Low Carb Living Clarified by David G. - HTML preview

Chapter 5 – Top Foods for Low-carb Living

The top number of foods for a low-carb lifestyle aren’t as hard to find as before. Now that society is pushing towards healthier lifestyles, it’s easier to find low-carb meals in your local grocery store.

There are certain things you can keep in mind to make this process easier. Also, remember, the longer you stick to it, the more second-nature it will become when picking out the “right” foods. So let's get started on top foods for low carb living, how to implement them into our lives and how to spot hidden carbs in the foods we buy!

First up, Here is a short and quick list that can help ease out the grocery shopping process.

Protein

• Meat: Beef, lamb, chicken and others. Grass-fed is best. These products are 100% real, unprocessed, and have a low-carb percentile. You can cook these in coconut oil or you can even boil them and add them to your favorite vegetable soup. They are a great way to add lean protein to your diet. Just make sure you don’t fry it or buy it with layers of fat. Ask for a lean cut piece when you go to the butcher.
• Fish: Salmon, trout, haddock, tuna and others. My personal favorites are the wild-caught fish. Again, they are unprocessed and have a very low percentage of carb. Fish is recommended over meat simply because it has less fat. It has all the right nutrients and is 100% lean meat. You can make a tuna salad with some lemon, salt and pepper, or you can add it as a breakfast protein with a side salad or egg.
• Eggs: Omega-3 enriched or pastured eggs would be the best to eat. If you are looking for even better eggs, find a farm near you and buy from the farmer. It may cost a little more, but the results will be amazing. Again, protein is extremely important in a low-carb diet as you want to burn the fat and replace it with muscle to have a sexy lean figure. You can boil, fry (in coconut oil) or use it as an ingredient.

Carbohydrates/Vegetables/Fruits

• Vegetables: Pretty much every vegetable known to man is low-carb and perfect for this lifestyle. You can make salads with spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, cauliflower, or even shredded carrots. Some have a higher glycemic index, therefore be careful with the portion sizes. They are full of vitamins though and can fill you up right away. Add some lean meats and proteins to your veggies for optimal results.
• Fruits: Fruits are tricky as they have natural sugar and therefore have a higher carb level. They are great for breakfast though; you can add them in your Greek yogurt, oatmeal, or just make a simple fruit salad. Again, careful with portion size.

Good Fats

• Nuts and Seeds: Almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc. They are a great source of natural proteins and have a low carb percentage. You can add them to you fruit salads or to you vegetables and lean protein meal.
• Fats and Oils: Coconut oil, olive oil, and cod fish liver oil. You might’ve stepped back a little with that last one, but they are all low-carb ingredients that can be added to your lean protein, salads, or cooking! They are full of nutrients that your body needs in order to function.

Finding Hidden Carbs in Everyday Foods

You may sometimes see products on the shelf that say “0g of carbs” or “No Carbs!” which of course makes you want to buy it right off the bat, especially if it’s something delicious like buttercream or anything that is usually filled with carbs. Those products are the ones I would recommend to stay the most away from; nothing in life is free of carbs. Everything has carbs, even if it’s in the tiniest amounts or is actually complex carbs that are good for you. Let’s look at those “no carb” delusion for a second though, because as a low carb eater you have to know how and why companies are allowed to hide carbs in the nutrition list.

For example:

If we look at a Buttercream’s ingredient label from the manufacturer:

Serving: 1 Tablespoon

104 calories

10 grams of fat

3 grams of protein

0 grams of carbohydrates

Keep in mind that Fat is 9 calories per gram, protein is 4 calories per gram, and carbohydrates are 4 calories per gram.

Fat: 10 x 9 = 90 calories

Protein: 3 x 4 = 12 calories

Carbohydrates: 0 x 4 = 0 calories

Total: 102 calories

I don’t know about you, but 102 calories is not the same thing as 110 calories. Where is the difference found in then? My bet goes on hidden carbohydrates.

No one actually knows where the calories are from, and most people don’t actually do the calculations to realize that there are hidden calories. You are not like most people though, you are a savvy low carb eater, and you want to get to the bottom of this. How it works is that manufacturers are allowed, legally, to round their ingredients’ grams to 0 if it’s lower than 0.5 (for example 0.41) per serving. Therefore if a serving of food has 0.41 grams of carbohydrate (which can come from corn syrup), the manufacturer can round it up to 0 and claim that it’s carb-free. All this completely legal! Which is why you must extra careful with anything “carb-free” and double check the grams in the nutrition label; take some time and quickly add up the calories and grams before putting it in your cart or in your mouth.