According to an AC Nielsen poll conducted in 2004, one in six households includes a low carbohydrate dieter. Counting carbohydrates is an easy way to limit intake and is commonly used for diabetes and weight loss. If you have realistic carbohydrate limits and make wise food choices, you will meet your blood sugar or weight loss goals. Consider the following guidelines to get the most impact out of your low carbohydrate diet.
Step 1
Calculate your caloric intake so you can determine your daily carbohydrate needs. To do this, you need to know your daily caloric needs. Refer to http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/calculators/calories-required/ to determine caloric needs. Multiply caloric needs by 0.45 to determine total carbohydrate calories. Next, divide by 4 to get total carbohydrate needs for the day. For women, this generally translates to a 135 to 170 gm limit and for men a 200 to 250 gm limit.
Step 2
Know the carbohydrate content of foods. The American Diabetes Association Exchange List for Meal Planning is a helpful resource. The foods that contribute the majority of carbohydrates to the diet include: starches and starchy vegetables (15 gm carbohydrate per serving); fruit (15 gm carbohydrate per serving); milk (12 g carbohydrate per serving); and sugar containing foods.
Step 3
Understand how to read food labels. Do not worry about the sugar content on the food label. Instead, focus on the total carbohydrate content. Be careful to check the serving size of the product to ensure you are eating the appropriate amount.
Step 4
Measure commonly consumed foods using measuring cups. Visually note how full your cup or bowl is with the allocated serving. After that, you can "eyeball" serving sizes, making it less time consuming to prepare meals.
Step 5
Choose whole grain starches rather than refined starches such as white bread. The fiber will cause a greater feeling of fullness to help curb your appetite. Since fiber rich sources of carbohydrate are digested differently, if a serving of food contains more than or equal to 5 grams of dietary fiber, you can subtract half the grams of dietary fiber from the total carbohydrate serving of that food.
Step 6
Don't waste a lot of carbohydrates on beverages. Drinks such as soda, juices and beer are high in sugar. Consumption of these beverages will limit the amount of healthy carbohydrate foods you can consume, thereby compromising the nutritional quality of your diet.
Step 7
Keep a food journal. Document foods, portion sizes and carbohydrate content of foods consumed each day. Note your carbohydrate limit at the top of the page at the beginning of the day. Subtract from that total each time a carbohydrate is consumed so you know what you have left by the end of the day.
Tips and Warnings
- Consider scheduling a visit with a Registered Dietitian for a customized evaluation and follow up support. Weigh yourself at the same time, same day, wearing the same clothes---document the result on your food journal. If you are diabetic, include blood sugar levels in your food journal. Include exercise to optimize weight loss and/or blood sugar improvement.
- If you have medical problems, discuss your diet with your physician.
Things You'll Need
- Calculator
- List of carbohydrate content of common foods
- Measuring cups
- Notebook
References
- Science News; Counting Carbs; Janet Raloff; July 2004.
- Adjusting carbohydrate count for high fiber, American Diabetes Association
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