I’m sure you’re familiar with a low-carb eating style, right? This type of eating style has been criticized over the years for being unhealthy. There’s people who say there’s not enough scientific evidence (a.k.a. published scientific studies) to prove that it’s effective for sustainable weight loss and improving overall health and that it might be doing more harm than good. I’ve been eating this way and studying a low-carb eating style for over 13 years now and the evidence that I’ve come up with is that it works. More importantly, there is a healthy way to make it work for you.
Today I’m going share the health benefits of a low-carb eating style if you’re in your 40s and how to take this eating style from frenemy to bestie to make it sustainable for you.
Before we dive into the benefits of eating low-carb, let’s talk about how your body processes the calories you consume. When you drink alcohol your body sees it as a toxin and has no ability to store it so it burns this first. Next your body will burn any calories from carbs to use as energy. The leftovers will be stored either in your liver or muscles. When your liver and muscles carb storage reach their limits, the remaining carbs are stored as fat.
If your body still needs energy after all this, it will begin burning fat from calories you’ve eaten. If your body doesn’t need any more energy, where will any excess fat go? You guessed it! It will be stored as fat.
Now let’s dive into the benefits of a low-carb eating style.
One of the most common objections to a low-carb eating style hear is that your body needs carbs to function, specifically your brain and for medium to high intensity exercise. This is true to some extent. If you’re eating too many carbs in the form of highly processed starchy foods such as whole wheat bread, bagels, chips, baked goods, etc., your brain becomes overwhelmed with too much glucose and this is when neurological disorders occur such as Alzheimer’s.
Giving your brain the right amount of carbs in the form of whole food veggies and fruits will suffice the requirements for optimal brain function. If you’re following a keto eating style eating less than 50g of carbs a day, your body will make ketones and use these for energy for your brain. Your body also makes glucose from protein you eat or your muscles. This is the “break in case of emergency” glass case in your body in the event you need a little glucose boost.
As you enter your 40s, our estradiol (the prominent form of estrogen in your reproductive years) begins to fluctuate dramatically before it finally drops and a weaker form of estrogen (estrone) takes over. Estrogen increases your body’s ability to process carbs efficiently so you don’t experience the dramatic ups and downs of energy from your blood sugar levels rising and falling too fast. When your estrogen levels begin falling and become unpredictable, your body tends to store more fat. In addition, you may not sleep as well if you have too much glucose in your blood stream at night. When you’re not sleeping well, your hunger and satiating hormones get out of whack and you may eat more which in turn could make you store more fat.
This may sound like a vicious cycle but it’s actually your body’s way of keeping you alive with the not-so-great resources it has to work with. This is survival mode for your body. Giving your body healthier options such as meat, veggies, fruits, and nuts to use as resources to keep you at a healthy weight, sleeping great, and moving efficiently is a key component to helping you thrive.
So, how do you sustain a low-carb eating style?
This is actually a simple process that’s not always easy. The key to success is starting small, whatever that looks like for you. When I started eating low-carb in 2012, I slowly replaced highly processed foods until I eventually eliminated them from a majority of my meals. For example, I replaced my lunchtime sandwich with a nutrient-dense salad filled with mixed greens, olives, tomatoes, onions, protein, and avocado and topped with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. I continued to eat toast with my eggs in the morning until I felt ready to focus on adding more protein and fat to where I didn’t even want the bread. After several weeks, I was eating at least 90% meat, eggs, veggies, fruit, and nuts. I would occasionally eat pasta or baked goods but not that often.
When you slowly introduce more whole foods to your eating style, your body adjusts to not needing as many carbs. Your hormones get to levels where you’re not craving ultra-processed food and you don’t get hangry when you’re hungry. You can go hours feeling hungry and still maintain energy levels. This is your body thriving on the whole, nutrient-dense foods your giving it.
Once you begin eating low-carb, you may notice that you need more carbs during the second half of your cycle. This is to be expected because of low progesterone levels. During these weeks, eat more whole food carbs such as potatoes and fruit to help your progesterone levels increase. If you’re working out more in the beginning of your cycle because you have more energy, you may benefit from eating more starchy carbs.
Low-carb for you can be different than low-carb for me. It’s all relative based your individual needs. It’s important to be willing to experiment with different whole foods to figure out what works best for you.
There’s so much more I can share on this topic but I’ll leave the rest for another day. The bottom line is a low-carb eating style can help you maintain a healthy, sleep great, and have consistent energy levels throughout the day.
Want to learn more about how you can get started? Book your free Wellness Strategy Session with me and I’ll help you get started.