Overrated Low Carb Diets

News flash, "Carbohydrates don't make you fat! Eating too much makes you fat. Carbohydrates will not make you gain weight any faster than eating the caloric equivalent of either protein or fat. Have you ever heard the expression, "What weighs more a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?" Obviously they both weigh the same, but its funny how many of us say a pound of bricks. Likewise, which of the following has a higher probability of making a person gain more weight, 3000 calories of chicken or 3000 calories of cupcakes? The answer is that there is no difference. 3000 calories is 3000 calories no matter what constitutes the source. Energy doesn't just disappear because it came from something other than carbohydrates, our body has to metabolize it one way or another. The law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed only transferred. So either that energy is used to conduct physiologic processes or it is stored. So why all the hype about low carb diets? Mainly it has to do with the quick fix trend. Everyone wants instant gratification without having to pay the price of dedication and hard work. In general we as a society are lazy and we spend most of our waking hours being sedentary. Who has time to be concerned about exercise and watching what we eat, we have long work days, and have families to care for. This is why low carb diets are so appealing. They are easy to follow and work relatively fast. There is no denying you can lose a large amount of weight quickly on a low carb diet. However, what many people may not know is that water constitutes the majority, roughly 75%, of the weight, leaving only 25% of the weight loss resulting in actual fat reduction. Besides the illusion that you're losing fat, there are also many undesirable side effects that these "low carb professionals" fail to mention when suggesting that we eat like carnivores. First, as I mentioned above, most of the weight loss is not fat loss, it's actually mostly water weight. Second, it is very possible that you can slow down your resting metabolism. Third, when neglecting important foods such as fruits and grains you are putting yourself at risk for becoming deficient in many important vitamins and minerals. Lastly, if you are an athlete you will greatly reduce your ability to perform at your highest potential. When you take into consideration that our bodies are capable of storing 300 - 600 grams of carbohydrates or even as much as 1000 grams in individuals who are either extremely muscular or obese. Our bodies need three grams of water for every gram of carbohydrates stored. That adds up to anywhere from 900 - 3000 grams (2 - 6.6 pounds) of water weight alone. When you lose 5 - 7 pounds of body weight the first week on a low carb diet, you can expect that only two pounds of that is fat. So when we start a low carb diet and exhaust our carbohydrate stores we also lose water because the water is no longer necessary for storage. It is practically impossible to lose more than three pounds of fat in one week unless you are morbidly obese. There are approximately 3500 calories in one pound of fat. So to lose three pounds of fat in one week you would have to find some way to eliminate 10,500 calories (3500 calories