Answers to Everyday Questions : When going on a low carb low sugar diet, how many grams of sugar are you allowed?

When going on a low carb low sugar diet, how many grams of sugar are you allowed?

One Response to “When going on a low carb low sugar diet, how many grams of sugar are you allowed?”

1. Cindy in Texas said :
   December 7th, 2010 at 2:02 am

   All carbohydrates convert to glucose/sugar, even vegetables. There is no need for eating any sugar, but sugar & refined carbs are addictive. It’s much easier to get past the carb addiction & slowly add back carbs than to lower carbs.

   Simple carbs are addictive & can be disastrous to health. The best way to break the addiction is NO carbs for 3 days. Make a huge batch of deviled eggs, eat one every time you want “something” – have huge omelets with bacon, sausage, peppers, mushrooms & cheese. Pork chops smothered with peppers, mushrooms & cheese – pork rinds & dip or tuna/chicken/turkey/egg salad – steaks – a huge sugar free cheese cake. Eat so much you won’t feel deprived of anything. By the 4th day, the addiction will be gone & the low carb way of eating will create a natural appetite suppression that makes it much easier to make healthy choices.

   Long term ingestion of highly refined carbs “burn out” the insulin receptors on muscle cells, so calories go directly to fat cells, leaving muscle cells screaming for nutrition. Exercise forces muscles to accept glucose out of the bloodstream without the need for insulin.

   Most people get obese because their bodies just can’t process carbs any more. They become insulin resistant & carbs go straight to fat cells. As healthy as fruit may be, it just doesn’t promote fat loss. The body won’t release fat stores until the blood stream is free of insulin. In someone insulin resistant, the insulin response is too sensitive & produces too much insulin.

   You can lose more body fat eating protein & fat (don’t eat protein alone) than not eating AT ALL. To lose weight fast, eat all you want, but nothing but meat, eggs, healthy oils, mayo, butter & half an avocado a day (for added potassium). Keep the calories high & the fat percentage high, at least 65% of calories. Green vegetables & some cheese will continue weight loss but at a slower pace.

   The first 2 weeks eat several cups a day of (mostly) lettuce & celery, cucumbers, radishes, mushrooms, peppers & more variety of vegetables thereafter – add 5 grams per day additional every week (20 grams day first 2 weeks, 25grams 3rd week, 30grams 4th week etc) til you gain weight, then subtract 10grams. That will be your personal carb level (everyone is different & depends on how active you are.)

   Start with meat, fats & salads for 2 weeks and then slowly add in more green veg, wk4 fresh cheeses, wk5 nuts & seeds, wk6 berries, wk7 legumes, wk8 other fruits, wk9 starchy veg, wk10 whole grains. You will learn how your body reacts to different foods.

   The body won’t release fat stores if you lower calories below what it needs. It will slow metabolism to compensate & store every spare ounce as fat. If you continue lowering calories, it will continue lowering the set point, til it can survive off nothing & store fat on anything. The body will only release it’s fat stores if it knows there is plenty of nutritious food.

   Eating carbs while trying to lose body fat is terribly inefficient. When in glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) you have to lower your calories (which slows your metabolism) & exercise heavily to deplete your glycogen stores before burning body fat.

   The core of Atkins program is converting the body from glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) to ketosis (burning fat as fuel). Dietary fat levels need to be at >65% of total calories, if not, the body will still remain in glycolysis by converting 58% of excess protein into glucose (via gluconeogenesis).

   It takes minimum of 3 days to convert a body to ketosis, (but only one bite to convert back to glycolysis). People feel sluggish the first week but most feel better than ever thereafter.

   Carbohydrates trigger insulin (the ONLY fat storage hormone). Protein triggers the fat burning hormone, glucagon.

   High insulin levels promote inflammation, weight gain, hunger & unbalance other hormones. Controlling insulin levels will balance out other hormones & allow human growth hormone (HGH) to be produced naturally so lean muscle will be gained even without exercise.

   Ground flax seed (4 Tbsp) 1/4 cup water, artificial sweetener, mix in a raw egg – let sit 10 min. to absorb liquid, put cream cheese in the middle & nuke 2 min. for daily fiber needs.

   As long as you have <9grams carbs per hour, you will maintain insulin control & shouldn't gain weight, no matter the calories because insulin, the fat storage hormone is not activated. Many people gain weight on high carb, do low carb to lose weight & then are shocked when they return to high carb & gain weight.