Hello!

[hel503aur]

Hello, I'm new here. I am looking forward for new diet plans that I could use to make me healthier. I really want to know you guys and your diet techniques.

[teresaw]

Hi and welcome. Scout around and see what takes your fancy, there's lots here. There are many friendly members so if you have any questions just post and someone will be happy to help. Good luck with your plan.

[hel503aur]

Thanks teresaw! I was looking around and reading a lot. I saw something about slow carb (https://dbw2.msi.umn.edu/wiki/index.php5/User:Lnd89Sey). Do you know if it is really effective?

[bcbeauty]

Welcome and happy low carbing :wave:

[teresaw]

Sorry, I've not heard of it but then, I'm quite new to the low carb W.O.E.
Keep reading and posting, someone will give you advise. Just eat well and enjoy the ride....

[aj_cohn]

Hi Hel503aur,

The idea behind the slow carb diet seems flawed, even dangerous. The very first sentence of the blog post, "If you are looking to lose 10 to 20 pounds in a week, your best bet is the slow carb diet." raises a red flag. Not only is this an unrealistic expectation, it would be dangerous to lose this much weight (except by liposuction). Your body interprets a sudden weight loss as an emergency brought on by a lack of food. After the sudden weight loss, your weight/fat loss is likely to stall as your body takes countermeasures to adjust to the perceived lack of food.

The phenomenon that the author is likely referring to is the sudden use and depletion of your glycogen stores, the byproduct of which is water (you pee a lot). Many of this forum's members report an initial water loss of 10-20 lbs in their first month (not week). This, too, is an emergency reaction by a body in response to a perceived lack of food. The difference with a low-carb WOE (way of eating) is that you're training your body to use an alternative fuel source; the slow-carb diet doesn't.

That leads to a fundamental flaw in the slow carb diet. No matter how slowly you digest the carbohydrates, your body must eventually deal with them. That leads to releases of insulin, unopposed by glucagon. Overexposure to unopposed insulin is a major factor in getting — and staying — fat. Grains break down quickly into glucose, which provokes a large unopposed release of insulin (modern wheat promotes the biggest surge). The resulting glucose surge-crash cycle of eating grains leaves you hungry to eat carbs again. In addition, grains have evolved to be slightly addictive; that makes it more likely that humans will keep planting them.

Even on a low-carb diet, you need to give your body a substantial break from insulin exposure, which is why recommended between-meal snacks tend to be high in fat (which doesn't make your body release insulin).

If you don't have much to lose to begin with, you're young, and you haven't already abused your body's glucose-insulin mechanism too badly, you might be able to lose some weight and even keep it off. The slow-carb diet, though, does not address a basic biochemical problem that a low-carb WOE does. So the slow-carb diet's benefits are likely to be short-lived.

[juju_khan]

Hi :wave: :wave: