All of these myths come from gastronomy writers, specialists in health and physical training, and from other people whose opinions I respect. That is, from people who should know about this subject .

Myth: A low carbohydrate diet is high in proteins.

True: A low carbohydrate diet equilibrates with proteins.

Protein requirements of those who follow a low carbohydrate diet does not differ a lot from the requirements of those who follow a low fat diet or from the requirements of those people who do not follow a special diet. However, compared to other diets, someone who takes up a low carbohydrate diet must pay more attention to proteins. If you eat meat, you are naturally more prone to consume more protein, thus consumption may not change if you begin a low carbohydrate diet . It is normal that a person who follows a high carbohydrate diet, the protein content is equilibrated and that is an increase, but it is better balance since now he consumes proteins that he should take in the first place and he reduces carbohydrates, which affects him negatively. Certainly, some people who follow a low carbohydrate diet and eat meat are already taking the right amount of proteins. This helps them feel better and to follow a balanced diet (meat does not contain carbohydrates). It is not recommended to consume more than 200 – 300 grams of protein per day. Vegetarian people who follow a low carbohydrate diet very rarely exceed recommended protein consumption.

A writer, whose research about weight lifting has been revolutionary (Miriam Nelson, whose books I recommend to anyone) has completely twisted the vision of a low carbohydrate diet. In her book “Strong Women Are Slim” writes: “If you drastically reduce the amount of carbohydrates and compensate that reduction with the corresponding amount of proteins…” What are you talking about? I do not know anyone who does that. Do you think people are taking 500 grams or more of proteins per day, above the proteins that are consumed before you were following a low carbohydrate diet ? It is possible that some of those who follow this diet are misinterpreting it this way, but any writer with knowledge about this diet will suggest something like that.

Unfortunately, when people want to discredit an idea, frequently what they do is to chose the most extreme manifestation of the idea and use that as an “evidence” to prove that its use is dangerous. Yes, there are people who follow a low carbohydrate diet incorrectly, but this does not make it bad, provided that care is taken to balance the nutrition with supplements: vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, etc., just as the MetaliM Method requests it.

Myth: Low carbohydrate diet is comparable to those “liquid protein” diets in use twenty years ago.

True: This diet is completely different; there is no resemblance to those diets.

In fact, I have never heard anyone saying that a low carbohydrate diet is the same as a liquid protein diet, but when you receive the list of warnings, you could really see they are talking about the latter diet. Liquid protein diets were very popular during the sixties, seventies, and eighties and they are very dangerous, indeed. They eliminate most of the carbohydrates from the diet and also most of the fat (it is funny! No one uses their risks to discredit low fat diets). In addition, those diets are very low in calories. I have known people who did fine with this kind of diet, but they were under the doctor's supervision at all times!

When they tell you that a low carbohydrate diet is not good, please ask yourself if they are really talking about what you are eating now, or about something completely different. Many times people just repeat what they have heard or read.

Myth: Low carbohydrate diet is not good for kidneys.

True: Is there an evidence of this statement somewhere?

When someone follows a low carbohydrate diet , many people get scared with alarming warning about the situation in which your kidneys, supposedly, could burst or something like that? Sometimes I hear the same myth but related to the liver instead. This myth assumes that: 1) The person that is taking a low carbohydrate diet consumes huge amounts of protein; 2) these huge amounts of protein are dangerous for kidneys. First of all, it could be that you are not taking more proteins in this diet that you would do in a high carbohydrate diet. Second, there is no evidence that people who suffer from kidney problems are at risk because they are eating lots of meat or other sources of protein. No one has shown any evidence about this .

Myth: Low carbohydrate diets work only because in reality they are low calorie diets.

True: A low carbohydrate diet is not a low calorie diet.

I hear this all the time. I heard an author saying he has seen low carbohydrate diets asking for less than 1,000 calories per day. Of course, diet plan can have variations. Some people who are taking a low carbohydrate diet are also consuming fewer calories; some combine the low carbohydrate diet with a low fat diet. There are probably followers of this kind of diet. But, to take fewer calories is not part of this method .

Discussion forums and mail listing users who follow a low carbohydrate diet frequently say that they feel hungry with this kind of diet. What we tell them is to eat more and not only low calorie food but to eat more fat or any food that does not have a large amount of carbohydrates. If you observe the total amount of calories of those who successfully follow the low carbohydrate diet , you will see that it is within the range suggested by the authors of diets that do not believe in low calorie diets. That is, calories are acceptable. Of course, to consume normal and acceptable amounts of calories represent a huge calories drop for some overweight people. For others, this does not represent an increase or even no change at all.

An important matter in the discussion forums are of course the situation when weight reduction stops. Sometimes someone may consume lots of calories, and to lose weight, he would have to reduce them. But, it is more common that someone is not eating enough and has to increase calorie consumption in order to lose weight. Those who follow the MetaliM Method do not need to count calories, just carbohydrates. But, it is a good idea to have them in mind, as well as the consumption of micronutrients, fiber, and thermogenics as it is recommended in this Method.

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