Are you currently looking for a way to curb your cholesterol level for better health? Then, exercising at the gym and a low-carbohydrate diet is a perfect combination for people like you who are adamant about reaching their fitness goals.
A low-carbohydrate diet is focused on eating non-starchy vegetables and proteins. In addition, it limits eating high cholesterol foods, e.g., grains, fruits, legumes, bread, pasta, sweets, and starchy foods.
Check out this guide to create the best low-carb nutrition plan for your fitness goals. This page covers what you need to know about a low-carb diet, different types, how the diet can affect muscle growth, the importance of revamping your training, and its numerous benefits.
What’s a Low-Carb Diet?
In general, a low-carb diet includes 50 to 100 grams of carbohydrates daily, which is a ketogenic diet, a very low-carb diet. A moderate-carb diet is typically between 100 to 200 grams of carbohydrates. What you choose as your diet would depend on your preference, how much you exercise, and how well you do your diet.
But a low-carb diet may require you to take supplements. You may be required to take supplements for vitamins and minerals, such as folic acid, due to a drop in your nutrient levels. Remember that a restriction in diet may cause you to lose certain nutrients your body can’t naturally produce.
Aside from these nutrients, you can also take supplements that have minimal carbohydrate content, aiding you in your exercises.
For example, whey protein is perfect for helping speed up muscle recovery after intense exercise. You can look up online the top tasting whey protein supplements to reach your fitness goals. Most products only have 5 to 8 grams of carbs in them, making them a great partner to aid your fitness plan and stick to your diet.
Choose a Type of Low-Carb Diet
To create a perfect low-carb diet suited for you, you’d need to get to know its different types.
Ketogenic (Keto) Diet
Starting the list is the keto diet, often regarded as the strictest low-carb diet. It requires you to eat less than 50 g of carbs daily. In addition, you will need to eat a moderate amount of protein daily.
Traditional Low Carb Diet
This diet is where most people start since it’s less restrictive than the keto diet. This diet’s approach includes taking 50 to 100 g of carbs daily. It also focuses on reducing eating starchy food, but it has a much higher carbs intake than the keto diet. Don’t worry, since this can still deliver good results depending on how well you stick to your diet and exercise.
Dukan Diet
The Dukan diet is another type of low-carb diet with four phases. It includes two phases for weight loss and another two for maintenance. The first phase of the Dukan diet includes focusing on high-protein foods. The second phase includes adding vegetables back to the diet.
The third allows two celebration meals per week to keep the person motivated. Lastly, the fourth diet is all about maintaining your weight. This diet also appeals to individuals who prefer a planned diet and those that go through levels.
When choosing one of these types, ensure that you eat the proper amount required for your body to function normally. In addition to exercise, ensure that you find the balance between a workout and a low-carb diet. Don’t deprive yourself of eating food, but stick to healthy and low carbs alternatives.
Revamp Your Training
A low-carb diet can help you get ripped by cutting your body fat levels. However, you may lose valuable muscle size due to the cut in body fat. In addition, you will have to revamp your training if you want to lower your carbohydrate intake while going to the gym.
You have to train for a short period due to the change in your diet. Despite this, you would also have to go as heavy as possible. Think of it as training for your body parts. You’re exerting as much force on your body while maximizing the stress, all in a short period. It’s to stay on the safe side since your body’s missing the energy it used to have before you started your diet.
Enjoy Its Benefits
The most notable effect of a low-carb diet to exercise is fat adaptation. Over time, the body becomes more efficient at using healthy fat as fuel during low-carb diets. This process is known as fat adaptation. In addition, the drastic reduction in carbohydrate intake causes a rise in ketones, a type of chemical produced in the liver when it breaks down fatty acids.
The ketones provide the body energy when it doesn’t have that many carbohydrates during prolonged fasting. So, if you’re ever wondering why you still have energy despite not eating that many carbohydrates, you can thank them for that! Individuals who take a keto diet train their bodies to burn both body and dietary fat for their source of energy, which is said to prevent inflammation and other sugar-driven illnesses.
Final Thoughts
A low-carb diet is perfect if you lift and exercise at the gym to stay healthy. But, of course, you would have to tailor your carb intake to your preferences as an individual. Remember that everyone has their unique physique, eating habits, and needed consumption. Thus, take your time finding out how much carbs you should take each day to reach your fitness goals.