Weight loss – Why the low carbs?

A lot has been said, and rightfully so, about how decreasing carbohydrate consumption helps you lose weight.

I'll give you a personal anecdote. You draw your own conclusions.

I was 6-7 years old in Israel (that's a little while back…), and underweight. My mother just had to have me gain weight. She took me to one doctor after another, but I stayed skinny. Finally, she found enough money to take me to the "Big European Professor," who came up with the solution. He instructed my mother to give me tea with six (not less) teaspoonfuls of sugar about an hour before dinner. She did, and I did, and I gained a significant amount of weight.

What the Big European Professor didn't know then, but we do know now, is why I gained the weight, and why I gained it quickly.

Eating sugar raises your insulin level, and the high insulin level drives your appetite, which only fuels the vicious weight gain cycle. The same holds true when you consume other carb rich foods, especially the highly processed ones such as white flour and starch; they rapidly turn into sugar in your blood, and have the same effect as if you ate sugar.

The conclusion is inescapable: turn the weight gain cycle off by decreasing your consumption of refined sugars and other carbs. While this may not solve all of your overweight issues, it's a necessary step.