Low-Carb & Fitness

(eFitness / physicallyelite.com) -- While there are dozens of low-carbohydrate diet books on the market today, there is still a lot of confusion regarding how to follow this type of eating plan. In fact, the most common questions asked are about getting the best results from a low-carb diet. This article provides answers to those questions.

1. Calories Do Count

While there is scientific data that shows people following a low-carbohydrate diet can eat more calories than those on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, it doesn't mean you can gorge to your heart's content on low-carbohydrate foods every day and expect to lose weight.

While low-carbohydrate dieting is more effective than high-carb, low-fat dieting, for most people the rule still holds that you need to eat less too. Start your diet eating 12 times your body weight in calories every day. After a week or two, add or subtract your daily calories by 500 depending on how much fat you are losing. Remember that you don't want to lose more than two pounds of fat per week to ensure you keep your muscle mass.

2. Keep Both the Amount and Type of Carbs You Eat in Check

When starting out, it's best to keep carbohydrates to no more than 50 grams per day. After you have been on the diet for a while and have met your weight loss goal, you may be able to increase to as much as 100 grams per day without gaining back the fat you lost.

The types of carbohydrates you eat are of equal importance. The majority of the carbs you eat should come from vegetables, especially greens such as broccoli, asparagus, green beans, garlic and onions.

Avoid starch-laden carbohydrates like pasta and bread. Fruits also need to be consumed in moderation when starting out. Stick to fruits low in sugar and fructose, which the body readily stores as fat such as raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. Bananas, grapes, and pineapple are examples of fruits that should be avoided or eaten in small amounts.

3. Get Enough Protein

Your body needs more protein when dieting. If you are lifting weights -- and you should be -- these needs increase further. Getting enough protein will ensure that you are able to retain muscle and lose primarily fat when dieting. Research shows that .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight is the amount needed daily.

Most of the protein you eat every day should come from meats including chicken, fish, eggs, and red meat. Use protein shakes as meal replacements to make getting the protein you don’t get from foods easier.

4. Eat Healthy Fats

While on a low-carbohydrate diet, your fat intake will be between 30-60 percent of your total caloric intake. You want to make sure you eat the right types of fats.

Paying attention to the types of fats you eat plays an important role in your health and how quickly you lose fat. Generally speaking, 70 percent of the fats you eat should be monounsaturated fats. Excellent sources of monounsaturated fats are olive oil, almonds, macadamia nuts and canola oil. It's important to make the majority of the fats you eat monounsaturated since they don’t have negative impact on insulin function and improve cholesterol levels, boost your immune system and are a good source of the antioxidant vitamin E.

The rest of your dietary fats should come from saturated and polyunsaturated fats. Saturated fats play a key role in the production of hormones such as muscle-building testosterone. Daily intake should be limited to 10-15 percent of your total fat intake as excessive consumption of saturated fats leads to insulin resistance which will limit weight loss and may also increase your risk of developing cardiovascular problems and other diseases.

The remainder of the fats you eat should be from polyunsaturated fats, with the majority being from fats that are high in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids will help accelerate weight loss and keep both your body and brain healthy.

Research shows approximately three grams of omega-3 fatty acids are needed daily for benefits. The best food sources of omega-3 fatty acids are cold water fish, which includes salmon and sardines. Supplements are often a better way to get the necessary amounts of omega-3 fatty acids since it may be difficult to eat fish on a daily basis. Also, don’t cook with polyunsaturated fats from any source, including fish oil, as they are converted to unhealthy fats.

5. Follow Two-Week Break-In Period

When you first begin a low-carbohydrate diet it is imperative that you eat no more than 50 grams of carbohydrate a day for the first two weeks of the diet. In fact, if you have a lot of weight to lose you may want to follow this plan for an additional week or two.

The reason for this is that it takes at least two weeks to allow the body to shift to fat mode. The break-in period also allows you to eliminate cravings for starchy and sugar-rich foods. Don't worry, while restrictive, this period only lasts for two weeks. After the break-in period is over, you can enjoy your favorite high-carbohydrate foods during regularly scheduled carb-up meals. Details on how to do this are explained in the next tip.

6. Strategic Carb-Ups

Eating the right amount of carbohydrates at the right times will help you lose more fat than if you follow a low-carb diet all of the time. High-carbohydrate meals will keep your metabolism elevated throughout your diet, which tends to decrease over time and almost as importantly will ensure you keep your sanity and don't end up gorging on a couple of pizzas and a gallon of ice cream after weeks of carbohydrate restriction.

The rule of thumb for carbing up is that the frequency of carb-ups and amount of carbohydrates you can eat when carbing up is directly proportional to your body fat level. In other words, as you become leaner you will be able to eat more carbohydrates more often. This doesn't mean you can switch back to a high-carbohydrate diet, but instead have a couple of high-carbohydrate meals or even a day where you eat more carbohydrates.

When you are starting you'll want to limit your carb-ups to an additional 100 grams of carbohydrates eaten at one meal a week. Once your body fat is down to 15 percent or less, you can add another meal with approximately 100 grams of carbohydrates on another day. If your body fat is 10 percent or less you may be able to move to an entire day of high carbohydrate eating (300 grams total) and one high carbohydrate meal another day of the week.

The best way to include two days of carbing up without adding body fat is to do so once every three to four days. All other days you will eat between 50-100 grams of carbohydrates, again depending on your body fat. One way to do this is have a high-carbohydrate (100 grams) meal on Wednesday after your workout and a high-carbohydrate (300 grams) day of eating on Saturday.

7. Strategic Supplementation

Nutritional supplements can make low-carbohydrate dieting easier and more effective. Listed below are a couple of supplements that will help you lose fat faster and make dieting more tolerable.

BCAA/Glutamine: pre/post-workout (weights)

Branched chain amino acids and glutamine used together before and after a workout keep your body in fat-burning mode and prevent muscle from being used as energy. Studies show that one particular branch chain amino acid, leucine, may actually accelerate weight loss when on a low-carbohydrate diet.

Fish Oil

Fish oil supplements are the best and easiest way to obtain the weight loss benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Studies show that supplementing with three or more grams of fish oil daily can help you lose weight by improving insulin function and increasing the amount of calories you burn every day by 300 or more. When choosing a fish oil supplement, make sure you choose a product that ensures their product is free of contaminants and impurities.

Multivitamin

A quality multivitamin will ensure that your daily nutritional needs are met and should be taken no matter what type of diet you are following. Make sure you choose a supplement that is high in B vitamins and antioxidants which includes vitamin E and C.

Fiber Supplement

You need to eat at least 25-30 grams of fiber every day. Doing so will improve your overall health and improve the results you get from your diet. Dietary fiber not only keeps you regular but also binds to carbohydrates, limiting their conversion to glucose and increases the absorption of the protein you eat. Since getting the necessary amount of dietary fiber through food can be difficult using a supplement is often helpful.

Whey-Casein Protein

While it's best to get as much of your protein every day from real foods, a protein supplement used to replace one to two of your meals daily makes this key macronutrient much easier. When selecting a protein powder, choose a product that uses the proteins whey and casein as their protein source. These two proteins, when used together, are the best for supporting weight loss and building muscle.

8. Don't Forget Water

While eating fewer calories is key to success on a low-carbohydrate diet, drinking less water is not okay. Getting enough water is necessary for keeping your metabolism cranking and to ensure your body is able to handle the additional protein you may be eating.

You need to drink a minimum of .6 ounces of water per pound of bodyweight daily, more if you are exercising. Drink water with and between meals to make sure your needs are met.

9. Remember Exercise -- Especially Weights -- are Key to Success

While dieting alone is good for your health, you must exercise for the best results. Best results means that you lose body fat and not muscle so you look your best. Your workouts need to include cardio and weight training. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean working out two or more hours a day. Each workout, when done properly, won’t take more than an hour. The key to getting results from your workout program is to do something four to six days a week for 45-60 minutes per workout.

Whether you are struggling to make the low-carbohydrate diet you are on work, or are just getting started, you now have all of the information you need to succeed. Apply the information in this article and I guarantee you will lose body fat faster than you ever thought possible.

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Curt Pedersen has a degree in exercise science and has published exercise and nutrition articles in many leading publications. To read more articles by Curt, go to www.physicallyelite.com