Low carb diets are a wonderful way and means through which people can lose the needed weight. The problem however is that this would be a situation where your body is denied the needed nutrients. You should understand that carbs are a great source of energy, by cutting carbs from your diet totally, that would be a very bad idea. You might become very skinny and devoid of the needed energy to enjoy and participate in everyday activities.

One bad effect that Atkins has is that once you start having carbs back in your diet, you tend to regain all the weight that your previously lost rather quickly. Our bodies are made to stack up on essential nutrients where available so when you deprive yourself of a particular food group, you are actually starving yourself. As soon as your body comes in contact with these absent nutrients it tends to store as much as possible to combat a possible future case of deprivation.

It is quite possible for a person to be on a low carb diet and yet have healthy balance of nutrients in their bodies. Everyday diets should consist of a certain ratio of needed foods. Proteins should make up at least 20-40% of this diet while fat should usually make up between 10-30%. Carbs should make up about 45-75 % of the needed diet. As long as you remain within that range, you ensure that your body is achieving the required healthy balance.

You should be aware of the fact that different bodies tend to need different things. Certain people tend to have a naturally higher metabolism than other people so they tend to be able to afford the consumption of a higher ratio of carbs as well as fats.

Carbs supply the body with energy for the whole day. If you’re the sort who regularly burns a huge number of calories, you can afford a much higher ratio of carbs in your diet. The problem you will have is that any carbs you fail to burn up will end up turning into fat. Anyone with a slow metabolism or who isn’t very active will best limit their carbs and fat intake and seek to get most of their calorie intake from protein as well as vegetables.

Certain rules if applied will help you cope with a low carb diet. Any white foods such as white bread, plain pasta and white rice should be substituted for brown foods such as whole wheat bread, pasta as well as brown rice. Oatmeal and sweet potatoes are also an excellent source of carbs as well. You should also ensure that you are getting the needed amount of vegetables as well. When eating you should ensure that your plate is filled with at least two-thirds vegetables and one-third white meat such as chicken or turkey and fish.

In order to lose weight on a low carb diet as with any diet, you should burn more calories than what you consume. You also need to watch your calorie intake as well with a low carb diet. The difference however is that you tend to be able to eat a larger volume of food. Normal carbs tend to carry a lot of calories per food weight.

Darren Williger is a tea drinking, guitar playing, low-carb eating, wine making sales maker who writes for MyLowCarbPages.com, LossDesign.com, and BeeStronger.com.

I have been continuing to stick with my low-carb diet and have already lost a few pounds.  I’m not eager to track weight initially as my body adjusts.  I will share a secret to keeping low-carb (and it’s really easy) – it’s about transitioning your diet into your lifestyle. 

This helps support permanent change and makes your resolution stick!

The term diet itself makes us feel like we have denied ourselves something.  When you focus on your goals, you will easily incorporate healther choices into your life.  Don’t get discouraged.  This actually will work quickly.

Try documenting what you eat.  By keeping track of what (and when) you eat, you may discover patterns you didn’t realize.  If you find this idea discouraging, at least commit to a full day and try it.  Personally, I use an online service, food feed to track easily through SMS.  It makes an interesting log.  It’s not difficult to do, you may find other interesting Twitter followers and followees, and it’s fun to do.  If you have a particular successful weight loss week, or a plateau you are trying to break, your food trends may lend some insightful assistance.

Get off your ass and exercise.  Seriously.  You certainly can lose weight with this diet by just focusing on the food.  Definitely.  But – why not take advantage of moving this forward faster and adding additional health benefits as well?  OK, I will get back to this more in future posts – I know it’s hard to make a lot of changes at once as I am doing it.

I found a really tasty lower-carbohydrate ice cream at the market, enjoying some of the banana split one right now.  It’s not good for Atkins induction, or for overdoing it anytime, but it’s at least a little less guilt.

 Anyway – Good luck my fellow low carbers!  Happy weekend ahead…

I added a category to the website – Journey. Indeed – this is a journey.  It’s time consuming and takes commitment.  Did everyone start off today with goals of health?  I’m not a big fan of the New Year’s Resolutions actually.  We need to resolve daily to make commitments we can work with.

I had my share of carbs yesterday – champagne, pizza, pasta, beer etc. They were OK.  Future cheating (yes – it’s OK to plan for this) needs to be higher-enjoyment foods like Thai, Mexican, or Chinese.  A lot of Mexican foods can also be prepared low-carb, just not too common when dining out.  Today I started out with a few eggs and a cup of tea.  I’m going to have some coffee too.  Certain things are going to be in my diet that have carbs, no matter what.  I’m hooked on green drinks, which have around 2 carbohydrates per serving.  This isn’t high by any stretch, but all should be considered.

I’m drinking an Amazing Grass Green Superfood drink.  I like them.  Try one out, they have small packets available at Whole Foods and the Vitamin Shoppe’s, etc.  They have a ton of nutrition in them and give you energy.  I think they help with digestion and immune system too, eh – just my thoughts.  I like them.  Otherwise, I had a few fried eggs today.

Different people have different start points as well as how they follow the discipline of the low-carb lifestyle.  Some people jump into what Atkins referred to as induction; highly limiting any fruits and vegetables, and keeping their carb counts under 20 per day in hopes of getting into a ketosis state, where the body is burning primarily fat for energy.  Others slowly adjust to low-carb living.  Whichever you decide is best for you – stick with it and monitor it.  Not everything is for everyone and what got you here was a different path than everyone else too, the rebuilding will take time also.

It’s not easy – but it is simple!

Seriously – You should have fun with everything you do, including your low-carb lifestyle.  It takes trial and error, and we will talk about some methods you can incorporate into what you do, and some tricks and tips about overcoming stalls and re-motivating too in the coming months.

To get the new-year-low-carb going right, I’m going to be hitting an all-you-can-meat restaurant for dinner.  On that note, enough blogging and off to eating.