Can u unlock the mysteries of CARBOHYDRATES for me?

The way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. Right? So why do the Atkins dieters have so much success without counting calories? Is it in the cutting of the carbohydrates? What IS IT about the carbohydrates that make you fat? I'd really like some good information.

The answer to that question is a little more complex that it may seem, but I'll give it a try:

First of all, your statement is correct that if you burn more calories than you consume you will lose weight. Keep in mind though that this weight can be lost mostly from three different sources: fat (ideally), muscle (not ideal since this is what burns calories in the first place) and water (generally not ideal either). We'll get back to this point.

As for the Atkins dieters, they are not as successful as they appear to be. First of all, common sense should tell us that eating most of the food in the Atkins diet isn't good for us (imagine what it's doing to these dieters arteries...). And any cardiologist or nutritionist with half a brain will tell you that the diet is a sham. But there are plenty out there to make a buck which is why others like me have to speak up and dispel the myth that these diets are good for you. Anyway, back to where I was going. I'm not going to tell you that the Atkins diet doesn't or can't work. In some cases, especially when someone actually follows the diet very closely and eliminates ALL carbohydrates, they will actually lose weight. But they will not do it in a healthy manner. These people will go into a state called ketosis where the body is burning calories but also emits ketones and usually have a bad case of halitosis (bad breath) as a pleasant side effect. I'm not going to get into a bunch of details about what all this means because you can research it online if you like, just take my word that the diet is not good for your health.

So onto carbohydrates. First of all, carbs are the main source of food that the body uses for energy and the most efficient. The body can also use fat and protein, but they require more steps to break them down into a usea ble source of energy. The word carbohydrate is a somewhat broad term, so let's break it down into it's different subsets: simple carbs and complex carbs. Simple carbs are those which the body can break down fairly quickly and easily in order use as energy. Natural examples would be cane sugar, honey, maple syrup, sugars found in fruits and 100% fruit juices, etc. Complex carbs are foods such as rice, potatoes, yams, corn, eggplant, breads, etc.

sorry, I can't but if you asked someone else
besides me you will get the answer.

I know at least one reason that this happens. You know how the Atkins Diet causes a large amount of sudden weight loss? It's all water, not fat. You see, your body stores extra carbs in a form called glycogen. When you stop eating carbs, your body still needs them, so it get them from your glycogen reserves. I won't get into the chemistry, but in order for your cells to use the glycogen for fuel, it has to be broken down into glucose. That breakdown process causes water to be lost. You can sort of think of glycogen as chains of glucose joined together by water. That's not really how it works, but it might be easier to picture that way. I hope that makes sense! =)

I'm sure there are other aspects of this issue, but that was one I knew off the top of my head. Hope that helps!

From what I understand, carbs that are not burned, are converted to fat by the liver and stored for future use. I am on a primarily vegetarian diet (mostly raw vegetables like in salads) with very little in the way of grains (carbs). I do eat some meat like ham and chicken. I also am diabetic and since carbs are essentially sugars, I eat very little of them. Since last fall, I have lost over 40 lbs. (30 in the first two months) and am keeping it off. I have leveled off at the ideal weight for my size (170lbs @ 5'11"). I feel great and am able to manage my blood sugar very easily with just a pill (no injections). Needless to say, it works. You can learn a lot more at this website: http://www.chetday.com

There is a ton of information available to help you learn more about carbs, protein, and so forth. He has a 21-day diet designed to cleanse your system and tells you how to follow it up with very nutritious eating habits to keep the weight down.

thats the cheap way to lose weight. Sure, you'll see that they go through dramatic weight-loss, but all theyre losing is body water and sometimes even muscle even if you consume a lot of protein.
Carbs should be consumed the most ,then fat, and then protein.
youll only lose weight the healthy way when you exercise and burn more calories than you eat.

The atkins diet not only removes carbohydrates but also high fat foods. They actually do have to watch the calories but usually can eat a lot more since they are replacing the carbs wit veggies. People on that diet are generally low energy people that don't exercise and can't exercise that much. If you notice on an atkins diet, you have no energy to maintain a long workout. I think that diet is unhealthy. Your diet should be 50% carbohydrates for that quick energy you NEED.

If you don't burn the carbohydrates, they are converted into fat and stored in your muscles for later use if there's too much sitting in the blood. The key to weight loss is a low fat diet and at least 8 hours of exercise in 6 days per week.