How To Start Low-Carb

If you switch to whole food unprocessed food, you will become low-carb, almost be default. 

All digestible carbohydrates are turned into glucose in your blood. It doesn't matter whether it's a glass of fruit juice, organic wholemeal bread, rice, pasta or chocolate. They all raise your blood sugars.

When blood glucose is raised, insulin is required to help lower the glucose and prevent damage that high glucose can cause throughout our bodies.

Insulin is also our fat storage hormone.  

So when you eat a high-carb meal, your blood glucose become elevated, there is a high insulin demand, fat storage is enhanced, fat burning stops, the insulin causes glucose levels to fall, promoting hunger again.

When you enjoy a nutrient dense low-carb meal, your blood glucose will be more stable, you may have lower insulin requirements, and so fat storage has been reduced, fat burning will begin much more rapidly and hunger will be controlled.

You will become a fat burner, not a sugar burner.

And when you add plenty of healthy fats to your meals, you will feel fuller for longer, your snacking will diminish, portion sizes will slowly decrease and weight will begin to drop effortlessly.

If you are just starting out, it's OK to be filled with questions such as:

• Why is my doctor making me go low-carb?
• Why sugar and grain free?
• Why high fat?
• Isn't weight loss about calories?
• Do we need carbs to think and move?
• What about alcohol?

To answer all your questions, head to this page. 

There are two main methods to start low carb. 

1. Immediately - do a full pantry clear out
2. Stepwise - slowly begin to reduce your sugar and carbs 

Which method you choose is completely up to you. Some people find it quite cathartic to remove all junk food, sugar and ultra processed carbs from their kitchen. And some may have a medical condition which requires them to drastically reduce the carbs instantly.

Others find it easier to begin using my Stepwise method and reduce sugar and junk food from their daily diet one meal at a time, one snack at a time. 

For many, beginning stepwise makes the transition easier (especially if you have a family) more sustainable in the long-term.

What To Avoid - Stepwise? 

Begin by cutting back or stopping the highest sugar items first.  

1. The first thing that should stop is sugary sweetened drinks. Whether it is sugary fizzy drinks, energy drinks, flavoured milks or juice, they all have to go. 
2. The next high sugar item, is chocolate, sweets and candy. You can still enjoy high cacao low-sugar chocolate and low-carb sweet treats when a sweet craving hits.
3. Baking, cakes and cookies are the next to go. But don't worry, there are plenty of low-carb and keto cakes, cookies and cheesecake recipes for you to try.
4. All cereals, porridge, granola and breakfast products. You guessed it, they are all high carb. Cereals and granola are high in sugar, ultra processed and spike blood sugars.
5. Sugar and flour. Once you give up all sugars (added and naturally occurring) and flour, you will be living on whole unprocessed whole food that is nutrient dense.

Base your meals on quality proteins such as meat and fish, non-starchy vegetables, nuts, seeds and low-sugar fruit such as berries.

Include plenty of healthy fats such as butter, lard, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, macadamia oil and avocado oil for example.

No sugars. No grains.  It's that simple.

Start planning some simple low-carb recipes. Just look at how delicious they are. 

So you can get started straight away, you can download a free 5-day low-carb meal plan, shopping list, tracker and pantry guide.