How To Cut Carbs In A Healthy And Effective Way

Yet, embarking on a low-carb journey can be tough, especially if you don't notice any changes in your body right away. But there are a number of strategies you can take in order to transition to a low-carb diet with success. Here are my top tips for cutting carbs in a healthy and effective way.

Of course, a healthy diet includes plenty of fruits and vegetables. However, while fruit is packed with nutrients and healthy in moderation, it also has fructose, and consuming too much high-carb fruit can create havoc in the insulin department. A good serving size is a closed handful of berries or chopped fruit, a medium-sized apple, or half of a larger fruit, such as grapefruit.

Especially when you're starting out on a low-carb diet, it can help to keep chips and cookies and other high-carb stuff out of your pantry or fridge—even if you're saving it for a rainy day. Donate, or, better yet, toss them. Instead, stock up on plenty of highly nutritious snacks and staples to keep you fueled and feeling great.

you may want to be wary of how much you're actually eating and how often.

Many people have ingrained in their minds that fat is evil. Some fats may be, but healthy fats like coconut oil and avocado are anything but evil. In fact, eating the right fats may even help you lose weight. Maintain a well-rounded diet by including nutrient-rich fat foods on your plate.

Here's a good guideline: A serving size is no more than two teaspoons of fats and oils, daily (including coconut oil, coconut butter and drizzle oils like olive and avocado oils). Or a closed handful of coconut chips, olives or nuts. Count one-half of an avocado as a serving. Full-fat coconut milk is best, and one-third of a can is a serving size.

Sure, cinnamon tastes delicious, but it may also be able to curb cravings for sweets and even out energy levels by balancing blood sugar. This happens because the spice helps slow the breakdown of carbohydrates in the digestive tract, which limits the amount of glucose1 that enters the blood stream. In fact, eating around 2 teaspoons of cinnamon has shown to lower fasting blood sugar levels2 by 10 to 29 percent. Try sprinkling the spice in your morning smoothie, or really any dish you please.

In addition to the guidelines for fats that I outlined above, here are some additional rules of thumb. Protein should be the size of the palm of your hand. You can fill the perimeter of your plate with non-starchy veggies. And if you need some starchy or dense carbohydrates, a good serving size is one to two cups, depending on your needs.

After you've been maintaining a low-carb lifestyle for some time, you may start to relax a little too much and fall into some of your old patterns. Remember why you started this in the first place and make sure that you're eating low-carb as a rule, not an exception. When you realize you're having a gelato or a martini one too many times, be intuitive about it. Ask yourself why you're doing what you're doing, and shift back to the plan.

Not sleeping enough may increase your cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and ghrelin (your hunger hormones). As a result, you may notice you crave unhealthy carbs even more than—and it can quickly become a vicious cycle. Support your carb-cutting lifestyle by getting enough shut-eye.

If you don't get organized with meals and pantry updates and planning ahead with regard to what you'll eat at holiday parties, birthday bashes, etc., you're asking for trouble. Have lots of "yes" foods on hand at all times. Avoid setting yourself up for grabbing foods on the run that are surely going to keep you from achieving your healthy weight.

Another way to set yourself up for success is to ensure you're drinking plenty of water. Not only is proper hydration essential to your overall health, but it will also help you avoid turning to mindless snacking. That's because, it's easy to confuse hunger with thirst. To avoid this phenomena, try to sip water throughout the day.

When you get a handle on all of the above, the magic will happen. Be patient and trust that your body will do what it needs to do.