As we head into a new year, many of us will make the wise decision to start or continue on a healthy diet and lifestyle. Long term, the best way to control your weight is to develop healthful eating habits and eat moderately. Do that, and unless you have a major metabolic disorder and are extremely inactive, you will arrive at a weight that is appropriate for your age and body type.
But if a diet, and I am speaking of a way of eating, not specifically a weight-loss diet, is impossible to maintain because it is lacking in flavor and leaves you hungry and with cravings for certain foods, it is only a matter of time before it becomes a former diet. In the decades since the American government has advocated a low-fat diet, the obesity epidemic has exploded.
Low Fat Is High Carb
A low-fat diet, by definition, is inherently a high carbohydrate diet. That’s because when you restrict fat, you are restricting protein as well, since meat, poultry, fish, cheese, and most other forms of protein contain good amounts of fat.
What you are left with, then, is carbohydrates, which encompasses an array of foods. (Most foods contain some combination of fat, protein and carbohydrates.) Low-glycemic (“good”) carbohydrates are typically whole foods like leafy green vegetables, brown rice, lentils, raspberries, and hundreds of other vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
Then there is the endless array of high-glycemic (“bad”) carbohydrates that beckon from the supermarket shelves, including the processed, refined offerings such as cookies, chips, syrupy drinks, white bread and so on.
By definition, high glycemic foods have a dramatic impact on blood sugar levels within a couple of hours after consumption. In contrast, low glycemic foods raise blood sugar levels more slowly and moderately. In addition, dairy products contain carbohydrates along with fat and protein.
Most Fats Are Fine
When you control carbohydrates, you don’t have to keep track of how much fat — other than trans fats, known as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, which are to be avoided at all costs — you are eating.
That means that you can enjoy a lamb chop, salmon, olive oil on your vegetables and in your salad dressing and whipped cream on fresh raspberries, without feeling guilty. In fact, all these fats carry flavor, which makes food more satisfying.
When you eliminate most fat from your diet, you yearn for flavor, which can often lead to overeating. Fats provide a comforting satiety in a way that carbohydrates don’t, which is why high-fat, low-carb diets like The Silver Cloud Diet are more popular and more sustainable than low-fat diets.
