The Super Carb Diet Is the Latest Eating Trend

The Super Carb Diet Is the Latest Eating Trend—Here’s What You Need to Know

Carbs get a bad rap. People seem to believe that eating them equals weight gain—and followers of low-carb, high-fat plans like keto seem content to do away with them all together.

 But there’s a new diet in town, and it’s a bread lover’s answer to this rise in carb phobia: the super carb diet.

No, the diet doesn’t recommend you eat only carbs (we wish). Created by former Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper, super carb prioritizes balance across all macronutrients—proteins, fats, and carbs. 

Harper says each meal or snack you consume should be made up of 40% proteins, 30% fats, and 30% carbs.

According to that ratio, you’re not actually eating a crazy amount of carbs.

 But the carbs you are eating should be "super" in the sense that they’re fiber-dense, so they fuel the body and are digested slowly. That includes things like 100% whole grain bread and pasta or fresh fruit.

“I didn’t want to live a life that was going to be so deprived that I wasn’t able to incorporate complex carbohydrates into my diet,” Harper tells Health. 

After he had a heart attack in February 2017, he created the super carb diet to make sure he was getting the nutrients he needed to maintain his weight and recover, he explains.

For Harper, a typical day on the diet consists of three standard meals and one snack, or as he calls it, a “floater meal.” 

For breakfast, he’ll make an egg sandwich with Ezekiel bread, and when lunch rolls around, he’ll whip up a grilled chicken breast with a quarter of an avocado, steamed veggies, and brown rice.

 For the last meal of the day, Harper will choose a lean red meat or fish along with brown rice or quinoa pasta and more veggies.

Sometimes, if his sweet tooth is calling his name, Harper says he'll leave fat off his dinner plate and have peanut butter for dessert instead.

 Overall, his number one guideline is sticking to foods that are processed as little as possible. "It's a way to get people to start thinking about what they're eating, so they're not just eating mindlessly," Harper says. 

Turns out, Harper's method isn’t as new as it seems. Health contributing nutrition editor Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, says “Dietitians have been recommending this balanced approach for decades.”

 Sass says Harper is right, carbs are not inherently fattening. The way they impact weight is determined by quality, portion size, and timing.

So why do people lose so much weight on low-carb diets? Those who see serious results were likely overeating highly processed carbs prior to completely cutting them out, she says. 

“The solution isn't to remove carbs completely, but rather to choose nutrient-rich, unprocessed carbs, in amounts that will be burned and used by the body, based on your activity level and fuel demand,” Sass explains.

Though this eating plan might not be revolutionary in the world of nutrition, Sass says it’s encouraging people to look at their diets in a balanced way, and that is definitely beneficial. 

If the portions are appropriate based on a person’s needs, super carb could promote weight loss, she believes.

Sass recommends reaching for healthy carbs like sweet potatoes, quinoa, beans, lentils, and chickpeas. 

And if you're intrigued by the diet, pick up Harper's book, The Super Carb Diet: Shed Pounds, Build Strength, Eat Real Food .

“Again, the idea is balance, with a goal of hitting just the right amount to allow for weight loss, but without robbing your body of key nutrients,” Sass says.

 “So it's not a high carb diet or a low carb diet, but rather a just right carb diet.”

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You Burn the Most Calories at This Time

Your body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythm, dictates a lot of your day. It tells you when you’re hungry and need to scarf some food, when you’re tired and should hit the hay, and more. 

That body clock also determines what time of day your body burns the most calories, even when you're at rest doing nothing, a new study shows.

Researchers reporting in Current Biology found that when resting, we burn 10% more calories in the late afternoon and early evening than in the morning. 

So that means we don’t have to worry about being lazy next time we hit an afternoon slump, right? Our bodies will pick up the slack for us.

This study’s findings reinforce the important role circadian rhythm plays in regulating metabolism. They also shed some light on why those who have irregular sleep schedules because they work night shifts or other factors are more likely to gain weight.

To evaluate changes in metabolism throughout the day without the effects of activity level, dietary habits, and sleep patterns, the researchers studied seven participants for over a month in a laboratory that had no windows or clocks. 

Participants didn’t have access to phones or internet, and they were given schedules of when they could sleep, wake up, and eat.

We know what you’re thinking. No windows? No phones? Were they kidnapped? Calm down, we promise they did this voluntarily.

Each night, the participants went to sleep four hours later than the night before. This mimicked what a person would experience when traveling westward across the entire world in a week.

"Because they were doing the equivalent of circling the globe every week, their body's internal clock could not keep up," co-author Jeanne Duffy, of the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, said in a statement. 

That left it up to the body to keep its own time without relying on cues from the outside world. "This allowed us to measure metabolic rate at all different biological times of day."

Researchers found the participants burned the fewest resting calories late in the biological night, when people experience a drop in their body temperature. 

Energy expenditure was highest about 12 hours later, in the biological afternoon and evening.

The study itself was small, but the results help shed light on how circadian rhythm influences metabolism. 

Going forward, the researchers suggest that future studies examine whether these changes in resting metabolic rate contribute to weight gain among people who don’t keep regular sleep schedules.

 Until then, anyone who’s trying to lose weight should maintain a normal schedule, which is important for overall health.

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This Couple Lost 235 Pounds

This Couple Lost 235 Pounds on the Keto Diet in Under a Year

April McIntosh always had a complicated relationship with food. She struggled with her weight growing up and regularly indulged in fatty, sugary meals to deal with her emotions. April always wanted to lose weight, and she made an effort to be active, but she just couldn’t get her diet on track.

That all changed about a year ago, when April and her husband, Chris, discovered the high-fat, low-carb keto diet—and lost a collective 235 pounds.

Last November, the number staring back at April on the scale was 330 pounds, and for Chris it was 316. April tells Health the Virginia couple’s diet consisted of processed, less-than-healthy foods like mac and cheese, frozen chicken nuggets, and instant mashed potatoes. “Stuff that really had no nutritional value,” she says.

Chris is a mechanic, a job that calls for long, stressful hours, he says. His food choices reflected this. If he was making lunch to take to work, he would throw together “whatever was quick,” he tells Health. At the end of the workday, he indulged to take the edge off. “Eating was my coping mechanism,” he says.

Slowly but surely, April began to realize that her weight was holding her back. One moment that stands out to her was when she was at an amusement park with her 8-year-old brother. He was dying to ride a rollercoaster with his big sister, but April was panicked about it, she recalls.

“While we were in line, I was thinking ‘I don’t know if I’m going to be able to fit or if it’s going to be dangerous because I’m so much larger than him and the bar isn’t going to close properly to keep him safe,’” April says. 

When it was their turn to get on the ride, April’s fears came true. Her hips couldn’t fit in the seat, and she had to tell her little brother she couldn’t ride with him.

April wishes that would have been the final straw to force her to commit to losing weight. But that breaking-point moment finally happened a few months later, when she and Chris were at an awards dinner. She dressed up for it, and she felt like she looked incredible.

 But when she saw the photos from the night, the woman she saw on the screen didn’t look anything like the way she felt. “It was mind-blowing to me that I got to a point where I didn’t even recognize myself,” she says.

At that moment, April was done sitting back and watching her health spiral out of control. She had been following keto success stories on social media, and though she was skeptical about giving up foods like pasta, she knew something had to change.

So on the last day of November 2017, April made the switch to keto. She admits the first few days were hard, especially because of the hunger. But after about a week, she noticed healthy changes. “I had more energy, I didn’t feel bloated all the time, and I was really excited,” she says.

Chris, on the other hand, wasn’t convinced keto was for him. He stuck to his usual meal choices while he watched April give the high-fat, low-carb keto lifestyle a go. Chris didn’t think he could give up foods like bread and potatoes, which had been staples of his diet for his entire life.

It took him about a month of watching April’s progress to join her on her weight-loss journey. As soon as he got on board, he knew he made the right choice.

 “You won’t believe the places you lose weight,” he says—explaining that he wears rubber gloves to work, and in a short period of time, he dropped a glove size.

April and Chris agree that those early signs of success motivated them to stick to it. They replaced their usual frozen chicken nuggets with steak, cheese, broccoli, and bacon, and they made sure they were getting exercise in ways that worked for them. 

April says she likes to walk a mile or two on her lunch break to get her body moving, and Chris works on his feet all day and does active house chores like splitting wood.

Now, a year later, April has lost 135 pounds and weighs in at 195. Chris has lost 100 pounds and clocks in at 216.

Both are more confident about the way they look, and they love that they no longer worry that their weight is holding them back from pursuing activities and hobbies. But April believes that the most rewarding part for her is her newfound freedom from food.

“I don’t feel like food controls me anymore,” she says. “When I put something in my mouth, it’s because I know what I’m doing, it’s intentional. I’m not just eating to eat.”

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The Alcohol You Can Actually Drink

The Alcohol You Can Actually Drink on the Keto Diet

Yes, most alcoholic beverages are essentially carbohydrate in liquid form. And yes, since your carbs are so limited on the keto diet, you're better off choosing carbs that are bundled with good-for-you nutrients. 

(Think whole grains, fruits, and starchy vegetables—all of which are chock-full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and disease-fighting compounds.) 

But hello, we’re realists: Sometimes you want, deserve, or just need a drink. So what are your best options?

It can be tricky to figure out how many carbs alcoholic beverages contain because they aren't required to come labeled with nutrition facts. Below we've founded up a few of the most keto-friendly drinks, plus a few you should definitely skip (sorry, sake fans). 

First though, we want to clear up some confusion about booze and keto that's been spreading on the Interwebs. You may have read somewhere that your body produces ketones as it breaks down alcohol (which in theory at least, sounds like a good thing). Not so, though. 

“There's nothing magical about alcohol enhancing ketogenesis long-term," says sports nutritionist Chris Mohr, PhD, RD. "The general metabolism of alcohol as a whole falls outside of the ketogenic metabolic pathways."

Don't be fooled by the rumor. If you're going to enjoy a cocktail, do it because it adds a little balance to your day, and diet—everything in moderation, right?

The best (and worst) alcohol for the keto diet

No matter what proof (80 through 100), gin, rum, vodka, and whiskey all have 0 grams of carbohydrate in a jigger (or 1.5 ounces). Have your drink neat, on the rocks, or with a splash of plain soda water. And it's best to pour your own rather than cracking open one of those pre-made spiked seltzers; one can deliver anywhere from 1 to 5 grams carbohydrate.

If you're craving a glass of wine, budget for it, and keep the pour size in mind. A glass of white wine ranges from 3 to 6 grams of carbohydrate per five ounces. (The sweeter whites—think riesling versus chardonnay—typically have more carbohydrates.) At home, you're likely to pour more than five ounces, especially if you have larger wine glasses.

 And a standard restaurant pour is six ounces. Red wine has a tighter range of carbohydrates, at 3 to 4 grams per 5-ounce pour, with little variation between varieties.

Skip beer: It’s essentially bread in a bottle. A can of beer has around 12 grams of carbs. Though if you must have a beer, seek out a light beer, which comes in at around half that carb load per can.

Two other no-nos: mixers (they’re all pretty much sugar-laden) and sake. A 6-ounce pour is fairly common for sake, and it delivers nearly 9 grams of carbohydrate.

An unexpected perk of going keto

In any trendy diet, there are always nuggets of wisdom buried somewhere—and keto is no exception. Because it involves such a tight carb budget, the diet doesn't leave much room for regular alcohol consumption. And when you do imbibe, quantity is limited, so you’re likely to stay within the recommended limit. 

(That's one drink per day for women, and two for men.) Considering that more and more research suggests moderate drinking may be more detrimental to our health than experts previously thought, the keto diet's booze restrictions could be a really good thing in the long run.

The keto diet has made its way to the Jersey Shore. More specifically, to the Jersey Shore Family Vacation in Miami. After five years, our favorite guidos and guidettes have changed—a lot. JWoww and Snooki are moms, “The Situation” is in the throes of a legal battle, and Vinny refuses to eat pizza crust.

Yes, his mom still does his laundry, but the new-and-improved Vinny Guadagnino is extremely disciplined about his diet and exercise regimen. In fact, you can find shirtless selfies and keto-approved meals on his spinoff Instagram account, @ketoguido.

 But when the tequila started flowing, his roommates noticed that he got drunk at warp speed. This led to several comments about how Vinny’s keto diet was to blame.

Curious, we decided to look into the Shore housemates' belief that eating high-fat, low-carb meals bumps up a person's drunk rate. 

Thanks to Health’s contributing nutrition editor Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, we can tell Vinny that imbibing without laying a carb base should really slow down inebriation.

“Actually, proteins and fats provide a better buffer for alcohol than carbs, because they get digested slower,” she says. “So it’s more likely that he drank on an empty stomach or was dehydrated.”