Low Carb High Protein Diets — Are There Problems?
By: Whole Health Emporium
Tags: Weight Loss, Health, Healthcare, Keto, Weight Loss Tips

This article is from www.wholehealthemporium.com and may contain affiliate links.

Why do people eventually abandon their diets?

Is it because they get impatient? Is it because they get into a plateau?

Did you excuse did you give when you abandoned your diet? No worries no judgment here!

This article gives us an insight on why most low carb, high protein diets can be problematic.

Do they work? Yes — you do lose weight initially on a High Protein/Low Carb diet. You lose a lot of water weight initially.

And this can be a contributing factor to other health problems.

Some people get phenomenal results with supplements — I recommend this one!

So What Happens After?

What happens after your body has shed its water weight?

You Can Lose Muscle Mass

Like most diets, people who adhere to the keto diet experience a plateau in their weight loss journey. This can be attributed to a slowed metabolism.

Amanda Macmillan writes that keto related weight loss is mostly loss of muscle mass. Even though most people achieve ketosis, the weight that they lose is from muscle because muscle burns more calories than fat.

Because of this, their metabolism slows down leading to a plateau. One becomes discouraged and go off the ketogenic diet.

They regain most of the weight lost but they do not have the same muscle mass to burn as much calories.

The Color Of Your Urine Might Change

If you’ve ever been on one of these diets, you’ve noticed that your urine gets yellow.

This is due to ketones which is a by-product of ketosis. This is evidence that your body is burning and breaking up muscle tissue which is protein.

That’s dangerous because if too much of your body’s protein is broken down you could suffer irreparable liver and kidney damage.

Further symptoms of muscle breakdown are evident in general weakness, fatigue and lack of energy.

You May Be At Risk Of Heart Disease

Several studies have reported that cholesterol levels, especially LDL (bad cholesterol) are increased.

“When people eat fewer carbohydrates, their liver produces fewer triglycerides, which may play a role in raising HDL cholesterol levels.” Jessica Caporuscio, Pharm.D.

Another downside of Low Carb/High Fat diets is that studies show that the less carbs you consume the more likely you are to consume more fat.

And this excess fat is stored up in your body’s fat cells where they’ll linger indefinitely, clogging up your arteries with unhealthy cholesterol.

High levels of cholesterol put people at a higher risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.

How Do You Avoid These Disadvantages?

There’s a simple way to avoid this. Do not restrict your diet to any one food group or category.

Rather than blindly cutting Carbohydrates and increasing protein and fat intake, you should opt for a healthy ratio of 30% protein, 15% fat, and 55% Complex Carbohydrates.

This ratio will help you to lose weight steadily and safely. The key is to reduce fat and simple carbohydrates not carbohydrates in general.

Complex Carbohydrates

Because complex carbs have a low glycemic index your body has to use 250% more energy to convert these carbs into fuel than it does to convert fat into fuel.



Your body works harder to metabolize and burn calories from complex carbs than it does High Protein/Low Carb.

What are the results? Safe, systematic weight reduction — the best way to avoid health problems and sagging skin caused by too rapid weight loss.

Conclusion

Much like many diets, the keto diet has its pros and cons. The only way to avoid these possibly catastrophic complications is to come with a sustainable diet and exercise routine.

As many fitness gurus say, weight loss is a lifestyle. It is a marathon not a sprint!

Thank you for reading

What was your low carb journey like?

Leave a comment below and share your thoughts with us!

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Article Credits: Pauline D. and Richard Tracy

Works Cited

Jessica Caporuscio, Phar. “How Can the Keto Diet Affect Cholesterol? Safety and Risks.” Medicalnewstoday.com. N.p., 1 Sept. 2019. Web. 24 Oct. 2021.

Ogden, Jane. “Why Do Diets Fail?” The Psychology of Dieting. Routledge, 2018. 41–47. Print.