Low Carb Diet : Is Carb Depletion Always Necessary To Burn Fat?

Is a low carb diet a weight loss truth – or myth?

Recent research points to low carbohydrate diets being as effective as any other fat loss diet… as long as you can stick to it!

Over time, myths must die. And it’s time for some long-lived fat loss myths over a low carb diet to be shattered by emerging facts.

After decades of childish bickering over which approach to fat loss is better – low carb diets or low fat diets – the truth is finally emerging, thanks to some well-designed and carefully monitored studies.

And the results are startling!

Long-cherished beliefs are now being tossed out the window.

Folks like you and me who just want to burn that pesky belly fat and lose weight have a lot to cheer about. Because, you see, the evidence shows that different approaches work just as well to burn fat.

Yes, low carb diets help with weight loss. And yes, low fat diets are also effective.

No, picking one over the other will not leave you at a disadvantage.

And what matters most is that you’re able to stick with the diet you choose.

Now that you have the bird’s eye overview, let’s get into more detail and explore what makes a low carb diet as effective as a low fat diet.

You’ll learn why avid followers of either approach don’t need to switch or change, just as long as they get on steadily with whatever they’re doing.

Low Carb Diet : The Shifting Sands of Dietary Fashion

Since the 1960s, Americans have been exposed to conflicting statements about weight loss.

One that has stayed consistent over decades, though, is the advice that saturated fat is bad for your health.

The US Department of Agriculture first seeded this ‘home truth’ deep into our collective psyche. This was gradually reinforced by the Surgeon General’s endorsement.

But strangely, even as Americans believed in it, they grew more obese!

Now while several factors combined to create this ‘overweight epidemic‘, a large part was contributed by the ill-informed dietary advice rendered over 5 decades.

Even with little scientific research supporting the claim, it was only recently that the Scientific Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee admitted that “blaming fat as the enemy was wrong“.

Low Carb Is The New Low Fat

Indeed, a low fat diet means you’ll have to make up for calories by eating more carbohydrates (and that raises your chances of becoming diabetic) … or consuming more protein (that increases your risk of getting gout).

Another consequence of a ‘low fat diet‘ is the growing use of processed food substitutes like margarine, spam and low-fat cookies which contain preservatives, trans fats and highly-processed carbs – all of them health hazards.

Enter The Low Carb Diet Movement

Low carb diets aren’t new.

Recommended as a cure for diabetes in the late 1700’s by John Rollo, it was popularized by William Banting in 1863 (and low carb diets are even now called Banting diets).

Essentially a low carb diet involves eating less carbohydrate and more protein and fat.

To follow a low carb diet, you’ll reduce your intake of sugar, fruits, starches and some vegetables.

You’ll also avoid rice, bread and pasta, while eggs, cheese, meat and fish can be eaten without restriction.

Here’s what happens when you follow a low carb diet

your insulin levels fall

significant fat loss occurs

beneficial metabolic changes take place

your heart disease risk drops

you won’t crave food while on a low carb diet

your appetite decreases, so you’ll eat fewer calories

How a Low Carb Diet Regulates Insulin

Insulin is a hormone that gets cells to take up excess glucose from the blood, and use this glucose for energy. If the cell doesn’t need more energy, then it stores glucose in the form of fat.

A low carb diet trial on 132 obese people was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine to have lowered insulin levels by 27% while at the same time increasing cell sensitivity to the available insulin.

This means glucose metabolism goes on as normal, without the pancreas being stressed to release more of the hormone. That, in turn, reduces the risk of diabetes. It ensures better glucose metabolism by your body on a low carb diet.

How a Low Carb Diet Helps Weight Loss

Whenever you first go on a diet to lose weight, two things happen.

You lose water and

Your body burns fat

At the beginning, water loss is more likely.

Insulin levels play a role in this, by altering the blood glucose levels. A low carb diet keeps glucose concentration stable, so that your body doesn’t retain water.

But that isn’t all that happens when you cut down on carbohydrate intake.

Longer term weight loss involves losing fat, an effect that also happens on a low carb diet.

Over 20 studies have confirmed that a low carb diet can help you lose belly fat and internal visceral fat more effectively than people on low fat diets.

A few years back, a paper in the ‘Annals of Internal Medicine’ from Tulane University reported on 148 volunteers who followed a low carb diet of less than 40 grams daily – and lost 7.7 pounds more than others who ate less fat.

A Low Carb Diet Has Metabolic Advantages, Too

For many dieters, the metabolic effects of a low carb diet make it sound very attractive.

Shaun Hadsall’s ’14 Day Rapid Fat Loss Plan’ is based on an eating plan that confers serious metabolic benefits to dieters – you can read a review of the program here – click.

Your body’s metabolic rate is a measure of how much energy your cells use up in a certain time frame.

If your body burns up more energy, it is easier to lose weight.

The greater your muscle mass, the more energy your body will burn as fuel. Higher protein intake associated with low carb diets causes greater energy consumption, which leads to a metabolic advantage over those on a low fat diet.

No Carbohydrate Diets Low Carb Food List

Heart Disease Risk is Less on a Low Carb Diet

Cardiovascular diseases are more likely in individuals with high levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while HDL (“good“) cholesterol is protective against heart disease.

Repeated nutritional research has shown that a low carb diet increases HDL levels and brings down triglyceride levels, thereby reducing heart attack and stroke risk.

Food Craving Is Less with Low Carb Diets

Anyone who has tried dieting is familiar with hunger pangs as the initial flush of excitement wears off, and your body begins to struggle against the effects of food deprivation.

Hunger is a natural response to low blood sugar levels. It signals your brain that it’s time to fuel up!

But this protective reflex is bad news for dieters.

In fact, for many of us, these food cravings are a disaster that forces us to give up on any diet before we can enjoy the benefits of it.

Diets based on high carbohydrate intake act in a self-defeating manner.

You eat sugar or carbohydrates.
Your blood glucose level rises.
Insulin is released from the pancreas in order to deal with this glucose.
Cells use up excess levels.
But then the system overshoots, bringing down blood glucose to a point where it triggers the hunger response.
You begin to crave carbohydrates again
And the vicious cycle continues, over and over.

A low carb diet appeals to many because it reduces food craving.

Hunger pangs are a reflection of low blood glucose levels.

Since a low carb diet (with increased protein intake) results in fewer insulin spikes, your blood glucose level stays stable over a longer period… and you no longer feel hungry.

Then Are Low Carb Diets The Best Option?

It might seem that way, considering how beneficial a low carb diet can be to lose weight and improve overall health.

And many nutritionists and dieticians have sworn by a low carb diet as the ideal path to sustainable weight loss.

Recent research has however thrown up an equally effective alternative – a low fat diet.

Low Fat Diets May Even Be Better Than Low Carb Diets

What set the cat among the pigeons is a new study reported in the journal Cell Metabolism from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The research closely monitored a group of subjects over four weeks. During this period, everything they carefully measured and controlled what dieters consumed.

In the first half of the study, they reduced calories by 30% through a low carb diet. Fat intake remained normal.

During the next 2 weeks, they reversed the pattern – with fats being restricted and carbohydrate intake increased.

Here’s the interesting part.

While the low carb diet brought about a loss of 245 grams (0.54 pounds) of fat, the low fat diet lowered weight by 463 grams (1.02 pounds) – that’s 80% higher than the low carb group.

“I wanted to see if carbohydrate restriction is effective for losing body fat because that concept has impacted the way many choose their diets,” says Kevin Hall.

Dr.Hall was the lead researcher on the paper. He cautions against the data being too widely applied because the study group was small (just 19 people), and believes ongoing larger trials will offer more information and guidance.

Meanwhile, here’s the big takeaway for dieters like you.

The Only Diet That Matters Is…

However you choose to look at the data, one thing stands out clearly as an important message for dieters.

In the words of Susan Jebb of Oxford University:

“The best diet for weight loss is the diet you can stick to.”

Any diet works to lower fat.

If you cut calories, whether by a low carb diet or a low fat diet, you’ll lose weight. To continue to lose weight, you’ve got to stick to your eating plan.

But that’s easier to say than do.

Most of us can stay with a diet for a week or two. But it takes longer to lose weight in a sustainable fashion.

And ‘real world‘ experience (where diets are not so strictly regulated or controlled) suggests that greater weight loss comes from low carb diets.

Still, people differ.

If a low fat diet is easier for you to stick to, then you should pick it.

Some dieters find it easier to cut calories in the form of lower fat intake. Others find it easier to give up on carbs. There are no metabolic disadvantages to one approach over the other.
The best diet to lower body fat is not just a matter of body chemistry.

As Sai Das and Susan Roberts from Tufts University say, “Some carbohydrates like healthy whole grains with low glycemic index are okay for anyone to eat.”

In the final analysis, it’s no use prescribing a diet that you can’t maintain over the long run.

The best fat loss diet… is the one that you can stick to.
Shaun Hadsall’s ’14 Day Rapid Fat Loss Plan’ is among the easiest diet plans to maintain, being based on macro-patterning and common sense logic. You can learn more about it in this detailed review – click.

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No Carb Diet Magic : How Giving Up Carbohydrate Delivers Miraculous Weight Loss Results

A No Carb Diet Makes You Wonder… Can You Really Lose 100 Pounds Without Exercise, Or Become a Super Athlete? And Amazingly Enough, The Answer Is: YES!

On a no carb diet you’ll lose 100 pounds – with no exercise. NFL linemen can train harder and feel less pain with zero carb intake. Quit eating carbs and you’ll melt away to almost nothing!

The myths abound.

And other claims are even wilder, and harder to believe.

So what’s the deal with a no carb diet?

Is it good – or bad?
Should you try it – or not?
What to eat – and when?

That’s what we’ll discuss here.

Understanding a No Carb Diet

A low carb diet is not the same as a no carb diet.

A zero carb diet is much more intense and excludes all carbohydrates.

So how does your body get energy then?

Fat becomes your main source, with protein for backup.

You’ll eat eggs, cheese, fish and meat.

A low carb diet makes you ketogenic.

Dietary fat is converted into ketone bodies. These are oxidized for energy.

Because this is NOT how your body normally works, you should talk with your physician before going on a no carb diet.

Although it’s called a no carb diet and restricts intake to less than 50 grams of carbohydrate daily, you’ll be surprised that even when you eat more carbohydrate, you’ll still continue to lose weight.

How To Go On a Zero Carb Diet?

It’s not easy to get started on a near-zero carb diet and stick with it. So give yourself some time to prepare.

Concentrate on the food you’re permitted to eat (No carb diets can be tasty and you won’t have to give up something).

Enjoy trying out new recipes and meal plans.

The first step is to determine how much carbohydrate you can eat and still lose fat.

Cutting down on carbs optimizes your body composition and improves biomarkers of health. However, many dieters don’t understand that carbohydrates are necessary for the body, especially if you are physically active or in training.

By eating enough carbs to keep liver stores of glycogen topped up and to fuel your brain with glucose, you’ll lose fat without any drop in energy level, mental function or mood changes.

Paleo diets and the Atkins diet are low / no carb diets which work well in sedentary populations, but not with active dieters.

Here’s What A No Carb Diet Does

If you run, ski, train with weights, go cycling or engage in any other high energy activity, a no carb diet won’t provide enough calories.

This may be counter-productive – so it’s important that you understand the principles behind a zero-carbohydrate diet plan.

Diets must be tailored to your specific circumstances, body type, health conditions, activity and goals.

Think about it like driving a car.

If your car is always locked up in the garage, it won’t matter

if you fill the tank with gas or not. But if you drive long distances every day, you must top up frequently, or you’ll run out of fuel.

Your body is just like that.

Loading up on carbs while you’re sedentary only floods the blood with extra glucose which is stored as fat, leading to diabetes, high cholesterol, insulin resistance and other problems.

But if you starve yourself of carbs while you are active, you’ll experience fatigue, irritation, depression, muscle and bone loss, suboptimal performance, insomnia, lower sex drive and a slower metabolic rate.

So, Is a No Carb Diet Unhealthy?

Nutritionists typically recommend that

50% to 65% of your daily calories come from carbohydrates,
20% to 30% from fats and
the rest from protein.

A no carb diet, on the other hand, is different. In this rigorous diet plan,

70% of energy requirement comes from fat,
30% from protein, and
almost none from carbs.

Since body fat has to be converted into ketones before use as fuel after glycogen depletion, this is also called a ketogenic diet, or simply “keto”.

Bodybuilders adopt a reduced carbohydrate diet before contests to retain muscle mass while shedding water and fat by forcing their body to burn fat for energy.

A no carb diet is therefore not unhealthy.

However, it produces some unusual metabolic changes in your body which now adapts to a low carb intake by finding alternate sources of energy such as converting fat and protein to glucose which is stored as glycogen.

Your brain switches over to using this alternate source of fuel when daily carb intake drops to less than 50 grams.

Who Needs No Carb Diets?

Originally recommended for people with morbid obesity or epilepsy, a no carb diet is now gaining popularity among other dieters after a lot of research was done on balanced carb diets.

As the linesman of New York Giants Geoff Shwartz says of a zero carb diet, “You’ll feel leaner, more energetic and recover faster from workouts. You’ll just feel better in general.”

The message to athletes is clear.

On a zero carb diet, you’ll train harder and for longer – and hurt less.

Two benefits of a no carb diet highlighted by nutrition specialist Dr.Steve Phinney are that

fat loss is replaced with lean muscle, and
anti-inflammatory mechanisms are activated leading to less soreness after training.

Phinney says:

“On a no carb diet, your body gets efficient at burning fat for energy, both during exercise and at rest.”

Six days without carbs and a lot of protein is enough for this effect to kick in.

Small amounts of nutritious sources of carbs like fruits and veggies are alright.

No Consensus on Low / No Carb Diets

UCSF dietician Katie Ferraro doesn’t agree.

She thinks a no carb diet is inefficient at processing fat and protein for energy, and advocates caution in embracing a carbohydrate-free eating plan.

“It’s like trying to run a car on empty!” says the articulate assistant professor.

In fact, Dr.Ferraro likens a low carb diet to filling your luxury car’s unleaded petrol tank… with diesel!

And then expecting peak performance from it.

She says:

“That’s not a good way to eat over a long time.”

A no carb diet requires you to eat natural (unprocessed) foods that are low in carbohydrate content.

Eat egg whites and cheese for breakfast.
Chicken and veggies for lunch.
Hamburger patties, cheese and more vegetable for dinner.
Supplemented with low-carb protein shakes.

Schwartz, a nutrition expert, says that it’s tough to ensure that 70% or more of your calories come from fat.

Eating that much fatty food is hard, even if you add plenty of coconut and olive oil, avocado and more to your recipes.

What Do You Eat on Zero Carb Diets?

How to lose weight fast?

It depends on your health status, your activity level and your weight.

Pick smaller quantities of processed food items to fit your budget. Your diet will ideally include plenty of protein and fat, with very few carbs.

The base could be pork and eggs or other meats and fish like tuna and salmon.

Fish oil or flax seed oil can make up the rest of your calorie requirements.

You can eat meat, eggs, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, reduced-fat cheese, yoghurt, sour cream and healthy oil.

You should avoid sugar, trans fat, wheat and highly processed foods.

If weight loss isn’t your main goal, you can eat more carbohydrate like sweet potato, rice, oats, quinoa and legumes and drink coffee, tea or soda without sweeteners.

Zero carb foods – in a picture

Click for larger image
A no carb diet can appear severely restrictive in terms of your eating choices – especially if you use a weight loss calculator to keep track of your calorie intake.

On a carb free diet, you might have to rely only on plant oils, spices and salt for flavouring. All carb-containing foods are off the menu.

Such stringent eating habits aren’t easy to sustain, not to mention that they come with some unpleasant features as well.

Side Effects of No Carb Diets

The longer you stay on a zero carbohydrate diet, the more stress it places on your kidneys and liver.

Headache, nausea, tiredness and bad breath are common side effects of a ketogenic diet. Prolonged low carb intakes might even reduce libido.

All these are reasons why a no carb diet is intended only for short term weight loss, and not meant to be a long term plan (like a Dukan diet).

Also, in a practical sense, a no carb diet becomes restrictive in food choices.

After a while, a meal of mushrooms, spinach and asparagus begins to look unappealing, even if you are shedding extra pounds of fat.

All of this leads to a higher rate of abandonment with a low carbohydrate diet than other alternatives that are not too restrictive and strict about what you can eat.

A more balanced approach to fat loss than a no carb diet will have a wider following.

One of the best weight loss diet choices is Shaun Hadsall‘s’14 Day Rapid Fat Loss’ program.

This program emphasizes healthy eating, regular exercise workouts, and other healthy practices.

FAQ – No Carb Diet

All your concerns regarding the no carb diet is addressed here

What is no carb diet?

The no carb diet or zero carb diet is an extreme diet featuring no carbohydrates. All digestible carbs are removed from your daily diet.

So, whole grains, fruits and vegetables containing carbohydrates are out. So are legumes and beans as there carb content is considered high. Only foods with no digestible carbohydrates are allowed on this diet which can be considered an extreme version of the other more popular low-carb diet.

Is no carb diet helpful in losing weight?

While eliminating carbs completely helps shed pounds and may even have some health benefits the more important question that needs to be addressed here is that is it really necessary to go such extreme diet to lose weight.

It is a highly restrictive diet which eliminates most foods. It may not be really necessary to go to such extremes for very simple goal. You can lose weight even without the highly restrictive no carb diet.

What does no carb diet mean to you in day to day life?

Carbs are our primary source of food. They fuel our bodies as they are easily converted to glycogen. They are found in cereals, beans, legumes, fruits, vegetables, in dairy, bread, pasta, in cakes and desserts.

If you decide to go on a no carbohydrate diet you will have to avoid almost everything and survive on protein and fat alone.

Though some people do consume non-starchy vegetables, nuts and seeds, high fat fruits like avocado are allowed as the carbs in them is minuscule as part of their no carb diet. The problem with extreme diets like no carb diet is that is very difficult to follow them day-to-day.

What is allowed in no carb diet?

In a no carb diet the main sources of diet are proteins and fats. Proteins come from meats, fish, eggs, cheese and fats from oils and butter. Those who are not on a very strict no carbohydrate diet sometimes eat vegetables with very little starch like cauliflower and broccoli.

They have more fiber and less of the digestible starch. So, it is considered as no carb. Under the no carbohydrate diet high-fat fruits like coconut and avocado are also allowed.

Though it is very similar to ketogenic diet, the no carb diet is in fact very restrictive if you follow it without exception.

Some sources ask you to restrict your carb intake to less than 30 gm per day. But a extensive research did not come up with any set protocols on what and how much to eat in this diet.

Does it help you lose weight?

Since, you are not taking any carbohydrates, it should help you lose weight if you remain within your calorie limits.

When you replace carbs with proteins and fats you feel full when you eat fewer overall calories. You also feel satiated and don’t crave for desserts. These factors promote weight loss.

Another point noted was that no carb diets result in rapid weight loss in the initial few weeks as there is a drop in water weight in the body. One gm of carb holds on to 3 gm of water.

So the depletion of carbs results in depletion of water stored in the body.

Studies have shown that those on no carbohydrate diet lose 4 kg more weight than those on low fat diet. Studies have also shown that those on no or low carb diet showed more sustained weight loss over a year.

Other studies have shown there isn’t much of a difference in either a low carb diet or other low calorie diet programs.

A more balanced approach to fat loss than a no carb diet is better in the long-term for your health.

One of the best weight loss diet choices is Shaun Hadsall‘s’14 Day Rapid Fat Loss’ program.

This program emphasizes healthy eating, regular exercise workouts, and other healthy practices that will work for you in the long-term.

Does a no carb diet benefit the heart?

Very low or no carb diets lead to low blood triglyceride levels.

Elevated triglyceride levels are associated with high risk of heart attack. With no carb diets you can reduce the triglyceride levels by 40% over just 3-4 months.

The no carbohydrate diet might also help raise the good cholesterol levels – that is HDL in blood which protects the heart.

Overall your heart health may improve on a no carb diet.

Does it help control blood sugar?

Refined carbs and sugars are the main cause of high blood sugar. In a no carb diet this will be eliminated from the diet and hence can aid in blood sugar control. Those with diabetes might find a no carb diet useful to get their blood sugar under control.

Again it is not necessary to follow such a restrictive diet as even on a higher carb diet the sugar levels can be controlled. But this might be helpful for folks who are unable to control blood sugar through their low calorie diet.

Does it lower blood pressure?

No carb diet might help with decreasing blood pressure, though more studies are needed to say so conclusively.

Does no carb diet help reduce belly fat?

Some research seem to suggest that no carb diets are better at lowering belly fat than low fat diet.

Does a no carb diet cause constipation?

Yes, there is a real risk of constipation on a no carb diet. With most fruits and vegetables eliminated from the diet, there is hardly any fiber to help in digestion or removal of toxins.

Fiber helps in bowel regularity too. So, a highly restrictive no carbohydrate diet can lead to serious issues of constipation and digestive discomfort.

Constipation can lead to other problems like fissures. Chia seeds and flax seeds can help with fiber. Cauliflowers and other non-starchy fibers-rich food should also be included in diet to regulate bowel movements.

Does a no carb diet cause low energy levels?

Carbs are body’s main source of energy. When consumed they quickly get transformed into energy which is used by body to help power it.

By eliminating all carbs you will be forcing the body to adapt to other energy sources like fat and proteins. The whole way body breaks down food to convert to energy is changed in the no carbohydrate diet.

Before the transition from carbs to proteins and fat the body might experience a period of low energy and general fatigue. During the transition phase people experience nausea, sleep disturbances and poor mental functions. This is normal. Once you reach the ketosis stage you will experience a return to normal.

Does no carb diet lead to nutritional deficiencies?

By restricting our diets to only proteins and fats we are denying the body ready access to vitamins and minerals which are readily available from fruits, vegetables and grains.

This causes deficiencies in micro-nutrients.

Also, a zero carbohydrate diet causes more urination which means you will be losing potassium too over time.

A balanced diet is not possible with a no carb diet. So over time you might end up with many nutritional deficiencies which need to be fixed through careful supplementation and evaluation.

Instead of a no carb diet try one of the best weight loss diets.

Developed by Shaun Hadsall‘s ’14 Day Rapid Fat Loss’ is one of the most balanced programs.

Is a no carb diet possible in the long term?

You might be able to follow a zero carbohydrate diet for short term like 3-6 months. But longer than that it becomes difficult due to the some of the problems highlighted above.

There is also not much data on the long-term effects of such a restrictive diet. So, don’t do it for the long term. It is high in fat, highly restrictive and not well researched as yet.

Try the Shaun Hadsall‘s ’14 Day Rapid Fat Loss’ program instead.

Children, pregnant women, mothers breastfeeding their babies and those with any health conditions like cholesterol hyper responders should not be following this diet.

What foods are allowed in a no carb diet?

Here’s by no means an exhaustive list of foods allowed under the zero carbohydrate diet. Check them out:

Meat: Chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, bison, venison, pork – all kinds of meat is allowed and eggs too.

Seafood: Fish like salmon, tilapia and cod. Crab, Shrimp, sardines and herring.

Fats: butter, lard, cheese, oils

Nuts and seeds with no or low digestible carbs: almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, cashews

Drinks allowed: water, black coffee, green tea and black tea – no sugar or no milk allowed

Vegetables low in net carbs: cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, bell peppers, leafy greens, turnips, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, mushrooms

High-fat fruits: coconut, avocado

Seasonings: herbs and spices

What foods to avoid on a no carb diet?

The following food cannot be part of your zero carbohydrate diet.

All grains and cereals including rice, wheat, quinoa, barley.
Baked goods and sweets like bread, pizza, pasta, cake, cookie
Sugary and sweet drinks, fizzy drinks, fruits juices.
Avoid fruits and vegetables like apples, oranges, bananas, potatoes, peas, squash, berries and more.
Legumes and beans – Avoid all kinds of beans like black, red, kidney, lentils, chickpeas.
Avoid all dairy except cheese and butter.
Don’t drink alcohol including brandy, beer, whisky, wine or vodka. These are not part of the zero carbohydrate diet.

Don’t add ketchup, sauces and salad dressings and other condiments bought at the store to your meals . You can make your own dressings consisting of fats and seasonings and try to aware of any carbs you might include by accident in your no carb diet.

One of the best weight loss diet choices is Shaun Hadsall‘s ’14 Day Rapid Fat Loss’ program.

This program emphasizes healthy eating, regular exercise workouts, and other healthy practices.

Fat Loss Diet Books – How to Find the Right Ones For You

The online bookseller Amazon currently lists over five thousand best selling fat loss diet books in its catalogue.

Fat Loss Diet Books
Whilst this may give you plenty of choice the sheer volume of books can make it impossible to decide which is the right fat loss diet book for you.

How To Choose a Diet Book

When selecting a diet handbook, rather than focusing on the full selection available, turn your attention inwards and think about yourself, your lifestyle, your habits and preferences.

Your best chance of picking the best diet book for you is by being honest about yourself. For instance, a vegetarian is going to struggle following a low carb high protein diet plan which of necessity requires him or her to eat a significant amount of meat or fish.

Consider whether you enjoy cooking or if your preference is to buy prepared meals. If you know your way around a kitchen you will find a fat loss diet cookbook, that includes healthy recipes, more useful than a book that just talks about weight loss.

Diet Cookbooks

Diet cookbooks are available for just about every bestselling diet plan on the market today.

Are you willing to abandon all of your unhealthy food choices and just focus on eating those foods that are naturally low calorie? Or, you would you rather eat the same foods as you usually do but restrict your calories by reducing quantities?
Do you have any health conditions that you need to consider? Are you able and willing to incorporate exercise into your diet regime? For the ladies, could pregnancy be a factor to be considered? Or, have you recently had a baby?
Do you have a deadline to meet? Are you looking for a way to lose weight by a particular date for a special event? A wedding perhaps?
Do you have a troublesome area of your body, around which weight tends to accumulate, that need a diet and exercise regime focused on producing results there?

What are your general health and fitness levels like?

Be honest about yourself and your strengths.

Be honest about your starting point. And, by bearing all of these things in mind you can begin to reject some of the fat loss diet books on offer and narrow down your options.

Your Fat Loss Diet Options

Remember, everybody’s body is different.

Some lose weight by avoiding carbs, others see the most weight loss through simply restricting total calories – although many would argue this is the most tedious way of getting rid of unwanted fat. What works for your friend or colleague may not be a resounding success for you.

One thing to be aware of are the fads and trends in the diet and weight loss world. Many diet books feature prominently on the bestseller lists for a moment only to disappear as soon as the initial marketing campaign comes to an end.

Does this not suggest that the book is not being recommended by word of mouth, that perhaps it does not offer the weight loss miracle it promises?

The very fact there are so many books in the fat loss diet category means there is no weight loss miracle to be had, no matter what a publisher’s blurb may promise. It’s case of finding what works for you as an individual.

You can of course read book reviews to help you make a decision about which diet handbook to buy, but you need to read more than one, especially if you are reading on-line.

There have been cases of authors favorably reviewing their own books, under a pseudonym, to boost sales.

In short, the most reliable way of finding the best fat loss diet book for you is to ignore the media hype and select the one that offers a program you can stick to – and you know yourself better than anyone.

Fat Loss Diet Delivery – Meals Delivered to Keep You Fit

Fat loss diet delivery services are springing up world over. Offering diet food, delivered to your door, the services are appealing to those who are:

cash rich but time poor
housebound
unable to exercise any form of self control when shopping for food
confused by what is good and what is poor nutrition
too busy to think about and prepare diet food
are not interested in or able to prepare their own diet food

Fat loss diet food delivery companies may specialise in a particular diet regime e.g. the zone diet or they may promise a luxury, gourmet diet prepared by a top chef.

Others simply offer low calorie, nutritionally balanced meal choices. Some cover a local geographic area whilst others use couriers to ship nation or state wide.

Subscribing to a diet meal delivery service is a way of having your own dietician and chef supporting you. By having appetising yet fat loss diet food delivered you avoid the temptation that grocery shopping presents and you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen after a long day at work, wrestling with new recipes and unfamiliar ingredients.

Diet Meal Delivery Services

Diet meal delivery services do everything for the dieter. They count calories, they weigh portions, and they only use healthy options. You can have your diet meals delivered to your home or place of work. You can just order lunch and dinner or include breakfast too. Choice is yours.

Fat loss diet food delivery services cater for meat eaters and those following a vegetarian diet. You can further select low fat or low carb options. Some companies will also provide menus based on low glycaemic index foods for diabetics.

Choosing a diet to go may not be an affordable solution for those having to feed the family. They are, however, the perfect solution for professional singles and couples who tend to have the higher disposable incomes.

Having diet meals delivered may be a perfect short term solution to help you stick to a diet and lose weight. To keep the weight off long term it will be worth paying attention to what is served up. Notice what ingredients are used in the meals, remember the meals and foodstuffs you particularly enjoy.

Meal Preparation – A Choice

At some stage you will want to take back responsibility for your own meal preparation – it may be when you achieve the perfect weight, it may be when you move to an area where a delivery service is not available but it is worth preparing yourself.

Losing weight with a fat loss diet meal delivery service doing your catering for you should be easy; keeping that weight off may be slightly more difficult, so plan ahead. Use the service provided to educate yourself for the future; a time when you may no longer be dieting but when you don’t want to put the weight back on.

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Weight Loss Meal Plan – Slimming Suggestions for the Next 7 Days

If you want a weight loss meal plan to get your diet started simply follow the guidelines below but please be sure to have regard to any health conditions you may have and take advice from any medical practitioner who may be treating you.

The aim of this low fat diet plan is to help you lose weight by making low fat food selections and eating in a way that maintains your blood sugar level within an acceptable range.

This will help prevent those mid morning and afternoon energy dips when you are tempted to reach for the chocolate and cakes.

First, some general guidance:

– Eat your fruit fresh or from frozen. Avoid tinned fruit, fruit juices and stewed fruits
– Fresh and frozen vegetables should be selected again avoiding canned produce. Resist the temptation to add salt when cooking your vegetables. (NB tinned tomatoes are allowed as they tend to have no additives)
– Include at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables in your diet every day
– Plan to have 3 meals and 2 snacks each day. Don’t starve and binge
– For snacks choose fresh fruit, salad or vegetables, a very small handful of walnuts or almonds (approx 9 in number)
– Trim all visible fat and skin from meat
– Always have a bottle or glass of water by your side which you sip throughout the day
– Use the skimmed/very low fat milk in your tea and coffee
– Plan ahead and be ready. Most weight loss meal plans fall by the wayside when the dieter finds himself delayed without a healthy snack and no healthy supplies to eat when he does get home. Be sure to always carry a piece of fruit and a bottle of water when out – you’ll find it a lot easier to resist temptation.

Your 7 Day Weight Loss Meal Plan

Day One

Breakfast: Hash browns, beans and bacon.

Make your own hash browns with lots of grated potato and finely sliced onion and chopped herbs of your choice. Shape into small patties and coat with cooking spray (PAM or Frylight) before frying until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with baked beans and grilled bacon with all visible fat removed.

Lunch: Pasta salad

Cook a generous portion of pasta and when cooled mix with your choice of chopped fruit and salad vegetables. Dress with a fat free vinaigrette dressing. Have additional fresh fruit for dessert if required.

Dinner: Baked Cod in a Parcel with steamed vegetables

Choose cod or any chunky white fish fillet. Wrap in a paper parcel with lemon or lime wedges, seasoning and herbs of your choice. Serve with a selection of brightly coloured steamed vegetables.

Day Two

Breakfast: Egg and tomatoes.

Scramble a couple eggs with a little cooking spray and herbs of your choice. Serve with a large pile of fresh grilled tomatoes

Lunch: Salad Open Sandwich

Using 1 slice of wholemeal bread on the base pile on as much lean, cooked, low fat meat as you want and add a generous pile of mixed salad. Dress with fat vinaigrette to taste. Once again It’s fresh fruit of your choice for dessert

Dinner: Vegetable Curry and Rice

Select all of your favorite vegetables and chop them to equal size chunks. Simmer in a quarter pint of vegetable or meat stock until soft.

Add your favorite curry spices – garam masala, cumin, turmeric, coriander, chilli, ginger – your choice and stir in a generous dollop of very low fat natural yoghurt.

Just let it warm through (don’t let it boil or the yoghurt will spoil). Serve with a generous portion of rice boiled with cardamon pods and saffron.

Day Three
Breakfast: Breakfast to Go.

Take one wholemeal bread roll and fill with lean ham, sliced tomato, dill pickle and onion if liked. Tuck a banana in your pocket and you are ready to take your breakfast with you.

Lunch: Salad Nicoise

Mix together lettuce, tinned tuna (select tinned in brine rather than oil and drain well), cherry tomatoes, quartered hard boiled eggs, cooked green beans and cold cooked new potatoes.

Dress with fat free vinaigrette if desired. Fresh fruit for dessert

Dinner: Prawn paella

Gently cook a chopped onion and garlic to taste in a little vegetable stock until tender. Add the contents of a can of chopped tomatoes and a generous handful of dried rice.

Allow to simmer and cook until rice is almost, adding more stock a little at a time if required. Towards the end of the cooking time add some diced peppers and chopped green beans along with a generous portion of prawns.

Day Four

Breakfast: Spanish Omelette.

Gently fry chopped onion peppers in cooking spray until tender. Add sliced cooked potatoes and cover with 2 beaten eggs with herbs and seasoning to taste.

When the underside of the omelette is set brown the top under the grill.

Lunch: Hummus and Vegetables

Select a pot of ready made low fat hummus or make your own by combining chick peas, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor with herbs and seasoning to your taste, softened with a little water if the mix is too dry and thick.

Serve with sticks of carrot, courgette/zucchini, pepper and florets of cauliflower and broccoli. Follow with a large bunch of grapes.

Dinner: Mid Week Cheat Roast

Select either beef steaks or pork or lamb chops according to your preference. Remove all visible fat before cooking. Grill and serve with the mint, apple or horseradish sauce and a large plateful of mixed colorful steamed vegetables.

Day Five

Breakfast: Kippers and Tomatoes.

Grill a couple of kippers and serve with a generous portion of grilled tomatoes

Lunch: Couscous salad

Make up a packet of couscous with boiling water. Add any left over vegetables, salad, fruit and herbs and dress with fat free vinaigrette.

Dinner: Chicken fajitas

Limit yourself to one tortilla pancake but pile it high with stir fried chicken strips mixed with peppers and onions. Top with very low fat natural yoghurt. Add chilli to personal taste.

Day Six

Breakfast: Low sugar high fiber cereal, fresh fruit and low fat natural yoghurt.

Lunch: Jacket potato with coleslaw

Fill a large jacket potato with home made coleslaw made of finely slice raw vegetables mixed with fat free vinaigrette.

Add herbs to taste

Dinner: Take yourself out for dinner

You’ve got the idea by now and are more than able to make the healthy choices. Select salad and forego the dressing if there’s no fat free version available. Have grilled meat or fish.

Ask that your vegetables be steamed and served without butter or sauces. Enjoy a thin crust pizza with a mainly vegetable or meat topping (ask them to go light on the cheese. Fresh fruit or sorbet for dessert.

Day Seven

Breakfast: Brunch sandwich.

A slice of wholemeal bread toasted and piled with onions gently cooked with tomatoes and mushrooms. Top with two poached eggs

Lunch: Chicken and Mango Salad

Shred a cooked chicken breast and mix with diced fresh mango, diced fresh pineapple, chopped kiwi fruit and dress with natural yoghurt seasoned with chilli.

Dinner: Pasta with ratatouille

Fry chopped onion and garlic in cooking spray, add a can of tomatoes and a teaspoon of artificial sweetener, stir in chopped courgette, peppers and aubergine and simmer until tender. Serve with lots of boiled pasta and some grated parmesan.

Remember to include your snacks and water each day and take every opportunity to incorporate exercise into your usual daily routine.

The weight loss meal plan is a low calorie healthy diet that will promote weight loss.

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Weight Loss Diet Program

How to Find a Diet that Works for You

First, it is worth considering why we seek a weight loss diet program.

After all, to lose weight we simply need to take in fewer calories than we burn. It is a proven equation and it should be straightforward. The problem is, calorie counting is tedious and can be complicated.

Whilst we may in principle understand the idea of cutting back in order to lose weight it is still helpful to have some kind of planned diet programme to follow.

To find the weight loss system that is right for you, first get clear about your own preferences.

Do you want to attend a weekly meeting and meet other individuals who are dieting on the same program?

Do you want meal replacements to help you lose weight?

Are you looking for a weight loss system that targets a particular food group such as a low carb diet plan?

Do you need to be told what to do in detail or are you happy to take a set of general principles and adapt those to suit your lifestyle?

Are you more interested in weight loss systems that incorporate exercise as part of their plan?

It’s only by being clear about what you want and need from a diet program that you can then begin to look at what is on offer and see which ones match your particular needs.

Just about any diet program will work for you if you stick to it. The truth does sound brutal but there is no miracle to weight loss and perhaps you should be a little careful of any weight loss system that claims miracle results.

No system by itself can be miraculous. It is you who will be doing the work.

In much the same way as a piece of gym equipment will never make you fit if you don’t use it, no weight loss diet program can help you to lose weight if you don’t stick to it.

Take some time, read the marketing materials, attend meetings as a guest, explore some websites. Get a feel for how the various diet programs work.

If you know you will not be happy in the long term eating restricted amounts of foods, perhaps discount those programs that give you a calorie or point allocation per day.

Instead, favor those programs that allow you to eat as much as you like but restrict the types of foods from which you can make your selections.

If food quantity is not so much of an issue for you but food variety is, you may be happier eating whatever you want but stopping when you have ‘spent’ your daily calorie or points allowance.

If you find it very difficult to exercise any self control around food or if you have a lot of weight to lose you might want to look at those weight loss systems that include meal replacements as part of the deal.

This means you will be substituting at least one and sometimes all meals with a soup, shake or bar provided by the diet company. (This is sometimes not the most social of options).

The diet program that will work for you is the one you find it easiest to stick to and for that reason you need to research the options offered by the various weight loss diet programs on the market, to make the best possible choice.

Fat Loss Diet Plans : Not About Diet, But Lifestyle

The best fat loss diet plans result in a personal transformation that completely alters your lifestyle, develops healthy habits and burns off fat while building muscle.

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Before talking about the best fat loss diet plans, let me emphasize that the stress is on “plans” than on “diet”. In other words, don’t obsess over fat loss diets because most of the popular ones lack in nutritional value, or are so complicated, you won’t stick with them beyond a week or two!

Worse, they are completely ineffective at keeping fat off in the long term.

So let’s focus more on tips, principles and workouts that will become a part of your fat loss diet plans and help you effectively melt away extra fat from your belly, thighs, hips and other areas.

The idea is to give you a simple strategy to eat and exercise to lose fat. That’s it. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to lose weight for the very first time, or haven’t seen results from a weight loss program you’ve been trying for a while.

Fat Loss Diet Plans Aren’t About Dieting At All

Popular fat loss diet plans focus almost exclusively on what you eat. That really isn’t the point.

What really matters is developing better eating habits. Ones that will alter your lifestyle and way of thinking about food, so that you won’t end up feeling deprived and tortured by your fat loss diet – but see eating healthy as a way of life!

Many fat loss diet plans are based upon poor nutritional concepts. (Of course, there are exceptions like Shaun Hadsall’s “14 Day Rapid Fat Loss Plan“ which is completely scientific and practical, but those are few and far between).

Here’s what typically happens.

* You enthusiastically begin a complicated diet program
* You stick with it, even though it’s tough
* You don’t see the results you expected
* You suffer side-effects of poor nutritional balance
* You give up and return to eating habits that put on extra weight to begin with

To be effective and really burn fat and keep it off, your fat loss diet plan should bring about behavior and attitude changes that turn you into a different person.

That isn’t easy, instant or quick… but it definitely is possible.

What Do Your Comprehensive Fat Loss Diet Plans Change?

The best fat loss plans impact important aspects of your health and lifestyle.

You will:

* make healthy habits a part of your routine
* alter your eating patterns
* improve your activity levels
* dramatically decrease sugar/carbs and fat intake

And what will you eat instead of a high carb diet?

* larger quantities of protein
* modest amounts of complex carbs (that are digested more slowly)
* low fat meals

All of this will be broken down into 5 to 6 small meals spread over your day, rather than being concentrated into 3 large meals.

In addition, you will concentrate on burning off more calories than you consume, which is best done by including aerobic exercises in your daily routine.

It All Begins With Understanding

Low Carb Diet
The success or failure of your fat loss diet plans depend upon how well you understand food and eating, as well as exercise and workouts.

Junk food and processed food is responsible for the modern obesity epidemic, and sadly, most people who consume these empty, unhealthy calories are not even aware of the health hazards and fitness pitfalls they cause.

The purpose of food is to meet your body’s energy and nutrient requirements. That is the primary reason you eat. Not for taste or entertainment or social interaction – though those are nice accessory features of eating.

You need certain quantities of the 3 major groups of food:

* Carbohydrate (or carbs)
* Fat
* Protein

All these macro nutrients have a part to play in keeping you alive, active and healthy.

Protein: You need protein in your diet daily, to maintain the structure of your muscles and other organs. Proteins (and their component amino acids) are like the building blocks of your body.

Carbohydrates: Carbs (especially glucose, which comes from sugar and starch) serve as the fuel for your body, to keep you warm, help you move around, and even think. The thing most people don’t know is that when you eat more carbs than your body needs for these activities, the excess amount is stored as fat!

Fat: There are several different types of fat, both good and bad. Too many unhealthy food items contain ‘bad’ fat (trans-fat, saturated fat). Choosing the right kind of food to eat avoids the problem of bad fat accumulating in your body.

Steps In Your Fat Loss Diet Plans

1200 Calorie Diet Plan

1. Set Fat Loss Goals:

Decide how much fat you want to lose. Determine your body fat percentage. Calculate your calorie needs every day. There are fat loss calculators to help you do this easily.

Once you know how much the difference between your ideal body fat and the actual number is, you’ll realize how much fat you need to get rid of.

2. Plan Your Fat Loss Diet:

Broadly, outline your dietary requirements of macro nutrients. A typical breakup would be:

30-35% Carbs
50% Protein
15-20% Fat

On days you plan an intense workout, your carbohydrate intake should be higher to provide energy for your body to exercise.

3. Pick The Foods To Eat:

Under each category of macro nutrients, make out a list of food items that you can eat. This will help you easily plan meals and choose recipes to cook – without too much thought or anxiety.
Protein Foods:

* Eggs
* Chicken
* Lean red meat
* Fish
* Turkey

Don’t eat processed meat or high-fat dairy products.
Carbohydrate Foods:

* Oatmeal
* Whole grain
* Brown rice
* Corn
* Sweet potato
* Apples
* Bananas
* Beans

Don’t eat pastries, cakes, cookies, white bread or sugary drinks and soda.
Fat Foods:

* Fish
* Cheese (low fat type)
* Olive oil
* Peanut butter
* Nuts

Don’t eat high-fat meats, deep fried food or butter.

4. Make Meal Plans:

There are many fat loss diet plans you can model or copy. It helps if you can draw up plans for the entire week so that you won’t waste any time on it once you start working on your fat loss plan.

The key principle in your meal plan is to limit yourself within your daily calorie requirement. It doesn’t matter if it isn’t exactly the same every day, just so long as you don’t go over the limit.

On days when you will workout, make sure to add a bit of extra energy. A creatine drink or protein milkshake immediately before or after an exercise session can help build muscle and enhance fat loss.

5. Prepare Your Exercise Schedule:

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An important part of your fat loss diet plans is a workout schedule that combines strength training with aerobic exercise so that you burn off calories while building muscle.

There are several workout routines for fat loss diet plans that you can copy or adapt to suit your needs. Weights training exercises like barbell bench presses, dumbbell flies, deadlifts, squats, crunches and pulldowns can be combined with cardio exercises on alternate days.

For a tailor made meal plan and exercise routine, take a look at Shaun Hadsall’s best-selling 14-day Fat Loss Diet Plans program.

How To Ensure Success With Your Fat Loss Diet Plans

* Make it enjoyable. If you like the workouts, you’re more likely to do them. If you don’t, you’ll just look for a chance to stop!

* Tweak it to your preference. If eating 3 larger meals a day is better for you than 5 or 6 smaller ones, go ahead. There’s no law or rule that says you should be confined to either.

* Adapt recommendations to your tastes. What specific foods you eat matters less than eating only what is on the permitted list. Avoid food that makes you fat!

* It’s okay to take a break. If you find yourself craving a muffin or ice cream, indulge yourself once or twice. Just don’t fall back into bad eating habits.

99% of people who start out to lose fat will not know this – or follow the simple advice. You are an exception… and therefore, you will succeed at losing weight and gaining muscle!

To improve your chances even further, get a detailed course like ’14 Day Rapid Fat Loss Plans’ and let yourself be guided by an expert along your fat loss journey.

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