According to information published in Psychology Today, obesity is not only linked to insulin resistance, which increases your risk of developing diabetes, but it is also often accompanied by a dampened mood that can affect your family life, work-life, and other relationships, thus leading to a diminished quality of life overall.
The leading cause of obesity is often an over-intake of calories from sugar, refined carbs, processed foods, and starchy foods in your daily diet that, in turn, get turned into glucose and then stored in the body as fat, causing you to gain weight.
This is especially true if you live an inactive lifestyle or are not exercising regularly. In fact, to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume each day, which a low-carb diet can help you do.
A low-carb diet is a way of eating that limits the number of carbs you eat each day. Instead, it is centered more around eating mainly protein, fat, and healthy vegetables, thus forcing your body to burn stored fat for fuel , so you lose weight.
In fact, doctors sometimes recommend a low-carb diet to their seriously overweight patients for its ability to lower sugar and insulin levels, which helps suppress your appetite. Hence, you eat less and burn more body fat for fast weight loss.
What is the Recommended Daily Calorie Intake for Women and Men?
The average adult should consume between 1,600 to 3,000 calories a day as part of a healthy diet, depending on their weight, level of activeness, gender, and more.
For instance, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion's recommended daily calorie intake for the average 21 to 30 year old active female is 2,400 calories, but females in the same age group that lead a non-active lifestyle are only recommended to consume between 1,800 to 2,000 to maintain a healthy weight.
Meanwhile, the daily recommended calorie amount for 21 to 30-year-old males living an active lifestyle is 3,000 calories. However, males in the same group living a sedentary lifestyle are recommended to consume no more than 2,400 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight.
And then, as you get older, and your metabolism slows, you may also require fewer calories of between 2,200 to 2,000 a day for females age 60 and up and between 2,400 to 2,600 for males age 65 and up.
On the other hand, if you are following a low-carb diet, the focus is more on your everyday carb intake, which is a recommended daily amount of between 50 to 100 grams, depending on the type of diet, your health, and weight loss goals.
How to Get Even Nutrition Daily
When following a low-carb diet, you are instructed to consume a diet high in protein in place of bread, pasta, rice, cereal, and other carb-rich foods, to help balance your blood sugar and build lean muscle, which promotes fast weight loss.
However, you are also allowed to have as many low-carb veggies as you want to help ensure you're getting essential vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. They also contain fiber, which helps fill you up, so you crave fewer carbs.
Some low-carb diets may also allow you to have low-sugar fruits for added nutrients and fiber.
You can also round out your diet with healthy fats, herbs, spices, and other low-carb foods to ensure you're getting adequate nutrition each day.
Recommended Low-Carb Foods
As stated earlier, what you should and shouldn't eat on a low-carb meal plan differs from diet to diet. However, some recommended foods as part of a traditional low-carb diet include:
Foods to Eat
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Meat and meat substitutes, such as chicken, seafood, pork, beef, lamb, tofu, and tempeh.
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Eggs, Greek yogurt, and some cheeses, such as cheddar cheese and cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt.
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Almonds, pecans, walnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and hazelnuts.
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Chia seeds, hemp seeds, flaxseeds, and sunflower seeds.
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Starch-free vegetables, like spinach, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, zucchini, and leafy greens.
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Low-carb fruits, like berries, melon, olives, avocados, and tomatoes.
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Healthy fats, such as olive oil, coconut oil, butter, ghee, and cream.
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Herbs, spices, and seasonings, such as pepper, basil, cilantro, ginger, garlic, Caesar dressing, ranch dressing, and vinaigrette.
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Dark chocolat
Beverages
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Coffee, tea, water, sugar-free carbonated beverages, and dry wine.
Foods to Avoid
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Sugar/high fructose corn syrup.
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Beans and lentils.
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Low fat and highly processed foods and snacks.
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Grains, such as wheat, quinoa, bulgur, farro, oatmeal and other cereals.
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Trans fats and highly processed oils, like seed oils and some corn oils.
A Typical Low Carb Meal Plan for Weight Loss
Some Different Meal Options to Eat in the Morning
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Bacon and eggs.
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Eggs with sautéed greens.
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Omelet fried in olive oil, coconut oil, or butter and topped with avocado.
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Chia seed pudding topped with nuts and melon.
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Greek yogurt topped with berries and chopped nuts.
Some Different Meal Options to Eat for Lunch
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Leafy green salad with salmon.
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Shrimp, chicken, or steak salad drizzled with olive oil.
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Pasta and rice-free chicken and vegetable soup.
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Rice-free burrito bowl with extra meat, fajita vegetables, cheese, and guacamole.
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Berry smoothie with coconut milk, almonds, and protein powder.
Some Different Meal Options to Eat for Dinner
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Meatballs with roasted vegetables.
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Grilled chicken breast or wings with vegetables or a raw salad on side.
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Pork chop with vegetables on the side.
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Steak with vegetables on the side.
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Salmon with butter and a side of vegetables.
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Bunless cheeseburger with a side of vegetables.
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Chicken or steak lettuce wraps with a side salad.
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Pork, chicken, or shrimp stir fry with veggies.
Maintaining Your Weight Loss Results After Low-Carb Dieting
As effective as low-carb dieting is for blood sugar management and fast weight loss, it is not generally recommended that you continue the diet long-term.
According to various doctors, this is because it can result in a vitamin deficiency.
Some health experts also argue that maintaining a diet high in animal fats and proteins long-term may increase your risk of developing heart disease and more.
Hence, it is recommended if you do participate in a low-carb, that you only do so until you have reached your weight loss goals and then begin slowly incorporating healthy carbs, such as whole grain bread, pasta, cereals, beans, lentils, and whole fruits back into your diet to maintain your weight and protect your heart health.
In the meantime, if you are worried about your heart health while following a low carb meal plan, experts recommend you stick to healthier protein sources, like fish, lean beef, boneless skinless chicken breast, and heart-healthy fats such as olive oil and avocado oil, to help manage your cholesterol.
