Written by Sam Gurrey
Low Carb diets can be a controversial topic, with the rise of fad diets it’s hard to tell which rules to follow or believe but the fact remains; starving your body of carbs altogether is unhealthy as well as eating way too many carbs than our body needs, and quite often most people overeat on carbs and struggle to shift unwanted weight.
This blog includes a detailed plan for those wanted to shift some pounds. For the first two weeks our aim is to rid your body of toxins & sugars. To do this we will even be avoiding some fruits & vegetables. An easy way to judge which ones to eat can simply be done by their colour; most green vegetables contain a lot less sugar than their red/orange counterparts. Unfortunately there is no ‘cheat-meal’ for the first fortnight, and although it’s hard, it’s well worth the effort. There will be no carbohydrates during this period.
Lastly, try to keep all of your meats grilled, baked, boiled or steamed [prepare all of your food this way] just avoid frying any foods.
Must haves:
- Lots of protein [meat & fish]
- Green vegetables & salad e.g. Broccoli, Spinach, Lettuce, Rocket, Sweet peas
- Onions
- Nuts [plain, no salted or dry roasted]
Occasionally:
- Fruit
- Milk [red top]
- Cheese
Avoid:
- Carbohydrates
- Sugar
- Dairy
- Chocolate, sweets & crisps
- Bread [brown or white] & pasta
Daily examples:
Breakfast Ideas: [do not skip eating breakfast!]
- Eggs 2-4 [only one with yolk] boiled, poached or scrambled with very little oil & grilled bacon or any other cut of meat.
- Salad with a protein [smoked salmon & boiled egg always tastes good]
- Fish! Kippers & Smoked haddock are more ‘traditional breakfast fishes’ but any will work, especially Sardines
Snack Ideas: [10-11:00am, optional]
- Handful of plain nuts
- Tin of sardines or Tuna [drained]
- Jerky
Lunch Ideas:
- Meat & salad [be as inventive as possible]
- Fish
- Steak & vegetables
- Chicken breast
Snack Ideas: [2-3:30am, especially on workout days]
Same as above
Diner: [Try to eat a slightly larger portions of meat/fish on workout days]
- Chicken/Turkey [skinless]
- Fish
- Beef
- Salad
Example: Poached salmon fillet with a mixed leaf salad, lemon & lime dressing, sprinkled with mixed herbs & steamed broccoli or steamed/boiled peas with fresh mint & dill.
At no point am I asking you to ‘starve’ yourself however. Feel free to eat as much meat, salad & vegetables as you can stomach, don’t jeopardize your strength or health as under eating will NOT help you lose weight quickly, plus you’ll be left feeling fatigued & tired a lot of the time. Try not to eat too much of one protein, e.g. Chicken for all three meals for 5 days straight. Try to keep your body guessing a bit. Also, a lack of variety will make the diet a lot more boring & therefore harder on you.
Tip: Use a wide variety of powdered/fresh seasoning’s for your meats [avoid sauces] & mixed herbs for your salads & veg. This will simply keep each meal original & avoid boredom within the diet. Also make sure not to over cook any of your green vegetables, the rawer they are the better.
Full diet:
Now that the first two weeks are finally out the way you can now start adding some carbs back into your diet [don’t overload]. Carbs with 2-4 meals a week is fine, but try to keep your carb intake to before 3:00pm. However carbs are not essential, so don’t try & fit them into a meal if you don’t particularly want them. Still avoid both bread & pasta as much as possible as your body has no use for them. Both are man made & are simply designed to fill your stomach, neither of which contain any nutrients or goodness for your body. Sweet-potato is the carb I’d probably recommended the most, but brown rice is also fine.
All fruit & vegetables are now back on the menu too [yippee]. Now that your [hopefully] going gym or working out, try to increase your protein intake to give your body & muscles more energy. An easy way to do this is start snacking throughout the day rather than trying to have huge meals. This will avoid any bloating, plus you wont get any constant hunger feelings.
Snack ideas: [2-4 times a day]
- Cottage cheese [150g] & celery [especially 1hour before bed]
- Jerky
- Nuts [plain]
- Chicken thighs or drumsticks [skinless]
- Tin of sardines or Tuna
Super Foods:
“Processed carbs—like cereal, desserts, pasta and bread, potato chips—play havoc with your blood sugar, the appetite centers in the brain, and, ultimately, your waistline.
But some foods do just the opposite, packing a ton of nutrition into a relatively small number of calories and filling you up at the same time. Plus, every one of them has the added advantage of stabilizing your blood sugar, making it far less likely that you’ll go on a waist-busting binge.” – Jonny Bowden
Foods you should really work into your diet:
- Chicken [skinless] – low on fat & good source of protein
- Onions
- Sardines [tin or fresh] – rich in omega 3 & high in protein
- Celery
- Spinach – just ask pop-eye
- Blueberries [all berries are good though]
- Grapefruit – also good at fighting cancer
- Pumpkin seeds
- Cabbage – loaded with nutrients & cancer fighting qualities
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