'Cut all the carbs to lose fat!' A myth!

'Cut all the carbs if you want to lose fat!' A myth!

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A few days back I met a woman at the gym who looked likes she had no energy in her workouts. I stepped to her and asked what's the reason? She told me she is trying to lose fat, and has lost 2 kgs in a week after she started dieting. It was something shocking to listen so I asked her about her diet, to which she replied with the below diet plan -

Breakfast: Green tea - 1 cup, Brown bread sandwich made with vegetables
Lunch: 1 whole wheat chappati, 1 small bowl boiled green vegetables
Dinner: Green tea - 1 cup, 2 egg whites

After listening to her diet, I realized she is harming her metabolism which will worsen her health. Upon questioning her about where she got this diet plan, she answered - from a youtuber. I was shocked. I wanted to help her get out of this rubbish diet and start in a healthy way.

Why is this diet harmful?
If you are wondering why this diet is harmful then let me explain it to you.

  1. There are three macro nutrients that help you to function better each day. Weightloss and weight gain are just a result of caloric defecit and caloric surplus respectively.

  2. You need to focus on protein, carbohydrates and fats (the three macros mentioned above). And after that comes fiber which helps in the digestion. Let me explain what the above three macros do and how much you should keep in your diet.

    1. Protein: Your muscles tear when you work with them and that's the reason you feel fatigued after completing any physical work. Your body requires protein to repair the muscles which you worked with the whole day. If you will not feed your body enough protein, you eventually end up losing muscle mass which will result in weakness & anxiety. Also you will be fatigued quickly. In a general, you need 1g to 2.5g of protein per kg body weight depending on your daily activity level.

    2. Carbohydrates: Yes, carbohydrates are good for you. Your body's primary fuel is carbohydrate. If you are not intaking enough carbs in your diet, you will feel low, your stress levels will boost up and you will end up starving. In a general, you need 2g to 6g of carbohydrates per kg body weight depending on your activity and what your goals are.

    3. Fat: Last but not the least, fats have an equal contribution to your health. These mainly consists of three types - Saturated, Unsaturated and Trans fats. Your body needs saturated (ex. ghee, peanuts etc) and unsaturated (ex. cashews, olive oil etc) to keep your hormonal level balanced. Trans fat is one of the worst form of fat. It does not oxidizes within the body and results in creating problems like blood clotting. So my recommendation are saturated and unsaturated fats. Your diet should comprise of atleast 15% to 30% of fats depending on what your goals are.

Conclusion
As explained earlier about the macros you have information about what should a diet comprise of. Fatloss is just a result of caloric defecit, but if you want to be healthy then you have to eat balanced macros. For a detailed explanation you can reach me on Instagram.

About the author

Sankalp Soni is a Online Fitness Trainer, Online Influencer, Powerlifter & a Model with an experience of 2yrs. He wishes to help others make their life healthier and better! You can reach him on Instagram.