6 Steps To Success With Beginning A Low Carb Lifestyle

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If you are curious about trying a low carb diet, there are 6 steps to success with beginning a low carb lifestyle that you’ll want to focus on. I’m sure you have heard that eating a low carb diet has helped thousands of people lose weight.

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You would have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard that eating low carb is a quick way to drop the pounds quickly.  In fact, it’s become so mainstream, celebrities have jumped on the bandwagon.

In my opinion, it’s not just a fad. Low carb eating has been around for a long time, and in my opinion, it does have significant health benefits. Weight loss and maintenance is my number one reason for beginning a low carb lifestyle, but it’s awesome for the management of metabolic conditions like insulin resistance and of course diabetes.

If low carb eating is something you’d like to try out, there are a couple of initial things you should do. I suggest researching low carb diets so that you have a grasp on what they entail. Once you have some information under your belt and you want to give low carb eating a try, consult your health care provider to discuss your nutrition plan.

Most physicians are somewhat familiar with the low carb lifestyle but don’t be surprised if it seems like you have more knowledge than they do on the subject! This is why doing your research before you consult with your doctor is important. You want to be able to discuss with confidence why you feel a low carb lifestyle is suited for you.

Resources And Information About Low Carb Diets As a Beginner

Since beginning a low carb lifestyle does take some initial planning, you may want to do as much research as you can before you do anything.

Make sure you look up the types of foods that are typically eaten on a low carb eating plan.

There are some awesome books on eating low carb that I found super helpful. The Keto Reset Diet, and The New Primal Blueprint, both by Mark Sisson, and The Complete Ketogenic Diet For Beginners, by Rockridge Press, should get you started on the right foot.  

Once you’ve done your research and you are sure you want to go for it, let the rest of your household know your plans to transition to a low carb way of eating.

A low carb lifestyle takes commitment if you want to see success, so don’t be too surprised if your family members aren’t on board with you. If you’re determined to experience the benefits of eating low carb, you can do it alone. And don’t worry, it can be done.

But a huge component if you want to start off successfully with eating low carb is staying consistent.

The Right Carb Count To Have Success As a Beginner

Consuming less than 100 carbs per day constitutes a low-carb diet.  Some may find losing weight or maintaining weight easy with this level of carb restriction. If you aren’t having success, you can cut carbs to as low as 20gms per day to achieve weight loss.

A lot of people who reach their weight loss and fitness goals by living a low carb lifestyle, slowly add carbs back into their diets. This is done to test how many carbs they can consume every day without gaining weight.

The best thing to do is add in the healthier carbs options like sweet potatoes, beans, and fruit. Each person’s ideal carb count is different, so it’s all about trial and error. Just remember to add carbs slowly.

You may find that you don’t miss carbs once you eliminate them. I can tell you this: You won’t crave them like you once did.

So how do you begin living a low carb lifestyle while the rest of your household continues with the standard American diet?

If you and your family aren’t on the same page with eating low carb, it doesn’t mean you will have to cook two separate meals. The reason why is because low carb eating is super simplistic. You may even find that you save money on your grocery bill. Who doesn’t want to save money?

Remember, keep in mind that you won’t eat any type of grains or sugary foods that have to be on your grocery list for the others in the house. All you’ll need to do is add whatever grain you’re family wants with the food you cook for your meals.

Low carb eating is all about consuming vegetables that grow above ground, berries in small amounts, meats, eggs, fish and healthy fats. Think avocados, and coconut, olive, avocado oils. You can add other condiments for flavor like mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce, soy sauce Worcestershire sauce, but read labels. Sugar and gluten are off-limits.

You’ve done your research, you understand what you’ll be eating and you’re committed to going all in. Now you are ready!

6 Steps to Success To Begin A Low Carb Lifestyle

1. The first thing to do is to eliminate processed food from your eating plan. It’s no secret that avoiding processed foods is the cornerstone of healthy eating. Processed foods and refined carbs are not nutritionally sound, so if you’re trying to lose weight, you’ll have to ditch these anyway. Like I said before, everyone won’t be on board with these changes, so cutting back slowly may be easier for your family. Try and convince the other people in your home that eating less processed foods is better for everyone.
2. Clear your cabinets for the purpose of the organization and arrange your kitchen and refrigerator so that your low carb stables are in one place.
3. The only thing to do now is to shop the perimeter of the grocery first. Then visit the few isles to pick up the extraneous items the family thinks they need.
4. If you are into sugary beverages, wean yourself off of them. Learn to love water by making it your primary beverage, and drink it like it’s your job. Seriously!. You make detox water by adding lemons, cucumber, and mint.
5. Pink Himalayan salt is the holy grail low-carb eating because of the minerals it contains.  With all of that water that you shed in the first couple of weeks of eating low carb, you’ll need to replace some electrolytes. Also, don’t be afraid to add salt to your food.
6. You get through the day without having those refined carbohydrates, but you’ll have to replace the carbs with healthy fats and get used to adding it to everything. Trust me, it won’t make you fat. What it will do is keep hunger away, and help with the absorption of the nutrients that are in all the vegetables that you eat.

Putting It All Together

Like I said, this type of lifestyle takes commitment. If this in any way bothers you or makes you feel deprived, you may not be ready to go hard with this way of eating. You may find cutting back slowly is better for you. This is ok!

Low carb living takes a little creativity but it doesn’t require ingredients that can’t be found a regular grocery store. Planning is the key

I keep things very simple. A typical day may look like having a vegetable omelet with cheese and some berries on the side instead of toast. Cook your omelet in healthy oil and you are good to go.  

You could also try replacing the grain or starch that you would normally have with dinner and instead, have a small amount of dark chocolate. Some people have strawberries with homemade whipped cream sweetened with stevia or monk fruit for dessert.

What I Learned Beginning A Low Carb Lifestyle

Now that I’ve lost weight, I’m hyper-aware of the issues I had with yo-yo dieting in the past. A low carb lifestyle takes the guesswork out of what I think about eating. I no longer experience the mental struggle about whether to have sweets or grains. Why?

Eating low carb eliminates decision fatigue. I don’t have to rely on willpower which by the way, doesn’t work. The struggle isn’t there.  

It’s true that in order to maintain weight loss, you must continue to do what helped you reach your weight loss goals. However, I think people misinterpret this statement. Now I’m convinced it’s more about the strategy you use to maintain weight loss, rather than the food you eat.  

Here’s what I mean. Maintaining weight loss is a different skill set. For me, the food choices I make now are completely different than they were at the beginning of my weight loss journey.

I had to learn what strategy would work for me in order to lose weight. Now, in order to maintain my weight loss, I’m using a low carb way of eating as my strategy to do it.

This is not to say I don’t like carbs. In fact, I love carbs. For my entire life, I ate bread, grains, sweets and all the things. But, I love my 100lb weight loss and feeling good on the inside a lot more.

Now I want to hear from you. Do you struggle with losing weight? Do you feel carbs are stalling your weight loss efforts?

Let me know in the comments!

Sources:

https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/article/low-carb-ketogenic-diet-articles/10-ways-to-do-a-low-carbohydrate-diet-the-right-way/

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