With so much contradictory nutrition information thrown at us on a daily basis, how do we know what works and what doesn’t work? What is healthy or unhealthy? The recent low carb craze, like many other diet crazes of the last few decades, has gotten way out of hand. Carbs are not our enemies! Our body uses carbohydrates as our primary fuel source for exercise- and the only fuel your BRAIN uses for energy. The problem with carbs is many of us eat TOO many, and our choices are usually filled with sugar and refined flours, both of which are not truly healthy or nutritious. Furthermore, we are a sedentary nation, so an overabundance of carbs with an “underabundance” of exercise results in carbohydrates getting stored as fat. The reason many people are losing so much weight by reducing carbohydrates is complex, but one reason is that whenever you eliminate an entire food group from your diet, you will eat less and hence lose weight!!! Recently published studies have shown that low carb diets help you lose weight faster than traditional low fat diets- but , and this is a big but, in the longterm, the weight loss is the same. And, when you lose weight very rapidly, you risk gaining it back rapidly as well!!! So- we need to find balance through all of this craziness. I believe that the best course to take is to choose whole grain carbs, reduce portion sizes, exercise daily, add healthy fats to your diet, and eat lots of vegetables, fruits and lean meats. Maybe I should call it “The Kathy Diet”?
