Today I’m going to answer one of the most common weight-loss questions I get, which is: should you eat low-carb to lose weight?
But First…
Before I really dive into this question, there are a few things you need to understand.
When you eat a food, it has a certain number of calories, right. Obviously.
And all the calories you eat can be divided into 3 groups, we call those macronutrients. And those 3 groups are protein, fat, and carbohydrates.
This is why, when you look at a nutrition label, it says the calories at the top, and then underneath that it tells you how much fat is in the food, then how many carbohydrates are in the food, and finally how much protein is in the food. They’re giving you the breakdown.
So basically what I’m saying is, there are only 3 things that you can eat: protein, fat, carbs. (Alcohol is actually a 4th one, but we’re going to ignore that here because that’s not food.)
And this is really obvious, but I’m going to say it anyway: you have to eat something. You can’t not eat.
And the reason I say that is because…if you listen too closely to what people say in the media, you might think that there’s NOTHING you can actually eat if you want to lose weight and be healthy.
In other words… A lot of people today think you should eat low carb. It’s a really trendy type of diet. But you will still find a lot of people who think you should eat low fat. And while protein is often thought of as the healthiest macronutrient, there are also people (smart people) who think that you should eat low-protein to live a long and healthy life.
Some people say low carb, some people say low fat, some people say low protein. And each of these 3 groups of people has some really smart people in them who have a solid, intelligent argument for why you should eat that way.
But like I said… you gotta eat something. You can’t eat low-fat, low-carb, and low-protein, because then you wouldn’t be eating anything.
Low-Carb = High-Fat
So when you ask the question: should I eat a low-carb diet… You’re ALSO asking: should I eat a high-fat diet?
Because when you remove those extra carbohydrates, you’re going to have to replace those calories with a combination of fat and protein.
Make sense?
And you’re never going to cut out protein altogether. You should always have at least a moderate amount of protein. And actually…interesting fact…you can never COMPLETELY cut out fat or protein, because there are essential fatty acids and essential amino acids that your body cannot produce. You have to get them through your diet. There are no essential carbohydrates, however.
So basically the question of eating low-carb comes down to this:
Should you eat low-carb and high-fat? Low-fat and high-carb? Or should you eat a balance of both?
Balanced Diet Analysis
First, let’s look at a balanced diet. A diet where you eat a reasonably balanced amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates.
And in my opinion, this is probably the best choice for most people. It’s nutritionally balanced. It doesn’t eliminate anything, so you never have to feel deprived (like you can NEVER eat a piece of pizza again…which is just a horrifying thought).
There’s one big caveat to this diet, however.
And that is, you might THINK you’re eating a balanced diet…and you could be wrong. It’s very easy for us to underestimate how much fat and how many carbohydrates we are eating. And this is true for me as well. The only way to REALLY know is to actually count your calories for a while, using an app like MyFitnessPal.
For most average people, a balanced diet might actually FEEL…like a low-carb diet OR a low-fat diet, depending on what you’re used to eating.
So to sum it up, a balanced diet is almost always a good, healthy choice…but because you may be used to eating a lot of fat and/or carbs, a balanced diet might FEEL like a low-carb or low-fat diet.
Low-Fat Diet Analysis
Next let’s discuss the low-fat diet. This was the popular, trendy diet back in the 80s and 90s, when everything was “Low-Fat”…and loaded with sugar.
The reasoning in favor of a low-fat diet was: one, people thought that too much fat would clog your arteries and give you a heart attack. They thought it was unhealthy. Personally, I think this myth has been debunked. Especially if you eat healthy fats and avoid trans fats.
And two, people thought it would help you lose weight because out of the 3 macronutrients, fat is the most calorically dense. One gram of protein/carbs has 4 calories, while one gram of fat has 9 calories. So people figured, if you eat less fat, you’ll eat less calories.
Well, that did NOT really work out. And the low-fat diet overall was NOT a healthy diet, because obesity continued to get worse and diabetes skyrocketed. I mean Type 2 Diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetses, because it only happened to adults who had spent their lives overeating. Now we can’t call it that anymore because so many children get it.
So, the verdict on the low-fat diet is…for most people…avoid it. There are exceptions. If you have pancreatic disease, for instance, you need to eat less than 20 grams of fat a day. And also if you are trying to reach very low levels of bodyfat, like a bodybuilder would, then you might need to really reduce your fat intake while cutting in order to achieve that.
But for the majority of people, my advice…is do NOT follow a low-fat diet.
Low-Carb Diet Analysis
So that leaves low-carb. Overall, I think low-carb diets are definitely better than low-fat diets.
One reason is because fat helps you to feel full. So a high-fat diet tends to be more satisfying. You don’t get as hungry.
Another reason is that low-carb diets encourage more real foods. I think. If you’re eating low-carb you can’t eat as many processed foods, like chips, pretzels, candy, that kind of crap.
And if you eat VERY low-carb, you can do what’s called a ketogenic diet, which has some really interesting applications and some pretty cool potential benefits. That’s a beyond the scope of the scope of this video, though.
So there are some benefits to eating low-carb. My biggest criticism is that…I think the low-carb diet has been overhyped.
Some people say that as long as you eat low-carb, it’s impossible to gain weight. And that is NOT true whatsoever. It is TOTALLY possible to eat low-carb and gain weight from eating way too much fat.
So it’s not some kind of magic diet. It is effective for weight loss, because it eliminates many problem foods, but you still have to watch what you eat.
My biggest criticism…is that it’s a restrictive diet, and for that reason it can be a hard diet to stick to.
If you’ve read my new book, 7-Minute Skinny Jeans, you know that the #1 most important thing when you’re trying to lose weight…is consistency. You have to stick to your diet consistently to see any progress.
Low-carb, high-carb, medium-carb…none of that matters if you don’t actually STICK to the diet.
Should You Eat Low-Carb to Lose Weight?
So my answer to the question: “Should you eat low-carb?” is…you can.
And in my opinion, if you’re interested in trying a low-carb diet, then by all means give it a try.
Just don’t expect it to work a miracle.
And finally understand that you don’t HAVE to eat low-carb.
Low-carb diets work GREAT for some people. If it works for you…awesome.
But if a low-carb diet doesn’t work for you, if you find it too restrictive, that’s OK. Just eat a balanced diet that you can stick to.