Foods rich in protein are often associated with weight loss and dieting and is an essential part of any healthy diet regardless if you want to lose weight or not. A common misconception is that following a low carb diet means you should lower your actual intake of carbohydrates to the absolute minimum. Low carb is a relative value. The fact that a diet is rich in protein does not necessarily mean you have to cut back significantly on carbohydrates. The typical western diet consist of to much fast carbohydrates with a high GI, largely a result of over-processed foods, this simply means we have to change the source of carbohydrates in our diets and not necessarily reduce the total amount. Of equal importance is the percentage ratio between fat protein and carbohydrates, this ratio can be adjusted by increasing protein intake without lowering actual amounts of carbohydrates. Only the percentage is lowered and it is this ratio that are significant. Balance is the keyword here. Of course the actual amounts of nutrients are important too, but I've observed that people tend to focus too much on cutting down the carbs to the point where its not at all healthy. Low carb does'nt mean no carb, the actual amount may in some cases even stay the same but the percentage compared to protein is lower cause these other variables are adjusted. And remember that low carb only means "low" in relation to an intake that is already way too high. However, different people responds differently to different diets, and people has different needs and metabolic rates so any "one size fits all" diet is hard if not impossible to come by. A good diet always needs to be adjusted to each individual and the specific needs and lifestyle of that individual. A lot of people don't realize this fact and goes to extremes when starting a high protein/low carb diet. Extremes are never good for your body, the body thrives best in a steady state where all its needs are fulfilled on a regular basis, including the need for high quality carbohydrates with a low to medium GI. Understand that these "needs" change according to levels of activity among other things. In order to follow a increased level of activity we also need to increase the carbohydrate intake in order to maintain the steady state and fulfill the needs of the body. This is also true from a weight loss perspective as these are factors that applies only to permanent lifestyle and diet changes that will eventually leads to weight loss, as opposed to the fad diets that takes the body in and out of its steady state each time its applied. The crucial factor for maintaining a healthy weight lies in a long term balance between diet and activity level.

As general guidelines adults should get 45 percent to 65 percent of total calories from carbohydrates, 20 percent to 35 percent from fat, and 10 to 35 percent from protein. Acceptable ranges for children are similar to those for adults, except that infants and younger children need a slightly higher proportion of fat (25 %-40%). These are just guidelines and some people need more or less of different nutrients depending on their metabolic rate and body composition among other things.

High protein/low carb diets may be good for some people but consider what the relative terms "high" and "low" actually means in this respect.