Low-carb diets can be an effective way to lose weight, according to research. Reducing carbohydrates tends to reduce appetite and can lead to automatic weight loss without the need to count calories. A low-carb diet is often used for weight loss, and some studies suggest it may have additional health benefits, such as reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. A recent review of the evidence found that people who followed a low-carb diet for a long period of time lost just under one kilogram more than those on other diets.
However, the review concluded that there was no evidence that low-carb diets had any additional health benefits. While research has shown that people can lose weight on low-carb diets, there is no guarantee that everyone will have the same experience. Most people can expect to lose some weight when they make dietary changes, such as reducing carbohydrate intake. We also have content on eating a more satiating diet that can help you adjust your low-carb diet to be even more successful with healthy weight loss.
Some low-carb diets greatly restrict carbohydrates during the initial phase of the diet and then gradually increase the amount of carbohydrates allowed. Depending on the version of the eating plan you use, whether it's ketogenic or just a low-carb diet, you can still eat some carbs, it's just a matter of tracking them closely. The popular ketogenic diet is a more extreme form that restricts carbohydrates to between 30 and 50 grams per day, which is a challenge for many Americans considering that a single bagel contains 48 grams of carbohydrates alone. In long-term weight loss interventions lasting one to two years, the average difference in weight loss between people on low-carb diets versus balanced diets was just under one kilogram.
Initial weight loss is partly due to water loss, but fat loss occurs with adherence to the low-carb approach. Low-carb diets have been used as a weight-loss strategy since 1860, and more recently in 1972. While all low-carb approaches reduce total carbohydrate intake, there is no clear consensus on what defines a low-carb diet. It's possible that you may need to keep your carbohydrate intake lower than it was before you started eating low carbs. Ketogenic diets restrict carbohydrates to induce nutritional ketosis and generally limit carbohydrates to 20 to 50 grams per day.
In addition, many are low in healthy and natural sources of carbohydrates, such as fruits, beans, and minimally processed whole grains. Overall, the review shows that whether you prefer a lower carbohydrate eating pattern or a balanced eating pattern, both can work for weight loss. Recent guidelines from the American Diabetes Association have included low-carb eating as an option for treating this common condition. Short-term studies suggest faster weight loss with low-carb diets compared to low-fat diets, but long-term data show similar results.
Some studies have shown that following low-carb diets based on these foods results in better weight loss than following low-fat diets.
