Here's A Better High Protein, Low Carb Diet Approach
A high protein, low carb diet can help you lose body fat fast. Unfortunately, low carb diets carried on for too long can really zap your energy levels and have other negative consequences. Shortly I'm going to show you a way that you can avoid some of the nasty side effects that traditional low carb diets can sometimes cause. A lower carb, higher protein diet is best suited for people who… 1. eat “clean” but are still having trouble losing fat 1. Use a certain ratio of protein, fat and carbs NOTE: In chapter 8 of the ebook Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle, there is a ton of great information about balancing your intake of carbs, protein and fat to lose body fat fast. A simple way to follow a moderate carb diet is to drop starchy carbs from your last two meals each day. You’ll eat a lean protein source and a fibrous carb (aka vegetable) at those meals. Here are examples of two potential final meals and a snack idea: 1) spinach / chicken breast / ½ tbsp of flaxseed oil 3) celery / natural peanut butter Pretty simple. The second way to use the moderate carb approach is to follow a ratio of around: 40% carbohydrates 720 calories from carbs (180 grams a day) You can learn how to calculate your calorie intake here. A High Protein, Low Carbohydrate Diet Most people can see great results by exercising and using a moderate carbohydrate diet like I mentioned above. A low carb diet works especially well if you’re an extreme endomorph or if you're struggling to lose that last 5 pounds or so of stubborn body fat. Basically you’ll eat enough carbs to maintain sufficient energy levels and alertness. You’re going to use a method commonly called carb zig zag or carb cycling. For 3 straight days, you slightly reduce carbs from your first 3 meals and drop them from your last 3. On the 4th day, you would have a “regular” carb day where you can eat carbs with every meal. You would simply repeat that cycle of 3 days on, 1 day off. My advice is to not go longer than 3 days because you’ll likely start to experience a big decrease in your overall energy level and a “softening” of your muscles. Also, I’ve witnessed people gain weight fast by reintroducing carbs after a prolonged low carb diet. This is partly because your body makes certain metabolic adaptations and “forgets” how to efficiently burn carbs for fuel when you drop them for a long time. Eating more carbs on that 4th day will help you avoid these negative effects. If you want to use ratios, your high protein low carb days should look similar to this: Protein 45% Why? Because you’re dropping carbs to such low levels that you need to add calories from protein or essential fats. Otherwise, your daily calorie intake will be too low, causing your body to enter starvation mode and your metabolism to slow down. One way you can add protein calories is to use a protein powder supplement and you can add essential fats by using flax seed or flax oil. Do not go crazy on carbs when you quit this way of dieting. You could blow up like a balloon if you do. In summary Whether you choose a moderate carbohydrate diet or a high protein low carb diet, you need to track your results. Weigh yourself once a week and do body fat measurements once or twice a month. Do some fine tuning if necessary. For example, if you try the low carb approach and you notice you’re losing much more than the recommended healthy amount of 2 pounds a week, you may need to make an adjustment as you could be losing lean body mass. One possible adjustment is to increase carbs a little bit. You could also change the 3 days off carbs, 1 day on approach to 3 days off and 2 days on. No matter what you try you have to always measure your results. There’s no such thing as one size fits all. Final word of caution Don’t stay on a high protein low carb diet for too long. You may be sorry. Don’t go longer than about 8 to 12 weeks without a break in low carb dieting. New! CommentsHave your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below. |
