The Carb Free Diet - Why It Works

I realize I'm getting obsessive with the notion of the low or carb free diet, but so far, I've come up with several reasons why they work:

1. An Amazing Story of Quick Weight Loss Based On Sugar (Carbs) Elimination
This story provides a great deal of evidence for eliminating carbs = eliminating excess weight: Just before Christmas, a 60 year old man I know experienced shortness of breath and was taken to the hospital. A week later, after having a stent implanted for an artery blockage, he was sent home with a nicotine patch to stop smoking and orders to cut out the six-pack of cola (not diet) he drank every day. I saw him several weeks later and was amazed - he had lost a whopping 20 pounds! I'm sure his heart is a lot happier!

He changed from cola to diet soda (eliminating pounds of sugar every day), spent a week in the hospital (that accounts for some of the weight loss!) and lost 20 pounds. Impressive!

2. A MAJOR reason dieting fails is because most people feel deprived on a standard "you have to limit your portions" diet. Not so with a carb free diet - you can eat as much as you want - as long as you restrict sugar, sweets, rice, potatoes, and bread. Two slices of bread account for about 20 carbs, the total daily allowance in the Atkins diet Induction (first stage) phase.

The only restriction you have is carbs. Eat anything else you want, but keep track and minimize carb consumption. Note that my experience is that this is not as easy as it sounds - they're everywhere and in everything.

3. Another BIG reason dieting fails is that after you lose your target weight - you gain it all back! With a carb free diet, you will eventually add back carbs into your diet (although not at the same amount prior to the diet). Since everyone is different, the amount of carbs tolerated differs from person to person.

The science behind the carb free/low carb diet is explained in detail in the Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It book I continue to recommend. This book has created a major controvery in the scientific community, mainly because of the author's shocking explanation for why we get fat. If his intention was to create change to fight obesity, he's got people talking about it. And in a nation of free speech - they do argue his points agressively.

Hey - the proof's in the results - if you stick to the carb free diet, you will likely drop weight faster than any other diet and become much healthier in the process.

Challenge Your Beliefs About Losing Weight In The Book "Why We Get Fat"

There are no accidents.

As I'm assembling the components of my perfect fitness plan (see http://agedefiance.blogspot.com/2011/01/best-way-to-lose-weight-fast-for-over.html), pieces of it just pop up right in front of me.

For example, every knows that grocery stores place magazines so that us dumb shoppers can read the headlines/teasers while we wait in line.

So, last Sunday, while waiting for my hard-earned money to be stolen by the chain grocery store, I see "EAT THIS, LOSE WEIGHT - The New Science of Dieting." It's the February, 2011 edition of Reader's Digest.

I did the dumb consumer thing, and bought it. AND it was really a smart move!

Bottom Line - the award winning science jornalist Gary Taubes challenges common dieting beliefs in a book published in 2011 -

Here's a quote from the Reader's Digest article about the book:

What we tell people to do to lose weight - eat less and exercise - is exactly what you'd do if you wanted to make yourself hungry.

Whoops! No wonder dieting doesn't work!

Kinda piques your interest! Mr. Taubes makes a scientific case for a heart healthy low carb high protein diet and eating style a la Atkins. And yes you read it correctly - heart healthy.

I ordered Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It at AMAZON. More about its contents in future posts.