Re: Re: Can carbonhydrates be worked off?

Aloha, Vivian,

     Like many other people, you are trying the low-carbohydrate 
diet...including many of my introductory nutrition students, and even our 
nutrition majors, here at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa where I am on 
the nutrition faculty.  There are some very sound scientific reasons that 
you may want to rethink doing that.  For the most part it is not 
effective, long-term...and it could be dangerous.  The safest way to lose 
weight permanently (if you REALLY need to;  many people think they do, 
when they do not) is to cut the amount of food you eat, eat a balanced and 
varied diet, and get plenty of exercise, each day, if possible.

     Let me explain the dangerous part and why it appears that you might 
be losing weight on low-carb eating.  A low-carbohydrate diet is either a 
high-fat diet or a high-protein diet (or both...depends on your food 
choice).  Neither type of eating is really appropriate...as you'll see in 
the paragraph below.  Eating low-carbohydrate is not useful, and for some, 
it may not be safe in the long run.  What I tell my introductory students 
is that you will lose 'weight'...but, most of that weight is water weight, 
which you will gain back once you go back to a more normal, and healthful, 
eating style.  If you are REALLY eating low-carb, that means little/no 
potatoes,  pasta/noodles, bread, rice, etc. and little/no fruits and fruit 
drinks/juices.  Even some vegetables contain some carbohydrate;  so do 
some milk/milk products (lactose?).  Personally, I can't imagine eating 
that way...so boring.  So, first off, most people who are eating 'low-
carb' really are not...and that is good.  Your body needs a certain 
minimum amount of carbohydrates each day just to function properly.  There 
are certain parts/cells in your body that can function well only with 
carbohydrates.

     Now, suppose that you are not getting enough carbohydrates in your 
food, so you are eating high fat or high protein.  Then, your body will 
begin to break down body or food protein (amino acids) to produce glucose 
(a simple carbohydrate) that your body must have for energy.  This process 
produces nitrogen, that your body must get rid of, since too much nitrogen 
in the body is toxic...and it goes out of the body as urea in the urine.  
The alternative is that your body will begin to use fat (stored on the 
body or from your food) to produce energy.  In that process, without 
adequate carbohydrate available, the breakdown of fat can't proceed 
completely, and there are toxic by-products produced, again that must be 
excreted via the urine.  THUS, you lose weight through water loss.

     Short-term, if you are in good health and have been eating well 
otherwise, your body can tolerate the 'nutritional silly-ness' of low-
carbohydrate eating.  Just make sure that you drink plenty of water...more 
than usual...so that you don't put a physiologic strain on your kidneys 
(and other organs).  As a Ph.D.-level nutritionist, I would never 
recommend anyone go on a low-carbohydrate diet and wouldn't do it to 
myself...and I am very concerned for anyone who does.

     To your question about whether the body can 'burn off 
carbohydrates'.  Actually, you body chooses to use a mixture of 
carbohydrate and fat for energy, regardless...the ratio of C/F used 
depends on a lot of factors, such as level of activity, the length of the 
activity, your health, state of training, maybe even age and gender.  So, 
YES, your body does quite well burning off carbohydrates.  Using protein 
for energy is quite expensive, both to your pocket-book and to your body.  
Your major store of protein is in you muscles, and it is NOT a good idea 
to be decomposing your muscle tissue to provide energy.

     That's a long answer to a very good, and timely, question.  You may 
first need to ask yourself, now, "Do I really need to lose weight?"...and 
if so, do it slowly and wisely by eating less and exercising more.  Your 
body needs a balance of carbohydrate, protein, fat, water, and certain 
minerals and vitamins to grow and mature properly...and to stay health.  
Good luck!