Is The Low Carb Craze Steering Consumers Wrong? Kate Street, MS

LCE is pleased to present Guest Author, Kate Street.   

My husband, Graeme, and I have been big proponents of low carb diets for years now. We run a low carb website, host low carb seminars, and write for low carb magazines. In fact, we've jokingly renamed our radio show Fitness Street on WLIS/WMRD, "Low Carb Radio." So, you would think that we would be ecstatic with the big low carb boom. Everyone has jumped on board from restaurants, to orange juice companies, and even beer! Just a year or so ago a dedicated low carb dieter would have to traverse through endless grocery stores, health food stores, and specialty shops to find a particular low carb product. Nowadays you can find them at any convenience store.

So why are Graeme and I cringing as more and more companies start contributing to the low carb way of life? Simply because most are doing it for the wrong reasons. Many of the foods that are hitting grocery store shelves today are motivated not by concern over our health and well-being, but by money. These companies know that growing numbers of low carb dieters are desperate for variety and convenience and that's what they're providing— but it's got nothing to do with nutrition. And if consumers take to heart what these big companies are selling then we'll most likely end up more frustrated and just as fat.

Unfortunately, the current low carb trend has the possibility (or more likely, the probability) of going the same way of low fat diets—consumers will eat all the low carb chips, cookies, and candies they want simply because hey, they're low carb! Remember thinking the same thing about low fat crackers, bagels, and pasta? Low fat foods got us no where but fatter and their low carb counterparts have the exact same potential. Our responsibility as consumers is to educate ourselves about low carb products and figure out which ones are good and which ones are junk. (Here's a hint, the best low carb products have existed forever and don't even come with a label!) Low carb candy, chips, and ice cream—well, c'mon, can we ever really call these types of food healthy? Low carb or not, it's still just junk food.

Aside from the low carb junk food that keeps popping up everywhere, there's another criticism we have about the low carb craze, and that's the way they're being portrayed in the media. The media loves its extremes and reports about low carb diets are no exception. If you believe what you hear on the evening news then you believe that low carb diets are all about eating 4 pound steaks, piles of sausage, and virtually no vegetables. Perhaps some low carb diets have earned this reputation, but most still recommend watching your fat intake and eating "sensibly."

However, most of all we're concerned that the whole low carb movement is still missing the point entirely. After all, a low carb diet is still a diet. Many low carb diets have consumers urinating on sticks to see if they're in ketosis, obsessively counting every single carb they put in their mouths, and weighing themselves religiously three times a day. Such strict dieting lends itself to judging your self-worth by the color of your keto sticks, the number of carbs you eat in a day, and what the scale reports to you first thing in the morning. That's no way to live.

The good news is, contrary to popular belief, you don't have to develop neurotic tendencies to find success on a low carb diet. You don't even have to give up fruit or pasta permanently! If you take the focus off your diet and instead put it on activity you'll find a lot more food choices opening up to you. Rather than following a low carb diet that simply encourages exercise, our focus is exercise with a carb-conscious approach.

Everyone knows that exercise is a must, but to a low carb dieter it's the ultimate secret weapon. When you exercise most days of the week, you can not only get away with eating more carbs, you actually have to eat more carbs to fuel your workouts. The right intensity and combination of exercise will also skyrocket your metabolism, speeding up your low carb results and making them much more dramatic. The best part is, though, when you add exercise to the low carb equation, you can actually eat carbs without the guilt. Once a week you can eat pizza or pasta or ice cream without suffering the repercussions, simply because your exercise habit will balance out such indulgences. In fact, we encourage all our clients and customers to have a reward meal once a week, because it helps keep them on track the rest of the time.

A low carb diet can be easy to follow and quite enjoyable if you have the right information. You don't have to deprive yourself of your favorite foods to get results. With the right attitude and a commitment to your health, you can be losing weight, inches, and sizes while eating your favorites too!