Whether it’s for health reasons or trying to get closer to your fitness goals, if you’re thinking about switching to a low-carb diet, you need to be aware of how you can ease into this new lifestyle without any major setbacks.
Cutting out foods that you normally eat from your diet can be hard, especially if these foods have become a staple for most of your meals.
While some individuals can easily say goodbye to carbs, others might endure cravings or other problems such as brain fog and low energy that can impact their everyday performance.
The end goal here is to lower your carb intake in a healthy and safe way to avoid health complications.
Beginner’s Guide to Ease Into a Low-Carb Diet
The following tips should be helpful in knowing what you need to be aware of and how to stay on this diet with minimum setbacks and complications.
1. Drink lots of water
Staying hydrated with water is your top priority when you lower your carb intake. Not only does reducing your carb intake allow for fatigue, but you will also be at risk of dehydration due to less water available from a lack of carbs.
Drinking enough water will help to keep you energized and keep your body hydrated as you start to lower your carb intake.
2. Eat when you’re hungry
Forget about counting calories and weighing everything you eat in a day. Since you’ve lowered your carb intake, you need to focus on keeping yourself satisfied, even if this means eating more of other foods than you normally would.
This also means to avoid consuming low-fat products (which contains more sugar) and enjoy the real stuff that will keep you satisfied for longer.
3. Load up on veggies
Veggies are important no matter what diet you are on. Veggies are low in carb content and contain many important nutrients such as fiber and vitamins that will keep you feeling full throughout the day.
If fruits are not a big part of your diet and you’re already cutting out carbs, vegetables usually make up for most of your carb intake, which is why you need to eat more of them.
4. Don’t be shy with your fats
Healthy fats such as olive oil, flaxseed oil, avocado, nuts and fish are important to keep your energy levels up and to make sure you are giving your body enough nutrients to maintain a healthy weight.
The recommended dose of fat is 1 gram of fat per kilogram of body weight, and if you consume a little more, that’s fine too. Just make sure you are reaching for the healthier fats with your food.
5. Modify your workouts
As you take on a low carb lifestyle, your workouts will need a little adjustment in order to complement your diet. Since you have lowered your carb intake, you won’t have the same amount of muscle glycogen as usual, which means you might need to lower the intensity of your workouts.
If you want to stick to your high-intensity routine, you might need to add complex carbs before your workouts or right after in order to maintain this diet in a safe and healthy manner.
The Bottom Line
When switching up your diet to something new it is important to take caution and proceed in a safe manner without damaging your health.
Additionally, make sure to consult your doctor before starting this new diet in order to get as many helpful tips as you can to keep your health in check.
The content of this Website is for informational purposes only, is general in nature and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and does not constitute professional advice. The information on this Website should not be considered as complete and does not cover all diseases, ailments, physical conditions, or their treatment. You should consult with your physician before beginning any exercise, weight loss, or health care program and/or any of the beauty treatments.
References:
W. (2017, February 10). 7 Tips To Make Low Carb Dieting Easier. Retrieved from https://www.exercises.com.au/7-tips-to-make-low-carb-dieting-easier/
A Low-Carb Diet for Beginners – The Ultimate Guide – Diet Doctor. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb
