We live in a world of possibilities. From the foods that we eat, to the drinks available to us, the clothing we wear, and our next holiday. There are as many ideas about the world and about fashion as there are diets. One of the most popular (and reliable) diets is low carb. This is a popular diet plan for women, and many use the low carb diet for weight loss.
The best part of eating low carb is that it’s entirely possible, wherever you might be, and wherever you might travel. That being said, I have some tips, tricks, and guiding principles to help transform low carb dieting into delicious, low carb living.
Real Food
One of the biggest keys to help make a low carb diet successful and even enjoyable, is to nourish your body with delicious, real foods! This is your chance to become a devotee of your local farmer’s market, and learn the joys of eating seasonally. Instead of toast with Nutella for breakfast, consider other options like scrambled eggs, some yogurt with blueberries, sliced peaches and a squeeze of lemon, along with a delicious cup of coffee. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
The best way to focus on incorporating lower-carb practices (especially when looking to utilize a low carb diet for weight loss) is to know simple ways to bring in healthy and delicious options into your kitchen. Leafy green vegetables can be truly delicious when cooked and seasoned properly. Serve alongside a beautifully cooked chicken and some roasted cauliflower, and you’ve got dinner. I personally would pair dinner with a glass of white wine and a square of dark chocolate for later, but that’s just me.
I share about this a bit more later, but balancing flavors, treats, and the rich nutrition of real foods can help you stick to a plan.
Related articles:
- 10 Superfoods For Weight Loss
- Healthy Brain Food: Eat Yourself Smarter!
- How To Lose 10 Pounds In 2 Weeks When You’re Over 40
- How Many Calories Do You Need To Lose Weight?
- 10 Important Reasons Why I Can’t Lose Weight
Satisfaction
Your food should satisfy!
If you find yourself hungry after dinner, or perpetually craving more, make sure that you’re eating enough food, and that you’re adding in enough proteins, healthy fats, and fiber. If you are perpetually unsatisfied with your meals, it’s likely to push you towards eating foods that you’re not interested in, just because they seem appealing.
Take time to notice how you are feeling, and the ways that you can adjust your low carb choices, in order to keep an overall low carb diet sustainable. This process doesn’t have to be all or nothing, or centered around total deprivation. Satisfying an ice cream craving when it arises can help you stay on track when it comes to an overall lifestyle change.
Healthy fats are also incredibly important when your goal is to cut carbs, but maintain satisfaction. Nuts, seeds, rich oils, some cheeses, and foods like avocado can go a long way towards keeping you happy and satisfied.
Balance
Does eating a low carb diet mean that I don’t enjoy a delicious flaky croissant now and again? Of course not! Many have found that and overall lower or low carb diet is sustainable, when there is balance. I do my best to enjoy foods and not restrict myself when it comes to quality treats and enjoying an experience.
This might mean one pain au chocolat on a Saturday morning, instead of one every afternoon when I stop by a local cafe for an espresso.
This could look like enjoying a piece of birthday cake, or a slice of bread with fresh salted butter, when we’re having soup.
I like to be aware of the carbohydrates I enjoy, and find a place for them in the regular patterns of my life, while making other choices to help balance out a once in-a-while plate of handmade pasta and fresh pesto.
It’s also worth adding in that you should find ways to balance out a plate with flavors, colors and textures! Variety can be a powerful tool when choosing a low or lower carb lifestyle.
Flavor
Meet your spice cabinet! Seriously.
The real secret to enjoying your meals, and reducing your carbs ultimately comes down to flavoring and seasoning your food well. Low carb meals don’t have to sacrifice on flavor, and there is a great big world of herbs, spices and seasonings which can bring your dinner to the next level.
The internet is a wonderful resource when it comes to learning about what flavors pair well together. Additionally, don’t be afraid of cookbooks! There are dozens of classic recipes which be transformed into lower carb meals with some simple substitutions. Pay attention to the spices and flavors those recipes use, and take that knowledge into other dishes that you enjoy.
Fresh herbs are a wonderful way to add a bright kick to a meal, and you could even use this as an excuse to cultivate a small herb garden!
Strategy
You don’t set out on a road trip without a plan, and you shouldn’t try and incorporate a low carb diet without a strategy! What might this look like for you? This might mean:
- Planning out your meals for the week, so that you aren’t left scrambling in the morning, and grabbing a sandwich for lunch.
- Preparing low carb snacks, and keeping them handy so that you won’t be tempted by a vending machine or local cafe’s pastry case. This strategy is clearly useful at work or when you’re away from home, but keeping low carb snacks and choices in your refrigerator and pantry can also help curb the late night munchies, or that long gap between lunch and dinner.
- Learning the serving size and rough caloric values of foods, in order to make quick substitutions and easy menu planning.
- Create a backup plan, complete with snacks, local restaurants, and what options are available to you, when the need arises. When life gets busy and you find yourself ordering takeaway for dinner, it can be helpful to know what restaurants have low carb choices.
- Connect with others! There are countless low carb communities online, like forums and Facebook groups. Connecting with others who are making similar choices can be a powerful way to stay motivated and encouraged.
Cultivate Joy
Your mentality when it comes to eating can make a huge difference as you make lifestyle changes, or even adapt to a diet in the short term. I choose to focus on creativity, flavor and balance, and many of my friends do the same. We share recipes and ideas, and take the chance to enjoy the experience together, as opposed to feeling tired and hungry and isolated.
If you’re looking to bring joy back into mealtime, consider a cooking class where an instructor walks you through techniques, or even a cooking club with friends, where you cook together and enjoy your meal together. Eating meals which fit a specific requirement can feel isolating and lonely, but it doesn’t have to be that way!
It’s also important to have options available when it comes to a low carb diet, especially after 40. I could cut out my occasional glass of wine with dinner, but I don’t want to, and that’s okay. I have learned to find options – and opportunities – to make this lifestyle work for me. If I’m out to dinner with friends, I might substitute a carb-heavy side so that we can share a dessert after dinner. It is fully worth enjoying a moment and letting your low carb life resume in the morning.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to choose what works best for you and your body. The low carb diet can be a wonderful tool for weight loss, as well as supporting an active lifestyle.
Have you incorporated low-carp principles into your regular diet? I’d love for you to share with our community any tips or tricks that you might have in the comments below! This journey is best shared with others (like a delicious chocolate cake!) and what works for you might be of great benefit to others.
A bientôt!
Karen
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My mother has been looking into eating a low carb diet so I think that sharing this with her will benefit her greatly! The part where you mention planning out your meals is great for any form of diet to reach any sort of health goal too! Connecting with others is something I had not considered before, and that is a great tip!
Hey carson, I’m glad this might be of help. Let me know what your mother thought of it 😉 Cheers
Hey thank you for the awesome post! This is something that I have been helping my mother look into because her doctor recommended a low carb diet (and in Kentucky that is generally hard to pull off!). I really like the strategy section, because that is the section she needs the most in my opinion. I’ll be sure to forward this to her today! Thank you!
Thanks a lot Jessie! Let me know if it helped her in any way!
You have made low carb eating sound so much more appealing. And the best part is that low carb doesn’t necessarily mean never eat carbs again. It’s ok every now and again to enjoy your odd treat.
I think you are right that the way in which you spice your food can make a huge difference in how satisfied you feel with your meal. I am definitely going to look at new ways in which to make my cooking more exciting by learning what spices go well together. A cooking class may be just the answer.
Hi Michel, I tried one of these cooking classes myself and must say that it is much more fun to cook together and to get some best practices from the teacher 🙂 You should really try it! Have a nice Sunday!
A nice post you have written on the low carb diet for women over40, my mum is over 40 years of age and she still eats a lot of food I don’t know why maybe because she does not usually get satisfied with the normal food we eat, so she does take any food she sees at any time and I know this is very bad to her health, thanks for sharing this post,it’s gonna help in changing her.
Hey Rose, that is good to hear. I hope your mom will find some useful tips int my article 🙂 Thanks for sharing it with her!
Thanks for this post on the low carb diet for women over 40, I will be 42 next year and I still find myself not being satisfied with little or normal foods, this makes me get to eat anything I see that’s available at the moment, but since when I started eating low carb diet I have been okay with it and it gets to my satisfaction,thanks
Hi Gracie, I had the same problem and the low carb diet is working out for me too! All the best!
A low-carb diet limits carbohydrates — such as those found in grains, starchy vegetables and fruit — and emphasizes foods high in protein and fat. Many types of low-carb diets exist. Each diet has varying restrictions on the types and amounts of carbohydrates you can eat.for women that are 40years and above a low-crab diet would work for them since it is to loose weight and most of our women above 40 are mostly looking for a way to loose weight and that makes this article very important thanks alot
Thanks for your comment David, I completely agree with you! And I can say that it works for me 😉
Hello there thanks for this article I would really be of help to the public,While I agree with many of the potential issues that have been raised about low-carb diets, and think it’s important to discuss them, I also feel it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that low-carb diets can be very effective therapeutic tools for certain conditions and in certain situations.this article has been very helpful to me I would Help me in my teaching