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I must have been living under a rock for the past year or so, because only recently did I hear about this diet whose name and headline really got my attention. The diet is explained in a book, released last year called “The Carb Lovers Diet: Eat What You Love and Get Slim For Life!” The book was written by two of the editors of Health Magazine, and the magazine aggressively markets the diet to its readers.
For me, based on the title only, I imagined some poor soul eating loads of white bread, muffins, cakes, cookies and rice in an attempt to slim down. I thought surely this couldn’t be the type of diet the book is recommending, so I decided to dig in and investigate a little further!
What is this diet for ‘carb lovers’? What kind of carbs does it recommend? Can you really eat the carbs you love and slim down? Let’s have a look inside the Carb Lover’s Diet.
Can You Really “Eat What You Love” When It Comes to Carbs?
The title in and of itself seems to suggest that you can really eat what you want on the Carb Lovers Diet, but this is not the case. In reading the marketing material for the Carb Lover’s Diet, you come across statements like “There is new research—reliable, solid, groundbreaking research by the smartest minds in nutritional science right now—that reveals our old, beloved carb-filled foods will not make us fat. Instead, they will actually make us thin.”
Let’s think about the types of carbs that most American people “love”. They’re the same ones that when combined with fat in the form of hydrogenated oils, contribute to health problems like type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease in millions of Americans. We’re talking white bread, cookies, cakes, crackers, white rice and processed foods like potato chips. Can you eat these carbs on the Carb Lover’s Diet? Nope! I call false advertising!
What Kind Of Carbs CAN You Eat On The Carb Lovers Diet?
The Carb Lover’s Diet suggests that you eat “Resistant Starches” – a term coined by the authors that refers to slow burning fibrous carbs like whole grains, fruits and legumes. So instead of eating the carbs that most Americans “love”, you’ll be eating things like green bananas, lentils, beans, oats and whole wheat. The idea is to eat one of these at each meal – 4 meals per day for the first week and 5 meals per day thereafter. Once a week you’re allowed a treat of chocolate, apple pie, 2 light beers, or 2 glasses of wine. The remainder of the diet is lean meat, low-fat dairy, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables. These carbs are actually the same types of ‘starches’ that we recommend eating in the Athlean-XX for Women nutrition plan, along with lean proteins, healthy fats and produce. Like the Carb Lover’s Diet, Athlean-XX for Women also recommends small frequent meals – 5 to 6 per day. In short, the Carb Lover’s Diet contains pretty solid diet advice. However, in my opinion, it comes in a misleading package that may cause folks to think they can eat whatever they want on the diet.
Weight Loss On The Carb Lover’s Diet
The Carb Lover’s Diet promises to help you shed pounds, up to 8 pounds in the first 30 days. How do they do this? Good old fashioned calorie restriction! The first 7 days, the plan limits you to just 1200 calories per day, and 1600 calories per day for all weeks thereafter. Most overweight women who aren’t currently on a diet are likely to be 1600 calories per day. Limiting calories to 1600 or less per day will be very likely to produce weight loss, regardless of whether you’re following Carb Lovers or any other healthy diet.
Looking for a nutrition plan that will let you eat tasty foods that will help keep you full and lose weight? How about one that doesn’t require you to count calories?! How about one that comes with an AWESOME workout plan with tough effective workouts that only take 30 minutes per day?! That plan is Athlean-XX for Women! Not only will you lose weight, but you’ll develop the strong, lean, athletic physique you want – way better than just ‘getting skinny.’ We invite you to give Athlean-XX for Women a try and see the incredible results you can get in just 90 days! No gimmicks here – just healthy eating and short bursts of challenging exercise!
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