I've seen a few questions regarding the differences between a "standard" diet that has carbs in it and a low-carb diet which consists of mainly fat and moderate protein and just a tiny bit of carbs.
First I'll start with the basic overarching structure of the 2 diets:
Low-Carb is a diet that is high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates. For me, I like to start the diet out with about 120g of Fat, 170g Protein and 30-50g Carbs.
Everyone has their own approach to this but it generally looks something similar to what I laid out above. The major difference between my low-carb approach and other low-carb approaches is that mine is much higher in protein than others.
I keep my protein higher than "normal" people because I LOVE exercising. I go to the gym for about 4 hours each day and I do 3 hours of weight lifting and 1 hour of cardio/conditioning.
I completely exhaust my body (something that is also a little unconventional in fitness standards, but I'll get into that in another post). When you bring your body to the brink of exhaustion, you need to make sure you get adequate protein to support muscle recovery.
I also weigh ~200lbs @ 6 feet 1 inches tall and I'm relatively low in body fat. I have a lot of muscle that I desperately want to hold onto so I keep my protein high and my workouts long and heavy.
A "standard" carb diet would consist of moderate-high protein, moderate-high carbs and low fat. If I'm following the more standard approach, then I would eat these approximate macros: 300g carbs, 220g protein, 55-65g fat.
So What's the Key Difference?
The key difference in my opinion is what you're actually eating. On a low-carb diet, you'll mainly be eating meat - steak, ground beef, chicken, turkey, bacon, etc.
Alongside that meat you'll be eating a lot of veggies (at least you should be).
On a "standard" carb diet you'll be mainly eating carbs with a decent amount of meat and maybe a little veggies (depending on the person) and you'll also be eating fruit (again, depending on the person).
I prefer the low-carb approach because eating mainly meat keeps things simple for me. I don't like the sugar crash that I feel after I eat anything that's high in carbs like bread, pasta, etc.
Being on low-carb means that I have sustained energy and a lower appetite throughout the day. Have you ever noticed that eating carbs makes you crave more carbs? That's because of your insulin response to eating carbohydrates. That response is nowhere near the same when you eat a diet that consists of mainly fat and protein.
Can You Lose Weight With Both Approaches?
OF COURSE!! Both approaches can work for fat loss. It's mainly about experimenting with the 2 approaches to see which one fits your lifestyle and your body the best.
Some people will do much better on a high-carb "standard" diet and some people will do much better on a low-carb diet.
Which diet do you prefer? "Standard" or Low-Carb?