Low-Carb Diet For Dummies Cheat Sheet (2024)

Eating the low-carb way means building your diet around lean proteins along with vegetables and fruits prepared fairly simply. If you were a meat-and-potatoes eater, focus on the meat more than the carb-heavy potatoes. The tips in the following list offer advice on what foods to choose:

• Build your meals around fruits, vegetables, and lean protein food sources.

• Choose whole grains or legumes for your daily carb choices. Minimize your intake of processed foods.

• Choose very low-fat milk and dairy foods.

• Choose monounsaturated rather than saturated fats.

• Eat three or four meals per day. Never starve yourself and never skip meals. If you eat between meals, eat healthy foods that are also filling, such as apples or oranges.

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• Do not eat a full meal right before bedtime. A bedtime snack such as nonfat yogurt or cottage cheese and fruit is okay.

• Drink plenty of water — eight glasses a day

• Exercise moderately 30 to 60 minutes at least five times a week.

• Practice the 90-percent/10-percent rule: Follow this plan 90 percent of the time, and treat yourself to a favorite food 10 percent of the time.

Sticking with your low-carb diet is much easier if you set yourself up for success and prepare yourself and your kitchen for a low-carb lifestyle. The tips in the following list can help you realize your goals:

• Set your kitchen up for success. Always have low-carb-friendly foods on hand ready to eat. Remove as many irresistible temptations as possible.

• Avoid excessive hunger. Eat before you’re starving. When you’re ravenous, it’s tougher to make a healthy choice.

• Prepare snacks in grab-and-go sizes. Make prepackaged snacks from cut-up veggies and whole wheat crackers in resealable plastic bags. Fresh fruit is already prepackaged for your convenience so carry some wherever you go.

• Eat a variety of foods. Make sure you eat a variety of foods for better nutrition.

• Find activities and exercises that you enjoy. If you find something you really enjoy, you’re more apt to do it every day. If you’re social, find friends to walk with. If you look forward to exercise as your “alone time,” plan times when you can work out alone. Make your workout personal.

• Forgive yourself when you fail. Everyone experiences a setback from time to time. Don’t use it as an excuse to give up completely. Figure out where you went wrong and get going again!

A low-carb diet relies on knowing portion sizes to help you eat the proper quantities of the proper foods. To determine the number of low-carb servings you’re eating, you need to estimate portion sizes. You may be surprised to see that normal portion sizes are a lot smaller than you think, as the comparisons in the following table show:

Low-carb snacks are a good choice no matter which diet you’re following because they’re mostly fruits and vegetables. When choosing a low-carb snack, consider the ones in the following list first:

If you’re dieting the low-carb way, stock up on low-carb essentials so that when you have a need to eat, you can find healthy, low-carb ingredients. The following list contains recommended items to keep on hand: