A Low-carb meal plan is poor in carbohydrates and usually high in protein and fiber. Often associated with functional training, this type of regime helps not only to gain muscle mass, but also to lose fat mass, since the body that would normally resort to carbohydrates for energy, starts to depend on the accumulated fat that is transformed to obtain that same energy.
Low carb fans frequently practice also intermittent fasting.
Keto
The Keto food is a very low-carbohydrate but high-fat nutrition.
It aims to keep the carbohydrate level so low that the body enters a metabolic state called ketosis. In this state, insulin levels drop and the body releases large amounts of fatty acids from its fat stores. Most of these fatty acids are then transformed in the liver into soluble molecules that can supply energy to the brain.
Low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diet
It is a very several, but with a strong emphasis on whole, unprocessed foods, unlike the previous one. The main sources of food are meats, fish, seafood, eggs, healthy fats, vegetables, dairy products, nuts, and berries.
Paleo
This meal plan advocates, as the name implies, eating foods that were likely available in the Paleolithic era, focusing on eating meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, tubers, nuts, and seeds. Eliminating processed foods, added sugar, grains, legumes, and dairy products.
A paleo diet is not low-carb by definition, but in practice it follows the same rules, as most of the foods eaten are not those high in carbohydrates and it is easily adaptable to a meal plan that actually eliminates these carbohydrates.
Atkins
This is the most well-known low-carb eating plan. It involves reducing all carbohydrate-rich foods while eating as much protein and fat as you want.
This meal plan divided into four phases:
1) In the first, you must eat less than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day for 2 weeks.
2) In the next phase, you slowly add more nuts, low-carb vegetables and fruit.
3) When you get close to your weight goal, the third phase begins and you can add more carbohydrates until the weight loss slows down.
4) The last phase consists of eating enough carbohydrates to maintain your ideal weight.
Eco-Atkins
Based on the previous ones, Eco-Atkins is the vegan version of the Atkins diet.
It includes plant foods and ingredients high in protein and/or fat, such as gluten, soy, nuts, and vegetable oils.
About 25% of its calories come from carbohydrates, 30% from protein, and 45% from fat.
As such, it is higher in carbohydrates than a typical Atkins diet - but still much lower than a typical vegan or vegetarian.
Try a low carb granola for your breakfast.
Zero-Carb
Some people prefer to eliminate even all carbohydrates from their meal plan.
This is called a zero-carb meal plan and usually includes only animal foods, eliminating any plant-based foods.
People with this diet eat meat, fish, eggs, and animal fats like butter and lard. Some of them also add salt and spices.
There are no recent studies showing that this is safe.
A zero-carbohydrate ideology lacks some important nutrients, such as vitamin C and fiber. For this reason, it is generally not recommended.
Low-carbohydrate Mediterranean
The Mediterranean diet is perhaps the most popular in the world and among the healthiest, so a low-carbohydrate Mediterranean eating pattern is perhaps one of the easiest to follow without major adjustments to a person's lifestyle. This nutritional regimen encourages eating more fatty fish instead of red meat and more extra virgin olive oil instead of fats like butter.
This avoids the mistakes common in the previously mentioned diets. Because, although these diets encourage the consumption of good fats, most people end up consuming accessible fats like butter and fatty meats. The result is increased cholesterol and increased cardiovascular problems.
Therefore, a low-carbohydrate Mediterranean diet may be better for heart disease prevention than other low carb diets.
Are you starting a low carb diet?
Discover some low carb ingredients that can help you with these meal plans.
Photo: louishansel.com
Bibliography:
