12/06/2021
Low Carbs vs. low fat diets, what's the faster and healthier way to lose weight?
There are a lot of different weight loss theories out there. Two of the most common weight loss strategies are low carb diet and low fat diet. This article will explain why mainly those two methods are used to lose weight and the pros and cons of each diet.
Basics first, there are three macronutrients that our body needs to produce energy on a daily basis, proteins, fat and carbs. Proteins are too important for our bodies vital functions, so nutritionists and dieticians focus mainly on reducing the intake of carbs and fat when it comes to weight loss strategies.
Let’s start with the low fat diet
As a general rule we can say that low fat diets include foods with not more than 3 grams of fat per 100 calories food intake. Great examples of low fat foods are vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereals, egg whites, chicken and turkey breast without skin, beans, lentils, peas, seafood, and low fat dairy products.
Pros & Cons of low fat diet
Pros - Decreasing the daily fat intake is a proven way of lowering cholesterol in your blood which furthermore reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Cons - Food producers often subsidize the missing fat of low-fat food products with sugar and other unhealthy ingredients. The additional sugar/carb intake can lead to excessive hunger, weight gain and diseases. Furthermore, with such a low fat intake you might not get enough important nutrients from fish and vegetables, like omega 3 fatty acids.
Low carbohydrate diet
Very low-carbohydrate or keto diet allows less than 10% carbs or about 20-50 grams/day. Low-carbohydrate diet is defined with less than 26% carbs or 130 grams/day or less. Moderate-carbohydrate diets include 26%-44%, everything above is considered as a high-carbohydrate diet.
Pros & Cons of low carb diet
Pros - Lower carb intake reduces insulin levels in the body, is highly effective to burn stored fat and reduces hunger which helps to keep the diet going.
Cons - Many fruits and other important foods are not allowed on a low carb diet which might lead to a lower intake of important vitamins and minerals. Furthermore, if there is too little carbohydrate available to produce energy, our body will use protein from the muscles which reduces muscle mass and can damage our overall health.
Conclusion
There are a number of studies done with different participants which found that both, low fat and low carb diets led to similar weight loss results. There are however a lot of newer studies that favor the quicker weight loss and better impact on health of a low carb/high fat diet. From all the studies that I read, it seems like that the most important driver for successful weight management is to stick with the diet no matter if it is a low fat or low carb diet.
Personally, I tried a very low-carb (keto) diet for almost a month myself. At that time I also practiced intermittent fasting which made me lose about 3kg in this very short time. Unfortunately I often ate too few carbs and had no power to work out so my body started to consume it’s muscle mass, which led me to stop the diet. Therefore, for me a very low-carb or keto diet can be extremely effective but also dangerous when you don't eat enough nutritional foods.
Source:
https://www.aaancbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553097/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537084/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12679447/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC538279/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa022637
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25182101/
