The term "low-carb diet" (also called "reduced carbohydrate", or "low-glycemic" diet) is a broad term, encompassing many popular diet books (Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Protein Power, Sugar Busters) as well as eating plans that don′t follow a rigid format, but advise limiting the consumption of foods that are high in carbohydrate and/or are especially glycemic (raise blood sugar).
When you read the research about low-carb diets, "low-carb" is defined in many different ways. One difference is whether they are looking at the amount of carbohydrate in the diet or the percentage of calories from carbohydrate.
Most of us carry around rules (or guidelines) about food in our heads. In fact, rules can be very useful when it comes to food selection -- imagine if we had to choose anew among the tens of thousands of foods in the grocery store every time we shopped! The important thing is to make sure your food rules are serving you, not working against you. Not only do rules simplify food choices, but as time goes on they can become part of your eating identity.
This carries its own momentum to help you continue to make wise choices. So what starts out as a conscious rule morphs into "just the way I eat", with little thought required. No more agonizing over the bakery section -- instead, you no literally longer care about the bakery section. Cookies just don′t make sense any more. Here are some low-carb food rules to consider adding to your arsenal.
Before starting on any new eating program, it′s important to do two things: 1) make sure you′re prepared for what′s ahead, and 2) take some measurements before you start, so you can know what changed.
Preparation to Change Your Way of Eating
Changing what you eat can be daunting, and most people don′t succeed in making the adjustment to a different way of eating. Without preparation and support, the odds are not in your favor. Think carefully about whether you are motivated to do this, and make sure you have support (we have a Low-Carb Discussion Forum to help you with this). Then, do the steps in this Guide to Getting Started and check out How to Get Through the First Week. Make sure you have the types of foods you′ll need. You can find help here:
