What Does Low Carb Mean?
We’ve all heard of a carbohydrate, but do you know what it actually is?
Carbohydrates are made up of sugar, starch and fibre. They are found in so many of our everyday foods. We most commonly associate them with bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. It may come as a surprise, but carbs are not necessary for our bodies to function. In the absence of them, our body converts protein into glucose to fuel the few parts that really need it.
Where some confusion comes in regarding carbohydrates is whether a carb is refined or unrefined, and the two contain differing properties:
Unrefined carbs – these are found in whole-grains, potatoes and pulses such as beans and lentils. These carbohydrates are delicious and a fantastic source of vitamins and nutrients.
Refined carbs – these carbs have been stripped of all their fibre, bran and nutrients therefore making them of no value for our body whatsoever. Once they hit your stomach they spike blood sugar levels and therefore increase insulin release. Persistent high blood glucose levels can lead to Type 2 diabetes as well as put you at risk of heart problems or stroke.
Have you ever eaten a huge carb loaded meal, only to be hungry again an hour later? I know I have! The sudden rise in blood sugar levels leads to an equally sudden drop-what goes up, must come down. That then leads to hunger. You eat more. And more. And more. Eventually, weight piles on and your health suffers.
The definition of a low-carb diet is one that allows for 50-100g of NET carbohydrates per day and is where we focus the HYH Meal Plan.
You may be wondering what NET carbs are – by this, we mean the calculation of TOTAL carbs, minus dietary fibre and alcohol sugars. Let’s use an avocado as an example;
A medium sized avocado contains;
21g fat
2.7g protein
12g carbs (of which 9.2g is fibre)
Therefore, 12g – 9.2g fibre = 2.8g NET carbs per avocado
Sugar alcohols can be a bit more tricky to calculate as the calorie content of sugar alcohols differs.
The problem we have with this form of strict Keto diet is that is super restrictive and not sustainable long term. It also limits carbohydrates so heavily that it nigh on impossible to consume all the veggies you need in a day within the carb allocation, and therefore I couldn’t comfortably advocate this.
Reading food labels is going to be the easiest way to figure out what carbs are in your diet, but apps and online tools can also be helpful. This can seem pretty intimidating when starting out, so HYH has taken away the stress of this by including a macro breakdown including the NET carb total of each and every recipe we’ve curated.
We’ve also written a guide to everyday keto cupboard essentials you’ll regularly be using in your new fasting way of life.
Where the HYH 28 Day Meal Plan differs, is that we stick to 50g NET carbs per day.
This allows us to include a host of low carb, high fibre vegetables that contain the vital vitamins and minerals your body needs to function at its very best. Therefore, although our plan is low(er) carb, we are here to ensure you’re getting all those amazing nutrients from your food. Not only that, veggies are DELICIOUS! We make a fuss about treating those nutrient power houses with the respect they deserve and by elevating them to the next level with flavour and fats so they sing within the dishes and can hold their own as a centrepiece in our vegetarian recipes.