Why Weight, Start Now Podcast - Episode 7: Top 5 Benefits of Low Carb
Host: Sheryl Takayama, Qualified Nutritionist & Weight Loss Coach
Imagine having a way of eating that doesn't just keep your weight in check, but it makes your gut feel fantastic. It keeps all of those aches and pains away. Reduces inflammation. You feel full from one meal to the next, and most importantly, is completely delicious. Many of my clients tell me that the low carb way of eating feels like the Holy Grail. And today I'm going to share the top five benefits with you in this podcast.
Welcome to the Why Weight podcast. I'm your host, Sheryl Takayama, qualified nutritionist, emotional eater and weight loss coach who walks the talk. I've maintained my 30 kilo weight loss for the past 23 years following a low carb plan, and now I coach other women online so they can do the same. It's my mission to help women get off this crazy diet wagon and find a way of eating and a way of thinking that works. So you too can lose your weight for life. Join me each week for lots of practical advice, tips and motivation so you can start now.
So if you're on the fence about starting low carb, maybe you're doing your research, you're not sure if it's going to work for you, but you're interested in learning more. I just hope that today's episode is going to help convince you, give you the evidence you need, that it is so worth a try, because this way of eating is so much more than just weight loss. I mean, don't get me wrong, the weight loss is amazing, but there are so many more things that come along with that. That's why I'm so passionate about sharing this way of eating because of what I've seen myself, but also what I've seen with my clients.
And remember what I'm telling you. All of the things that I'm sharing are not what I've read in a book. It's not what I've seen online or look to what other people are experiencing somewhere out there on the internet. I'm telling you what I have seen in the 13 years that I have coached one on one. I've seen hundreds of women. They're all doing a low carb plan, and the benefits that I have seen with my own eyes are just life changing. And that's what makes me so passionate about this way of eating. It's so much more than just fitting your pants. Although don't get me wrong. Fitting your pants is a wonderful thing.
Now, before I start talking about these benefits, I want to remind you that I'm talking about low carb, not no carb. Okay. This is not an extreme plan that you're going to find really difficult to follow. It doesn't involve a whole lot of supplements or food you have to buy online or from special shops. I think one of the biggest benefits of this way of eating is that it's just real food. It's not diet food. You don't have to weigh and measure all the time. You are just learning a way of eating that you can do anywhere. And that's one of the biggest benefits of all, really. It's absolutely doable for life. And of course, I know because I've done it for 23 years.
Benefit #1: Sustainable Weight Loss
Let's start with number one, which I've already alluded to, which is the fact that when you follow a low carb plan and you lose weight, the weight you lose is going to stay off, because this is a sustainable way of eating to not just lose weight, but also keep it off. This way of eating works with your body's hormones and it keeps things stable. It feels good. It's easy to follow because you are eating real food. You don't have to count points. You're not hungry.
And I think because the way of eating is delicious and sustainable, this is why the results are sustainable. Because you don't feel like you're on a diet. You're not hungry all the time. The food that you get on your low carb food plan, you can just buy in the supermarket. Yes, there is some yummy things that you can get online now. There's certainly a lot of different snack foods available, and you can get low carb pasta and other different products. But for the most part, your everyday eating, you're just going to be buying stuff in the supermarket.
This is the most wonderful benefit of low carb because as I'm always saying to my clients, whatever we do to lose weight, we have to keep doing to a degree in order to keep the weight off. So if you want a plan that isn't just going to involve real food, that doesn't feel like a diet when you're not hungry all the time. This is definitely it.
The other great thing about low carb is that because you're eating a good regular amount of protein, this preserves your muscle mass and it keeps your metabolism going because it's really good for your metabolism. This is another reason that it really helps with sustainable weight management. I know I could be biased because I've eaten this way for 23 years, but I'm certainly living proof that it is sustainable. And it's not just me. I've seen this in many of my clients as well, who have lost a good amount of weight and have been able to keep it off.
Benefit #2: Balanced Blood Sugar Levels
Now, the second major benefit that I'm seeing all the times with clients, which can have a huge impact on your health, is that when you eat this way, it balances your blood sugars. This is massive because when your blood sugars are balanced, you're going to have a stable mood and stable energy.
When you keep your blood sugar levels stable between meals, because you're eating that nice portion of protein and the nice portion of fat and your blood sugars are even. Rather than going on this high carb roller coaster where they rise up and then they fall again. When you are eating like that, your energy level stays stable between meals. You're not having these highs and lows. You're feeling satiated. You're not going to be looking for snacks after a couple of hours.
You know anybody who's constantly snacking between meals and they're saying that they're actually hungry when they're doing so, that's just a really good sign that their blood sugars are completely unbalanced, because we're not supposed to feel this way.
Now, this is particularly important for women who are in perimenopause because as our hormones are changing, it can have an impact on insulin. And this is why we will often start gaining weight, even though our food might not be that different than how we were eating before. But it's because this there's changing hormones that are impacting insulin. Is changing how your body is processing food. And that's not going to be helpful if you are eating a lot of carbs. So being able to keep your blood sugars balanced when your hormones are a bit skew with is a real, real benefit.
I mean, just imagine how you're going to feel and how much you can achieve when your focus remains steady and sharp throughout the day, rather than that horrible 3 p.m. energy slump. Oh, I remember those days well and it is not fun.
What you've got to remember is that our body only has about five grams of glucose through your whole blood system. That's about one teaspoon. So when you're having a meal that's really high in carbs or sugar, something like a sandwich on brown bread or fruit or a muffin, and you're on this insulin rollercoaster that is a lot of sugar coming into your system, and it's not good. This is why our body reacts in the way it does. And while we may get away with that when we're younger, or we probably don't notice it as much as we age, it can become really inflammatory and cause absolute havoc with our energy. So being able to balance that by just knowing what to put on your plate is a huge win.
Benefit #3: Reduced Inflammation
So number three reduced inflammation. Now inflammation seems to be the curse of modern times because so many illnesses are blamed on inflammation. Inflammation is a sign that your body isn't balanced, that things are upsetting your system, and your system is literally inflamed and trying to deal with it.
Now, a huge thing that causes that, especially in the Western world, is our diet. You're eating 3 or 4 times a day. So if you're putting processed food into your eating plan, if we're eating food with loads and loads of ingredients, lots of sugar, lots of chemicals, all of that is very toxic on our system. And again, we can cope with things quite well when we're young. But as we age this changes and it can become more and more inflammatory.
I hear a lot of people talking about the fact that our whole food chain has just changed so much. Our body half the time probably doesn't even know what's blooming coming in there. And all of this can definitely cause inflammation. Inflammation is going to show up in joint pain. You might have those aching knees or aching back. It can be skin issues eczema, acne, migraines, gut issues, digestion. Inflammation can show up on your body in lots of different ways.
But the wonderful thing about low carb is that you are eating real food. Real food can't be wrong. You know when you're getting that good protein, when you're getting that good fat with each meal, your blood sugars are stable. You are giving yourself the best chance to be eating how a human should. And when you're doing that, it is going to be reducing inflammation.
I remember one of my clients, Barbara, who, when she came to see me, had a terrible wrist pain. It was a pain that doctors had not been able to cure. She'd been getting treatment on it. It was causing her so much grief and nothing seemed to be working. She came to see me and she started doing low carb. Within five days, her wrist was feeling significantly different than she had over weeks of treatment. What a powerful thing that was. She was so pleased with the immediate effects that she saw just by cutting carbohydrates out of her diet.
If you are somebody who is in pain, if you're suffering from inflammation, I just can't emphasize enough how much I would love you to try this way of eating to see if it makes a difference for you. Because if it does, it's literally life changing. And you're doing it not with medication, but with real food in a way of eating that you can sustain. So powerful.
Benefit #4: Freedom from Food Noise
Number four is something that I call freedom from food noise. You know that constant chatter that's going on in your head, the "Oh, I feel hungry. What can I eat? Okay, I ate that last time. What am I going to eat now" or "I should eat that. I shouldn't eat that." You know that constant voice that's just going on in your head?
Well, what I find is that when you have a food plan and when your body's balanced, all of a sudden a lot of that food noise just goes away because you're not hungry, because you are eating on a plan. You have your meal, you eat it, you feel full, and then you just wait until the next meal.
So many of my clients have said that once they've started this way of eating, they actually feel normal again after a long time of having to count calories and just so many things ticking over in their head. And this is particularly true if you're someone who eats a lot of sugar, because sugar can cause a lot of haywire not just in your body, but in your mind.
So I find with clients, when they cut back on sugar, when they swap to low carb alternatives, it can make a huge difference. And once again, imagine if you weren't thinking about food and calories and weight loss all the time. You'd have all of that space cleared up in your mind to focus on other things. The mental health side of this journey is one that we don't think about enough, but it can make a huge difference when you are actually following a plan that works, that feels good and gives you a lot of hope for the future.
Benefit #5: Improved Sleep
Now, the last benefit I want to talk about today is improved sleep. And never underestimate how important sleep is in your health journey, because it really is one of the most powerful decisions you are making each day. And it's not just about how long you're sleeping, it's what time you go to bed that's really important. I'll be talking about that more in future episodes.
But what I want to get across today is that when you drop your level of carbs, especially at night, it can have a really positive impact on your body's natural melatonin cycle, because if you're having a lot of carbs in the evening, it can disrupt melatonin. It will also possibly cause your blood sugars to drop while you sleep, and that's going to wake you up.
So if you're having a 2 a.m. or a 3 a.m. wake up, especially if you're waking up feeling a little bit hungry, this could well be because of unstable blood sugars. So cutting out those carbs in the evening and maybe even a little bit more protein and fat could have a big difference for you.
When your blood sugars are stable, you're going to move through sleep cycles more naturally and wake up feeling better. And many of my clients tell me that once they have got their body more stable and their energy levels stable, they're just finding it easier to go to sleep and then wake up feeling more rested.
Now, especially in a weight loss journey, this is so important because when you've had good quality sleep, it helps your body regulate your appetite the next day. So good sleep means you're not going to feel as hungry. It means that your body can regulate appetite better, and that's going to be a huge help when weight loss is your goal.
Summary
So to summarize today's episode. The benefits of low carb are far more than just weight loss. Yes, sustainable weight loss is a huge reason that so many people love this way of eating, but it's most definitely not the only one.
The real benefit is what this way of eating does to your blood sugar levels, because when you can keep them stable, you're going to have a stable mood, stable energy, stable hormones. It's just going to make such a huge difference to your health. It's going to reduce inflammation, which is really important, especially if you're struggling with any type of chronic illness. In terms of your mental health, you're simply not going to be thinking about food as often because you're not feeling hungry and you will be sleeping better. So many important reasons why you really need to give this way of eating a go.
And if you're keen to get cracking, I want to suggest to you that a really key action you can start doing today is just to replace breakfast. If you're eating high carb things like cereal or toast, I want you to swap that to a lovely high protein, low carb option. It could be eggs. Bacon. Have an omelette. If you're in a rush, a protein shake's a really good option. Just mix some protein powder with milk and berries. Maybe a bit of avocado. Just notice the difference that this makes when you have that yummy protein in the morning. See how it makes you feel in that lead up to lunchtime. Because I'm guessing you're going to be able to go a lot longer between breakfast and lunch when you've had a low carb breakfast.
Thanks so much for tuning in today, and I'm looking forward to seeing you next week, where I'm going to talk about what the template is for your perfect low carb plate so you know exactly what to eat with you at home, at a restaurant, overseas, anywhere you may be. Knowing what to put on your plate is the key knowledge that's going to give you absolute power over your health. See you then.
Thanks so much for listening. And if you want support on your weight loss journey, I would love to help. You'll see the links in the show notes for my socials, as well as my fab freebie, a five day low carb meal plan, and five delicious dinner recipes. You'll also see the link for my four week Foundations of Fat Loss program. This is the program I've designed specifically for the fat burning needs of women over 35. Remember, the only thing that's going to stop you reaching your goal is if you quit. Never, ever give up.
