How Low Carb High Fat Causes Weight Loss

As you now know, the low carb diet  plan, such as Atkins,  begins by restricting carbohydrates. When your body is not given fuel in the form of carbohydrates, it finds fuel from other sources. So, let's say you've just started following a low carb plan and are consuming a modest 28 grams of carbohydrates or less. Here is what's happening inside your body:

The liver stores glucose by converting it to glycogen. It holds perhaps a 12-hour supply of glucose in its glycogen.

Once you finish digesting all of the carbohydrates that you last ate, the liver starts converting its stored glycogen back into glucose and releases it to maintain glucose in the blood.

Lipolysis  starts  - this is the breaking down of fat in the fat cells - and the releasing of fatty acids into the bloodstream.

Tissues that do not need to use glucose for energy (for example, muscle cells) start burning the fatty acids. This reduces the glucose demand so that nerve cells get the glucose.

Once the liver runs out of glycogen, the liver converts to a process called gluconeogenesis. Gluconeogenesis turns amino acids into glucose. The liver then begins producing ketone bodies from fatty acids being made available in the blood by lipolysis. Brain and nerve cells convert over from being pure consumers of glucose to partial consumers of ketone bodies for energy. This process is called ketosis -- which is why the Atkins plan is also known as a ketogenic diet.

So, what does this mean in simple terms?

How the Atkins Diet Facilitates Weight Loss