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This is, like any other macronutrient reduction diet, a bad idea. Use this diet only if becoming fatter and weaker is your goal. Ditto for the low-fat diet or low protein diet.

Your body needs carbohydrates to burn fat. And when it doesn't have those carbohydrates fat coming in, it assumes you are starving. Your metabolism then shifts into fat-conservation mode.

This is one reason people on low-carb diets are still fat. It's a pointless exercise. Yes, you may lose some weight. But, it will be mostly lean tissue--healthy bone, muscle, and organ tissue.

There is more to health than getting rid of body fat. That is not to say you should disparage getting rid of body fat--it would be great if everyone became at least reasonably lean. That's not the issue. Trying to deprive your body of essential nutrients so that you lose fat is simply not a smart thing to do. So, eat the right fats and don't try to be a low carb lemming!

Your body requires carbohydrates for many vital functions, such as:

• Burning fat. That's right. You need carbohydrates to burn fat. Cut fat from your diet, and you are going to burn that much less fat off your belly or wherever you have it piled up.

• Thinking. Your brain needs fuel. Starve it of carbs, and you could eventually become so stupid that the only job you can get would be one in the IRS.

• Protein uptake. Carbohydrates assist with the uptake of protein. If your body can't complete this action, it simply stores the unused protein as fat!

• Muscle growth. Muscles store glycogen, which your body makes from carbohydrates. No carbs, no growth.

• Normal activity. Without sufficient carbs, your body will use lesser fuels. But, it won't use the fat you are trying to get rid of. It'll cannibalize the lean tissue that would otherwise burn excess calories. A double-whammy! On top of that, you will be sluggish.

The list goes on and on. The point is, your body needs carbohydrates, adn it needs plenty of them. It also needs fats and proteins. The trick is to get the right kinds of all three, and get them in quantities that work for you. It is not necessary, or even desirable, to try to eliminate carbs from your diet. It is good to reduce the "junk carbs" from your diet.

To make headway on getting good carbohydrates, just do three simple things:

1. Avoid root vegetables. For example, avoid carrots and potatoes.

2. Avoid highly processed grains. For example, avoid flour products, refined sugar, and "things made by man."

3. Eat fruits, vegetables, and grains in as near natural a state as possible. For example, eat old-fashioned oats rather than quick oats.

There are other things you can do to fine-tune your carb intake situation. But, if you do just these three things, you will be way ahead of the typical person who is not doing them. And that alone may be enough for you to surpass your fitness goals.

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