Low Carb & High Protein - The Keys to Leonie's Strength Building
by Greg Bastin on Aug 30, 2019
By Wen Liu • August 30, 2019
The world is finally awakening to the detrimental effects of carbohydrate overconsumption. Learn how reducing carbs can make you stronger and healthier.
How many carbs do you consume on a daily basis?
If you’re like the average person, carbs probably account for more than half of your daily calorie intake. After all, there are so many forms of carbs that many people consider them unavoidable.
Thankfully, more and more people are realizing the importance of keeping carb intake to a minimum.
There’s a growing number of published medical studies that point to their harmful effects, so people are slowly steering away from them.
You’ll see in this write-up some of the biggest benefits that await you if you decide to go this route.
But before we get into them, here’s a story that will show you why you should ditch carbs as soon as possible:
Leonie’s Low Carb Story
For 33 years of her life, Leonie has lived with diabetes. But she never let that prevent her from living a healthy and active life.
At the age of 64, Leonie goes out of her way to stay as healthy as possible.
One of the things that makes this happen is competitive racquetball, which she’s been playing for more than 20 years. She’s also very careful about what she eats and follows all of her doctors’ advice.
Among the many dietary guidelines, her doctors at one time recommended carb loading. Three hours before her exercise, Leonie would load up her body with carbs to avoid becoming hypoglycemic.
She was doing that until about 10 years ago when she started questioning this logic. She thought that it’d make more sense to dramatically reduce her carb intake, and with that her insulin needs.
However, the doctors kept advising her against this.
But Leonie found the idea of going carb-free more appealing than the standard care for type 1 diabetes. This is why she decided to do her own research on carbs.
And so three years ago, she read a book that completely transformed her life. It was in this book that she discovered the low carb diet. After reading the book, she became confident enough to say goodbye to carbs.
She experimented with a few ideas and finally incorporated the low carb diet into her life about 18 months ago. Both her GP and endocrinologists frowned upon the idea, but she decided to stick with it. It wasn’t long before she started to experience its benefits.
To begin with, her insulin needs went down drastically. It became easier to manage her diabetes on her own and with less support from her doctors. She’s a lot more self-sustainable and learned how to keep the disorder under control.
What’s more, she managed to lose quite a bit of excess weight, which had long been bothering her. Despite staying active, she found it hard to lose weight on her recommended diet. As soon as she made up her mind to ditch carbs, her excess weight melted away almost on a daily basis.
For Leonie, she can say that she’s now healthier than most of her peers, her diabetes notwithstanding. She’s quick to credit the low carb lifestyle for how good she’s feeling. She has the strength to stay active and there’s a wealth of meals available to her that are conducive to living a balanced life.
Besides Leonie, there are many more people who are happily experiencing the many benefits of the low carb lifestyle. Let’s go over some of the most prominent benefits of going low carb.
Benefit 1 - Less Hunger
A low-carb diet keeps your sugar and insulin levels balanced throughout the day. As a result, you won’t feel nearly as hungry as you might feel when you’re on a conventional weight loss diet, which tends to emphasize, mistakenly, the exclusion of fats.
A study conducted by the Obesity Society analyzed how a low-carb diet affected subjects’ appetites. The participants split into two groups that ate either a low-carb or a low-fat diet. The results showed that the low-carb group was less bothered by hunger in comparison. There were also much fewer sugar cravings as time went on.
This is a major advantage of the low-carb diet over low-fat. If you’ve ever tried the latter, you know that it can leave you craving for unhealthy foods, especially sweets. This makes dieting torturous and can have a very discouraging effect on the dieter.
The low-carb diet, on the other hand, won’t make you hungry all the time. It makes it easier to forego some of the unhealthiest foods in the modern diet.
Benefit 2 - Weight Loss
If you need to lose weight in a short amount of time, a low-carb diet is a proven solution. Removing carbs from your diet prompts the body to release excess water. As a result, you can expect to lose a few pounds within the first two weeks.
Of course, your actual weight loss will depend on various factors. But nearly all studies concluded that a proper low-carb diet is much more effective for weight loss than low-fat diets.
For example, a six-month study showed that those who restricted carb intake lost more than twice as much weight than those who followed a low-fat diet.
The same study confirmed another well-known benefit of the low carb diet. It showed that those who ditched carbs saw an improvement in their triglyceride levels and insulin sensitivity. This is what Leonie achieved with her diet, so it’s worth considering if they happen to be your pain points as well.
Benefit 3 - Cardiovascular
If you’ve ever researched the benefits of the low carb diet, you must have read about its positive effects on cardiovascular health. There’s a wealth of research that supports this.
For example, a Harvard School of Public Health study that looked at 82,802 women concluded that a low-carb, high-protein diet could decrease the risk of heart disease by 30%. However, this is only true for those who went with healthy protein and fat sources.
Another study shows that those who replaced carbs with proteins managed to lower their blood pressure and LDL levels. While a healthy high-carb diet did have some positive effects, a low-carb diet would prove to be much more effective.
This is why it’s common for doctors to suggest a low-carb, high-protein diet for patients of various cardiovascular conditions. Of course, it’s very important that you choose healthy fats and proteins if you want to reap these benefits.
Benefit 4 - Neuroprotective
Another proven benefit of the LCHF diet is that it can protect your brain from neurodegenerative disorders. A study found that the ketogenic diet can lower the risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
That said, it’s important to understand that your brain uses various nutrients, carbs in particular. Some parts of your brain require glucose to function normally since they can only use this nutrient for fuel. This is why many people believe that carbs are necessary for optimal brain function.
However, that’s not necessarily true, insofar as you don’t have to load up your plate with carbs. This is because your liver can produce glucose from protein in case you don’t eat carbs.
For this reason, many people who decide to go with the LCHF diet turn to protein supplements. They introduce pure protein into your body that your liver can easily use to supply your brain with the needed glucose. In addition, these supplements can make you feel more satiated and promote faster muscle building.
Benefit 5 - Blood Sugar
There are millions of diabetics in the world. Depending on the condition, they might have to follow rigorous dietary guidelines to keep high sugar levels at bay.
The low-carb diet has proved to be a very effective way of doing this without the need for undue sacrifices. A study that examined the diet of type 2 diabetes patients showed the promising effects of low-carb diets. The participants who were on this diet managed to lower their blood glucose levels, with some of them getting off their medication altogether.
Of course, the extent of these benefits will be different depending on the individual. The fact remains that the vast majority of studies found the low carb diet to be very beneficial to diabetes patients.
Say Goodbye to Carbs
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of the effects of a low-carb diet on your health.
Not only can it help you shed excess weight, but you can also feel and be much healthier. As you could see in Leonie’s story, it can make you feel younger than you have felt in a long time.
You know you can benefit from switching to a low-carb diet. If you could use some help, we’re here for you.
Contact us for a free 30-minute telephone consultation with a health coach who wants to help you reach your goals.
