As a Singapore personal trainer and fitness bootcamp owner, I always try to stay up to date about health news being shown in the media.
A few days ago there were a few articles in local Singapore papers and news about the “evils” of low carbohydrate diets. They are simply incorrect.
Here are my thoughts…and what I wrote about in my reply to them.
“It’s a shame that there are so many myths about what kind of diet is best for health, many consumers get so confused.” Ok for some people, but not for others
Ok for some people, but not for others
“My role as a Singapore personal trainer and fitness boot camp owner is to help as many people as possible to achieve their health and fitness goals by helping them prevent disease, live long and be productive each and every day”
In these articles it is mentioned that low carb diets cause side effects such as fatigue, poor concentration, and dizziness, as well as bad breath. And that low carb diets only result in water loss rather than actual weight loss.
In reality, the side effects are temporary and minor. And the benefits of stable blood sugar and reduced insulin response are major for those with weight problems.
Problems like low energy, foul breath, and brain fogginess only occur in a tiny fraction of people and only during the few days when their body’s are adjusting to using fat instead of carbs for energy. This lasts only a few days and is safe and free from danger. Bad breath can be helped by some simple sugar free mints.
It is not about low carb diets being good or bad. Individual differences also factor in.
“I am not a low carbohydrate supporter”. I am a “correct” carbohydrate supporter. We help over 300 clients per year with personal nutrition and training plans at the our Singapore Personal Training Center.
Some of our clients like eat less than 40g of carbohydrates per day and get great results. Others are on food plans where they take in more than 400g of carbohydrates per day and this is optimal for them.
The timing and type of carbohydrate also matter alot. A banana eaten after a hard training session is totally different from a plate of noodles eaten at lunch time.
The reason is that there is a huge difference genetically in our bodies ability to use carbs properly for fuel. Our diets should reflect these differences.
This is the reason that there are such a variety of diets and nutrition plans and books. The zone, protein power, atkins etc. They all work for different people but none of them work for everybody. We are all different.
In our center we use a special method of measuring body fat that can help us determine what kind of nutrition plan is best for this client at this point in their life and at their current level of body fat.
“It is not ideal for everybody to go on a low carbohydrate diet, but on the other hand it is not responsible for health professionals to recommend high carbohydrate low fat diets for general health because alot of people will get less healthy doing that. Diet needs to be customized for current fitness levels, genetics and ethnicity.”
So if you are the kind of person who easily puts on fat, a low carb diet is probably best for you. If you are the kind who is naturally lean, go ahead and add healthy carbs like fruits and natural starches like sweet potatoes into your nutrition and diet plan.
Coach Jonathan Wong, is a sought after Singapore personal trainer and performance expert who has helped hundreds of clients in Singapore achieve their fitness, fat loss and sports performance goals. He Is also a fitness author, Singapore fitness boot camp owner and a member of Singapore Men’s Health Advisory Panel. Visit his website and blog for a free 1500 page e-book and constant updates. http://www.coachjon.com
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