By now I’m sure you’re familiar with the term ‘low carb.’ It’s easily one of America’s fastest-growing diet trends — and possibly one of the most contested as well.
It’s not hard to see why: the phrase ‘low carb’ is fairly subjective. And with so much discussion online, there’s not necessarily a clear benchmark.
You’re probably not sure how to answer questions like:
- “How many grams of carbs are you ‘allowed’ to eat?”
- “Can diabetics eat carbs?”
- “Should you eat carbs at all?”
- “If I eat carbs, am I a ‘bad’ low-carber?”
For many individuals considering a low-carb diet, the online noise can be confusing and discouraging.
That’s why I’m providing the details up-front: so you can make an informed decision for yourself.
Defining low carb
It’s best to define a low-carb diet by first explaining what it is not.
A low-carb diet is NOT:
- Eating processed food or lots of fiber as a replacement for carbs
- Devoid of fruits and vegetables (depending on the low-carb diet you follow)
- A magical silver bullet that instantly restores your metabolic health
Instead, this style of eating IS:
- Free of added sugar, seed oils, and grain
- Based on eating whole, real foods
- Part of a long-term strategy for restoring metabolic health
You can generally think of a low-carb diet as anything that falls below 100 grams of carbohydrates per day (although it’s usually much lower). Most people aim to eat high amounts of protein, medium amounts of fat, and small amounts of carbohydrates.
If you are eating whole, real food, especially animal-based products, you’re likely already following a low-carb diet. You can pair this with the other six principles of metabolic health to continue improving your metabolic health.
But as discussed, there’s not necessarily one solid definition for what ‘low carb’ means. There are also several different diets in the low-carb community — which makes choosing an approach even more confusing.
Let’s look at the most common low-carb diets so you can choose an option that makes the most sense for you.
5 types of low carb diets
My good friend Dr. Ken D. Berry describes eating low-carb as something that falls on ‘the proper human diet spectrum.’ This is anything that doesn’t include added sugar, processed grain like wheat, and seed or vegetable oils.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular options:
American low-carb diets
An American low-carb diet is any style of eating that falls below the average carbohydrate intake for US adults.
In America, the average adult consumes around 275 grams of carbohydrates per day. This might be the shorter end of the spectrum: those following vegan and plant-based diets may consume 500 grams of daily carbs or more.
If you’re able to consume fewer than 100 grams of carbs per day, you’re eating far fewer than most of your peers.
Just keep in mind this doesn’t give you license to eat non-whole, real foods. Ultra-processed foods like hot dogs, for example, shouldn’t be a staple in your fridge.
Ketogenic diets
The ketogenic diet promotes lowering carbohydrates — whether they’re from bread, fruit, or vegetables — to under 50 grams per day. Doing this two to four days in a row should put your body into ketosis, which turns fat into ketone bodies as an alternative form of energy.
Ketogenic diets typically don’t exclude any foods (so long as you don’t consume enough to exit ketosis). Some keto followers choose to eat fruit, honey, and ‘low-carb’ sweets with fake sugar.
Contrary to popular belief, keto diets do not cause hypoglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), or heart damage. They do, however, offer extraordinary benefits, ranging from weight loss and seizure management to reversing chronic disease.
Ketovore diets
Ketovore is a combination between the keto diet and the carnivore diet. Its followers eat mostly meat and vegetables and rarely consume ‘treats’ like honey or fruit.
The ketovore diet is relatively new, although anecdotally, most people consume between 10 and 30 grams of carbohydrates per day. They may not consume carb-heavy produce like potatoes, but they still eat foods with small amounts of carbohydrates (think lettuce, green beans, and cauliflower).
Ketovore diets may help you enter ketosis more quickly, since you’re consuming fewer carbohydrates with more animal-based products. Some people pair the ketovote diet with intermittent fasting to generate ketones faster and lose weight more quickly.
Carnivore diets
The carnivore diet is exactly what it sounds like: eating only animal products.
Some carnivores prefer to eat strictly animal protein, while others feel comfortable with animal-based products such as eggs, butter, and milk.
I personally follow a stricter carnivore diet. It’s the only way of eating that helped me lose 100 pounds and keep it off.
It also lets me eat whatever I want whenever I want it — which is two meals a day with ground beef, eggs, and seafood.
The average person on the carnivore diet consumes 10 carbs of carbohydrates per day or fewer. Of course, some carnivores eat more carbs than others, especially if they consume dairy products.
Lion diets
The Lion Diet is essentially an elimination diet, although many choose to follow it for years. You essentially eat red meat, salt, and water — and nothing else — for three or six months to a year.
This is a zero-carb diet that has worked well for many people. There are countless testimonials you can find online.
If you’re someone who suffers from chronic diseases, or if you’ve tried other diets and have reactions to different foods, you may want to read more about the Lion Diet FAQ.
Eating low carb both healthily and sustainably
The best way to follow a ‘low carb diet’ entirely depends on you. No matter how you choose to eat, you’ll be far better off by reducing your current carb consumption.
There’s no target to hit or metric to meet right now. I just want you to reduce your carb consumption and experience the benefits that come with it. It won’t be long until you get into a groove — and realize how much a low-carb diet could benefit your life.
The further along you get in your health journey, the more you may want to refine your diet.
If you’re interested in joining a health-oriented community with a group of like-minded individuals, you may want to consider joining my Heart Health Hub — a health-oriented community all about improving metabolic health.