The low carb diet is one of the most popular and most widely used weight loss diets around. Low carb foods are foods that contain just the right level of carbohydrates. To understand how low carb foods can help you burn more fats and lose weight, you have to understand how the body processes carbohydrates.
How the Body Uses Carbohydrates
When you eat a carbohydrate-containing food, the body converts the carbohydrates into energy. However, carbohydrates sometimes get converted into body fat instead. This tends to happen more often if the body gets more carbohydrates than it needs. The higher level of carbohydrates increases the insulin levels in the blood, and the insulin is responsible for converting carbohydrates into fat instead of energy. Insulin also does more than that; it causes fat to be deposited into various parts of the body as fat stores, and it even sends hunger signals to your brain once it is out of carbohydrate to convert. This is why excessively high levels of insulin are considered as an abnormal condition called hyperinsulinemia, which is the culprit behind many overweight and obese cases.
The Fat Burning Secrets of Low Carb Foods
The solution is low carb foods, which give your body just enough energy to last you through the day. These do not cause a major spike in your insulin levels, and thus keep the negative effects of insulin at bay. Thus, carbohydrates are not easily converted into fat deposits, and the steady amount of energy will keep hunger at bay.
1. Fat-Burning Low Carb Foods
Low carb foods are not created equal, though. If you want to burn fat faster, you should carefully choose your low carb foods. Make sure they are also fat-burning foods, those that use more energy to burn than they deliver into your body. There are many fat-burning low carb foods around, and these are the most effective foods when it comes to losing weight. Some examples include fruits, vegetables, and certain dairy products. Not all vegetables work the same way though; be sure to choose green leafy ones such as spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, broccoli, and celery, among others. The same goes for fruits, since some of them happen to be high in sugar. Thus, you should only choose the best in fat burning, such as strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.
2. High Fiber Low Carb Foods
There are also low carb foods that are rich in fiber. Fiber helps the body digest and process food more easily. When there is enough fiber to match the carbohydrate content of food, it then moves on to burning stored fats. Some examples are wheat bran, flax seed, and coconut.
3. Protein Rich Low Carb Foods
Eating lean meat and other protein-rich foods as part of a low carb diet will provide you with enough protein your body needs. This also helps to burn fat. Protein-rich low carb foods that you can enjoy include fish meats, such as salmon and flounder, tofu, eggs, and nuts.
4. Low Fat Low Carb Foods
Some low carb foods may also be high in fat, so read your labels carefully and look for low carb foods that are also low in fat. This way, you are not making the fat-burning job of the body harder than it already is.
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