Are you having trouble staying away from high carb foods? Here’s some low carb diet tips and tricks that should help keep you on track.
Belly bloating? Check. Itchy skin? Check. Sore and achy joints? Check. Brain fog? Check. Weight gain? Check mate.
Have carbs finally got the best of you? Are you thinking of going on a low carb diet? Here are some tips for a low carb lifestyle to keep you on track.
Many people experiment with low-carb diets. But relatively few are able to stick with one and end up giving back in to high-carb indulgences.
Want to eat low carb because you desperately want to lose weight? Or your blood-sugar levels are too high? Maybe you suffer from allergies? Whatever the reason, here’s some low carb diet tips and advice for staying with the program for years to come….
Think of the big picture
One of the biggest reasons people are not able to stick to a low-carb diet is this: you ever hear the expression “learn to walk before you run?” Think of this maxim often when you’re switching over to a low-carb diet.
Here’s a practical application: suppose you’re used to eating a huge bowl of pasta or rice with dinner. Some people are able to quit bad habits cold turkey. But for many people, the better approach is gradual.
Are you a carboholic at dinner? Are you used to eating 100 grams of carbs (approximately two servings of pasta) in one sitting? If so, the better approach may be to reduce your pasta to one serving in the beginning instead of cutting it out completely.
If you quit high-starch foods cold turkey, you might experience intense cravings for them later. Or, you might have a strong desire for sugary snacks.
Cutting carbs quickly can also cause you to experience what’s called “the low-carb flu.” The low carb flu is not a real illness. But you may feel like it is. That’s because your body is intensely craving sugar.
If you’re not feeding your body what it’s addicted to, you might feel sick. That’s one reason why this low-carb diet tip to think of the big picture and gradually ease into it is may be the right approach for some.
Visualize how you want to look and feel in one year from now. And in two years from now. Does it seem impossibly far-off?
Are you impatient to get weight loss results fast? Can you not wait to feel more energetic and other positive outcomes that are associated with safe low-carb diets?
If the above describes you, think about this: when your birthday approaches, doesn’t it seem like the past year has flown by?
Think of your health goals through with a similar view. One year is going to fly by. But, if you stick to a low carb diet with this tip to think of the big picture, you’re going to look and feel great in no time at all….
Don’t be afraid of fat!
Many people are fat-phobic when it comes to food. And some people who go low-carb end up eating high protein diets without eating enough dietary fat. Here’s the problem with this: out of the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein and fat), only fat does not cause a release of insulin from the pancreas.
Granted, protein sources release much less insulin than carbs. However, if your goal is getting leaner and managing blood sugar, you’ll want to eat plenty of natural fats such as avocado, walnuts, grass-fed butter, olive oil, coconut oil, flax seeds and chia seeds and other smart fats.
Fats give your belly the sense of fullness it needs. Eating enough fat will prevent you from binging after a meal. This is perhaps one of the most important low carb diet tips to remember.
You will feel full for several hours if you get eat enough fat at every meal. You’ll be able to go 5-6 hours in between meals, which will help reset your metabolism. You won’t even think about food if you eat enough dietary fat.
The best way to make sure you start your day with healthy fats is to eat 1 or 2 whole eggs for breakfast. If you don’t have time to make eggs, make yourself a green drink in a blender.
A green drink takes just a minute or two to prepare. Grab a handful of spinach, pour in some low carb almond or coconut milk. Add a handful of berries for the antioxidants. And pour in some flax oil for your healthy fats.
Eat lots of monounsaturated fat sources such as olive oil, as well as healthy saturated fatty sources such as coconut oil. If you eat fish, salmon is a source of a healthy polyunsaturated fatty Omega-3 acid.
Don’t worry about cholesterol (and saturated fat)
If you’re wondering about the above low carb diet tips and how healthy they are, don’t worry. Especially do not worry about dietary cholesterol and saturated fat.
No matter how many times you hear in the mainstream media’s gospel about the importance of eating a diet low in cholesterol and saturated fat, ignore it. The federal government even now says cholesterol is no longer a nutrient of concern. Researchers also have disproven the long-believed link between saturated fat intake and heart disease.
If you want to avoid heart disease, America’s #1 killer, don’t eat starchy carbs (also manage your stress and don’t smoke). Instead, stick to a low-starch, high-fat diet. Despite the federal government’s top nutrition experts reversing their concern about cholesterol, there’s still a lot of people out there who believe the anti-cholesterol and anti-saturated fat propaganda.
Cholesterol and saturated fat found in natural foods are in fact very important for your health. Cholesterol gives structure to your cells and nerve fibers. It produces sex hormones and plays other vital roles in the body. Many mainstream medical institutions recommend limiting your saturated fat intake to less than 10% of total calories and instead replacing those calories with vegetable oils.
Don’t replace carbs with vegetable oils
Here’s the problem with vegetable oils: they spoil. Very easily. Most vegetable oils have low smoke points, meaning, they oxidize and turn carcinogenic at lower temperatures than saturated fats like butter and lard. And, vegetable oils are pro-inflammatory.
Don’t cook with vegetable oils, ever! Even if the advice to ditch saturated fat and replace it with lots of vegetable oils comes from prestigious learning institutions or celebrity nutritionists, ignore the advice!
Cooking with saturated fat is, on the contrary, good for you. Saturated fats will help you feel full longer and are more chemically stable when exposed to heat.
Eat the most nutrient-dense carbs
Remember: low-carb does not mean no carb! At every meal, do try and eat some carbs, especially those sources that contain the most nutrients in the fewest amount of calories and starches. This would include any cruciferous veggie or leafy green veggie. There’s tons of low carb vegetables.
If you love fruit, you don’t have to give it up completely. Just don’t go overboard and order a fruit bowl for dessert. Stick with a quarter cup of berries, such as strawberries. And, stay away from high starch fruits like bananas.
If you do need to snack, eat some nuts and seeds with your serving of fruit. The fat and protein from the nuts and seeds helps to prevent cravings later on. In general, your best carb friends are veggies that grow above ground (no tubers, especially not ordinary baked potatoes; half a sweet potato is ok from time to time, especially on cold, winter nights.)
Bone broth
If you can’t stomach eating meat, even if it’s from non-toxic sourced meat (i.e. grass-fed, pasture-raised, non-factory farmed) try incorporating bone broth into your low carb lifestyle. Bone broth is rich in protein and vitamins and minerals.
Incorporating healthy broth is one of the easiest low carb diet tips to follow. You don’t even need to make your own bone broth if you don’t have the time. Health food stores carry it and many farmer’s markets will have a vendor who sells it.
Low Carb Diet Tips: Conclusion
The human body was designed to use energy from our body’s fat storage. Rather than supply your body with more fat storage by eating starchy carbs, follow some of these tips above to start drawing on your fat storage reserves for energy.
Over time, if you follow these low carb diet tips, you’ll no longer crave starches. And, you’ll look and feel great in a relatively short amount of time.
