A low carb diet can become your ticket to achieving optimum health. A low carb diet can help you lose weight, improve your mental wellness, and keep your heart healthy. Restricting yourself from eating carbs can also stabilize your blood sugar, allowing you to have better energy levels.
The benefits of doing a low carb diet are some of the reasons why more and more people are choosing to stick to this eating plan. Restricting carbs from your diet isn’t an easy feat, but the benefits of a low carb diet surely outweigh the challenges.
If you’re planning to do a low carb diet soon, make the transition easier by preparing yourself with the help of these tips:
- Limit Your Protein Intake
With the number of people doing the low carb diet, it’ll be very easy for you to find low carb foods online. Websites such as immieats.com, for example, can offer several varieties of low carb ramen for newbies like you. But aside from making sure that your meals contain as little carbs as possible, you should also be keen on the amount of protein it contains.
As you’re preparing yourself to start a low carb diet, it’s essential to limit your protein intake because excessive amounts of protein in the body can damage the kidney.
Ideally, you should make sure that you get at least 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram of your body weight every single day. If you weigh 75kg, then you should only consume 60 grams of protein daily.
- Use Fat As Your Lever
Contrary to popular belief, having fats in the body isn’t damaging to your overall health. In fact, your body needs fat for energy. Your body naturally converts fats into energy, and not having enough of them can increase your risk of experiencing fatigue.
When starting the low carb diet, have fats serve as your lever. You’ll have to have sufficient amounts of carbs and protein when you start a low carb diet, and fats can act as your lever. You can choose to increase or decrease your fat intake depending on the fitness goals you want to achieve.
If you want to lose weight through the low carb diet, for example, make sure that you only eat enough fats. Even if you’re served with low carb foods, if you’re already full, don’t ‘get your fats in’ just for the sake of it.
- Increase Your Water Intake
It’s common knowledge that drinking eight cups of water every day is essential for optimum health. Water carries several nutrients to all of your cells, as well as oxygen to your brain. Moreover, water naturally flushes harmful toxins and wastes from the body, decreasing your susceptibility to illnesses and diseases.
If you want to make the most out of the low carb diet, you should be willing to increase your water intake. This is necessary because eating lesser carbs will prevent your body from storing more water as you’ll lack glycogen.
Eating carbs will help your body store extra glycogen in the liver. Glycogen plays a vital role in your wellness because this acts as storage of your body water. Restricting yourself from eating carbs will also prevent the body from producing glycogen. When this happens, your body will store less water, which means that you’ll be at risk of experiencing dehydration.
If you don’t want to lose excessive amounts of body water when you start a low carb diet, it’s best if you consume around 16 cups of water every single day.
- Keep Electrolytes Up
Electrolytes are important to the body because these regulate muscle and nerve function. Having low electrolytes in the body can cause muscle cramps, weakness, spasms, and paralysis. When left untreated, this can trigger respiratory and kidney problems.
As mentioned, a low carb diet reduces the amount of water you can store in the body. This can become the reason why electrolytes will be flushed out from your body and you’ll feel sick. You can prevent this from happening by regularly eating pickled vegetables and drinking more broth (bone broth is a great option). You can also consume supplements that contain high levels of electrolytes to ensure that you’ll not experience deficiency.
- Eat Only When You’re Hungry
A lot of people eat about four to six times every single day as part of their lifestyle. Aside from breakfast, lunch, and dinner, most will also take snacks in between their meals.
For you to get the best results from the low carb diet, start disciplining yourself to only eat when you’re hungry. Eating more than three times a day when you’re on a low carb diet isn’t necessary and will only hinder your weight loss. Having fewer meals means having fewer carbs during the day, and this will naturally suppress your appetite in the long run.
- Focus On Whole Foods
The accessibility of ordering and eating junk foods is one of the reasons why a lot of people end up being overweight. Instead of making healthy meals from scratch, people would choose to order meals from food establishments as this is a faster and easier option. This is something that you should avoid when you’re on a low carb diet.
Eating processed foods won’t help you get rid of your cravings, which means you’ll likely see yourself eating more than you should. Excessive amounts of processed foods can also lead to serious health problems, such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
Instead of ordering from your favorite fast food chains, start your low carb lifestyle by adding avocadoes, dark chocolate, fat-dense meat, plant oils, lard, nuts, and seeds to your grocery list.
Work With A Pro
The low carb diet can provide many benefits, but only if you’re properly informed about the dos and don’ts of dieting. Changing your diet abruptly can take a toll on your health and can even become the reason why you’ll become prone to illnesses and diseases.
For you to maximize the benefits of doing a low carb diet and ensure your health during the process, consult your doctor first. These medical professionals will give you recommendations on how you can start a low carb diet and what low carb foods will work best for your needs.
