Low Carb – what´s that?

Low carb diet – more precisely: Low Carb High/Healthy Fat (LCHF).
Few carbohydrates – more healthy fat.

I am glad that you are interested in the super delicious low carb diet. It can help you to become healthier, feel fitter, more energetic and more productive.

You may know “low carb” as a “diet” that helps you lose a few kilos quickly. But it is much more than that: it is a healthy way of life that will accompany you throughout your life.

What are carbohydrates? Along with protein and fat, they are one of the three macronutrients your body needs. Carbohydrates are the most consumed nutrient in the western diet.

Bread, rolls, cereals, muesli, cakes and pies, ice cream, sweet pastries, chips, potatoes, pasta, pizza, rice, crisps, soft drinks, fruit juices, beer, sweet wines, chocolate and sweets are very rich in carbohydrates.

Leafy salads, (root) vegetables, mushrooms and (red berry) fruit have fewer and healthier carbohydrates.

 Where does the low carb diet come from

It is not a new-fangled invention of the diet industry. Our Stone Age ancestors were low carbers! Low carb means “few carbohydrates”. The Stone Age people were hunter-gatherers. For 2.6 million years, they fed only on what they hunted and found. Meat, plants, berries and fruits. So fat and protein from the meat and a few carbohydrates from the rest. Meat was rare because not every hunter was successful every day. People covered tens of kilometres a day and were slim and muscular.

It was only about 10,000 years ago that our ancestors became sedentary through agriculture and animal husbandry. With agriculture came carbohydrates from grain. Most Germans grew up on bread, rolls, cakes, pasta and potatoes – all carbohydrate-rich foods. Even if the Stone Age was a long time ago, your body chemistry is still stuck in Neanderthal: it cannot cope with the flood of carbohydrates in the long run and you get sick. Reducing carbohydrates is urgently needed.

Oops – but doesn’t that contradict frequent recommendations to reduce fat instead? Yes! Unfortunately. This misconception that good dietary fat causes heart attacks, strokes, obesity and high cholesterol goes back to American nutritionist Ancel Keys. His manipulated studies in the 1950s were supposed to make consumers turn to low-fat products. Even today, many doctors advise a low-fat diet and especially to avoid animal fats. At the same time, they recommend that 50-60% of the diet should come from whole grains – that is, carbohydrates. A disaster! There have never been as many diet-related diseases as there are today.

It is also worth taking a look at the menu in cases of involuntary childlessness. The desire to have children and nutrition absolutely belong together!

What is the sugar doing in your blood?

This sugar ends up in your blood and raises your blood sugar level. The pancreas releases the hormone insulin. It is supposed to open up the muscle cells so that the sugar can be burnt inside. If you exercise a lot and use it all up – great! But if the cells are already full – if you always eat more than you burn – the body converts the sugar into fat. It is not only stored visibly in your fat pads, but also invisibly in your liver. This is how a non-alcoholic fatty liver can develop, even if you don’t touch a drop of alcohol. Fat cells do not have a problem with space, they can spread unhindered. This is how you get fatter and fatter and obesity, morbid overweight, develops.

Alternatively, the cells may not open at all because of the excess of sugar and the insulin continues to waft in your blood. This is called insulin resistance. At some point your pancreas is exhausted and secretes less insulin or none at all. Your blood sugar level is then permanently elevated. Sugar floats in the blood and plaques and blockages can form in your arteries. This is how diabetes type 2 or its preliminary stage – prediabetes – develops.

Your body craves protein and fat

Protein is the most important nutrient and is often neglected in the diet. Your body needs 1 – 1.5 g protein / kilo of body weight as a building material for hormones and enzymes. Muscles are built from protein. Very important: Your immune system needs it urgently. 70% of your immune cells are located in the intestine. So it is important which food you choose.

Healthy fat is just as essential. Among other things, it is needed to build cell walls – especially in the brain! If you suffer from migraines, healthy fat can be THE game changer! By fat, I don’t mean that from crisps, sausage, chocolate or doughnuts 😉

What your body urgently needs is protein from eggs, fish and meat (preferably organic) as well as high-quality fats from olive oil, butter, coconut oil, fatty sea fish and sometimes also from fatty meat.

Allowed in smaller portions

Cheese and dairy products should be consumed in moderation, as they contain a lot of lactose. It is important that you choose full-fat products. When it comes to fruit, choose berries – blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. They have the least fructose. You can eat nuts and almonds – but only in small portions because of the high fat content, otherwise you stop your body’s own fat burning process. A little chocolate with a cocoa content of 70 % or more is okay.

The following should be left out of your diet

All types of sugar, honey, syrup, muesli, cakes, biscuits, sweets, ice cream, juices, soft drinks and sports drinks. You should also avoid sweeteners.

Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, corn, soy, chips. All types of cereals, cornflakes, pulses. Avoid industrially produced fats such as margarine, sunflower oil, maize germ oil and safflower oil. They contain a lot of omega-6 fatty acids.

Fruit is not as healthy as its reputation – it contains a lot of fructose. Stick to red berries instead.

Ultra highly processed convenience foods – you can recognise them by a very long list of ingredients that sounds more like a chemistry set. They contain many harmful additives and flavours that can gradually harm and poison you.

Low Carb Cheesecake for my birthday – Feasting allowed! 😋

  Never eat bread again?

But of course! There are so many great bread recipes made with almond flour, seeds, fat and protein. The preparation is very simple. My mouth is watering just writing this 😋.

A big advantage of baking yourself is your knowledge of the good ingredients. You can enjoy with pleasure and a clear conscience. By the way, you can buy fantastic cake and bread baking mixes that are only mixed with water. It couldn’t be easier!

You should keep your hands off protein bread from the supermarket; it contains too many carbohydrates and unhealthy ingredients.

  The most common beginner’s mistake in a low carb diet?

Reducing carbohydrates and fat at the same time because the fear of eating too much fat is still prevalent. Is it really healthy to take so much oil? Can I actually eat the full-fat cheese? Buy mascarpone instead of low-fat yoghurt?

The longer you have heard that you should eat low-fat food, the more unaccustomed you are to hearty meals at first. The result is often a dull menu that quickly gets on your nerves. Who wants to eat steamed vegetables and dressing-free salad all the time?

 Time for a fuel chang

Your body can use either carbohydrates or fats as fuel. As long as it gets carbohydrates from food, it will always go for them first. Excess sugar is converted into fat and added to your waistline, the “life ring” on your belly or your liver. Belly fat is particularly dangerous because it is hormonally active and can contribute to inflammation.

This is also the explanation why you will not lose weight permanently if you only eat half portions or eat far fewer calories than you should. The amount of calories you eat is less important than the composition of your nutrients. Provided you don’t eat 4,000 calories a day 😉

Do you know how many calories you consume during the day? It can be eye-opening to log everything that goes into your mouth for a while. Both meals in the photos have about the same number of calories, but they do different things to your body because of their nutritional composition.

If you want to lose weight permanently, you have to reduce carbohydrates to such an extent that the body has to tap into your fat depots.

  How many carbohydrates are in your meals?

So how many carbs should you eat per day? Look at the grams and you’ll notice how quickly you end up with far more carbs than is good for you. Women consume an average of 240 g and men 300 g of carbohydrates per day. A sickening dose.

As you already know, your body takes the easy way out and first uses the easily available carbohydrates for energy. When you turn off the carbohydrate tap, it empties the full sugar stores in the muscle cells and liver. Only then – and when there are no more carbohydrates – does it attack your fat deposits.

It is pointless to drastically reduce the amount of calories you eat if you are still eating so many unhealthy carbohydrates. The choice of nutrients is more important than the amount of calories.

In the low carb diet, the amount of carbohydrates is limited to a maximum of 100g. You now know what kind of carbohydrates are allowed. The strictest low carb form is the ketogenic diet, in which a maximum of 30 g of carbohydrates are eaten. Here, energy is derived entirely from fat. The moderate form allows up to 50 g of carbohydrates, the liberal one up to 100 g.

Then something wonderful happens: your blood sugar level remains stable because protein and healthy fats prevent it from rising so high in the first place. Cravings or sweet tooth are a thing of the past, you feel full and well nourished. And the best thing is – when you’re on the go, you always have your fat depots with you, from which your body can help itself. Finally, the fat on your hips will melt away if you want to lose weight.

Does a Low Carb High Healthy Fat diet have side effectsNot everyone has them! BUT: In the first seven to ten days you may experience some withdrawal symptoms – that’s because you’re losing water and your body is detoxing. You might get headaches or calf cramps, an increased heartbeat and generally feel lazier than usual. This is called “keto flu” and you simply take it easy for a few days, refrain from exercise and exertion. Half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water in the morning will replenish your minerals due to water loss. When your body has made the switch from burning sugar to burning fat, you will feel the difference! Like being born again – now healing begins…

  How to start your low carb diet?

🥒 Do not start hastily, but check whether it is the right time. If you are under a lot of stress or have a lot of appointments, you should postpone your start. If the keto flu catches you, you should have the opportunity to take it easy.

🍳 Find an ally. Get your partner on board – ideally he/she also enjoys change and you start together. If you live alone, tell a favourite person about your plans and ask for moral support.

🥑 Ideally, you should sort out your supplies that no longer fit into the nutritional concept before the start. Sugar, sweets, flour, pasta, rice, soft drinks, jam, honey, baked rolls and frozen pizza should be removed from the menu. Give them away or donate them.

🍗 Stock up on suitable food – at least for the first week, better for ten days. This way you are prepared and don’t grab the usual products due to lack of mass.