Why you need a carb detox to lose weight

It’s time for a fresh start! Are you ready to cleanse your system of all those holiday goodies, take-out food and all the other binge eating while you were binge-watching in 2020? A low-carb lifestyle naturally detoxes your system of sugar and refined carbs by focusing on fiber-rich vegetables, protein, and healthy fats found in nourishing, nutrient-rich light meals like soups, salads and smoothies, and here’s why I know.

Years ago, before I ever tried Atkins, I was a vegetarian, and I was also a firm believer in fasting. I’d do a vegetable juice fast one week a year, in a one day a week in the hopes to “detox” from all the carbs I was eating normally. Then I got my master’s degree in nutrition, and with my knowledge of physiology and biochemistry, I realized that the “detoxing” I was feeling was partly due to ketosis, when you’re burning fat for fuel, instead of carbs. From then on, I embraced Atkins’ sustainable low carb and keto-friendly lifestyle and its detoxing and cleansing qualities.

My suggestion for a balanced and natural “detox” is to try Atkins 40 if you’ve been doing Atkins 100, and if you’ve been doing Atkins 40, go down to Atkins 20 for a couple weeks. You can take it to the next level by boosting your vegetable intake and incorporating more plant-based meals into your menus. If you’d like, although it’s not necessary, you can incorporate Intermittent Fasting (IF) to give your body a natural digestion break.

I’ve put together a list of delicious low-carb recipes you can incorporate into your detox period, which should help you feel lighter and clear-headed after the heavier foods of the holidays. Excited by the challenge, she did a remarkable job. She increased her fresh fruit and vegetable intake, stopped eating candy, cookies and cakes and cut down on foods from animal sources. Over six months, she lost 19 pounds and her HbA1c – a measure of her average blood sugar – dropped from 11.5% to 7.6%.

Some of us have wanted to go a low-carb diet that also restricts calorie intake but we have often experienced failure. This is because just reducing carbs from your diet or restricting calories haphazardly is not going to work. Most of us don’t have a fixed plan and hence tend to slip up while on a weight loss ‘diet’. This is exactly why diet plans are crucial for weight loss as they give you better control over the number of calories consumed daily, while also restricting just the right amount of carbs for your personal body type. The basic idea behind the diet is that the function of the liver is to act as a fat-burning furnace and that a combination of foods and a planned eating schedule can be used to ramp up the metabolism of the body and burn body fat more efficiently. The diet also claims to stimulate the lymphatic system to move liquefied fat through the body’s system, which it says results in ‘dramatic’ inch-loss and also eliminates cellulite. The diet plan promises to make you lose 12 inches in just two weeks if you stick to it.

What’s the Difference Between Cleanse and Detox Diets?

It’s difficult to differentiate between detox and cleanse diets because neither method has a standard, scientific definition. Plus, there’s significant overlap.

The two terms are often used interchangeably when referring to this style of dieting, though some people claim that distinct differences exist.

Both diets are intended for short-term use, usually lasting anywhere from one to 30 days.

The main differences seem to lie in the overall intent behind the respective methods

Detox Diets Focus on Eliminating Toxins

Detoxification (detox) diets usually operate on the notion that your body needs assistance to eliminate harmful substances, or toxins, from your system that may be impairing optimal health.

These toxins may refer to any dietary or environmental substance with the potential to cause harm, including but not limited to:

Pollutants
Heavy metals
Industrial chemicals
Pesticides
Allergens

Detox diets usually involve very strict dietary regimens that may include fasting, herbal supplements, laxatives, enemas and elimination of many foods. Some of them also claim to detoxify specific organs, such as your liver, kidneys or colon.

While weight loss may be one goal for some detox diets, they more frequently target a wide array of physical ailments, such as:

Allergies
Headaches and migraines
Digestive issues
Fatigue
Nausea
Acne and skin rashes
Hormone imbalances

Though detoxes remain very popular, there is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of this kind of diet regimen

3 Recipes Which You Can Try Instead Of Having Simple Cranberry Juice During This Phase:

Cranberry Juice Tea

As the name suggests, this beverage is loaded of the goodness of tea and cranberry juice. All we need to make this tea are Assam tea leaves, cranberry juice, lemon juice and fresh mint. Click here for the Though the recipe has sugar in it, we can always replace it with honey for making it a weight-loss-friendly recipe. You can also replace Assam tea with green tea as the latter is known to be packed with anti-oxidants, promoting weight loss.

Cranberry Ka Panna

We are generally aware of ‘aam panna’, but this is a new type of panna, which is not only healthy but also a refreshing beverage. This sweet and tangy cranberry ka panna has the goodness of cumin, elaichi, black salt and jaggery simmered and blended with cranberries. This is served chilled, topped with chia seeds, soda, and mint leaves.

Cranberry Booster

This beverage can not only be a tasty alternative to normal cranberry juice but also has the ability to grab the spotlight in any party. Alongside cranberry juice, it is packed with orange chunks, orange juice, and lime juice, and is purely fresh.

curry soap and golden cauliflower

Cauliflower is a good source of antioxidants and other detoxifying nutrients including B vitamins and choline, while curry powder features turmeric.

Cooker slow vegetable soup

This light soup is packed with veggies (you can use whatever you have on hand). You can make it ahead, and enjoy it as a satisfying lunch or dinner.

Broccoli garlic and ginger almond

This side dish has ginger is rich in antioxidants and great for digestion, garlic contains organo-sulfur compounds (OSCs) that boost enzymes that support detoxification and broccoli is high in antioxidants and good for digestion.

However, if you overload your body too often on carbs, you can end up with more glucose in your blood than your body can process—leading to insulin resistance, which eventually progresses to prediabetes and then type 2 diabetes.