Dieters often believe that the Summer is “too late to begin dieting. But because of how fast you can lose both pounds and inches on a low carb diet, it makes for a perfect late-minute approach to a Summer diet blitz!
If you’ve been considering a low carb diet for a while now, whether it be for weight loss or general health reasons, you couldn’t pick a better time to start than summer.
Of all the seasons, summer offers us the most of amount of natural choices that won’t have you feeling that you’re missing out. Our diets tend to be much lighter over the warmer months generally, and the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables on offer make meal planning much easier than with the more starchy offerings that are available over the fall and winter.
We naturally tend to eat lighter foods when it’s warm outside and are less likely to be tempted by the often carb loaded comfort foods that we crave more in the winter.
Low GI diets such as the South Beach diet actively encourage the consumption of good carbs found in abundance in the pickings of summer fruits and vegetables. Even stricter diets such as Atkins, now allow nutrient rich carbs back into the diet after the initial induction phase.
Starting a low carb diet in summer means that your body will have adjusted to its lower carb intake by the time winter comes around, and picking low carb meal choices will hopefully be second nature.
Breakfasts
How can we resist all the yummy summer fruits and berries that are readily available? Added with some Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of mixed nuts or seeds makes a nutritious and more importantly, delicious, alternative to carb loaded cereals or toast in the morning.
Some home-made muesli or granola using oats, bran, dried fruits, nuts, shredded coconut and topped with a sliced banana is a great start to the day.You can make this as low carb as you like by experimenting with ingredients.Make up a big batch that will keep you going for days. Alternatively buy some ready made low carb cereal.
Lunches
Obviously sandwiches are a no-no unless of course you’re using low carb breads, but there are plenty of other low carb options.
Salads with cold cuts of meat or grilled chicken or turkey make excellent lunch choices.
Omelettes make a great quick and easy lunch, high in protein and virtually carb free.
Cold salads made with quinoa, brown rice or pearled barley are a great way of mixing up your diet and increasing your fiber intake.
Dinners
Low Carb pastas and noodles make great light suppers that can be loaded with fresh summer vegetables.
New potatoes make an excellent low GI substitution for regular potatoes with a glycemic index of just 54 compared to 75 for French Fries.
Foregoing your carbs altogether with your evening meal is much easier to do in summer, as we don’t crave the comfort foods as much as we do in the colder months.A piece of salmon and a variety of vegetables makes a tasty and filling meal and you will barely notice the lack of potato or other high carb side.
Snacks
As long as we stay away from the ice creams and high sugar frozen popsicles, summer snacking can be easy to stick to a low carb plan.A tub of hummus with some vegetable batons makes a delicious snack, and some chicken drumsticks make great protein loaded hand-held food.
There are also plenty of low carb bars and low carb snacks to choose from to curb your appetite.