Dr. Z on carbs - Are you ready to have your mind blown? I'm going to give you a quick biochemistry lesson on carbs that I think you'll find quite fascinating.

Are you aware that the gasoline you put in your car is also called a hydrocarbon? It's basically the inverse of the word carbohydrate. The only thing different about the gas you put in your car and the carbohydrates you eat for dinner is the length of the carbon chain and the number of hydrogen molecules attached.

So what happens to the gas that you put in your car? When it is combined with oxygen and heat, it combusts. Combustion is just fancy way of saying that it burns. And when it burns, there are two bi-products. One is the energy that propels your car forward. The other bi-product is C02 or carbon dioxide.

Now, what happens when you eat a carbohydrate? Essentially the same thing. You don't have to remember this, but in order for you body to produce energy it needs a fuel source (carbohydrates) and oxygen. When these two elements are combined the result is combustion. This combustion within our cells produces the same two bi-products as the engine in your car - energy in the form of ATP and CO2 that we breath off. This energy keeps your heart beating, your brain thinking and you muscles moving. The other bi-product is C02 or carbon dioxide that you breath off. I bet you didn't realize that your car processes hydrocarbons just like you process carbohydrates, did you?

What's my point? The point is, carbohydrates are nothing more than fuel. They have ZERO nutritional value and when you consume more than you burn off, they're immediately stored away as fat. If you over-eat on carbs and don't run or walk them off, they will be added to your fat reserves by bedtime. This is the reason you don't need them.

Fat is the body's way of protecting itself from long winters and famine, both primitive conditions that fortunately don't effect us here in the US. Your body is hardwired to retain calories in the form of fat. It's been doing it for the first million years of human evolution. But today is different. The human condition is now faced with an over-abundant amount of calories. So what happens? The same thing. Calories are stored away as a defense mechanism against famine. Your physiology doesn't know it's 2016 and you can buy a hostess cherry pie for a $1. Your physiology is still functioning as if you were hunting and gathering your food. So it continues to store away calories in the form of fat.

This is why dieting is such and uphill battle. Not only are you struggling with your sweet tooth, but you're struggling with a million years of human evolution.

Get this... there are 9 calories in a gram of fat. There are only 4 calories in a gram of carbohydrates. So you can see how fat is packed full of energy. In only one pound of fat, there are 4077 calories. That means if you are 30 pounds overweight, you have 122, 310 calories stored away.

If your BMR is 1400 calories per day and you have 122k calories stored in fat, this means you can go 87 days without eating a carb and still have sufficient energy to keep the engine running. YOU DON'T NEED CARBS.

You don't have to eliminate them entirely, but don't make them the staple they've been in the past. Eat protein, eat healthy fats and eat phytonutrients (plant based food). Don't eat carbs. Break the carb habit.

On HCG 2.0 you want to keep your carbs below 30 grams per day. Ideally, these carbs should come from vegetables. Below is a list of veggies and their carbohydrate count. Again, it is not an approved food list, just a list to give you an idea of the carbohydrates contained in various veggies. The reason it's best to save your carbs for vegetables is because veggies are packed full of vitamins that enhance all of the chemical reactions within your body. They also protect you against the negative bi-products of oxygen consumption. I'm sure you've heard the word antioxident? This is why they're important.

What are net carbs - https://www.insideoutwellness.net/net-carbs-fiber-...

Keeping carbs under 30 grams per day - https://www.insideoutwellness.net/keeping-carbs-un...