5 common mistakes when following a low carb diet
Low carbohydrate diets can be very effective for weight loss .
They help you to shed kilos relatively effectively as well as improving energy levels, brain fog, hormonal variances and improving sleep quality. You will likely also notice your skin quality and potentially colour and degrees of discolouration start to shift.
For most people, all of these benefits can be achieved with a lower carbohydrate, higher protein diet if you follow the diet correctly.
Unfortunately a lot of people think they are following the diet properly, however they are making some easy yet common mistakes.
If you are feeling hungry or tired, constipated or you’re not losing weight you are probably not following the diet correctly. A low carb diet is supposed to make you feel satisfied and energised. If not, something is definitely wrong so please reach out for support.
Over my many years supporting patients on their health and weight loss journey there are common mistakes which can make a difference between a successful outcome resulting in high self-esteem or sometimes self loathing with a weight rebound. Let’s take a look at the 5 most common mistakes.
A large patient cohort study by the US Institute of Medicine on Diet and Health found that :
Here are the 5 most common mistakes I see my patients making when trying to stick to a low carb diet:
1. Too little protein
This is typically a person who eats one egg for breakfast, or a tiny 95 gram tin of tuna for lunch. By 3 pm they are absolutely starving, “ hangry” and reaching for coffees, caffeinated drinks, biscuits, cake and chocolate. This type of diet provides too little protein and too little nutrient rich food in general. It can also wreak havoc with your hormones and cortisol signals.
If you choose to eat eggs for breakfast, 1 encourage you to have two or three eggs and have some vegetables with them; such as an omelette with mushrooms, tomato or spinach, or scrambled eggs along with some left over vegetables from last night’s dinner.
If you eat canned fish for lunch, please have the medium sized can (approximately 200 grams) along with a salad or cooked vegetables, with an extra virgin olive oil dressing. If you eat meat or chicken, please have a good palm sized portion. You need to eat enough food so that you are not hungry for at least three hours afterwards.
2. Consuming too much protein
These people generally focus on eating extremely lean types of protein, such as fat free chicken breast or tuna in spring water, and because these foods aren’t very filling, they eat a lot of them.
If you eat too much protein you can end up using glucose for energy. People in this category generally consume too much protein because they’re not eating enough fat; so they eat protein to fill themselves up.
It is certainly important to consume adequate protein, but if you consume too much of it, your liver will turn the protein into glucose. That’s right, a process called gluconeogenesis in your liver will convert the amino acids in the protein you ate into glucose. That’s not what you want on a low carb weight reduction plan..
For some people , eating too much red meat for example can play havoc with their gut microbiome and signal many inflammatory “metabolites” linked to Cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. There is a large body of recent research around the contribution of the gut microbiome to the health of all organ functions including the contribution to healthy weight management. You can read more about this in my article with references linked below.
Related blog post: The Value of assessing “your” Microbiome
The purpose of following a low carb diet is to restrict your carbohydrate intake so that your body is forced to burn its fat stores, or use dietary fat for energy.
3. Not Consuming enough fat
Your body needs fat
Though it may seem counter intuitive, your body actually needs fat to function optimally. This long demonised food is essential for every function of your body and your brain, which, coincidentally is roughly 60% fat so in a literal way fat helps feed your brain .
Eating good healthy fats helps balance mood, hormones, metabolism and tame hunger highs and lows while also curbing cravings.
Fat makes food taste good too. The richness and taste of fat makes the food you’re eating more enjoyable and helps satisfy you sooner providing a natural appetite taming effect . The opposite to that hungry-10-minutes-later feeling you get after eating a non-fat sugar laden substitute.
Added Fat can help shift a high glycaemic food to a low glycaemic effect, (think yoghurt.)
Fat helps keep hair, skin and nails in good shape while your organs benefit with better absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, boosting immunity and easing digestion.
Fat provides fuel for your energy producing mitochondria.
4. Not enough vegetables
Vegetables are good for you, yes your grandmother and mother has told you to eat them but did you know that the colours in every one of those coloured fruits and vegetables creates cofactors that influence the way each cell of your body makes energy…..the body is amazing .
People who don’t eat vegetables are at greater risk of poorer immune function and just about every disease, particularly cancers, Cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Vegetables are also a valuable source of fibre, and if you’re not eating grains and cereals, you’ll be relying on vegetables for fibre.
If you eat eggs for breakfast, please have some vegetables with them.
When you eat a salad, please try to use a wide variety of different and coloured vegetables, covered with healthy extra virgin olive oil and seasonal herbs, many of these are also great pre-biotics.
Most people stick to the same few vegetables every day. That can get boring and it also means you are restricting your intake of nutrients. You are also likely feeding the same species of bacteria in your biome so mixing up your offering can grow new and more beneficial species.
Start to ask your local grocer about what is seasonal and fresh, this is when they are at their peak nutritional value.
Teach the kids about the seasons and where there vegetables grow, how they are harvested and in what season. Having a respect in regards food quality is beautiful to nurture at a young age.
5. Eating too often / too much food
I often get asked about snacks. From my experience, over snacking can contribute to a poorer relationship with foods. If you are eating 2-3 balanced meals per day you should not need to constantly snack.
If your 2-3 balanced meals per day contain Protein, Fat and abundant veggies your hunger should start to settle down.
The bigger question is “am I hungry” or am I bored, tired, sad, lonely ?.
Developing a knowledge of our relationship with foods and a healthy habit of eating when hungry, not just because, is powerful for your health. Maybe you feel hungrier because you didn’t sleep well, or you have a cold or there has been a cold snap in the weather, or you are premenstrual ?
If your snacking, some healthier snacks to consider include fruit cut into smaller portions and chewed slowly with mindful eating (apples are great for this), home popped popcorn, homemade guacamole, a raw veggie platter with hummus, Vita-Wheat crackers with tomato, a small handful of activated nuts, Greek yoghurt unsweetened with berries.
Sticking to a healthy eating plan long term can be tough, particularly if you have a substantial amount of weight to lose and your just starting out. Sometimes a craving can feel overwhelming, and it can be difficult if you’re surrounded by people who eat sugar and carbohydrate rich foods.
Established daily habits, eating to nurture and nourish and avoiding these 5 common mistakes can be a great start.
