It isn’t even a question — no diet plan helps people lose weight faster and easier than the low carb variety. But even with a wide range of low carb food on the market, people still revert back to their carby lifestyle. Here are the top three low carb pitfalls — and how to avoid them!
Anyone who has ever committed themselves to a low carb lifestyle knows that cutting down daily carbs helps drop weight quickly and easily. It is virtually the only diet in the world that can help you lose weight without starving. On top of that, the metabolic state induced by a low carb diet — known commonly by dieters as ketosis — does more than just release “water weight.” With a low carb diet, you are always burning body fat, which not only helps you lose poundage, but also inches.
Given all of the benefits of a low carb diet, why do so many people revert back to their old ways of eating, thus regaining the weight?
Here are three top reasons why low carb diets fail, and what you can do to avoid them:
Reason #1: Holidays and Birthdays
High carbohydrate foods have become not just a mainstay in American cuisine, but also are a cultural phenomenon as well. This is especially true when it comes to celebrating with food in the U.S.: pumpkin and apple pie, bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, breads, cookies, and other sweets are all seen as crucial to the holiday season beginning with Thanksgiving and ending on New Year’s Day. The same is true with birthdays: many of us imagine a birthday bash with a birthday cake to be a downright depressing thought.
Because of this, even the most committed low carb dieters plan on taking vacations from their low carb lifestyle around birthdays and the holidays.
If you’re someone who cannot imagine a Thanksgiving turkey stuffed with bread stuffing or a birthday devoid of a decadent dessert, then plan ahead by mapping out some alternatives using low carb food products and some innovative recipes. There are plenty of low carb bread products that can take the place of your standard loaf, and low carb, sugar free cheesecakes work wonders as an alternative to the traditional birthday cake. If you feel you must have high carb goodies represented at your favorite celebrations, make sure they are made with low carb food.
Reason #2: Lunch
The weak spot in a low carb diet is lunchtime. Whereas eggs and breakfast meats are easy and obvious choices for the first meal of the day, and low carb dinners are essentially very similar to traditional American meals sans the potatoes, rice, or pasta, lunch is the hardest meal for Americans to imagine without eating carbs. Sandwiches dominate the American lunch, and many people feel uninspired by the prospect of eating a burger or sandwich without the bun or bread.
Again, low carb bread can do wonders for those of us who struggle with a low carb lunch. While not recommended for the first phases of a low carb diet, most low carb bread products are low enough in net carbs that the seasoned low carb dieter can handle a slice or two at lunch. Rather than having those low carb bread slices with breakfast, making them work for a low carb sandwich at lunch can be the difference in the long-term success of your diet.
Reason #3: Refined Sugar & Carbohydrates Are An Addictive “Drug”
Back in the 1960s when Dr. Atkins began his low carb Diet Revolution, he identified the fact that refined sugar and high carbohydrate foods have an addictive quality that is very similar to the addictions that drug abusers struggle with. He pointed out the fact that the process of refining sugar is almost identical to the process of refining cocaine, and that as we eat more and more carbs, we crave them more and more exponentially. This is because carbohydrates tax our blood sugar to the point that our body wants us to keep throwing sugar “on the fire” to keep our energy levels up, thus leading to alarming weight gain.
This is why Atkins advocated for warning labels on sugary foods and implored low carb dieters to not fall off the low carb wagon.
Invariably, however, low carb dieters do fall off the wagon, and usually it is a result of sweets. The reintroduction of sweets leads to a slippery slope of more and more carbohydrates that gets people right back to bad eating habits.
If you have a penchant for craving sweets — even after months of “sugar detox” — then it’s time to connect with some low carb food products that can really satisfy your sweet tooth. There are so many low carb desserts on the market today that you’re bound to find something that will work with you. As we’ve reviewed in another article, the Atkins Advantage bars are legitimately sweet with very little aftertaste and ultra-low net carbs — perfect for an after dinner dessert!
Of course, the best way to avoid these low carb dieting pitfalls is to simply know they exist and take the necessary steps to avoid falling into them. You’ve taken your first steps toward a low carb lifestyle — don’t let yourself get derailed by the “cheap thrills” of fattening carbs and sugar!
Thanks for reading our article! Linda’s Diet Delites is a leading online retailer of low carb food, including some of the best low carb bread products on the market today! Be sure to visit our website and join our free newsletter for access to the latest updates from Linda’s Diet Delites, including store discounts, new articles, and more!