There is a lot of scientific evidence that this type of diet is the best option for people who want to lose weight, optimize health and lower the risk of disease.
A Low Carb Diet Meal Plan
What foods you should eat depends on a few things, including how healthy you are, how much you exercise and how much weight you have to lose.
Consider all of this as a general guideline, not something written in stone.
The Basics
Sugar, HFCS, wheat, seed oils, trans fats, artificial sweeteners, “diet” and low-fat products and highly processed foods.
Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, high-fat dairy, fats, healthy oils and maybe even some tubers and non-gluten grains.
Foods to Avoid
You should avoid these foods, in order of importance:
- Artificial Sweeteners: Aspartame, Saccharin, Sucralose, Cyclamates and Acesulfame Potassium. Use Stevia instead.
- “Diet” and “Low-Fat” Products: Many dairy products, cereals, crackers, etc.
- Gluten Grains: Wheat, spelt, barley and rye. Includes breads and pastas.
- High Omega-6 Seed- and Vegetable Oils: Cottonseed-, soybean-, sunflower-, grapeseed-, corn-, safflower and canola oils.
- Highly Processed Foods: If it looks like it was made in a factory, don’t eat it.
- Sugar: Soft drinks, fruit juices, agave, candy, ice cream and many others.
- Trans Fats: “Hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils.
Low Carb Food List – Foods to Eat
You should base your diet on these real, unprocessed, low-carb foods. Health Tips for Today - Low Carb Diet Meal Plan.
If you need to lose weight, be careful with the cheese and nuts because they’re easy to overeat on. Don’t eat more than one piece of fruit per day.
Maybe Eat
If you’re healthy, active and don’t need to lose weight then you can afford to eat a bit more carbs.
- Legumes: Lentils, black beans, pinto beans, etc. (If you can tolerate them).
- Non-gluten grains: Rice, oats, quinoa and many others.
- Tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes and some others.
- Dark Chocolate: Choose organic brands with 70% cocoa or higher.
- Wine: Choose dry wines with no added sugar or carbs.
Dark chocolate is high in antioxidants and may provide health benefits if you eat it in moderation. However, be aware that both dark chocolate and alcohol will hinder your progress if you eat/drink too much.
Drink
- Carbonated soda without artificial sweeteners.
- Coffee
- Tea
- Water
This is a sample menu for one week on a low carb diet plan. Health Tips for Today - Low Carb Diet Meal Plan
It provides less than 50 grams of total carbs per day, but as I mentioned above if you are healthy and active you can go beyond that.
Monday
Breakfast: Bacon and eggs.
Lunch: Smoothie with coconut milk, a bit of heavy cream, chocolate-flavoured protein powder and berries.
Dinner: Meatballs with vegetables.
Breakfast: Eggs and vegetables, fried in butter or coconut oil.
Lunch: Grass-fed yogurt with blueberries and a handful of almonds.
Dinner: Grilled chicken wings with some raw spinach on the side.
Breakfast: Omelet with various vegetables, fried in butter or coconut oil.
Lunch: Leftover burgers and veggies from the night before.
Dinner: Cheeseburger (no bun), served with vegetables and salsa sauce.
Breakfast: Bacon and Eggs.
Lunch: Shrimp salad with some olive oil.
Dinner: Salmon with butter and vegetables.
Breakfast: Omelet with various veggies.
Lunch: Smoothie with coconut milk, berries, almonds and protein powder.
Dinner: Grilled chicken with vegetables.
Breakfast: Bacon and Eggs.
Lunch: Chicken salad with some olive oil.
Dinner: Steak and veggies.
Breakfast: Omelet with various vegetables, fried in butter or coconut oil.
Lunch: Grass-fed yogurt with berries, coconut flakes and a handful of walnuts.
Dinner: Pork chops with vegetables.
Again, if you’re healthy, lean and active, you can add some tubers like potatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as some healthier grains like rice and oats. Health Tips for Today - Low Carb Diet Meal Plan.
Some Healthy, Low-Carb Snacks
There is no health reason to eat more than 3 meals per day, but if you get hungry between meals then here are some healthy, easy to prepare low-carb snacks that can fill you up:
- A Handful of Nuts
- A Hard-Boiled Egg or Two
- A Piece of Fruit
- Baby Carrots
- Full-fat Yogurt
- Leftovers From The Night Before
- Some Cheese and Meat
Eating at Restaurants
At most restaurants, it is fairly easy to make your meals LCRF-friendly.
- Order a meat- or fish-based main dish.
- Ask them to fry your food in real butter.
- Get extra vegetables instead of bread, potatoes or rice.
A Simple Low-Carb Shopping List
A good rule is to shop at the perimeter of the store, where the whole foods are likelier to be found.
Organic and grass-fed foods are best, but only if you can easily afford them. Even if you don’t buy organic, your diet will still be a thousand times better than the standard western diet. Health Tips for Today - Low Carb Diet Meal Plan
Try to choose the least processed option that still fits into your price range.
- Blueberries (can be bought frozen)
- Butter
- Cheese
- Coconut Oil (Choose Extra Virgin)
- Condiments: sea salt, pepper, garlic, mustard, etc.
- Eggs (Choose Omega-3 enriched or pastured eggs if you can)
- Fresh vegetables: greens, peppers, onions, etc.
- Frozen vegetables: broccoli, carrots, various mixes.
- Fish (Fatty fish like salmon is best)
- Heavy Cream
- Lard
- Meat (Beef, lamb, pork, chicken, bacon)
- Nuts
- Olive Oil
- Olives
- Sour Cream
- Salsa Sauce
- Yogurt (full-fat, unsweetened)
Please read our previous post Health Tips for Weight Loss - Lose 5 pounds in 7 days
Also some of our related post Health Tips for Today
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