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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : January 4, 2019 11:11 AM IST
It would be a good idea to go low on carbs ©Shutterstock
Losing weight is a task in itself. Dieting, fasting, exercising it takes plenty of efforts o reach your weight loss goals. Once you lose weight, there is obviously a sense of achievement. However, the task that s tougher than losing weight is maintaining your weight. It is very easy to pile on the kilos that you have so meticulously lost. But now, a new research has revealed the one trick you need to follow to ensure that you don t regain weight after weight loss. The research says that to avoid regaining the weight that you lose after rigorous dieting or exercise, just eat a diet low on carbohydrates. According to the research study published in the journal BMJ, eating fewer carbohydrates increases the number of calories burned.
As part of the research, scientists at Boston Children's Hospital in the US analysed 234 overweight adults aged between 18 and 65 on an initial weight-loss diet for about 10 weeks. Of these, 164 achieved the goal of losing 10 to 14 per cent of body weight. As reported in IANS, the participants were then randomised to follow high, moderate or low-carbohydrate diets for an additional 20 weeks with carbs comprising 60, 40 and 20 per cent of total calories, respectively. The results showed that over the 20 weeks, calories burned was significantly greater on the low-carbohydrate diet versus the high-carbohydrate diet. In fact, those who consumed the low-carb diet burned about 250 kilocalories a day more than those on the high-carb diet.
The benefits of a low carb diet and have been well documented. However, while following a low carb diet, you must ensure that you replace carbohydrates with more of plant-derived protein or fat than animal-derived protein or fat. This is because when carbohydrate is substituted for higher animal fat or protein intake, it is associated with both higher cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular death, whereas plant-based substitutions are associated with both lower cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular death. A study published in Lancet Public Health that focused on the association between carbohydrate intake and mortality, has revealed that those following both a low carbohydrate (<40% of energy from carbohydrate) and high carbohydrate (>70% of energy from carbohydrate) diet were associated with increased mortality risk and shorter residual lifespan, with minimum risk observed with 50 55% of energy from carbohydrate.
Also, you must make sure that your diet should comprise more of complex carbohydrates and less of simple sugars to lose weight. Complex carbohydrates are rich in fibre and release sugar at regular intervals, whereas simple carbohydrates quickly release glucose into the bloodstream, thereby causing more carvings, making you eat more and eventually making you put on more weight.
Do not skip carbohydrates completely. Remember that carbohydrates are vital to your body for the reasons including:
Making you feel more energetic
Improving your concentration
Making you feel full for a long time
Preventing constipation and fatigue
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