Low Carb Diet for Beginners
There has been a lot of discussions lately about cutting back or completely cutting out carbohydrates from our diets. And not just recently, the discussion has been floating around as long as the Atkins Diet. So I wanted to give you an overview of what this keto diet is, the benefits of eating low carb, the foods that you should be eating when you’re on ketogenic diets, and those that you should be avoiding to be successful on a low carb diet, so you can make good food choices.
So what is a low carb diet? Well, we broadly take in three main types of fuel: carbohydrates or carbs, protein and fat. Most foods are made up of a combination of these three macronutrients in varying quantities. So when I say low carb diet, I’m generally referring to removing or restricting those foods that are primarily carb-based. Basically eating less (or no) carbs per day. Think pasta, breads, rice, potatoes and sweets.
Some low-carb diets are more moderate (with moderate protein and fat intake and less than 50 grams of carbs per day), whereas some limit your carb intake to even less than 20 grams of carbs per day.
Studies have shown that a low carbohydrate diet can help people lose weight and also keep it off. Reducing carb intake reduces the amount of insulin circulating in the body and this works to reduce insulin resistance, and also helps prevent and manage type 2 diabetes. However, you do need to think about the bigger picture than just macronutrients and to make sure you’re getting all your vitamins and minerals through a range of healthy fruits and vegetables.
If you’re looking to lose weight you probably want to look at the total carbs you’re eating, so let’s look at how to adopt a low carb diet for beginners.
Low Carb Diet for Beginners
Before you start any drastic change to your diet, you should always get medical advice to ensure the diet is right for you. I am not a medical doctor and cannot give you advice for your specific situation. This is especially true for those people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, are unable to metabolize fatty acids, have pancreatitis or have impared liver function. This list is not exhaustive, so please do check if this diet is right for you with a medical professional.
So what is going on in your body on a low carb diet? Studies show that if you restrict the carbohydrates in your diet, your body will switch from using glucose as its energy source to burn fat more efficiently. That’s right, you’ll start burning your body fat. You need to ensure you’re consuming high-quality fat to help you feel full for longer but full fat options aren’t all bad. Fat was put on the bad food lists a while ago and people switched to “low fat” options. But these often contain a lot of sugar to make sure they still taste delicious.
What will it feel like to cut all those carbs out of your diet? For some people at the start, you can feel hunger or exhaustion. This is your body adjusting to the switching of fuels. Your body has been used to running off carbohydrates for a long time most likely. So switching this up will take some time to get used to. If you find the symptoms pronounced, you might want to think about slowly reducing carbs rather than cutting them completely. And make sure you’re still consuming enough calories overall.
Low Carb Diet Benefits
Before you start any drastic change to your diet, you should always get medical advice to ensure the diet is right for you. I am not a medical doctor and cannot give you advice for your specific situation. This is especially true for those people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, are unable to metabolize fatty acids, have pancreatitis or have impared liver function. This list is not exhaustive, so please do check if this diet is right for you with a medical professional.
So what is going on in your body on a low carb diet? Studies show that if you restrict the carbohydrates in your diet, your body will switch from using glucose as its energy source to burn fat more efficiently. That’s right, you’ll start burning your body fat. You need to ensure you’re consuming high-quality fat to help you feel full for longer but full fat options aren’t all bad. Fat was put on the bad food lists a while ago and people switched to “low fat” options. But these often contain a lot of sugar to make sure they still taste delicious.
What will it feel like to cut all those carbs out of your diet? For some people at the start, you can feel hunger or exhaustion. This is your body adjusting to the switching of fuels. Your body has been used to running off carbohydrates for a long time most likely. So switching this up will take some time to get used to. If you find the symptoms pronounced, you might want to think about slowly reducing carbs rather than cutting them completely. And make sure you’re still consuming enough calories overall.
Low Carb Diet Benefits
Weight Loss
When you start a low carb diet and begin removing foods that are higher in carbs, you will often see a reduction in your weight. For a start, this is often water weight. But after this, you will often see your overall body fat drop. As you switch from foods that are low in overall nutrients like bread, pasta and potatoes to foods that are full of healthy fats, you will reduce your overall caloric intake.
Just keep in mind you need to make good food choices always, switching to a low-carb diet isn’t enough. You can’t eat processed foods all the time and expect great results. You need to do your best to eat healthy, make good food choices by eating healthy and nutritious foods, and take care of your body and health.
Increase in Energy
High-carbohydrate foods like pasta can leave you feeling sluggish as your body processes them. Ever heard of a “carb-coma”? While not you might not experience this every time you eat carbohydrates, there may be a small dip in your energy levels if you’re always carb eating at every meal.
Reduction in Appetite
Although carbs might fill you up, they often don’t leave you feeling full for long periods of time. That’s where protein and fat can help you avoid those snack cravings in between meals. You want to eat enough good fat and protein that most of the time you can go from one meal to the next without snacking.
Blood sugar management
Following a keto diet has been shown to help control your blood sugar levels, which is great for preventing heart diseases. As managing the carb intake level is recommended for those with diabetes, the keto diet can actually be beneficial to those with type-2 diabetes (but of course, consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet yourself, especially if you have diabetes).
Low Carb Diet Foods
Lean Meats
If you choose to eat meat, this is a great high protein food source and will definitely be a staple in your meal plans. Mix it up and have different kinds of meat (chicken, lamb or beef) to get variety rather than just sticking to one all the time. Below is a great turkey recipe to try for a healthy low carb meal.
Lettuce Wrapped Ground Turkey Tacos
315 calories
Ingredients:
3 Lettuce leaves for lettuce wraps - 6 calories
4 oz Ground turkey, 93% lean, raw - 172 calories
⅓ cup Cheese, shredded, mozzarella - 112 calories
1 Carrots, whole, medium - 25 calories
1 Cumin, dash - 0 calories
1 Garlic salt, dash - 0 calories
Instructions:
Dice carrots.
Spray a pan with an oil spray. Stir fry turkey and carrots for ~10 minutes on low heat, until turkey is no longer pink.
Add in seasonings.
Add to lettuce leaves.
Top with cheese.
No ground turkey? Use ground beef, tuna, beans or tofu. No lettuce leaves for lettuce wraps? Have taco insides on a bed of lettuce as a “taco salad”.
Green Vegetables
These are going to be your new best friends. Try some that are new to you, like Chinese cabbage, bok choy or rainbow chard. Full of the health benefits of vitamins and minerals but low in carbohydrates, you want to fill your plate up with these low carb vegetables to help you feel full for longer. Making good food choices definitely means eating your greens. Another healthy and nutririous low carb meal is below.
Fall Veggie Plate
401 calories
Ingredients:
½ Carrots, whole, medium - 12.5 calories
½ cup Green beans - 19.5 calories
½ cup Asparagus spears - 13.5 calories
½ cup Brussels sprouts - 28 calories
5 oz Chicken breast, boneless, skinless, raw - 190 calories
1 Tbsp Olive oil - 119 calories
3 tsp Sesame seeds - 18 calories
Instructions:
Slice chicken into strips. Cut off hard ends of Brussels, then slice in halves. Cut carrots into strips.
Add oil to pan. Cook chicken and veggies ~15 minutes on lowest heat, until chicken and Brussels have cooked through.
Top with sesame seeds.
No chicken? Use beans, tofu, or fish.
Eggs
High protein, low carb pockets of energy. I love having hard boiled eggs in my fridge to use as snacks during the week, and I include them in my personal meal plans always. Putting a little effort into meal prepping helps me avoid snacking on things that don’t it in with my diet.
Breakfast Scramble with 2 Eggs
310 calories
Ingredients:
2 cups Leafy greens, spinach, raw - 14 calories
½ Onion, yellow - 27.5 calories
½ Bell pepper, orange - 12 calories
⅓ cup Cheese, shredded, mozzarella - 112 calories
2 Egg, large - 144 calories
1 Salt, dash - 0 calories
1 Pepper, dash - 0 calories
Instructions:
Chop onion & bell pepper.
Spray a pan with an oil spray.
Stir fry onion and bell pepper ~5 minutes on medium heat.
Crack in eggs for ~2 minutes, until egg has mostly cooked through.
Add spinach and cheese ~1 minute, or until spinach has wilted.
Top with seasonings.
No dairy? Use a dairy-free cheese, avocado, or oil.
Salmon
Salmon is such a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. These “good” fats are good for your heart. Also, the fish is packed full of B12, iodine and D3. Make sure you have some delicious salmon dishes in rotation in your kitchen.
Breakfast Salmon Salad
414 calories
Ingredients:
2 oz Salmon filet - 100 calories
3 Uncured bacon, slice - 132 calories
½ Avocado, small - 116.5 calories
2 cups Leafy greens, raw - 30 calories
2 Tbsp Vinaigrette, light (less than 50 calories per 2 Tbsp) - 35 calories
1 Salt, dash - 0 calories
1 Pepper, dash - 0 calories
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil & spray it with an oil spray.
Bake bacon for 15 minutes.
Add in salmon, bake for another 15 minutes, or until flakes easily, and bacon has cooked through.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
No bacon? Use turkey or soy bacon.
Note: I like Trader Joe’s fat free vinaigrette – but Paul Newman, Whole Foods, etc. all have good light dressings
Sardines
Many people choose to eat big fish — tuna or salmon. But these guys a great, cheaper, source of all the nutrients you’d get from those. Also, heavy metals like mercury accumulate through the food chain, so eating further down (i.e. smaller fish) is a great way to avoid consuming too much mercury.
Chicken
One of the most popular meats in the world, chicken is usually cheap and easy to get. It’s high in protein and can be turned into a variety of delicious dishes.
BBQ Chicken “Burrito Bowl”
408 calories
Ingredients:
½ Avocado, small - 116.5 calories
2 cups Leafy greens, lettuce, raw - 10 calories
5 oz Chicken breast, boneless, skinless, raw - 190 calories
1 Tbsp Barbeque sauce - 15 calories
2 cups Veggie noodles/rice, cauliflower “rice”, raw - 76 calories
1 Salt, dash - 0 calories
1 Pepper, dash - 0 calories
1 Tbsp Cilantro - 0 calories
Instructions:
To make shredded chicken: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken in a small baking dish and cover with 1/2 inch of water; cover the dish with tin foil. Bake for 25 minutes. When done, shred with forks! Because this process can be a bit cumbersome, buying pre-shredded chicken, OR just chopping up a cooked chicken breast, is a-ok.
Mix chicken with BBQ sauce.
Spray a pan with an oil spray, add in cauliflower rice.
Stir fry for ~7 minutes or until you see a little browning.
Slice avocado.
Assemble bowl.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is a powerful vegetable to include in your diet because of its versatility. Especially when it comes to replacing carbohydrates. You can use a food processor to create “rice”, combine with mozzarella to make pizza bases or simply serve roasted. There are so many delicious ways to add this healthy vegetable into your routine. Below is one of my favorite low carb meal recipes.
“Dirty” Cauli Rice
407 calories
Ingredients:
2 cups Veggie noodles/rice, cauliflower “rice”, raw - 76 calories
¼ cup Celery stalks, chopped in half - 4 calories
¼ Bell pepper, red - 9.25 calories
¼ Onion, yellow - 13.75 calories
4 oz Ground beef, 90% lean, raw - 185 calories
1 Tbsp Olive oil - 119 calories
1 Garlic salt, dash - 0 calories
1 tsp Paprika, dash - 0 calories
1 Cumin, dash - 0 calories
1 Pepper, dash - 0 calories
Instructions:
Dice celery, peppers, and onion.
Add oil to pan.
Stir fry veggies on medium heat, ~4 minutes.
Add in beef for another 4-5 minutes, stirring until no longer pink.
Add cauli rice for another 5 minutes, stirring, until you see some browning.
Top with seasonings.
No beef? Use ground turkey, tofu, or beans.
Olive Oil
This Mediterranean staple is loaded with powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. Keep this on hand for a simple salad dressing or for frying your fish.
Nuts and seeds
Nuts and seeds are full of healthy fats, and they’re low on carbs, which makes them a great addition to any ketogenic diet. When you’re on a keto diet, you want to up your protein and fat intake, which is why adding nuts and seeds to a salad, for example, which has chicken or eggs in it, is a great idea.
Foods To Avoid on a Low Carb Diet
Sugar Sweetened Drinks
We’re not just talking about low-carb food, we also need to look at what we’re drinking. Consuming sugars in drink form is just not worth it if you’re trying to lose weight. Stick to water, tea (not the iced version with added sugar) and coffee (again, keep it simple without all the trimmings).
Cereal or Granola
You have been told that this is a healthy way to start your day. But most breakfast cereal these days are highly processed, packed with sugar and aren’t giving you any nutritional benefit. You want to be eating high quality fats and protein to kick-start your day. Eggs, haloumi, bacon and leafy greens are the perfect way to start your day. If you want something a little more filling, add a small portion of sweet potatoes. Eating these early in the day will give you plenty of time to burn them off.
Flour
This can be a hard one to give up as it’s in everything these days. But most of the products that are flour-based are highly processed and they are not aiding your long-term weight loss. This means you should think about muffins, cakes, bread, pancakes, waffles, and pastries. All these foods are okay in moderation, just as any carb even when you’re following the keto diet, but to see a dramatic difference in weight, a low-carb diet recommends cutting them out completely. If your diet is filled with these, take it step by step to remove them rather than overwhelming yourself. Slowly reducing your carb intake will likely be easier than completely cutting out all carbs from your diet.
