or match.
How long does carb withdrawal last?
If you’re experiencing carb withdrawal, you can expect it to last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule because everybody is different and every body is different.
The extent to which you experience carb withdrawal depends on a number of factors, the most significant of which is how many carbs you typically consume.
What are the negative effects of a low carb diet?
If you decide to go cold turkey and cut out a significant portion of the carbs you regularly eat in a day, side effects are inevitable.
Just like it’s hard to quit caffeine or tobacco, removing carbs from your diet is difficult for the body to adjust to.
Some of the most commonly reported negative effects associated with a low carb diet are constipation, muscle cramps, and headaches.
A Final Word From Energetic Lifestyle
If you take the plunge and make the bold decision to relinquish all carbs from your diet, it isn’t going to be easy.
The Keto flu is a very real phenomenon, and just like quitting caffeine isn’t easy, removing carbs from your diet is going to be tough but for some, it will be worth the pain.
