The low carb diet, how often have you heard it mentioned in the gym? At your office? Perhaps with a group of your friends? Or even at the dinner table with your family? I’m sure at one point or another, the low carb diet has reached your ears and attention. Well ladies and gents look no further, with these few tips and tricks, you’ll not only be able to rule your low carb diet, you’ll be able to stick with it too. Here I will share with you various low carb foods and a number of tricks and tips to help you along the way.

What is carb anyways? It’s the shortened word for carbohydrate, it is defined by Merriam-Webster as: any one of various substances found in certain foods (such as bread, rice, and potatoes) that provide your body with heat and energy and are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. So to simplify it is gas for your body. This “gas” however can quickly turn into fats if not used, so unless you are active and workout a lot, a low carb diet might be just for you.

Avoid grains. Yes, this is a usual must but since we are trying to keep you on your low carb diet, let’s not forget this basic rule. There isn’t much to say about these two, they are the polar opposite of the low carb foods. There are some grains such as whole grains, which are ideal for the low carb diet but keep in mind that moderation is a must and quite frankly the key to most things in life.

Avoid sugar. I cannot reiterate enough, sugar is the enemy and can really wreak havoc on a low carb diet. Avoid it as much as possible, be mindful of low carb foods with a lot of sugar in it as well, these are easy to binge eat on. It would be ideal to research whatever sweets you consume before putting it in your mouth. That cupcake may be staring at your soul, but it’s screaming against your low carb diet as well, so be weary, vigilant and steadfast against these sneaky snacks.

Stay lean and green. Carbs do keep you fuller after every meal for longer times, so a lot of the worries come from the hunger after a low carb meal, but don’t be afraid, look towards the green light! The true heroes of the low carb diet; vegetables! Vegetables are your best friend, not only will they keep you full longer, they are healthy, delicious and very refreshing to say the least. The ideal is to eat vegetables that grow above the ground, these are the low carb foods that work best for a low carb diet. So no potatoes, at least most of them, should be avoided for now. For some really great recipes that work great with vegetables, click on the link here.

Keep it fresh. Avoid processed meals, these contain quite a bit of preservatives and could be hiding carbs beneath the colorful packaging. Make your meals from scratch or make sure you know what you are ordering whenever you go eat out, that way you can’t be caught unaware of a sudden carb invasion. No fast food as there is a very strong chance that they place a lot of preservatives in the food, making this one of the greatest pitfalls for a low carb diet.

Plan ahead and when making trips to the grocery and list down your picks for a low carb food list.

Fruits are also friends of the low carb diet. As long as you avoid high carb fruits such as bananas, which are delicious but loaded with carbs and is not a great compliment to low carb foods. Keep consumption of fruit to once a day and you’ll also avoid unwanted sugars in your diet, keeping your low carb diet sated and happy.

Seeds, nuts and cheeses, oh yum, some of the greatest low carb foods on the list. These are a great alternative to those pesky snack hunger pangs, however beware that it is easy to eat more than necessary for these items. Chances are you are trying to lose weight, which is usually the case for most people to take on a low carb diet, so make sure you control intake of these low carb foods when you snack on them. A handful of nuts should be more than enough to make sure you don’t go hungry before supper.

None vegans or vegetarians, are invited to eat fish and meats. Eggs are another great alternative but make sure to not overdo it for all of the mentioned items. Feel free to eat the fat of the beef or the skin of the chicken as surprising as this may sound these food are counted as low carb foods and on top of that the low carb diet increases your ability to process these items since it isn’t busy trying to burn starch and other items from carbs. However if you are planning to try going vegan, I’d love to share some tips and tricks to it here.

Keep your pantry free of temptation. Sorry, chips, beer, and other TV snacks, they need to go. There is a very good chance that they are not low carb foods. It’s dangerously easy to break your low carb diet with those lying around and there are healthier alternatives such as a piece of fruit, maybe some yogurt or if you enjoy the occasional alcoholic beverage, wine is the better alternative. Of course these need to be moderated if you want to lose weight however at least there are low carb diet options instead of those temptations. Low carb foods as snacks, who would have thought right?

Don’t be overly strict with yourself. Unless there is a viable reason to be super strict such as major health reasons, allow yourself some leniency once in awhile. Your regular low carb foods are just waiting for you right there, they won’t go anywhere Maybe schedule a cheat day here and again, but it must be limited. Again just like all things, moderation is key and this is especially true for a low carb diet. Don’t go overboard and don’t lose your way back especially. When we overly crave for something and it gets the better of us, we tend to binge eat and then it’s over, we find ourselves back at the mercy of carbohydrates and we lose our allies the low carb foods. Scary, I gave myself goose bumps.  So allow a day of rest once in awhile or a meal with some carbs, don’t worry, as long as you don’t do it often you’ll be fine and you’ll be back on your low carb diet before you know it.

These are some of the basics for keeping your low carb diet, make sure to keep studying and seeing what else there is to do but just keep these tips and tricks and you’ll be saying goodbye to a big belly and a big hello to a low carb diet and the low carb foods that it comes with.

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