A low-carb diet is a diet that restricts carbohydrates, such as those found in sugary foods, pasta and bread. It is high in protein, fat and healthy vegetables.
There are many different types of low-carb diets, and studies show that they can cause weight loss and improve health.
This is a detailed meal plan for a low-carb diet. It explains what to eat, what to avoid and includes a sample low-carb menu for one week.
Your food choices depend on a few things, including how healthy you are, how much you exercise and how much weight you have to lose.
Consider this meal plan as a general guideline, not something written in stone.
Eat: Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, high-fat dairy, fats, healthy oils and maybe even some tubers and non-gluten grains.
Don’t eat: Sugar, HFCS, wheat, seed oils, trans fats, “diet” and low-fat products and highly processed foods.
You should avoid these six food groups and nutrients, in order of importance:
You must read ingredient lists even on foods labelled as health foods.
You should base your diet on these real, unprocessed, low-carb foods.
If you need to lose weight, be careful with cheese and nuts, as it’s easy to overeat on them. Don’t eat more than one piece of fruit per day.
If you’re healthy, active and don’t need to lose weight, you can afford to eat a few more carbs.
What’s more, you can have the following in moderation, if you want:
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.
This is a sample menu for one week on a low-carb diet plan.
It provides less than 50 grams of total carbs per day. However, if you’re healthy and active you can eat slightly more carbs.
Include plenty of low-carb vegetables in your diet. If your goal is to remain under 50 grams of carbs per day, there is room for plenty of veggies and one fruit per day.
Again, if you’re healthy, lean and active, you can add some tubers like potatoes and sweet potatoes, as well as some healthy grains like oats.
There is no health reason to eat more than three meals per day, but if you get hungry between meals, here are some healthy, easy-to-prepare, low-carb snacks that can fill you up:
At most restaurants, it’s fairly easy to make your meals low-carb friendly.
A good rule is to shop at the perimeter of the store, where the whole foods are more likely to be found.
Focusing on whole foods will make your diet a thousand times better than the standard Western diet.
Organic and grass-fed foods are also popular choices and often considered healthier, but they’re typically more expensive.
Try to choose the least processed option that still fits into your price range.
Clear your pantry of all unhealthy temptations if you can, such as chips, candy, ice cream, sodas, juices, breads, cereals and baking ingredients like refined flour and sugar.
Low-carb diets restrict carbs, such as those found in sugary and processed foods, pasta and bread. They’re high in protein, fat and healthy vegetables.
Studies show that they can cause weight loss and improve health.
The above meal plan gives you the basics of healthy, low-carb eating.
Of course, you can also browse the Internet for even more low carb or paleo recipes.
Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
Current Version
Jul 16, 2018
By
Kris Gunnars
Edited By
Maggie Brown
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