Are you one of those people trying to get into a low carb diet but find it difficult to stick to the diet? Do you feel like the diet is depriving you of your favorite foods?
This is actually pretty normal because most people are so used to eating carbs and can’t imagine a day without eating rice, bread, and some sugary confection. Although a low carb diet requires limiting many of your favorite carbs in order to lose weight, following the diet, however, is not really as difficult as you might think.
A Low Carb Diet reduces your Appetite
Eating a low carb diet can actually benefit you in many ways since it helps to reduce your appetite so you’ll be able to automatically lessen your intake of calories. If you’re trying to lose weight by cutting back on your calorie consumption, yet you still eat the same types of foods, your brain will react by triggering your brain’s “hunger button”, so you’ll end up feeling frustrated and miserable.
Studies have shown that if you compare low carb diets to low-fat diets, the amount of calories are more restricted in the low-fat group, however, for those who are eating low carb, they are able to eat as much as they wanted to of the foods allowed.
As a result, people who are on a low carb diet will feel fuller and more satisfied, while those who are on a low-fat diet tend to feel hungry from time to time.
Related reading: 3 Common Misconceptions about Low Carb Diets
No Boring Calorie Counting
You might be surprised to learn that you don’t have to do any of that tedious calorie counting when you follow a low carb diet nor do you have to keep a food diary. Many people following a low carb diet plan find that because they don’t feel hungry they feel more satisfied on less food so are easily able to lose those excess pounds. There are plenty of low carb recipes online that are tasty substitutes for your favorite foods.
Compliance Rates on Low Carb Diet
Nutrition researcher Kris Gunnars lists the following studies which show that a low carb diet is not really that difficult to stick to:
• A clinical trial consisting of 120 overweight and hyperlipidimic individuals, who were divided randomly into two groups, has compared the ketogenic diet to a low-fat diet. In a period of 24 weeks, 76% of those belonging to the low carb group were able to finish the trial while only 57% of the low-fat group were able to make it.
• In another study, 322 individuals were asked to participate in a 2-year study, which compares the low-fat diet, low carb diet, and the Mediterranean diet. The compliance rate for those on the low-fat diet was 85.3%, those on the low carb diet was 78%, while 90.4% for those on the Mediterranean diet. Although the low carb diet had the lowest compliance rate, 78% is still quite high.
• In a separate study, 106 overweight employees of the Rome council were asked to go on a modified ketogenic diet (low carb). The group’s compliance rate was 83.6%.
The studies mentioned above have shown that the compliance rates for those who are on a low carb diet are quite high. This means that a big percentage of those people who were asked to go in a low carb diet have made it to the end.
Related reading: 5 Top Tips for Getting Started on a Low Carb Diet
Conclusion
Contrary to what many people may think, following a low carb diet is not really that difficult, unlike other diet plans. The compliance rates mentioned above are proof of that. Additionally people who are on a low-carb diet will have a lower appetite compared to those on high-carb diets, which makes sticking to the low-carb plan much easier. Remember that feeling hungry is frustrating and hunger is something that’s so hard to resist. With a low carb diet, you won’t feel hungry too often, which explains why this diet is really effective.
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