Low Carb Diet Plans
Can help you Lose Stomach Fat
And Get Ripped Abs
Whats Up with the
Low Carb Diet Craze?
Whether it's the Atkins Diet, The Zone Diet, The South Beach Diet or any other low carb diet plan, reducing the intake of highly refined carbohydrates is one of the most popular and effective ways of losing weight and getting rid of stomach fat.
20 years ago, decreasing fat consumption was the primary aim of nearly every diet and nutrition program. But, today nearly all of the diet and nutrition programs focus on decreasing carbohydrate/ sugar consumption and this is why.
Processed Sugar Slows Down Your Metabolism!
Carbohydrates are sugars and starches that are a source of food energy.
They are stored in the muscle and liver as glycogen and in the blood as glucose.
The over consumption of sugar leads to a condition known as insulin resistance which negatively affects your metabolism.
Insulin Resistance is a condition in which the cells no longer respond well to insulin.
As a result, the body secretes more insulin into the bloodstream in an effort to reduce blood glucose levels.
Low Carb Diet Plans & The Hormone Insulin
Insulin is one of the most important hormones that affect weight loss. When you eat food, especially carbohydrates (sugar), your stomach breaks down the carbohydrates and releases sugar into your blood stream. Your pancreas secretes insulin to promote storage of the blood sugar in your cells.
Insulin is a storage hormone.
When your insulin level is high, your body does not easily release fat for energy. So eating too many carbohydrates can prevent your body from releasing and burning stored fat.
Insulin resistance develops over time. If your pancreas keeps secreting insulin all the time, the cells have a hard time knowing when they are supposed to be taking sugar out of the blood, so your blood sugar level stays high.
When your blood sugar level is high, your body tries to lower it by secreting more insulin, but because the cells are resisting the insulin a hormonal imbalance is created.
Insulin resistance is a precursor to Diabetes, and diabetes is defined as a metabolic disorder. Diabetes is basically an inability to properly digest sugar.
Adult onset (or TYPE II) Diabetes is partly caused by an over consumption of sugars and carbohydrates.
Remember...Diabetes is a Metabolic Disorder
In Adult Onset (Type II) Diabetes, which is strongly associated with being overweight, the function of insulin is abnormal.
With excessive carbohydrate/ sugar consumption over a prolonged period, the body becomes less sensitive to insulin and the pancreas releases more and more insulin, but the body has a hard time regulating and decreasing blood sugar.
Insulin is a storage hormone; it decreases blood sugar by pushing sugar into the muscles and the liver to store as energy.
When insulin levels are elevated the body senses ooh theres plenty of sugar in my blood that I can use for energy, so theres no need to release fat from storage for energy use. This is one reason that it is hard to lose weight without limiting desserts, sweets, and high carb meals.
The low carb craze is all about regulating the function of the hormone insulin, and the glycemic index is a popular nutrition tool used to help control insulin.
Low Carb Diet Plans & The Glycemic Index
The glycemic index (GI) is a dietary index that's used to rank carbohydrate-based foods. The Glycemic Index predicts the rate at which the ingested food will increase blood sugar levels.
The higher the glycemic index the faster the food raises your blood sugar. The faster the food raises your blood sugar the more it challenges your metabolism, so nutritionists recommend eating most of your carbs from foods that have a lower glycemic index.
To learn more about the glycemic index check out this website on
The Glycemic Index
For a sample list of the glycemic index of foods visit
List of Foods and Glycemic Index
Low Carb Diet Plans
I have personally read many of the popular low carb diet books and there is value in all of them. If you have not read any of the low carb diet books, I recommend reading the following books.
The Atkins Diet by Dr. Robert Atkins is the grandfather of the low carb revolution. Even though some nutritionists are against his philosophy, many doctors and nutritionists support his program, and his book is filled with important lessons and science that will help you to better understand low carb dieting.
Enter the Zone by Dr. Barry Sears is another very popular low carb diet. The Zone Diet was actually the first nutrition book that I read, and I followed its principles religiously for more than a year.
I think that this book is truly one of my favorites, but I will admit that following it precisely takes discipline. If you read this book, you will definitely learn a lot about insulin, hormones, and how to construct a low carb plan for yourself.
The South Beach Diet by Dr. Arthur Agatston is another great low carb book. It is very similar to the Zone Diet in its philosophy, but I found that it is much easier to implement than the Zone Diet.
The Fat Flush Plan by Ann Louise Gittleman is the most recent nutrition book that I have read, and I think it has some very important lessons for Fat loss and weight loss that the other books don't cover.
In the Fat Flush Plan she focuses on the health and function of the liver which she refers to as your major fat burning organ. Like the other diet plans she recommends removing highly processed sugar (carbohydrates). This book can definitely help you lose stomach fat.
Syndrome X: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Insulin Resistance by Jack Challem, Dr. Burton Berkson, and Melissa Diane Smith is the best book I've read on Insulin Resistance.
It approaches weight loss from a health perspective versus an aesthetic perspective, so it might not be as popular as the other low carb diet plans. But, it has a lot of lessons that help to integrate why eating highly processed carbohydrates makes you fat and also makes you unhealthy in other ways.
It also has a large section on nutritional supplements and weight loss. It is one of my favorite books, and I review it often.
Living the Low Carb Diet Lifestyle
If you read all the low carb diet books you will find that they all have a lot in common. The best one for you is the one that you understand and can apply.
So pick up a book, learn the lessons, apply the lessons and have success.
But what about when you go off your low carb diet, then what?
Well, I personally would like you to think about healthy eating as a lifestyle. And I encourage you to eat as healthy as possible whenever you can.
Some people say, "Diets don't work!", and to those people I say "Baths don't work!"
People say as soon as they go off their diet, they gain the weight back.
Well, here's a question for you... when was the last time you took a bath or a shower? Today, and the time before that...yesterday, and the time before that... the day before yesterday.
You can't wash your body 1 time and expect it to stay clean for the rest of your life. Bathing is a healthy habit that is part of your lifestlye, and I hope you look at eating healthy in the same way-- it's something you have to do continuously if you want to continue to enjoy the benefits.
You can't eat pizza and burgers and fries and candy and soda and cookies and lose weight, get a flat stomach, or get ripped abs.
Sorry... I wish cookies helped to get six pack abs.
Now, don't be discouraged if you've failed at losing weight in the past, you may not have known enough about food to be successful. The only way to truly fail is to give up.
So keep learning about healthy eating and low carb diets. And, keep working at it and you will be successful.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Charles
P.S. If you're looking for even more direction and instruction to get in shape and lose weight consider my ebooks
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Registered Dietitian Suzette Kroll Barancik provides advice on weight loss and healthy eating.
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