Diet: Is Low-Carb Weight Loss Really Just Water Loss?

Any weight loss or diet plan, including low-carb plans like the
induction phase of the Atkins Diet will result in water loss during
the first week or two. However, one of the real beauties of
following a low carbohydrate eating plan is that most of the weight
loss than extends beyond the initial induction phase of the diet is
really from a drop in fat pounds.

How can this be? Well, when you follow a controlled carbohydrate
eating plan like Atkins or the South Beach Diet, your body soon
switches from burning carbohydrates (which the diet deprives the
body of) to burning fat for energy. In other words, the majority of
the weight loss that occurs beyond the initial induction phase is
really loss of fat that has been stored in your body.