Low-Carbing in Austin?

For those of you who have discovered the joy of eating low carb, visit My Fit Foods for all your nutritional needs Monday - Saturday here in Austin, Texas. They have 4 different locations in town and offer a wide range of low carb products such as their Prime cut beef tenderloin cooked medium on a bed of fresh vegetables including: red onions, carrots, fresh mushrooms in sauteed spinach. You can also try out their Fit Mac, wheat & gluten free brown rice pasta shells combined with lean seasoned ground turkey and onions topped with a touch of real cheese. A real post workout meal with this one!

Low Carb Austin also offers meal replacement goodies for all you low carbers out there. Low Carb Austin was awarded the Best Low-Carb friendly store by the Austin Chronicle in 2003. The store carries over 7000 natural products including diet supplements, herbs, and sugar free candies.

Another great place for your one stop shop is the Austinuts on W. Anderson Lane. Check out their menu here and everything can be ordered online and shipped to you via UPS. They have a location in Dallas as well.

So, what's the big deal with Low Carb Diets like Atkins, South Beach, Ketogentic, The Zone, or the Cavemen Diet?

In my previous articles, I've addressed the issue of properly setting up a diet that consists of obtaining sufficient protein (EAA) and fat (EFA) while creating a substantial caloric deficit long enough to reach fat loss. Today, I will be talking about the last piece of the puzzle; carbohydrates and if we really need them.

Most nutritionists will tell you that we need to eat carbohydrates for energy (that's what they are known for). Little do they realize is that for those of us who are overweight seeking to lose body fat, we have plenty 'energy' on us to utilize as fuel. Go stand in front of your bathroom mirror right now and lift up your shirt (jump up and down if you want) and you will see how much 'stored energy' you have saved up.

Physiologically speaking, carbohydrates are not an essential nutrient for the body. You might ask, "Wait, does that mean fruits and vegetables are not important?".

Not completely. In a healthy and maintenance diet, fruits and veggies are very important and may even be benefical to have. I am mainly talking about starches like rice, corn, oats, wheat, soy, and their derivatives such as cupcakes, bread, pasta, sugar, etc. There are absolutely no essential nutrients in grain (whole or processed) that we cannot obtain from fruits, vegetables, and animal goods.

In extreme cases, even fruits are not 'essential'. Especially if one suffers from being extremely obese or insulin resistant (1, 2, 3) fruits (sugar on trees) offer trivial benefit for fat loss and blood glucose levels that it can be detrimental when consumed in massive amounts (raw vegans are notorious for this). If you're not too worried about sports performance and you want speedy results, you don't need many carbohydrates in your diet, especially grain. Learn more about it here.

Aren't carbohydrates a main source of glucose and glucose is an essential fuel for our body to sustain life?

Yes. Not only do we need glucose (blood sugar) for daily activities, our brain and other vital organs require them as well. However, our body can produce glucose from various sources so that we don't need to get it from dietary carbohydrates. Glycerol (from fat), amino acids (through gluconeogenesis), lactate and pyruvate (glucose recycling/metabolism) can all provides us plenty of glucose. You can say that, glucose has become so essential that the human species has evolved to make enough of them in the body when carbohydrates are unavailable.

Look at the Eskimos, Inuits, Mongolians, and any indigenous people living in northern atmosphere of the globe. Where do they get their fruits and veggies (espeically in the winter)? 1, 2.

Some hunter-gatherers today may have seasonal tubers, nuts, and seeds to munch on, but the majority of their diets consist of high dietary fat and protein from animal products. Little glucose may be obtained from lactose (mother's milk) but overall, carbohydrates are not a major component of human nutrition. Not until the advent of agriculture, 200 some generations ago, did we start consuming massive amounts of grain. And that time frame is only a blink of a eye in the entire human evolution.

We have perfectly evolved metabolic pathways to survive without dietary carbohydrates. 1, 2, 3, 4. Our body can literally survive off of animal fats and proteins alone, along with our own body fat during times of famine. If you're over weight, you will generally survive longer. It literally was 'the survival of the fattest'.

What about ketosis? Is it not toxic to the human body?

No, ketone bodies build up in the liver when carbohydrates are restricted. Ketones are basically the 'resuce fuel' our body depends on when glucose/calories runs low.

Ketosis is not ketoacidosis (a Type1 diabetic condition) and I will dedicate an entire article on this later when I write about ketogenic diets. For now, just understand that ketosis on a non-type1 diabetic person is not bad and for some who suffer chronic illnesses such as obesity, type II diabetes, epilepsy, or even cancer patients, it may be the ideal diet for them. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

"Ketosis allows the body to function eifficiently and live off of stored body fat when necessary. Ketones are not a poison which is how most (incompetent) medical and nutritional experts refer to them. Ketones make the body run more efficiently and provide a backup fuel source for the brain" - Ketosis Myths and Facts on the Low-Carbohydrate Diet.

In my opinion, ketones are the "default fuel" for our body and everyone should experiene ketosis from time to time. Some may have a hard time going into ketosis since from the time of birth until now, most of us have never really starved (or fasted) ourselves longer than 24 hours and have always been surrounded with carbohydrate rich foods.

What If I don't want to be in ketosis because I need carbohydrates to support training?

You can go in and out of ketosis eating 50-100g of carbs a day, this is ideal for most overweight people, even active (but non-athletes) folks looking to lose weight.

If you want some sanity in your diet, having 40g of carbs/meal (3-4 meals/day) is enough to not feel carbs deprived. You will not be in ketosis at this point but that's ok, there are studies that suggest non-ketogentic low carb diets are just as effective as ketogentic diets for general fat loss (as long as both produce the same caloric deficit needed).

After establishing your total daily caloric intake, deitary protein, and dietary fat, what's left would be the carbs you're allow to eat. To set up daily calories for fat loss, the simplest formula would be taking your ideal weight (in lbs) times 10-12 (depends on how much of a deficit you can tolerate or how fast of weight loss), that would be your daily calorie intake. A fat loss overview can help you build a clear summarize of what you demand to focus on to carry out your fat reduction purpose if you're a starter; or serve as a reminder for those who are at an intermediate or more improve phase of their losing weight program. Promptly after are seven steps that can serve as methods for your personal weight loss program. The first thing that one must understand is that losing weight and losing fat is not the same. Many weight loss courses have fooled people into considering that it is the same, but most diets and weight loss programs only work by producing a person's body to lose more muscle cells and water than actual body fat, more help please visit The Fat Loss Factor. If you're an endurance athlete looking to lose body fat, eating carbohydrates (and some proteins) around workouts would be your best bet. For each hour that you train a week, add 5% of your targeted bodyweight (in grams) on top of your daily allowance to support your training.

So for example, if you're a runner weighing at 200lbs and wants to be at 150lbs. You train about 8 hrs a week. You'll be eating 1,500 kcal a day (ideal weight times 10) plus calories for training (150lbs x .05 x 8hrs = 60g, which is 240kcal). That's a total of 1740kcal. Again, this is the most simplified version of how to set up your daily kcal intake for fat loss as an active person and it may differ a bit for mix-sport athletes and resistance trainees. I will write about nutritional requirements for athletes in more detail in my future articles.

If you're new to the low carb world, my recommendation of a popular low carb-ish diet would be the "Paleo Diet". Just don't go nuts on nuts and don't be afraid of milk. Everything else is pretty legit and you can learn more about it here. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

For more advanced dieters who want six-pack abs fast, check out the ketogenic diet (there are many versions of this). 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

In my next article, I will paint a better picture on how to set up all 3 macronutrients for fat loss, address how to train while dieting, and finish it off with some motivational tips on how to keep your diets flexible enough to make it sustainble. Stay tuned.

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Low-Carbing in Austin?

Kelly Pattison Schumann Facebook

Sally Martin Facebook

Indian-Spiced Roasted Chickpeas SheSimmersSheSimmers

Bromocriptine by Lyle McDonald BodyRecomposition - The Home

Ask the guy who lost 200 pounds in 9 months - Straight Dope ...

How to Lose Weight Fast in 2013 - The Ultimate Guide

Paco's Tacos - Austin, TX

The Cheesecake Factory - Arboretum - Austin, TX

Harcombe Diet Phase 1 Recipes - YouTube

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