3 Common Mistakes Whilst Following a Low Carb Diet

There are so many health benefits from lowering the carbohydrate intake, we have seen a huge amount of success with treating prediabetes, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Having followed the highs and lows of our course participants, here are the most common pitfalls that we see:

1/ Processed Food

This is by far the most common mistake I see. We are (understandably) tempted by the treats and fast food options that are labelled as ‘low carb’. This should be the best of both worlds in theory – tasty and low carb! But beware! I would rather that people not follow low carb at all than eat lower carb processed food.

But what is processed food?

Processed food refers to any food item that has been altered from its natural state through various mechanical, chemical, or other means to improve its taste, texture, appearance, shelf life, or nutritional profile. There is a huge range of what is processed but examples include ‘ready meals’ (regardless if they are labelled healthy or not), crisps & biscuits

Processing can involve a range of methods, including cooking, freezing, canning, drying, and adding preservatives, flavourings, colours, or other additives. These products usually have hidden sugar/starches, salt, unhealthy fats. Even when the sugar/ carb count is low it will have substituted these with artificial ingredients, which can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease

The essence of why low carb works is that it encourages you to consume the vitamins in ‘real food’. I know it’s hard to cook from scratch, I know it takes time. But it is time well spent. Nothing worthwhile is quick and free. Interestingly we know that we now spend less time than ever before cooking from scratch. One American study showed the average length of time that’s spent on cooking and cleanup per day is 33 minutes. ⁽¹⁾

It is also true that processed food can appear cheaper. In fact another statistic is that the proportion of our wage we spend on food has declined massively. The statistics from the USA showed that the average spend was  17.5% in 1960 which declined to 9.6% in 2007. ⁽²⁾ And of course – the food we are now purchasing is of much lower quality than it was. Processed food is devoid of vitamins.

2/ Carb creep

Carbohydrate creep, also known as "carb creep," is a phenomenon that can occur when a person consumes more carbohydrates than they realize or intend to. It happens when someone gradually increases their carbohydrate intake over time, often without even realizing it, and ends up consuming more carbohydrates than they would like.

In many ways this can be expected, as for many the low carb diet can feel quite restrictive, especially when people lower their carbs dramatically at the beginning.

Carb creep can happen in several ways. For example, a person may start by adding a little more pasta or bread to their meals than they used to, or they may begin eating more processed foods that contain hidden carbohydrates. Over time, these small changes can add up, and the person may find that they are consuming more carbohydrates than they intended or realized.

Depending on how far people are from achieving their goals you may need to be careful that this doesn’t happen too early on and impact on progress.

3/ Thinking that ‘going on a diet’ works

Diets don't work for several reasons. Here are some of the main reasons:

1/ Unsustainability: Most diets are designed for short-term weight loss, rather than long-term lifestyle changes. As a result, many people find that they can't stick to the diet long-term and end up reverting to their old eating habits once the diet is over. We have found that the people that consistently stick to small habits (eg substituting toast for an egg each morning) are the ones that succeed long-term.

2/ The psychology behind going on a diet is linked to feeling restricted & feelings of deprivation which can lead to cravings and overeating.

3/ The focus is usually on weight loss instead of health: Many diets focus solely on weight loss and not on overall health and wellbeing. This can result in people making unhealthy choices in the pursuit of weight loss, such as consuming low-calorie, low-nutrient foods, or engaging in extreme dieting behaviours.

4/ Lack of support: Dieting can be difficult, and many people struggle to stick to a diet without the support of others. Diets often fail to provide the necessary social support, education, and resources to help people achieve their goals.

5/ Diets often promote a change in eating habits. Weight loss and a healthy lifestyle is so much more than this. Changes to when you eat, sleep patterns, stress levels and physical movement work together to sustain the change in eating patterns and should never be ignored when seeking a healthier lifestyle.

References

•  Hamrick KS, Andrews M, Guthrie J, Hopkins D, McClelland K. How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food?US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. 2011 ers.usda.gov/publications/eib-economic-information-bulletin/eib86.aspx#.U4-AYPm-1cY.
• https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/02/389578089/your-grandparents-spent-more-of-their-money-on-food-than-you-do