A Low Carb Diet Pyramid

If you decide to go on a low-carb diet, your food choices will greatly differ compared to the food pyramid following the "2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans." The current recommendations suggest that 45 percent to 65 percent of your calories come from carbohydrates, which represents 225 g to 325 g of carbohydrates a day. A typical low-carb diet should provide no more than 100 g a day and often below 50 g a day if you are seriously trying to lose weight. Your healthy low-carb diet plan can be healthy and safe if you follow the low-carb pyramid.

A Foundation of Nonstarchy Vegetables

To ensure that your low-carb diet provides you with enough fiber to prevent constipation as well as enough vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to promote optimal health and prevent diseases, the foundation of your low-carb pyramid should be non-starchy vegetables. These vegetables are low in carbs and the few carbohydrates they contain are principally dietary fiber. Include one to two cups at each of your meals, whether you choose onions, mushrooms, spinach, leafy greens, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, bell pepper or eggplant.

Protein

Protein should be the second most important food group in your low-carb pyramid and should be present at each meal. You can obtain good sources of protein from animal products such as fish, seafood, poultry, pork, beef, eggs and cheese. Low-carb vegetarian options such as tofu and soy-based meat imitations are also acceptable, but make sure that the carbohydrates are very low. A healthy low-carb meal plan could include eggs and cheese at breakfast, a chicken breast or a salmon fillet at lunch and pork chops or a steak at dinner.

Fat

Each of your low-carb meals should also provide you with a source of fat. If you are in the process of losing weight, keep your fat intake to the equivalent of no more than 1 to 2 tbsp., but this amount can be higher if you have reached your goal weight and continue eating low-carb. You can choose animal fats from bacon, butter, cream, mayo or lard, or opt for vegetable fats, such as olive oil, canola oil, coconut oil and coconut products, almonds, peanut butter and avocado. Although saturated fats used to be depicted as being artery-clogging, evidence from a rigorous meta-analysis published in the January 2010 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" indicates that saturated and animal fats do not pose problems for your heart health.

Berries, Plain Yogurt and Dark Chocolate

At the top of the low-carb pyramid, you will find carbohydrate-containing foods. Depending on your personal carbohydrate tolerance and goals, you may be able to include small amounts of carbohydrates from foods other than nonstarchy vegetables. Within fruits, berries are the ones with the lowest carbohydrate content per serving. Plain yogurt in limited quantities also makes a good low-carb choice, and dark chocolate is a perfect treat to satisfy your sweet tooth while sticking to your low-carb way of eating. Some low-carb dieters may also be able to introduce small amounts of starchy vegetables, grains or sugar, depending on your carbohydrate allowance. Whenever eating carbohydrate-containing foods, track their carbohydrate content to ensure you stay within your carbohydrate budget. If any of these foods stimulate carbohydrate cravings, it may be best to keep them out of your diet.