5 Most Common Low-Carb Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
By Kris Gunnars | 431,027 views

A few months ago, I read a book called The Art and Science of Low-Carbohydrate Living.
The authors are two of the world’s leading researchers on low-carb diets.
Dr. Jeff S. Volek is a Registered Dietitian and Dr. Stephen D. Phinney is a medical doctor.
These guys have performed many studies and have treated thousands of patients with a low-carb diet.

According to them, there are many stumbling blocks that people tend to run into, which can lead to adverse effects and suboptimal results.
To get into full-blown ketosis and reap all the metabolic benefits of low-carb, merely cutting back on the carbs isn’t enough.

If you haven’t gotten the results you expected on a low-carb diet, then perhaps you were doing one of these 5 common mistakes.

1. Eating Too Many Carbs

There is no clear definition of exactly what constitutes a “low carb diet.”
Some would call anything under 100-150 grams per day low-carb, which is definitely a lot less than the standard Western diet.
A lot of people could get awesome results within this carbohydrate range, as long as they ate real, unprocessed foods.
But if you want to get into ketosis, with plenty of ketoness flooding your bloodstream to supply your brain with an efficient source of energy, then this level of intake may be excessive.
It could take some self experimentation to figure out your optimal range as this depends on a lot of things, but most people will need to go under 50 grams per day to get into full-blown ketosis.
This doesn’t leave you with many carb options except vegetables and small amounts of berries.
Bottom Line: If you want to get into ketosis and reap the full metabolic benefits of low-carb, going under 50 grams of carbs per day may be required.

2. Eating Too Much Protein

Protein is a very important macronutrient, which most people aren’t getting enough of.
It can improve satiety and increase fat burning compared to other macronutrients (1).
Generally speaking, more protein should lead to weight loss and improved body composition.
However, low-carb dieters who eat a lot of lean animal foods can end up eating too much of it.
When you eat more protein than your body needs, some of the amino acids in the protein will be turned into glucose via a process called gluconeogenesis (2).
This can become a problem on very low-carb, ketogenic diets and prevent your body from going into full-blown ketosis.
According to Volek and Phinney, a “well-formulated” low-carb diet should be low-carb, high-fat and moderate protein.
A good range to aim for is 1.5 – 2.0 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, or 0.7 – 0.9 grams per pound.
Bottom Line: Protein can be turned into glucose via a process called gluconeogenesis and excessive protein consumption can prevent you from getting into ketosis.

3. Being Afraid of Eating Fat

Most people get the majority of their calories from dietary carbohydrates, especially sugars and grains.
When you remove this energy source from the diet, you must replace it with something or you will starve.
Unfortunately, some people believe that because low-carb is a good idea, then low-fat AND low-carb will be even better. This is a big mistake.
You need to get energy from somewhere and if you don’t eat carbs, then you MUST add in fat to compensate. If you don’t, you will get hungry, feel like crap and eventually give up on the plan.
There’s no scientific reason to fear fat, as long as you choose healthy fats likesaturated, monounsaturated and Omega-3s while keeping the vegetable oils to a minimum and eliminating trans fats.
Personally, my fat intake hovers comfortably around 50-60% of total calories when I strictly stick to a low-carb plan. According to Volek and Phinney, fat around 70% of total calories may be even better.
To get fat into this range, you must choose fatty cuts of meat and liberally add healthy fats like butter, lard, coconut and olive oil to your meals.
Bottom Line: A very low-carb diet must be high in fat, otherwise you won’t be getting enough energy to sustain yourself.

4. Not Replenishing Sodium

One of the main mechanisms behind low-carb diets is a reduction in insulin levels (3, 4).
Insulin has many functions in the body, such as telling fat cells to store fat.
But another thing that insulin does is to tell the kidneys to hold on to sodium (5).
On a low-carb diet, your insulin levels go down and your body starts shedding excess sodium and water along with it. This is why people often get rid of excess bloat within a few days of low-carb eating.
However, sodium is a crucial electrolyte in the body and this can become problematic when the kidneys dump too much of it.
This is one of the main reasons people get side effects on low-carb diets… such as lightheadedness, fatigue, headaches and even constipation.
The best way to circumvent this issue is to add more sodium to your diet. You can do this by adding more salt to your foods, but if that doesn’t suffice then you can drink a cup of broth every day.
I personally like adding a bouillon cube into a cup of hot water, then drinking it like a soup in a cup. It actually tastes really good and supplies 2 grams of sodium.
Bottom Line: Low-carb diets lower insulin levels, which makes the kidneys excrete excess sodium from the body. This can lead to a mild sodium deficiency.

5. Not Being Patient

Your body is designed to preferentially burn carbs, if they are available. So if they’re always available, that’s what your body chooses to use for energy.

If you drastically cut back on carbohydrates, the body needs to shift to the other energy source… fat, which either comes from your diet or your body fat stores.

It can take a few days for the body to adapt to burning primarily fat instead of carbs, during which you will probably feel a little under the weather.
This is called the “low carb flu” and happens to most people.

In my experience, this can take about 3-4 days, but full adaptation can take several weeks.
So it’s important to be patient and be strict on your diet in the beginning so that this metabolic adaptation can take place.

Bottom Line: It can take a few days to get past the “low-carb flu” stage and several weeks for full adaptation to a low-carb diet. It is important to be patient.

Take Home Message
I personally believe low-carb diets to be a potential cure for some of the world’s biggest health problems, including obesity and type II diabetes. This is well supported by science (6, 7, 8).

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phoebelayla wrote: »

Christine- thanks for the info, interesting to read through it. I kept my carbs around 50g the first 10 days, but have eased up some now. I just checked and have run 60's to 80's. Seems to be working for now anyway. You will be near me in SF. I wish you a great trip. Keep checking in and keep yourself on track. :-)

Don't you all find it hard to find any crunchy foods without carbs other than nuts!? I like my crunchy.

I feel a bit discouraged I haven't changed what I do nor did I eat over yesterday but my scale is almost a pound up. I have been having problems going to the bathroom even after taking colon cleanse etc. What is going on? Any tips? Water in take is definitely not the problem I great in that aspect.

Good morning ladies, I had an awesome day yesterday. I saw cousins and friends I haven't seen for at least 25 years. I did good except that I gave in to a particular dessert I haven't had for at least 5 years. Hope the impact isn't that devastating. My plan is to stay away from deliberate carbohydrates such as rice and bread and I will be fine.

carlsoda wrote: »

Good morning everyone! Sorry I have been missing in action, I ended up getting sick and was in bed for 3 days and yesterday was crazy busy getting caught up at work! It's funny I barely ate anything but my weight was up a bit...stupid age (I'm almost 50!) but I'm not letting it derail me - I need to lose some weight b/4 the summer so I don't feel embarrassed!

Have a great day everyone!!

Shame on me as well!! I have to be serious about this healthy life style. Had a few drinks in SFO, had a few desserts, this and that!! ETC!! Excuses excuses!! Today is the day....need to start some where, some how and some what!!!