While mentioning the slow carb diet in his book The Four-Hour Body, Tim Ferries wasn’t aware of how hard it would become for the coming generations to follow the concept. There is no doubt that you must have heard about the low-carb diet. Remember the 90’s when carbs were considered the enemy? Low carbohydrate intake is not exactly a novel idea, in fact consuming a balanced diet that is rich in good carbs, vitamins, proteins, minerals, and fats has been a popular weight-loss objective for ages now.
The main idea behind a low-carb diet regime is to encourage individuals to improve their health by limiting carbohydrate intake.
A low-carb diet can help you achieve different goals, including but not limited to: weight loss, building muscle, increasing productivity, better sex, and much more. In this article, we will discuss what the slow carb diet entails, and why you should include such a diet in your daily routine.
What are Slow Carbs?
The concept of a low-carb diet was coined to discourage people from consuming refined carbohydrates that are found usually in convenience food such as bread, cheese, or biscuits.
Slow carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, whole grain bread, and oats. There’s no harm in processing the food in a minimal form until it doesn’t lose the actual nutrients and vitamins. Slow carbohydrates take a longer time to digest and therefore keep your belly fuller for a considerable amount of time.
What is a Slow Carb Diet?’
Instead of consuming prepackaged food, search for items that are rich in vitamins and nutrients. The slow-carb diet supports the general theory of giving more value to less processed foods that lasts longer in the stomach. According to one of the theories, Ferriss points out the value of following the five strict food guidelines for six straight days of the week and then enjoying the cheat meal every seventh day.
On ‘cheat day,’ you can eat whatever you like. In his book, Ferriss describes it as the day when he eats like an animal but with planning. This way he is able to maintain a calorie deficit for body fat. He also claims that one day of non-stop eating prevents the body’s metabolism process from slowing down – a dark side effect for those who are eager to cut down their daily calorie intake.
Dieticians and health specialists suggest that for the six days of the week, you should eat four meals consisting of five food groups: legumes, animal protein, vegetables, fats, and spices. However, they recommend eating as much from the first three groups, but with the remaining two they advise you to consume these items in a limited quantity.
Some Specific Rules of a ‘Slow-Carb Diet’
1. Avoid ‘white’ Carbohydrates
White carbohydrates usually include highly processed foods that have been stripped of much of their nutrient values. If their color is compared to the unrefined flour then the color would be pale such as whole wheat and rye.
2. Eating the Same Meal every day
Ferriss suggests that eating the same food which, according to you, fulfills the criteria of a low-carb diet is better. Moreover, you can mix and match other healthy items from the five groups of a low-carb diet to make your meal more appetizing.
3. Avoid Fizzy Drinks
One of the core reasons why people become overweight is related to frequent consumption of soft drinks. Ferriss mentions that people should stick with water, coffee, and other calorie-free drinks to stay fit.
4. Less Consumption of Fruits
Fruits are packed with natural sugar. It means they have calories. Ferriss believes that consuming more calories present in fruits tend to affect people who follow a weight loss diet plan.
5. Taking a day off to satisfy Cravings
It is not a bad idea to eat something that you crave for, one day of the week. You can have your favorite food and enjoy it for the whole day.
Food Items that you can eat in the ‘Slow Carb Diet’
A low-carb diet surely sounds a bit restrictive, however, you can make it healthier by including different low-carb food items in your diet. Ferriss has claimed that he used to consume one food from each group, and it helped him to lose weight in a quick time.
Keeping the diet simple will help you to eat as much as you can. You can consume three to four different meals containing food items from different food groups to stay healthy on a low-carb diet.
The list of low carb food items that you can consume includes:
Proteins
- Chicken breast or thigh
- Pork
- Fish
- Beef
- Black beans
Legumes
- Pinto beans
- Red beans
- Soybeans
Vegetables
- Peas
- Broccoli
- Spinach
Conclusion
There is no wrong in saying that a low-carb diet works fittingly well for many individuals. However, just like other diet plans, a low-carb diet also restricts you to consume multiple food items like fruits. Once the balanced diet is compromised, you miss out on macro and micronutrients that are essential for growth, development, and general health.
We hope that you will enjoy reading this informative article. Before we conclude, let’s check out what Cynthia Sass – a plant-based performance nutrition coach has to say about people who rigorously follow old diet plans.
‘Decade-old diet plans wouldn’t support sustainable and healthful weight loss.’
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