The Essentials of Low-Carb

As a chef, I spend my time in the kitchen. I am not a doctor or nutritionist, just someone who can cook a pretty mean steak and someone who has over fifteen years’ experience cooking and eating low carb. I will do my best to summarize how low-carb works, but just know that I am not the author to explain why it works. The specifics of what occurs inside the body would be better left for a doctor to describe. Dr. Atkins and other doctors wrote entire 500page books exploring the subject. There are also countless studies available on the Internet that also clarify the effectiveness of low carb. The concept of eating low carb is actually quite simple to explain. Our bodies are capable of converting either carbohydrates or fat into the energy needed to function, however, our bodies also prefer carbohydrates when they are available. Eating a diet full of carbohydrates causes the body to burn only the carbs necessary to get through the day before then converting the remaining carbohydrates into fat, which is then stored in the event there ever comes a time when excess fat is needed for survival. This is the reason that overeating leads to weight gain—in this way, we are similar to bears storing fat for hibernation in the winter. Your body can also create energy from fat when not supplied with an ample amount of carbohydrates. By converting fat into energy, your body goes into a constant fat burning state known as “ketosis.” Not only do you burn the fat that you eat, you always burn up the reserves meant to get you through the day. Most people find it hard to grasp why low carb allows you to eat fattier foods. There’s a simple explanation—your body burns it right off. Entering the “ketosis” state is easily achieved; simply stop eating processed carbohydrates. It’s staying in a state of “ketosis” that is most important to success. Cheating on a low-carb lifestyle immediately switches your body out of “ketosis” and back to burning carbohydrates and storing fat. Studies have proven time and again that low carb actually works, when on “ketosis,” and my family is a testament that it can work long term. Once committed, you’ve got to commit in order to see results.   Low carb, for us, was ultimately just a lifestyle switch, a decision to bypass processed, packaged foods generally considered unhealthy, and instead stick with only fresh ingredients found in the outer aisles of the grocery store. Almost as essential to our success as choosing the right foods, we also decided to get back into the kitchen and cook for ourselves, taking pride in what we cooked, even coming to love the process of cooking again, as we spent most of that time inspiring each other to come up with new ideas. No matter how you eat, nothing can be more boring than alternating the same exact dishes week after week. I am beyond excited to share some delicious and palate-inspiring recipes from my newest cookbook: “Low-Carb Essentials”. But I cannot stress enough—our success was, and still is, because we never fell into that dreaded pitfall of eating uninspired meals. Let the exciting low-carb recipe below be one of your building blocks, eventually evolving to become essentials to your own success.

Keep On Low-Carbin’!
George Stella

(Excerpt and recipe from “LOW-CARB ESSENTIALS” cookbook by George Stella)