High Fiber Versus Low-Carb Diets – Which Ones Will Get You Skinny?
There are two effective methods of appetite control in weight loss – low-carb or high fiber. This article looks at these two approaches in relation to some other well known weight management systems. We look at both to see which is easiest in practice and will be most effective in shedding the stickiest pounds.
The low-carb approach to dieting is well-known through methods such as Zone, South Beach, Protein Perfect or Atkins. The low-carb diets are substantially higher in protein than other diets, which is their primary benefit for satiety control. This should not be confused with the high protein diets which bodybuilders follow in an effort to build muscle and lose fat.
The high-fiber approach to dieting comes in many guises, with many diets being categorized in ways other than by fiber content. On the more frank and radical end are the Ornish and Pritikin diets, which are high fiber vegetarian diets comprised almost entirely of greens. On the other hand, the glycemic index approaches such as the Glycemic Load diet pay little direct attention to fiber content.
The low-carb method of dieting seems simple at first glance, with significant meal preparation effort confined to the meat and egg portion of the diet. The vegetable portion of the diet would have variable meal preparation effort, depending on the taste and desires of the dieter, but at the baseline it could comprise pre-washed salad greens and microwaveable frozen vegetables. The low-carb method can be challenging to follow in many social situations which revolve around food, but otherwise it is a sound approach to both short term and long term dieting. Most significantly, the low-carb approach can help shed the stickiest pounds which other diets have not been able to touch. Finally, while some authorities such as the American Heart Association do not support low-carb diets, many other authorities such as American Diabetes Association do endorse them.
The high-fiber approach to dieting appears to be a dramatic departure from the average American diet, with the most radical high fiber diets being vegetarian, vegan or even raw foods diets. However, a simplified diet such as a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet can be structured with convenience steps such as preparing brown rice in weekly batches, using canned beans and using only frozen vegetables. Such a simplified diet can be followed quite easily be the average busy American. This approach will provide complete satiety control through volume satisfaction, and can easily be adjusted to provide any desired weight loss rate. It will readily achieve any weight loss goal.
In the end, the choice between low-carb and high-fiber is a mostly a matter of personal preference. If you are a meat eater at heart, stick with that approach and go low-carb. On the other hand, if you like your greens and want a diet for a small planet you should go high-fiber.
For more information on low-carb and high-fiber diets you can go to lose weight orlose weight now.
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