Low Carb Diets - Why are they so popular?
Low carb diets are extremely popular to lose fat.
If you’re carb depleted, you have a better chance of breaking down and burning body fat.
Being carb depleted makes it easier to breakdown fat because insulin will be lower. Insulin serves as “brake” on fat breakdown.. If you minimize the impact of the inhibitor of fat breakdown, you can breakdown more fat.
Secondly, if you’re carb depleted, you’ll likely burn more fat as fuel. The body prefers to use fat or carbs (glucose) as the predominant fuel source, and if you limit one, you’ll likely use the other more. It’s not magic; you simply burn what’s more readily available.
Low carb diets gain popularity partially because of the reasons outlined above, but also because protein tends to increase which makes fat loss easier even without exercise Protein makes it easier to burn calories because you can…
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Burn more calories digesting and absorbing the protein..
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Better preserve your metabolically active muscle tissue.
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Burn calories during protein synthesis (you burn ~5 calories linking amino acids together to build muscle).
Additionally, protein is extremely satiating so you’re less likely to snack and more likely to adhere to your planned diet.
When people go low carb, they tend to increase protein. More and more research outlines it is the elevated protein that helps drive up the fat loss by assisting with calorie burning and meal adherence.
Going low carb is not recommended for athletes as athletes will burn ample carbs fueling and recovering from their workout. Consuming a high protein + moderate carb diet and timing your carbs around your weight training would be the best solution for athletes seeking optimal fat loss and muscle preservation.