How to Eat Healthy & Count Carbs

Learning how to eat healthy and count carbs is something that is fairly simple to learn. Because of the popularity of the Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet and similar regimens, many people are focusing on the low-carbohydrate lifestyle as an alternative to the traditional high-carb Western diet. Low-carb diets have been shown to reduce weight and produce long-term health benefits when followed correctly.

Instructions

• 1

  Choose the right low-carb diet plan that best fits your lifestyle. The Atkins Diet is not for everybody, because it requires you to go on a no-carb diet for the first two weeks. Furthermore, a diet consisting mainly of meat, eggs and cheese can become quite cumbersome, even to the most dedicated dieter. A better approach might be to focus on low-glycemic carbohydrates, like those found in whole grains, oats and vegetables. These carbs allow a slow release of glucose into the bloodstream. This can help you to avoid an insulin spike, which the Atkins diet is specifically designed to help you avoid.

• 2

  Remove all unwanted food items from your kitchen. As hard as it may be to get rid of food you just spent your hard-earned money on, it is necessary if you are going to stick to your diet plan. Give it to a neighbor or take it down to the local food bank -- let someone less fortunate benefit from your need to lose weight.

• 3

  Buy foods that are high-quality proteins, such as turkey, fish and chicken. Fish is especially important because it provides omega-3 fatty acids, which are necessary for proper brain and cell function. Carbohydrates should include oats, nuts and green leafy vegetables like broccoli. Try to skip over the red meats and starchy carbohydrates, such as white bread and potatoes. These carbs are high-glycemic carbohydrates, which are rapidly absorbed by the body and released into the bloodstream as glucose.

• 4

  Pay attention to carbohydrate intake and keep a record of it. Rather than cutting carbohydrates completely out of your diet, keep a journal of your intake and record this daily. The number of carbohydrates you consume is usually listed on the ingredients of most store-bought foods. Make sure you pay attention to portion size as well. If you eat 2 cups of beans containing 23 grams of carbohydrates and the serving size is only 1 cup, then you need to record 46 grams of carbohydrates.

• 5

  Set a goal. Decide what your maximum carb intake should be, and then modify the intake from there based on your weight-loss results. A good guideline to follow is no more than 60 to 100 grams of carbs per day as you start out. You should make your changes from there. Also, do not forget to get at least 30 minutes of exercise per day and drink plenty of water. Both of these practices, along with your low-carb lifestyle, should produce many positive changes in your body, including substantial weight loss.