Low-carb foods provide an option for weight-loss diets and also for managing diabetes and hypoglycemia, provided that your doctor approves. According to the Mayo Clinic, a premise of low-carb diets is that reducing carbs causes the body to burn fat for energy. Milk, desserts, fruits, vegetables and starches contain carbohydrates. Whole foods such as nonstarchy vegetables, nuts, meats, eggs, fish, seafood and fats provide low-carb food options. Depending on the diet you're on, whole grains, beans, nuts, and moderate amounts of fruits and starchy vegetables provide variety. Low-carb products, often containing added fiber to reduce the carbohydrate count, offer a convenient way to create traditional meals on a low-carb diet.
Step 1
Choose a low-carb diet designed for weight loss. Alternatively, select a diet that incorporates energy dense foods--many of which are low in carbohydrates--such as the Mayo Clinic diet. This gives you a structure and guidelines for reducing carbohydrates to help you achieve your weight-loss goals.
Step 2
Make a shopping list of low-carb foods recommended by your doctor or diet plan. Choose a variety of foods within each category; proteins, vegetables, fats and optional low-carb products such as baking mix, snack bars and frozen treats. Select fruits with the lowest carb counts, if allowed on your diet or the phase of the diet you're in, such as blueberries and raspberries.
Step 3
Read labels and watch out for hidden carbohydrates. Many sauces include sugar; any product with breading has unnecessary carbs; most processed, packaged foods include various sugars and starches; items labeled "low-fat," and "diet" often have high-carb counts because of added sweeteners.
Step 4
Pay attention to portion sizes to keep an accurate carbohydrate count for your diet. For example, nuts make a convenient carry-along snack to satisfy hunger, but if you don't count or measure them, it's easy to overdo it. Measure food servings at the beginning of your diet and periodically thereafter to stay aware of portion sizes. The carbohydrate information on food packages may be for a much smaller serving than you're used to eating.
Step 5
Package some snack foods in individual servings to keep in your car or at work so that you're always prepared with a satisfying low-carb snack in situations where you might be tempted to eat something that doesn't fit your diet.
Step 6
Track your carb counts throughout the day to stay aware of how you're doing with your low-carb food program. To achieve weight-loss on a low-carb diet, it's important to choose low-carb foods and stay within the daily carbohydrate limit.
Step 7
Get back on track right away if you give in to a high-carb temptation. One slip-up doesn't have to blow your whole diet.
Step 8
Add healthy carbs such as whole grains and fruits back into your diet as soon as the low-carb program allows. For example, Atkins and South Beach diets allow grains and fruit after the first two weeks. According to the Harvard University School of Public Health, fiber helps control hunger and blood sugar and whole grains help prevent Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other diseases.
Step 9
Experiment with low-carb recipes. The ones offered in low-carb diet books and low-carb cookbooks take all the guesswork out of counting carbs by providing the carb count per serving. Create low-carb versions of your favorite meals so you won't feel deprived.
Tips and Warnings
- Select a diet with a variety of healthy food choices for optimum nutrition. Overly restrictive diets are difficult to stick to and may result in nutritional imbalances. Keep plenty of low-carb food choices on hand so that you have a variety of foods you like available. Buy a few shortcut foods for easy meal preparation, such as prewashed salad greens and spinach, precut broccoli and cauliflower, and frozen precooked shrimp. Experiment with low-carb pasta, tortillas and baking mixes. Support your weight loss with regular exercise, with your doctor's approval.
- Discuss health concerns and diet options with your doctor. Don't extend the most restrictive phase of a low-carb diet beyond two weeks without consulting a doctor. Carbohydrate sources such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables provide key nutrients for a healthy diet.
References
- The Mayo Clinic: Low-Carb Diets
- The Mayo Clinic: Weight Loss
- Harvard University School of Public Health: Carbohydrates--The Full Story
- "The Everything Low-Carb Cookbook"; Patricia M. Butkus; 2003
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