Stay Away From the Big, Bad Carb!

There have been many fad diets in the past few years, and most have one thing in common – they include ditching foods rich in carbohydrates, or “carbs” (because really, who has time for “ohydrates”? Not this lazy gal). These diets caught on fast and attracted lazy people such as myself because: a) you could still eat fatty foods, and b) you could lose weight with little to no added exercise. You may recall the Atkins diet, The 4 Hour Body, or the Caveman or Paleo diet, to name a few. Basically, these diets revolved around the notion that you could eat whatever you wanted besides carbs and that this alone was enough to make you lose weight

When The 4 Hour Body was first recommended to me I was inspired to give it a shot. This diet was complex. You weren’t allowed fruit or dairy amongst other things, but the main point of the diet was to not consume foods high in carbs. It sounds easy, that’s probably why so many people, myself included, were drawn to it.

Now for the reality of things -  although I try to tell myself everyday that I’m not going to eat carbs, the fact is I usually do. Avoiding carbs is hard. If you haven’t noticed, carbs are everywhere, and they’re delicious. Try finding carb-free meals when eating out, there usually aren’t many. I also found that this diet is particularly difficult to follow as a student because carbs make for inexpensive meals. Eating meat and vegetables every night is much more expensive than it seems, which is probably why many students live off of ramen noodles and grilled cheese.

On the plus side, I can tell you that ridding your body of carbs feels amazing. When I was carb-free I was amazed at the difference it made. I had more energy, I was in better shape, I never felt gross and bloated, and dare I say it, I was even a little less lazy. Overall, I just felt better.

So, although cutting carbs isn’t easy, it is one thing I would recommend everyone try to do. At the very least, I suggest regarding carbs with an "everything in moderation" attitude. 

Allyson Knappers

Allyson Knappers is a second year student of the Professional Writing Program, and a native to the Ottawa area. Although a seemingly quiet young woman, Allyson loves to find the humor in life, and prefers to spend most of her time laughing with her friends. Allyson has an assortment of random interests, the most prominent of course, writing.

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