Once again lower carb diets reign supreme for weight loss. Research presented at The Endocrine Society’s 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston demonstrated that a diet containing 43 percent calories from carbohydrates and 39 percent calories from fat was better for fat loss than a diet containing 55 percent of calories from carbohydrates and 27 percent from fat. (Protein made up the other 18 percent of each diet). Researchers were able to measure the subjects’ fat deep inside the abdomen and their total body fat using computed tomography (CT) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans, which are considered the gold standard for assessing body fat levels.
Although subjects on both diets lost weight (demonstrating that calorie controlled diet – not low calories diets are important for weight loss) subjects who consumed the lower carbohydrate diet had 11 percent less deep abdominal fat and 4% greater loss in total body fat than those who ate the standard diet.
This is not surprising as it is not necessarily eating fat that makes you fat. Obviously eating too much fat in the form of excess calories will make you fat, but eating more fat than carbs in a calorie controlled diet will not make you fat as fat has no effect on insulin. However carbohydrate, especially high GL carbs such as bread, pasta, grains, sweets and bakery good does raise insulin. The more carbs you eat in a calorie controlled diet in relation to protein and fat the more insulin you will have in your system and insulin drive fat storage – it basically drives carbs in to the fat cells where they are converted to triglycerides.
Now the carb content of this diet could have even been a bit lower, and the protein content a bit higher for even more dramatic results. Although this diet only lasted 8 weeks – diet in Greek means “manner of living” so turn this diet in to a way of life and you will lose body fat (both from around the organs and from just under the skin) and you will be leaner and healthier and have less likelihood of developing heart disease and diabetes.
To find out how to eat such a diet that you can maintain for life visit here.
