By Elena Voropay

"When unproven science becomes a sales pitch, some people get rich and the rest of us get ripped off," Jeffrey Prince of the American Institute for Cancer Research told a news conference.

You step on a scale and notice you've lost a few pounds!!! Wow! That's great, right? Maybe not. You probably never thought that out of all the weight you've lost not a single gram was composed of fat. It is possible to gain several pounds of body weight without gaining fat a gram of fat. Same goes to weight loss. Your body is made up of several different types of tissue, including muscle, bone, skin and fat. When you consume more calories than you burn, the body stores the extra energy, but not always in the form of fat.

Although excess carbohydrate calories can be converted into fat, your body also stores carbohydrate in the form of glycogen. Glycogen is stored in your liver and your muscles. In total, your body can hold 400-500 grams of glycogen (the equivalent of 1600-2000 calories). Of course, this does vary from person to person. The more muscle you have, the more glycogen you can store, and the stronger you are. In fact, extreme reduction of carbohydrates from the daily menu will dramatically impair your exercise performance.

According to a new study from researchers at the University of Connecticut, exercisers who switched from a carb- and protein-balanced nutrition plan to a "ketogenic diet," characterized by very low carbs (about 8 percent of total calories) and high amounts of protein and fat, experienced a 7 percent to 9 percent reduction in peak muscular power over a period of six weeks. The ketogenic plan, the researchers found, also negatively impacted the athletes' cardiovascular fitness, causing a 6 percent decrease in VO2 peak over the study period.

When you lose weight on a low-carbohydrate diet, much of the weight lost in the first week or so comes from stored carbohydrate and water. That's because glycogen also stores between three and four times its own weight in water. In simple terms, every gram of sugar or starch you eat attracts three grams of water. As you already know, water water is your friend, a good fellow. Conversely, when you overfeed on carbohydrate calories, much of the weight you gain will also be in the form of glycogen and water.

So, when you stop eating carbohydrates, your body uses up all the stored carbs, or glycogen from the liver and muscles. For bodybuilders and gym-regulars this is a disaster - they end up losing all the hard-earned muscle tissue, strength levels go downhill, and relative percentage of fat to musle goes up (in favor of fat). For the rest, it gets worse -you don't even have enough muscle to lose or to store glycogen, so you lose all the last bits of it. Muscle is what keeps your metabolic fire burning, so you will end up burning less calories and store more fat. And you haven't even started losing fat!!!

"Liquid Protein" diets like the Cambridge diet introduced after publication of The Last Chance Diet (1976) killed at least fifty people whose hearts failed through fibrillation. This very low calorie, low fat diet caused people to lose muscle mass everywhere, including the heart which eventually gave up. The Food and Drug Administration warned the medical community about the danger of this kind of diet which gave ketosis a bad name.

The nutritionists and diet advisors listened. Jane Brody said ketones are toxicStuart Berger bashed them in How To Be Your Own Nutritionist. Ann Louise Gittleman writes in Your Body Knows Best:

Without some carbohydrates to maintain blood sugar levels and fuel the system, ketone bodies - fatty substances generated from the breakdown of stored fats or triglycerides - are soon formed in the blood. Ketone bodies mask your appetite even though your brain demands glucose. The result is ketosis: headaches, light-headedness, and mental fatigue. Eventually, [on a low fat diet] your body will begin to convert protein from your muscles into blood sugar. You lose weight, but it is from muscle mass, not from fat. (Pocket Books, 1997)

And the last word in favor of carbs - brain can only function when sugar is available. Carbohydrates represent the only fuel brain and nervous tissue are capable of using. So, side effects of high protein diets are depression, insomnia, nervous disturbances, brain-dead state of mind, to name a few. But don't over-do cookies as well - moderation is the key.

It's All About Timing

Carbohydrates can actually help you burn fat and preserve muscle if you eat the right kinds of carbyhydrates at the right time. So, what are these 'right' things?

First, lets look at the sources of carbs. You can find high-GI starch and sugar in just about every processed food - white bread, pasta, cold cereals, cookies, candy, etc. If you think these foods are 'fattening' you are right only if you eat them before bed time. With a fat-loss goal in mind, you might be exercising in order to burn the 'love handdles' - so don't eat carbs before exercise. If you do, this will cause an insulin spike and you will burn consumed glucose instead of body fat. At nighttime, your insulin system is highly primed for fat storage. If you eat regularly during the day, the body will have enough glycogen to maintain its functions during your eight hours of rest.

When you absolutely need to eat carbohydrates is in the prime time - 30 to 60 minutes after exercise! I emphasize 'prime time' because your goal is not only to burn fat, but to keep your muscles as well. So, this is your magic window when you don't have worry about the fat-storing effects of insulin. All of the carbohydrates you choose after exercise will be used to repair and replenish your muscles, minimize canibalizing lean tissue and acturally make you stronger, not fatter. Eating some sort of carbohydrates every day will satisfy your cravings and make it less likely for you to over-indulge (even on a cheat day).

Regardless of what diet you follow, remember that the best one is the diet you can keep for life without feeling deprived. Trading sugar, white flour, refined breads and pastas for fruit, honey, whole grains, such as buckwheat and brown rice, and choosing wholemeal or rye bread will add lots of health benefits to the way you feel. For one, it will guarantee good mood, calm character, efficient brain and nervous system function, sustained blood sugar levels, and the most important - energy! Protein and fat also give you energy, but only when it comes to calories. You don't feel energized after eating nuts, cheese or bacon, both high in fat and protein.

Have an apple with peanuts butter or a slice of cheese and you will feel rejuvenated and lively again. Eating rotein-rich foods with a little fat with every meal will keep your hunger at bay for longer, and will set limits on the rising levels of insulin. Protein and fat are extremely important for the body to function, but they should not substitute nature-given grains and fruit. All of these will help you lose weight if you eat in moderation and move your body more.

So, wonder why so many people still go low-carb? It's a quick fix, looks good today on the scale, feels weak (partially due to dehydration) so you think you're losing weight, and jeans fit better since the body is so dehydrated.

Find out more on the Australian Fitness:

Eat to Keep Your Muscles and Lose Fat
Sugar and Hyperactivity - Scientific Research