23/10/2023
Carbs and Fat/Weight Loss: What You Need to Know!
Losing fat isn't just about cutting carbs. In fact, carbs are essential for your body to efficiently burn fat.
Here's why:
Carbs provide energy: They help you exercise and burn fat. Without enough carbs, your body can't break down fats quickly enough for energy.
Thyroid health: Carbs support a healthy thyroid. A sluggish thyroid makes it harder to lose fat and can lead to issues like constipation, mood swings, and weight gain.
Energy and mood: Carbs give you energy, reduce stress hormones (like cortisol), improve performance, and boost mood.
Hormone balance: Keto diets, with very low carbs, can disrupt hormones, leading to menstrual issues, low bone density, sleep problems, and more fat storage.
Cortisol and stress: Low carb diets can increase cortisol, causing stress and making you prone to fat gain. It can even change how your body stores fat.
Leptin and fat burning: Carbs help regulate leptin, a powerful fat-burning hormone. Low carb diets can suppress leptin and hinder fat breakdown.
Carbs and fat storage: Contrary to popular belief, carbs don't make you fat. In fact, your body easily stores dietary fat as fat.
Weight, Water, and Energy:
Your weight can change without altering the amount of stored energy in your body.
Different tissues (muscles, fat, and organs) have varying energy storage capacities.
What You Should Know:
Lower carb diets might reduce your appetite and lead to faster weight loss, mostly from water loss.
But you don't need to cut carbs to lose weight.
Carbs are vital for fat burning, providing energy, and helping you stick to your diet.
References:
Mackenzie et al. 2003
KΓΆpp et al. 1997
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