Sign on a pizza restaurant: Get Your Carbs Here!

Low Carb everything!

I could see the value in reducing carbs LONG before it became the latest craze.

The fact that new products are being developed is a good thing. Manufacturers have been forced to make changes, such as increasing fiber in breads and pastas. (I am still waiting for low-carb fettuccini alfredo ;-).

Reformulating products to contain less sugar and still taste good generally seems like a positive change.

There are, however, some things to watch out for:

1. Artificial sweeteners have long been controversial and associated with negative side effects. Some people say they increase appetite and thirst, and stimulate the insulin response. People often report that using products with artificial sweeteners slows weight loss.

I recently bought some "light" orange juice, only to discover later that it was only 60% juice and contained artificial sweeteners.

All the more reason to read labels carefully to make informed choices.

When one ingredient is removed, something else has to replace it. Is it something you want?

Next time I want "light" juice, I will dilute it myself and leave out the artificial sweeteners.

2. One of the biggest traps for the low carb era is to avoid what happened when low fat diets were popular.

When we were advised to eat low fat, we did NOT snack on celery and carrots.

We munched on "low-fat" cookies, pasta, and bread, thinking that we were saving fat and calories, but ended up eating more. "It's low-fat, I can eat all I want." (Remember this logic?)

Same with carbs - it is easy to think that because something is low carbs, the quantity doesn't count.

3. Yet another trap is the fact that restricting ANY category of food can stimulate the urge for that food like nothing else.

Not eating carbs anymore? Gotta have 'em!

It becomes the 'forbidden fruit' (for more on this, see Lose Weight Now . . . Stay Slim Forever, page 8).

While as you know, I do not count ANYTHING, I try to avoid the traps. It's still smart to pay attention internally and LISTEN what your body is telling you.

The body doesn't lie.