What to Drink when on Low Carb Diet?
The Atkins Nutritional Approach is centered on the understanding that restriction of the carbohydrate intake results in burning of fat stored in the body. However, since a low carb diet makes your body use some of the muscle tissue for energy, it should not be practiced for a long time or else you may get some serious health issues to deal with.
It is very important to drink lots of water when on a low carb diet. Water helps to cleanse metabolic waste and various by-products of fat burning. It is recommended to drink at least 60 fluid ounces of water while you are dieting. Remember that other beverages such as Coke, Fanta, and beer are not substitutes for water. The fat you consume cannot be adequately metabolized if you don't drink sufficient amounts of water. Moreover, some dieters have gastrointestinal problems (such as constipation) and drinking plenty of water will keep the bowel content moist.
Atkins recommends that dieters avoid drinking beverages that contain sugar. If coffee and other caffeine-containing foods and beverages do not affect your weight loss, you may continue consuming them. Some dieters may find it better to avoid coffee because they experience side effects such as insomnia, nervousness, and jitters. If this is the case, it may be better to abstain from caffeine-containing foods and beverages (coffee, tea, chocolate, and some of the cough remedies and pain-relief products).
Still, if you have decided to put yourself on a low carb diet for a couple of weeks, here are some tips about what you can and cannot drink. You should not drink sweet fizzy drinks like Coke, Fanta, Sprite, or any soda drink, with the only exception of Diet Coke and Pepsi light. A low-carb diet also excludes any hard liquor or beer because these are usually used as a bio fuel by your body, and the process of fat burning slows down. It is assumed, however, that you can actually afford one drink a day, be it a glass of wine or any other alcoholic beverage, provided that the mixer is sugar free. For example, it has been estimated that three ounces of white wine or twelve ounces of light beer contain only three or four grams of carbohydrates.
You should bear in mind that some low-carb diets like the NeanderThin program make your organism intolerant to even small amounts of alcohol which means that drinking even one beer while on this diet (or if you have followed it for any period of time) may make you queasy. Also, the consumption of alcohol may lead to sugar cravings and carbohydrate withdrawal pains that you'll have to deal with the next day. Of all alcoholic beverages, liqueurs can certainly ruin your low-carb diet because they contain a lot of sugar. Remember that when you drink alcohol, your liver starts working to break it down immediately, and thus the level of glucose in your bloodstream may drop sharply. To prevent this, you should avoid drinking on an empty stomach.
Although lager is relatively light, this does not mean that it contains small amount of carbohydrates. The carb content of a 12-ounce glass of lager ranges between two and seven grams, whereas the same quantity of ale contains about 9 grams of carbohydrates. Of all kinds of beers on the market, stout is probably the most harmful to your low-carb diet - with a carb content as high as twenty grams per twelve ounces, this beer is a true carbohydrate bomb! Last but not least, keep in mind that even a couple of drinks impair judgment and may lead to high-carb bingeing and eating indiscretions. So in essence a glass of water with a slice of lemon in, it's the way to go when on low carb diet. Be prepared and enjoy in moderation.