Carb Commando - Low In Carbs

Low In Carbs

If you're just starting out on a low carb diet, or if you're in the research stage, you might not be sure which foods are low in carbs. We're going straight down to the basics for you here.

Foods that are Low in Carbs

You might have heard of people losing weight on an amazing diet where people get to have bacon, eggs and sausage for breakfast, chicken for lunch and steak for supper. How can this be? These foods are all high in protein, which is the staple of most diets that are low in carbs. After hearing that high-fat diets were the wrong way to go for so many years, it's hard to believe that bacon, sausage and steak can help you lose weight. But a diet low in carbs is based on the fact that a diet low in carbs reduces your body's insulin production. Instead, your body uses fat and protein for energy, putting you in a state of ketosis (which is, essentially, fat burning mode). Side effects include tiredness, grumpiness, smelly breath and in rare cases, nausea.

Foods that are low in carbs include most meats, cheese, eggs, most green vegetables and other vegetables like celery or cauliflower. This is great news to those who can live without desserts, potatoes, bread, pasta and rice. But what about the people who have been brought up with those staples in their diet and love them? For those people, low carbs might be better than no carbs. Most low carb diets only allow you 20 grams of carbs in the first couple of weeks to send your body into ketosis. Since most of us need approximately 220-250 grams of carbs a day, that's quite a dramatic cut. And one of the reasons there's so much obesity in this country is because most of us take in well over what we need. So imagine that your daily carb intake is 300-400 grams of carbs, then suddenly, you cut yourself down to only 20. You will definitely be grumpy! (This is the voice of experience talking.) However, if you simply switch to food low in carbs and stay within the range of what you need, you can still lose weight without deprivation. Start by cutting down on your potato intake. Replace mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower. Switch to whole wheat pasta instead of white, whole wheat bread instead of white and brown rice instead of white. Use whole wheat flour instead of white flour too. The difference in flavor is minimal. In fact, you'll be opening your palate up to new flavors. Another helpful thing to do is to acquire a taste for fresh fruits and vegetables. They make great snacks, and they're good carbs--that is, the kind that take longer to digest, making you feel full longer.

If a no carb diet isn't right for you, try a lower carb diet. Your body will thank you.

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