Low Carb Diet Food Planner
What To Include in Low Carb Meal Plan
When you start a low carb way of eating it might be
confusing trying to figure out what you can and cannot eat. There is a common
misconception that low carb means eating all the eggs, bacon and cheese you
want. I am not sure where this started but I know I definitely fell for it the
first time I tried Keto. I read that I could just eat a bunch of things I love,
and the weight would magically fall off. I ate bacon, cheese, olives, beef
jerky, lunch meat wrapped around cream cheese, big portions of all kinds of
meats. A few weeks later not only did I hate the sight of eggs, but I had lost
very little weight after the initial water weight. This was not a healthy way
to do low carb.
What You Cannot Eat on a Low Carb Diet
Let’s start out with what you should not be including
in your low carb diet.
First on the list is sugar
and that means ALL sugar in cakes, candy, cookies, baked goods and even honey.
If you are a sugar addict (no judging, I was a complete junkie) you will
automatically lose weight just from not giving in to your sugar cravings. Don’t
freak out though- we will be discussing options for getting a sweet fix without
spiking your insulin levels and going against your new healthy goals.
Next obvious no-no are breads and grains. Grains
include all rice, wheat oats etc. One
slice of wheat bread has 17 grams of carbs which is about 1/3 of your daily
carb goal. Totally not worth it especially when I can show you substitutions
for almost anything you crave.
A surprising food group that you should leave out for now
are fruits. Yes, I know we have been told to eat our fruits and
vegetables to be healthy and once you are at your goal weight there is no
reason to not add some fruit back into your diet especially berries. But the
reason most fruit is so sweet is the natural sugars and sugar isn’t your friend
on low carb. Berries are the lowest in
carbs but still have 50 grams of carbs in ½ cup. That’s your entire day carb
goal.
There are a ton of vegetables that are perfect for your low
carb way of eating but the starchy vegetables must go for now. Corn,
potatoes, sweet potatoes, and beats should not be included in your meals. I am providing you with a cheat sheet of the
many, many vegetables that you can have so you are not limited by any means.
Don’t shoot the messenger and I am sure you already knew
this but… pasta is off the menu too. One cup of pasta has 43 grams of
carbs. Again, I do have some substitute ideas coming but you are going to have
to keep an open mind and be willing to try new things.
You may need to rethink breakfast- cereals and oatmeal
are not on the low carb table. One bowl
of cereal could put you over your daily carb limit.
Another food that does not make the low carb cut is sweetened
yogurt. Did you know that sweetened yogurt has as much sugar as ice cream?
Crazy huh?
Even though some juices have a lot of nutrients they
also tend to have as much carbs as soda so don’t drink either one.
This one may surprise you and scare you a little if you are
coming from the low-fat world of dieting like I was, but low-fat and fat
free dressings and dairy products contain a lot of sugar to make them taste
better. The fat is removed which takes away from the taste, so sugar is addend
to make it taste good. This means lots of carbs. Go for the full fat versions.
I know, I get it… this can be very hard to get into your head. We will be
talking about healthy fats and why they are important soon.
Beans and legumes are nutrition but contain lots of
carbs- 1 cup is around 40 grams so for now they get left out too.
Chips and crackers are probably pretty obvious but worth
mentioning. 15 average size tortilla chips contain 18 grams of carbs. There are
some alternatives to this too so just hang in there.
Ready for another surprise? Regular dairy milk has a
lot of carbs. If you are going to have milk, make it almond milk or a nondairy
version with no carbs or sugar.
Now that we have gotten the “what not to eat” list out of
the way lets get to the fun part- what you can eat!
What to Eat on a Low Carb Diet
You have so many options when it comes to eating low carb. I
have designed a cheat sheet to help you get started with options for protein,
vegetables and healthy fats. Those are your big 3 when it comes to low carb way
of eating.
Low Carb Vegetables
Vegetables will make up a large portion of what you eat
everyday if you are doing this low carb thing the healthy way. If you are not
currently a big fan of vegetables don’t run away yet… if you truly want to
change your health and lose weight it is time to open your mind a little.
Have
you tried mashed cauliflower? It has the exact same consistency of mashed
potatoes and not much flavor which means you can add any seasonings you want to
make it taste good. Add some butter, salt and pepper and I bet soon you be able
to tell the difference. You may never miss regular mashed potatoes again.
Think you will miss pasta? This one may take some getting
used to but try zucchini noodles. You can buy them fresh in most produce
departments, frozen with the frozen vegetables or it is easy and much cheaper
to make your own with a spiralizer. This
spiralizer
on Amazon is inexpensive, small and super easy to use.
Really keep an open mind about this idea but… if you love
hash browns and hate the idea of giving them up try this- drain a package of
can of sauerkraut really well and blot with paper towels. Coat a baking sheet
with olive oil, spread the sauerkraut thinly over the pan and sprinkle with
salt and pepper and any other seasoning that sounds good. Bake on 350 degrees
for 20 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. Turn over and continue to
cook until it has reached the texture of hash browns. I know, I know it sounds
really weird but try it. Baking takes out the sour taste and leaves you with
hash browns with no carbs.
Ready for another crazy sounding idea? Think you will miss
chips? My favorite crunchy snack is baked ranch cucumber chips. Slice a couple
of cucumbers thin- about the width of a thick chip (this is much easier with a mandoline slicer but a knife works too),
pat dry to remove excess water and bake on parchment paper lined baking sheet
in 250 degree oven. These take a while to cook because you want to dehydrate
more than bake. The cooking time varies according to your oven. The original
recipe said it would take at least 2 hours, but I cook them in my 7-in-1
convection oven, and it took less than an hour. Once they are cooked to your
desired crispiness, sprinkle with ranch or any seasoning you like and let cool.
Super easy, very healthy and low carb chips.
Are you getting the picture? Eating vegetables does not have
to be boring. Get creative but keep things simple starting out.
Protein is Important in Your Low Carb Lifestyle but Not Too Much
Somewhere along the low carb history it became common for
people to focus on just eating a bunch of protein and cheese. There are still well-meaning
people out there that might try to guide you in that direction but going
overboard with your protein could stop your weight loss efforts and too much
protein is difficult for your body to process.
A healthy low carb way of eating does include a higher than
normal amount of protein which will help you feel full, increase your fat
burning and help you build lean muscle.
We are going to discuss how to build your meals a little
later but for now look at the cheat sheet and start getting some ideas of the
types of protein you like and can add to your meals and snacks.
On another note- a lot of low carb dieters talk a lot about
protein shakes. I don’t recommend them for a couple of reasons. One is that
drinking a meal does not tell your brain that you have eaten so you may not get
the message that you are full and satisfied like you will by actually eating
and chewing food. Second, they can be kind of expensive and really not
necessary. But if you do not like to eat breakfast or are too busy to eat
during the day a sugar free protein shake with low carbs could help keep you
from getting too hungry and making a less healthy choice.
Let’s Talk About Fats and Why They Are Necessary in Your Low Carb Life
Most of us have been brainwashed for years into thinking
that eating fat will make us fat. Turns out this is not true. Fat does not make
us fat- eating too many calories makes us gain weight. All that low fat, high
carb, high sugar foods burn through our system quickly making us hungry most of
the time. You cannot feel full for long periods of time eating high carb foods
with low fat.
When you switch to a low carb way of eating you have taken
away your body’s preferred energy source, carbs, so you must replace it.
I know it can seem scary to start eating a high amount of
fat. I resisted this idea for years but trust me, you need fat for energy,
proper nutrition, healthy brain function and you will feel full much longer. I
am very seldom hungry now, but it took me a long time to get over this fear.
There are 3 different kinds of fats- the good, okay and the
ugly.
Healthy fats include olive oil, nuts, olives, coconut oil and
avocados. These fats help lower cholesterol, lower incidents of breast cancer
and improve immunity. These are the fats that we will be adding to your low
carb way of eating.
Other fats such as butter, fatty animal meats, bacon,
sausage, cream, gravies and full fat dairy products are okay on a low carb diet
but should be eaten in moderation.
Fats such as vegetable oil, corn oil and sunflower oil
should be avoided. These are the fats that are in most prepackaged and
precooked foods.
Okay, so now you have a good idea what to include and what
to leave out of your low carb diet, let get to work putting this all together
in a super easy meal plan
Super Easy Low
Carb Meal Plan Formula
This is going to be so much easier than I bet you thought it
would be. Ready?
Choose 1 protein for each of your meals (breakfast, lunch
and dinner)
Now choose at least 2 vegetable servings for each of your
meals (you can eat 2 servings of the same vegetable at each meal if it is
easier but make sure you are getting a good variety overall) Mix up your vegetables with a mix of the lower and higher carb options so
you don’t go over in the amount of carbs for the day.
Next, choose 1 fat for each meal. Cook with some olive oil,
add some cheese or alfredo sauce, some avocado etc.
Now choose 1 snack and 1 dessert or low carb bread. I have
included a recipe for my favorite low carb dessert/bread that can be made in
lots of different flavors. I love dessert so I always make something sweet for
after dinner, but you can also make the bread recipe.
That’s it! Keep it super simple to begin with. This is a
good starting point for your low carb way of eating. In the next couple of days,
we will be talking more in depth about macros and calories. Soon you will want
to start calculating to be sure you are getting the best results, but this plan
will get you started without being overwhelmed.
If you would like a copy of these Low Carb Meal Planner worksheets emailed to you so you can print please send me an email at weighlesshabits@gmail.com with subject "meal planner"
What's next in this Low Carb for Beginners 7 Day Course?
Low carb for beginners course day 3 is all about understanding macros- protein, carbs and fats. This is really important to understand so you are sure you are feeding your body exactly what it needs to turn it into a fat burning machine. You will understand how to calculate exactly what your body needs to get the best results from your low carb diet.
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