What Can You Eat on a Low Carb Diet? My Traffic Light Food Guide
In short
When I started low carb I made a simple traffic light list to stick on the fridge: green means go for your life, yellow means okay in moderation, and red means avoid. Each number is the carbs in 100 grams of the food. In this video I go through the whole guide, from root veg and fruit to sauces, tinned food and booze.
Key points
- Meat and fish are pretty much all green. Beef, chicken, turkey, pork, lamb, salmon, prawns, crab and white fish are effectively zero carbs. Even scallops are only about 4 grams.
- Watch the veg that grows below ground. Potatoes are the biggie to avoid, and parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes are in the red too. Carrots are almost 9% carbs, while radish is good and turnip isn’t too bad.
- Above-ground veg is mostly fine. Asparagus, cauliflower, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini and peppers are all good, and shredded green cabbage fried off with bacon and garlic is my go-to with a steak. Peas (almost 10%) and sweet corn (20%) go in the red.
- Fruit is almost a no-go zone. Avocado is the exception because of its good fat. Mango is about 17% sugar, while lemon, lime, cranberries and rhubarb are low.
- Bread, rice and pasta are the downfall. White bread is almost half carbohydrate, wholemeal isn’t much better, and 100 grams of white rice has about 28 grams of carbs. Couscous, quinoa, noodles and tortillas are all in the red.
- Dairy is mostly clean and green. Butter, cheese, cream and full fat milk are all good. Plain Greek yoghurt is fine; it’s the honey and fruit versions that add the sugar.
- Sweeteners aren’t all equal. Honey, maple syrup, agave, coconut sugar and molasses are mostly carbs, and xylitol surprised me by being nearly pure carbs. My favourite is monk fruit sweetener (I use Lakanto), which has zero carbs.
- Sauces will get you. Ketchup, barbecue sauce, hoisin, sweet chilli and teriyaki are basically sugar. Mustard, mayo, ranch, Caesar, blue cheese dressing and most hot sauces like sriracha are fine.
- Mixers catch you out. Spirits, dry wine and champagne are low, and you can get low carb beers now. Tonic water and Coke are what push a drink into the red.
- The rule of thumb: eat whatever you like from the green, take it easy with the yellow, avoid the red, and always check the label on anything processed.
If you’re trying to go low carb, whether that’s keto, LCHF or just plain old low carb, the first thing you need to know is which foods carry the carbs and how many. In this video I walk through the guide I made when I started and stuck on the fridge, section by section.
I was 123 kilos with high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes when I started. Following this list, I dropped nearly 23 kilos in four months. I’ve got nothing to sell, no courses and no paid memberships. It’s just real food.
How the guide works
It’s a traffic light system. Green means go for your life, yellow means okay in moderation but best avoided if you want to go hard, and red means don’t. Each number is the carb content of 100 grams of the food. You wouldn’t eat 100 grams of a lot of these in one go, but it gives you a percentage to go by.
Where people get caught out
Bread, rice and pasta don’t taste sweet, but they’re loaded with carbohydrates that turn into sugar. That’s why I call them the downfall of modern society. I’ve written more about it in avoid bread, rice and pasta.
The other trap is what goes on or with your food. Sauces like ketchup and barbecue sauce are mostly sugar, and so are a lot of mixers. I had no idea tonic water had such a massive carb content until I looked, which is why I wrote hidden sugar in water.
I’ve also got rid of seed oils like canola, vegetable and sunflower oil and gone back to what our grandparents used: butter, tallow and other animal fats, plus olive oil and coconut oil. Here’s why I avoid seed oils.
Sweeteners and diet drinks
I can’t get on with stevia because of the aftertaste. My go-to is monk fruit sweetener, which has zero carbs. When people drop by for a cuppa and want sugar, I put a teaspoon or two of it in, and they don’t notice the difference. I’ve put a caution on diet sodas even though they’re zero sugar, because sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose and saccharin all have suspected health problems. Do your own research on that. I’m not a doctor, dietitian or nutritionist, just a bloke who got his stuff together by following this guide.
Don’t beat yourself up
If you fall off the wagon at a grandkid’s birthday party and have a piece of cake, that’s fine. Just get back on the horse tomorrow. I’m hovering around the high 90s now, aiming for 85, and it’s slow going but consistent.
Hankering after pizza? I make a base with mozzarella and almond flour; see my low carb pizza. Beef jerky is my snack of choice, and here’s how I make beef jerky. Not sure which style of low carb suits you? Read LCHF vs keto.
Grab the free Carb Guide to get the full list by email, or watch my story and how I lost 23kg in four months.
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Not medical advice. I'm not a doctor, dietitian or nutritionist, just a bloke telling the story of what worked for me. Check with your doctor before changing your diet or medication.
