Is a Low Carb Diet Plan the Way to Go?

Ever since the Atkins Diet came out, a low carb diet plan has been the way to go for quick weight loss. Is this the way to go for long term weight loss though? It's true, you can lose some quick pounds by cutting the carbs out of your daily meals, but don't consider this the end all of a healthy weight loss plan.

A low carb diet plan can be great for shedding the pounds if you do it the right way. If you cut out the carbs completely though, you could be hurting yourself more than helping. A low carb diet plan like atkins works for one reason...you're eliminating calories. Carbohydrates can make up 50-70% of a normal persons daily calorie intake. When you eliminate 50-70% of the food your eating, you are going to lose a lot of weight and fast.

The problem with taking most or all the carbs out of your diet is the initial weight loss is going to be a majority of water weight. You can lose 10 pounds of water weight with no problem with a low carb diet plan. These 10 pounds will come right back once you start to eat a normal intake of food though.

The weight might continue to come off after the water weight is gone but let's consider what carbohydrates do for your health. When carbs are used as energy, they become fuel for your muscles and brain. If your body does not have any use for the carbohydrates, they convert into glycogen and are stored in the liver and muscles as an energy reserve. The amount of carbohydrate you eat will determine the amount of energy stored in the liver and muscles, which will greatly affect your performance levels.

If you eat are using a low carb diet plan, it is much less efficient for your body to store energy. If you exercise daily, you are going to feel drained. A low carb drain will make you may feel lazy and you won't want to exercise. This can be very counter productive for your weight loss. When eating such low carbs, you will have to take days off just for your body to recover the energy stores.

A low carb diet plan can be used in certain situations for great results if you do it correctly. A carb cycle plan is usually the best way to do this. Bodybuilders use this strategy a lot in the later stages of a fat cut cycle. Once you get down to the last few body fat percent, it becomes extremely difficult to lose the fat. You have to get creative and that's where a low carb diet plan will come in handy. To do a good carb cycle, you want to intake low carbs for 2-3 days then boost your carbs for a day. This makes sure your body has enough energy stores to replenish and recover from your exercise.

When someone uses a low carb diet plan without doing the right research they are setting themselves up for disappointment. Like I said, you will lose weight but it might not be the right kind of weight. If you lose muscle along with fat, which you will with a bad low carb plan, you're going to be the same shape you started before except slightly smaller. In the worst case, you will lose a majority of muscle which only makes you look worse. Don't get caught up in a bad low carb diet plan.

To lose weight the healthy and long lasting way, you want to get a well balanced diet in. Here is a gohealthyfitness.com/nutrition/free-diet-meal-plan free diet meal plan. You can find more weight loss and fitness articles at gohealthyfitness.com Go Healthy Fitness.