Ok, can someone explain the benefit of a lowcarb diet? I googled around to see what an average male needed in a day and several sites recommended 350-400g a day. But only 10% of that could be industrialized carb like sugar, flour etc.
Right now I hover on about 150g a day, mostly due to milk and wholegrain bread. Thats atleast a 50% decrease compared to normal and in about a week I will get below 50g a day which brings it down to 1/8th or so.
I read that the only thing this does is help you lose weight fast, BUT it is due to you losing water that the glucose cant bind. And this weight will return when you stop the lowcarb diet. Also, the carbs give energy to the muscles during load, so what's the point of a low carb diet? If I was a bodybuilder going to a competition I could see the use as you could shed the last bit of weight quite fast, but to me whats the point when it will all return anyway?
That's a super-high amount of carbs, representing 1400-1600 calories per day all by itself. You're at a good amount for weight maintenance. I wouldn't change it. Instead, focus the rest of your daily calories on high quality protein (4cal/g) and fats (7cal/g).
If you're really interested in the subject, I recommend reading "Good Calories/Bad Calories" or "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes.
The reason a (very, as in 50-75g per day) low carb diet causes you to burn fat is because your body uses the stored fat to generate glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis. It has nothing to do with water weight loss. The principal reason why people get fat is because they eat too many carbs and don't use the energy. 350-400g per day will make most people fat.
In addition, don't think of it as a "diet" that you'll "stop" at some point. Proper nutrition is a lifestyle change. If you have periodic specific goals, such as mass-building or cutting, yeah you can play around with your macronutrient ratios, do the leangains thing, intermittent fasting, etc on a temporary basis, but in general you should never "go back" to your original diet -- that's what got you into the state where you decided to do something about your weight in the first place.
Eat whole foods. Avoid processed foods with chemical-sounding ingredients. Focus on vegetables, greens, high quality meats, healthy fats (you want a low Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio, which means limiting vegetable oils). Avoid refined carbs (sugar in all its forms, white flour, white rice) in favor of whole grains. Drink lots of water, avoid fruit juice and all sweetened drinks (artificially or naturally!)
