Michael Van Cise

Reducing carbohydrates in your diet will cause your body to flush out water and therefore cause you to lose weight.

Gary Taubes writes,

In 1919, Francis Benedict, director of the Nutrition Laboratory of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, described it this way: "With diets predominantly carbohydrate there is a strong tendency for the body to retain water, while with diets predominantly fat there is a distinct tendency for the body to lose water." The context of Benedict's discussion was the weight loss that occurs in the first few weeks of any calorie- or carbohydrate-restricted diet, adn particularly the latter. As Benedict pointed out, thi sweight loss is to a large extent water, not fat, which has to be factored into any discussion of the apparent benefits of a reducing scheme. In the late 1950s, a new generation of investigators rediscovered the phenomenon, and it was then used to rationalize the popularity of carbohydrate-restricted diets as due not to the ease of losing fat, but entirely to the water lost in the first few weeks of the diet.

What do we glean from this? First, that if you wanted to drop a few pounds maybe to make weight for a wrestling match, boxing match, or some other event where scale weight matters, cut back on carbohydrates, and maybe on calories too. Reducing salt would also help since salt causes the body to retain water. Second, that the quick weight loss experienced by cutting calories or cutting carbs is mostly water weight, and therefore not getting us where we want to be (unless we're a wrestler or boxer) because we probably care more about how we look and how much fat our bodies retain, as opposed to how much we weigh on a scale.

Taubes goes on to say,

[T]he water lost on carbohydrate-restricted diets is caused by a reversal of the sodium retention that takes place routinely when we eat carbohydrates. Eating carbohydrates prompts the kidneys to hold on to salt, rather than excrete it. The body then retains extra water to keep the sodium concentration of the blood constant. So, rather than having water retention caused by taking in more sodium, which is what theoreticlaly happens when we eat more salt, carbohydrates cause us to retian water by inhibiting the excretion of the sodium that is already there. Removing carbohydrates from the diet works, in effect, just like the antihypertensive drugs known as diuretics, which cause the kidneys to excrete sodium, and water along with it.

I think this is an interesting piece of information that I have never heard--or at least not heard explained in this way. I think it is important to understand the above if one is to be able to defend a low-carb lifestyle, but also to be able to explain why people have so much success in the first few weeks of the Atkins diet or similar low carb diets, or even with calorie restricted diets.

My mother, who was eating a low-carb diet at the time and aware of my low-carb eating, shared a recipe for a "German Farmer's Breakfast" with me. This recipe serves two easily with leftovers. If you were serving a side, such as fruit or yogurt, 3 people could easily eat off this recipe. The recipe is as follows,

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 an onion cut into one inch pieces
• 3-4 slices bacon cut into one inch pieces
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1 tomato chopped

Cooking Instructions

Cook the onion and bacon on medium heat in an iron skillet until the bacon is crispy. Add the tomato and reduce heat to low, cook on low for five minutes. Scramble the eggs in a separate bowl, then pour the eggs into the skillet and mix everything up. Cover the contents of the skillet with the cheese, then cover the skillet and continue cooking on low for five to ten minutes.
As with all the recipes my mom gives me, you'll note that salt and pepper are not mentioned. In my mom's world, salt and pepper are assumed. With the the saltiness of the bacon, however, you might try just pepper the first time, and if you prefer a saltier dish, add salt to the ingredient list.

Comments
This dish is simple and tasty. I have also doubled the recipe to serve six people. If you are doubling the recipe, you'll want to increase the cooking time, or perhaps place the covered skillet in a pre-heated oven for 5 -15 minutes. While I haven't tried it, 300 - 350 degrees might be the right temp.

If you're looking for something simpler, try my variations on the German Farmer's Breakfast.

One Pan Sausage & Egg Breakfast
Fried Cheese Variation of Sausage & Egg Breakfast