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Low carb stupidity: Eating lots of manufactured, over processed, chemical laden low carb foods and thinking you're "being good" and "following your diet."

Low carb intelligence: Realizing that natural, unrefined foods are one of the keys to lifelong weight control and that anything man-made and refined is neither healthy or an ideal "diet" food  This bandwagon reminds me of the "no fat" craze, when all those "fat-free" foods were being passed off as healthy diet food. But, they were really highly processed and full of pure sugar and sodium.

Low carb stupidity: Selecting your beer or liquor carefully to make sure you have the brand with the fewest grams of carbs.

Low carb intelligence: 

1. Realizing that a few grams of carbs don’t make all that much of a difference and that most “lo carb” beers have the same caloric content as “lite” beers Avoiding alcohol if you’re trying to lose body fat.
2. Drinking only in moderation, if you’re trying to lose weight and be healthy

Low carb stupidity: Thinking that very low carb (ketogenic) dieting is a maintainable “lifestyle.”

Low carb intelligence:

1. Understanding that reasonable (moderate) restriction of carbs can be a helpful short term strategy for fat loss, a  legitimate method to control appetite, and an effective way for some people to control insulin.
2.  Understanding that the fact that most Americans eat when they are not hunger and don’t stop when they are full.
3. Understanding that the fact just mentioned, not carbs, is the reason that 66% of Americans are overweight.
4. Understanding that a balanced diet of natural foods is probably the most suitable of all the diets for health, lifelong maintenance, and weight control.

Low carb stupidity: Believing that if you cut your carbs, you do not need to exercise to lose weight and maintain that loss long term

Low carb intelligence: Knowing that dieting is the worst way to lose fat and that exercise in combination with a healthy, balanced diet is the best way to lose fat permanently.

Low carb stupidity: Using the argument; “There’s no such thing as an essential carbohydrate” as justification for low carb dieting.

Low carb intelligence: Realizing that textbook definitions of “essential” can be taken out of context to promote a fad diet and that just because there’s technically no “essential” carbohydrates (as there are essential amino acids and fatty acids) doesn’t mean carbohydrates aren’t “essential” in other respects.

Low carb stupidity: Using the argument, “You have to eat fat to lose fat” as justification for a high fat, low carb diet, without explaining it or putting it in context (exactly how much fat and what kind of fat?).

Low carb intelligence: Understanding the importance of essential fats, but not taking any single nutritional principle to an extreme (such as, “If a little fat is good for you then a lot is even better.”).

Low carb stupidity: Not clarifying your definition of low carbs.

Low carb intelligence:

1. Realizing that there are “very low” carb diets, “low” carb diets, and “moderate” carb diets and that  you cannot classify them all together. (Some people consider The Zone Diet, at 40% of calories from carbs, a low carb diet, others consider 40% carbs quite high).
2. Understanding the importance of “carbs” as a portion of your total caloric intake

Low carb stupidity: Thinking that all carbs are bad.

Low carb intelligence: Understanding that there is quite a difference between a processed, refined doughnut and a wholesome, nutrient laden potato .

Low carb stupidity: Going on the Atkins diet (or any other very low carb/ketogenic diet) with absolutely no idea why you’re doing it or how it works (going on it because “everybody” is doing it and because you see it advertised everywhere).

Low carb intelligence:

1. Understanding that most of the weight loss in Atkins s due to fluid loss .
2. Realizing that Americans eat an average of 200 calories a day more than they did 10 years ago, yet move far less.
3. Understanding that if you eat 10 calories a day more than your body needs, you will gain 10 pounds a year. Blaming "carbs” for the weight gain does not correct the problem.
4. Understanding that unless you make changes towards an overall healthful lifestyle, you will begin to gain all of that weight back when you “go off” the diet.

Low carb stupidity:  Believing that if  you eat zero net-carbs, you will lose weight. Buying into the carb-counting craze, food manufacturers have come out with a new term to sell their products. "Net carbs" is a deceptive way to count only the negligible carbohydrates that come from artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols, and ignore the others from starch and regular sugars.

Low carb intelligence:

1. Realizing that sugar alcohol and fiber are not  "nothing"--they still have calories.

2. Understanding that "low-carb" labels are meaningless. In manufacturing low-carb products, sugars are replaced with "unnaturally high concentrations" of sugar alcohols, refined grains, and starches--all of which are carbohydrates and contribute to caloric intake.

3. Understanding that because these "replacement carbs" move through the small intestine without getting absorbed, manufacturers subtract them from the carb content. That's the "net carbs" number listed on the product label.
4.  Realizing  that the recent focus on low carbs will continue to draw people away from healthy eating and just provide them with another excuse to live off junk food.
5. Remember, any "low net-carb" claim is diverting your attention away from the calorie content of a food.  

Copyright © Custom Bodies, Inc. 2005

Article written by Dianne Villano, President of Custom Bodies. Custom Bodies has been serving the bay area since 1996 with weight loss & fitness programs for every fitness level. Dianne is a personal fitness instructor certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and a frequent speaker on health and fitness related topics with articles published in over 20 media outlets including Weight Loss & Obesity Resource Center, Women’s Exercise Network, Self Growth , Gateway to Beauty & Life tools for Women.

• For more articles or free  fitness tools visit www.mypersonalfitnesscoach.com

• Here's another page with carbohydrate information: www.carbs-information.com

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