Low-fat vs. Low carb...::sigh::

Yes, those low carb/no carb diets are very popular these days.

4. What are the principle drawbacks to low-carb and Atkins?

Where to begin? This is a heavily and hotly debated topic that even most trainers get into knock-down drag-out fights about. Seriously.

As I mentioned earlier, a regular garden variety "low-fat" diet consists of 15% protein, <25% fat--no more than 10% of which are saturated fats (there's a whole other post in and of itself), 60% carbohydrate. Here is some background.

Protein: We use this to build muscle. It is digested and broken into its amino acid parts that we use in metabolic function.

Carbohydrates: We use these as a form of quick burning energy. We consume it, digest it, store it in our muscles as glycogen at a rate of 1 gram of glycogen per 4 grams of water. There are principally 2 types of carbs: simple and complex (bad and good, respectively(these break down even farther into low glycemic/high glycemic as well but...later)). At a higher heart rate, resistance training for instance, this is what we burn.

Fat: This is your readily available energy. Life functions utilize fat. Consider your resting metabolism.

The keys to winning this particular battle are: Portion control, regulation of caloric intake and moderation. The problem is that these keys are quite difficult to turn. They require a lot of self-discipline and personal accountability.

Let's look deeper...

The Over-sized Human Brain
Kurt Vonnegut said our brains are too large for our own good. I vehemently agree. Our brain gives us all the information we require to maintain absolute comfort. It tells us that if we turn over we will feel more relaxed. If we swim up for air we will continue to live. If we finish every last bit of food on our plate we will be completely stuffed, satisfied and our parental neuroses of cleaning our plates will be further enabled and those darn children in whatever country won't starve in vain. Sure, we will be gasping for breath, loosening our belts and buying larger pants before we know it but, gosh darnet ta heck, we will feel better. Or so our brains lead us to believe. Certainly, in all fairness, it is not our brains as such but behaviors we have developed and stored in our brains that we measure with something called perception. Our perception of satisfaction and contentment is an enormous chunk of the problem. It never occurs to us to eat half of the meal now, take home the rest, reheat and eat it a few hours later thereby re-stoking that old metabolism again. You will have cleaned your plate then. No feeling bad about starvation. An extended feeling of contentment and the establishment of a healthier behavioral pattern. Now you can start thinking about what was on that plate that you should NOT have eaten and apply the rules of calorie counting. Thanks a lot big brain.

Now, this brings us around to the concept of the low-fat diet. How does this work? Well, if you regulate your intake and stay moderate and apply the numbers, this works like a charm and is an exceptionally healthy way to lose weight. It goes like this: Your intake should consist of very low-fat meals. Simple. You will burn the fat you have as opposed to storing new fat. The low-fat intake will provide you with sufficient fuel for life functions but not be converted as readily to adipose tissue (visible fat). Likewise, this diet is linked to good heart health. Normal people don't typically die of complex-carbohydrate related illness as high fiber intake slows digestion of starch and promotes insulin tolerance thereby thwarting diabetes in its tracks. High-fiber diets also bring down cholesterol. It's all about regulation and moderation.

KNOW what you are putting in your body. UNDERSTAND metabolic function and the risks of drastic changes. CHANGE your perceptions of contentment. DON'T use food for comfort and as reward. This is a HUGE step toward improving your quality of life.

Low Carb/No Carb
This is where it gets hairy. Here's the thing. There is little long-term scientific data available to shed enough light on the long-term effects of these diets. Here is how it works...

Carbs, in and of themselves, are starches. They are broken down by the liver after digestion into something called glucose or "blood sugar". We require this stuff for long-term energy and brain function and various other good and plenty. Here's the problem. It is primarily, at a rudiment level, a sugar which is preferentially absorptive at a metabolic level. Long story short (too late), we end up burning it instead of burning fat like normal.
IMPORTANT Carbohydrates do NOT turn into fat. Ever. This is nonsense. This was an easy explanation to a difficult question but is otherwise false. Sorry, that bugs me.
Moving on...
So, the plan at this point is to eliminate carbs altogether and up the intake of protein and fat. This makes amazing sense as proteins and fats are slower to digest and will leave you feeling full for longer periods. Because your body will NEVER use more than 15 to 17 percent of protein in a 24 hour period you will simply discard the unused portions and without those carbs getting in the way you will burn nothing but fat. That makes perfect sense. I have seen people lose 15 or 20 pounds in a month. It totally works. HOWEVER...
The problem is that you're not really losing all fat. First of all, imagine a 15 or 20 pound block of butter. Now imagine passing it in a month (remember, you lose NO fat in your sweat outside of regular skin oil...fat leaves us in other ways). Second, scroll up and go back to the part where I explained how we store carbs (glycogen) in our muscles: "at a rate of 1 gram of glycogen per 4 grams of water". So, if we get rid of all that glycogen what else are we getting rid of? Anyone? Water. 14.5 or 19.5 pounds of it. Oh, we'll burn fat...but at what cost? Funny you should ask.

Remember what I said about drastic metabolic changes?

Hypoglycemia
A sharp drop in blood sugar that brings about dizziness, nausea, confusion, anger, anxiety, sweating, tremor, palpitations, and weakness. For real. I used to suffer from it. Throw in a panic attack and you will be sharply rethinking things. Remember, when we perform resistance training we burn glycogen. If it's not there we will experience a low blood-sugar episode.

High cholesterol
Here's a REALLY bad one. Your body produces cholesterol on its own for a couple of digestive functions and then reels it all in when it is done. However, these low-carb diets up the intake of proteins and fats so you will be eating oodles of meat and eggs and meat and...eggs and cheese and...meat...see where I am going? Your cholesterol is going to go through the roof and without the fiber you get from a diet rich in complex carbs you will not be able to fix this naturally.

Just to name a couple. Honestly, I find it is simply easier to avoid these things and stick to low-fat. Just apply what you have learned and you can do it. Attitude will take you around the world and back. Stick to it. Stay positive. Work with a trainer.

More later.