Obesity is a big problem in this country, so some people are obsessed with appearance and weight. Those who want to lose pounds are continually looking for a fast easy way to do it, so for years we’ve been hearing about low-carbohydrate diets and how effective they are. However, is all this hoopla justified? There are certainly many arguments both for and against low-carb diets for people who want to lose weight. If you’re tired of all the hype, here are 10 reasons every dieter seems to freak out over carbs.

Latest fad – Dieters have always been susceptible to fads and the low-carb diet is no exception. Even though this concept has been around for decades, it’s still getting a lot of attention with scientific studies and different diet variations. Peer pressure – People trying to lose weight often succumb to peer pressure. When all your friends are telling you how bad carbs are and what foods you need to avoid, they’re hard to ignore. Info overload – The emphasis on carbohydrates is everywhere you look. Dieters can’t help but be influenced by low-carb claims on packaging and in advertising. This info overload gets everyone freaking out about carbs. Quick results – There’s no question that limiting carbohydrates in your diet will produce quick and dramatic results. This is your body’s main form of fuel, so eliminating it is going to make you lose weight quickly. However, you’re losing water and not fat so this is very deceiving. Ketosis – The whole idea behind limiting carbs is to produce ketosis in the body. This is where your body burns fat for fuel instead of calories. Proponents of the low-carb diets claim it’s a quick way to get to this process. Easy target – The reason carbs are the villain is because they’re so easy to metabolize. Your body can quickly turn the calories from carbs into fuel to burn and if there’s excess fuel it turns into fat. This makes high carbohydrate foods an easy target. Naughty foods – Foods that are high in carbs are generally already on the naughty list for most dieters. Pastries, cookies, white bread and such are foods high in sugar and calories that dieters want to avoid anyway. Pre-history – There are claims that the low-carb diet has genetic significance. They say that the foods advocated in their diets more closely resemble that of prehistoric man and our bodies aren’t genetically disposed to consuming large quantities of carbohydrates. Misinformation – Unfortunately, a lot of this freaking out over carbs is because of so much misinformation. Many dieters will believe what they hear without checking out the voracity of the claims. Carbs = calories – Every dieter needs to watch their calorie intake and carbohydrates are equivalent to calories. To many people the two terms are synonymous so what’s the difference? Yikes, that cookie is so high in carbs/calories! Don’t eat it!

The reality is that a low-carb diet may help you lose weight fast, but once you go back to your normal routine the pounds will come back just as quickly. Eliminating or severely restricting carbohydrates in your diet for too long is not healthy and could even be dangerous. Dieters will always be looking for shortcuts, but the facts remain that the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat less and exercise more. This often requires a lifestyle change that most people just don’t want to deal with. Meanwhile they will continue to freak out over carbs or whatever the current diet villain is instead of just trying to burn more calories than they consume.