Posted on 06/06/2011 6:53:29 AM PDT by decimon
A modest reduction in consumption of carbohydrate foods may promote loss of deep belly fat, even with little or no change in weight, a new study finds. Presentation of the study results will be Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.
When paired with weight loss, consumption of a moderately reduced carbohydrate diet can help achieve a reduction of total body fat, according to principal author Barbara Gower, PhD, a professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
"These changes could help reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, stroke and coronary artery disease," Gower said, noting that excess visceral, or intra-abdominal, fat raises the risk of these diseases.
Gower and her colleagues conducted the study, with funding from the National Institutes of Health, in 69 overweight but healthy men and women. Subjects received food for two consecutive eight-week periods: first a weight maintenance intervention, and then a weight loss intervention, which cut the number of calories that each person ate by 1,000 each day.
Subjects received either a standard lower-fat diet or a diet with a modest reduction in carbohydrates, or "carbs," but slightly higher in fat than the standard diet. The moderately carb-restricted diet contained foods that had a relatively low glycemic index, a measure of the extent to which the food raises blood glucose levels. This diet consisted of 43 percent calories from carbohydrates and 39 percent calories from fat, whereas the standard diet contained 55 percent of calories from carbohydrates and 27 percent from fat. Protein made up the other 18 percent of each diet.
At the beginning and end of each study phase, the researchers measured the subjects' fat deep inside the abdomen and their total body fat using computed tomography (CT) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans.
After the weight maintenance phase, subjects who consumed the moderately carb-restricted diet had 11 percent less deep abdominal fat than those who ate the standard diet. However, when the researchers analyzed results by race, they found it was exclusive to whites. Whites have more deep abdominal fat than Blacks even when matched for body weight or percent body fat, and may benefit from loss of this metabolically harmful depot, Gower said.
During the weight loss phase, subjects on both diets lost weight. However, the moderately carb-restricted diet promoted a 4 percent greater loss of total body fat, Gower said. "For individuals willing to go on a weight-loss diet, a modest reduction in carbohydrate-containing foods may help them preferentially lose fat, rather than lean tissue," she said. "The moderately reduced carbohydrate diet allows a variety of foods to meet personal preferences."
Moderate ping.
I believe in moderation in all things; especially moderation.
I nearly cut out all carbs (pasta, bread, anything with sugar/grains) and lost 26 lbs in about 6 weeks. I ate what I wanted, to the exclusion of what I have stated, and the pounds melted off.
Just so you know. lol
Congratulations, but what else is there? ;-)
I know nothing about nutrition. What are carbs? All bread/grain food?
Sleeping on your hands should do the same.
I tried that once. I messed up my digestion.
Sugars and starches.
Moderation in all things, including excess.
Low carb wraps have been a Godsend for me.
I gained weight on Weight Watchers because they are based in carbs and skimp on protein.
Now I do Spark People FREE site. It’s amazing.
Wasted tax dollars to come to a conclusion that is already known.
It’s real simple folks. The best way to lose weight in a healthy manner rapidly without going hungry is the following..
1) Get your Carbs from Fruits and Vegetables.
2) Get your Sugars from fruit and vegetables only. Limit it from other foods outside these two catagores.
3) Eat food that speeds up your metabolism. For instance, lots of celery (Don’t dip it in peanut butter).
4) Drink lots of water. 1/2 your body weight daily. Make sure to to a Magnesium and 1/4 teaspoon of Kosher/Celtic Sea Salt ever 32oz. That way you do not hurt your Kidneys. Slowly bring up your water intake too. Don’t just do it one day. Don’t waste your money on bottle water. Get a water filter for the house and put a dump a bunch of cut up lemons in your water to Alkalize it. Google lemon and water benefits.
5) Portion your food. Cut what you normally eat by 1/4 and then eventually 1/2.
6) Don’t eat past 7pm. Greens/Water are the only are accept ion. Remember the greener the lettuce the better. Don’t waste your money on iceberg lettuce. Okay so is popcorn and Grape juice on movie night is okay. Just make sure there is no butter on that popcorn.
7) Exercise daily. For instance take a good walk (not a weak or an extreme walk) for one hour will burn more calories than if you had ran for 30 minutes after 12 hours. This is because walking will trigger a hormone in your body that will slowly burn calories for the next 12 hours. It’s less hard on your heart and joints.
Me too. All my pants are too big, now. I've been on it about 4 weeks. I feel so much lighter, and I have more stamina since my sugar isn't up and down. Also, I rarely feel food cravings or hunger.
My husband went on an egg/bacon/ham/burger/vegetable diet a few years ago, and his bad cholesterol levels plummeted.
It's amazing how sugar sneaks in - I noticed hot dogs, for instance - one package will add corn syrup, making a low-carb food into a high-carb food.
I've been eating bacon, pork rinds, etc., and still the pounds are melting off. The way to avoid "messing up your digestion" as someone else wrote is to pay particular attention to the carbs you DO eat. For me, that's about 20-40 carbs a day, now. I make sure it's fresh spinach, or mushrooms, or even peaches or cantaloupe or berries (low-carb veggies and fruits).
Good advice.
Drink half my body weight in water daily? 12 gallons?
Lemons add acid.
Avoiding Carbs will drop weight but is not healthy at all and hard on your body. Look what happen to the Atkins guy. He died because of it. Eating the same stuff as your husband. Google Atkins founder.
You body needs Carbs from fruits and vegetables. Just eat food that increases your metabolism.
Eat less exercise more - works every time it’s been tried. The dirty little secret I think about weight loss is that it hurts - you *will* feel hungry off and on. Deal with it.
What is a “low carb wrap”?
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