Whether you are following a low-carb diet to drop weight, better manage your blood sugar levels or improve your blood cholesterol profile, making low-carb eating a part of your lifestyle is the best way to ensure long-term adherence and success.
Low-Carb Diets
A low-carb diet can be defined as a diet that is slightly higher in protein and higher in fat compared to a standard American diet. Carbohydrates can be limited to anywhere between less than 20 g to up to 150 g of carbohydrates a day. Because carbohydrates are mainly provided by grains, starchy vegetables, sugar, fruits and some dairy products, these foods need to either be avoided or consumed in limited quantities. A healthy low-carb meal is generally based on non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, mushrooms or onions, protein from chicken, fish or meat, and fats from olive oil, avocado or nuts.
Grocery Shopping
If you decide to adopt a low-carb lifestyle, you may need to change your grocery shopping habits. Many sections of your grocery store contain high-carb foods that you should skip, so you can stick to the low-carb foods that will help you achieve your weight loss and health goals. For example, most of the central aisles, with the breakfast cereals, cookies, granola bars, as well as the bakery section are not recommended places to browse if you want to stick to your new way of eating. Stay at the perimeter of the grocery store, where you can find fresh non-starchy vegetables, as well as fresh meat, poultry, fish, seafood, and eggs. You can venture in some of the other aisles only to get your vegetable oils, seasonings and low-carb salad dressings and sauces.
Eating Out
Eating out can be a little more complicated when adopting a low-carb lifestyle. Most options on restaurant menus include bread, rice, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, french fries, pasta or other carbohydrate-rich foods. To solve this problem, ask for substitutions. Although you may be charged extra, you can usually get more non-starchy vegetables or a larger serving of protein to replace the carb-rich option. If it is not possible to make such request, remove any foods that are not appropriate for your lifestyle from your plate and concentrate on low-carb foods, such as non-starchy vegetables, protein and fat.
Explaining Your Lifestyle
Eating a bunless burger, skipping dessert or asking for your stir-fry to be served without rice can make your colleagues, friends and family ask you questions about the way you eat. Because high-carb foods are common staple foods, a low-carb diet can seem odd. If asked, simply reply that you are following a low-carb diet, which you think is in your best interest. When your weight loss and improved health become noticeable, they will probably want to know more about your new lifestyle and may even be willing to give it a try.
References
- "Annals of Internal Medicine"; A Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet versus a Low-Fat Diet To Treat Obesity and Hyperlipidemia; William S. Yancy Jr., et al.; May 2004
- "Nutrition & Metabolism"; The Case for Low Carbohydrate Diets in Diabetes Management; Surender K. Arora et al; July 2005
- "Journal of the American Medical Association"; Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction; Michael L. Dansinger, et al; January 2005
- "The New Atkins for a New You"; Eric C. Westman, et al.; 2010
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