People do things differently when it comes to going on a new diet. Some are ready to go all in whereas others have to take it slowly. When it comes to eating low carb, people start experiencing the most benefits when they get under their idea carb level. They start losing weight, feeling more energetic, have less inflammation, and so much more. We discuss many of these benefits in the Body Reboot book. In our book, we talk about the keto diet (a low carb, high fat diet), and how it is helping people everywhere meet their weight loss goals and feel healthier too! Wondering where to start? If you’re thinking about going low carb, you’re going to need all the help you can get. Here are 9 ways to eat fewer carbs… the sneaky way!

Eat kale chips instead of chips

We know that nothing can replace real chips, but kale chips come pretty close. Believe it or not, but they are pretty tasty if you prepare them right! Eat This, Not That reveals why kale chips make a yummy snack.

Can’t give up the crunch? Good thing you don’t have to. While we don’t recommend reaching into a greasy bag of chips every time you get hungry before lunch, you can find the same texture in a bag of kale chips. These green alternatives usually have less to offer in the carb department, as well as much more Vitamin A for healthier teeth and skin—it’s a win-win!

Eat more veggies

If you’re going to stick to a low carb diet (come on, you can do it)!, then VeryWell Fit says you should eat more veggies. Of course that much is given, but you should stick to the non-startchy veggies instead of the starchy ones to gain the most benefits.

Surprised? Don't be. People usually greatly increase the amount of vegetables they eat when they begin a low-carb way of eating. My recommendation is to start doing this first. Which vegetables? Not the starchy ones, such as corn and potatoes, but the non-starchy veggies, such as greens, cauliflower, avocado, mushrooms. In fact, most vegetables do not have much usable carbohydrate.

Cut back on the bread

Bread isn’t that great for you, especially when you’re on the keto diet. Healthline gives an excellent suggestion though, which is to cut it out or find substitutes for it. One idea is to prepare low-carb bread that’s just as tasty.

Bread is a staple food in many diets. Unfortunately, it's also quite high in carbs and generally low in fiber.

This is especially true for white bread made from refined grains, which may negatively impact health and weight.

Even nutritious breads such as rye contain about 15 grams of carbs per slice. And only a couple of those are fiber, the only component of carbs that isn't digested and absorbed.

Although whole grain bread contains vitamins and minerals, there are many other foods that provide the same nutrients with much fewer carbs.

These healthy foods include vegetables, nuts and seeds.

However, it can be tough to give up bread entirely. If you're finding it difficult, try one of these delicious low-carb bread recipes that are easy to make.

Style Caster also explains why cutting bread out of your diet is a good idea. They also discuss how eating something high in fat and protein can keep you fuller, longer. Check out a few thoughts on what to eat instead of bread. These options are great!

Obvious, but incredibly effective when it comes to losing weight. Bread—even most mass-market whole wheat varieties—are packed with carbohydrates and refined sugars, so if you’re looking to slim down by cutting carbs, commit to cutting it out. This means abstaining from the bread basket at restaurants, foregoing sandwiches at breakfast and lunch, and not snacking on things like crackers.

The good news is that with a few simple swaps, you’ll notice that eliminating bread will keep you fuller longer. If you eat a turkey and cheese sandwich on a crusty roll every day for lunch, try putting the protein over a bed of kale, lettuce, spinach, or any other green veggie you like instead. From there, add a splash of olive oil and some fresh pepper for flavor.

Breakfast can be a little more difficult, so try to pre-plan as best you can by making protein-heavy foods like hard-boiled eggs the night before, low-carb shakes, or, in a pinch, grabbing a Fage 0% yogurt, which has a somewhat inoffensive 7 carbs per container).

Try almond milk

If you’re trying to cut back on the carbs by drinking less milk, Diabetes Daily recommends switching over to almond milk. Almond milk has far fewer carbs, and it’s pretty tasty too!

Try Almond Milk or Soy Milk instead of regular. Almond milk is surprisingly good. It feels lighter than milk (more like skim), but works extremely well in cereal and smoothies. Soy milk has a richer texture and works well, too. Both have 2 to 6 grams of carbs – less than half of any type of regular milk!

Wrap it up

We know we already mentioned ditching bread earlier, but Eat This, Not That offers an excellent tip. Their tip is to wrap up your burger, taco, or whatever else you’d like in lettuce instead of bread or a tortilla!

You already put lettuce in your burgers and tacos, so why not use one of the crisp leaves to hold everything together? That’s right, throw out your buns and shells the next time you start grilling. You’ll be ridding yourself of the 20 grams of carbs found in a single Pepperidge Farm hamburger bun and the 24 in a Mission flour tortilla. And since there’s only one single gram of carbs in an entire cup of lettuce, your simple swap will go a long way.

Choose low carb snacks

We know it’s hard selecting low carb snacks sometimes, but Healthline says having foods that are lower in carbs will help keep you fuller, longer. Check out some ideas on what to eat that they provide below:

Carbs can add up quickly in snack foods such as chips, pretzels and crackers.

These types of foods are also not very satisfying.

One study found women felt fuller and ate 100 fewer calories at dinner when they ate a high-protein snack, compared to a low-protein one.

Having a low-carb snack that contains protein is the best strategy when hunger strikes between meals.

Here are a few healthy snacks that contain less than 5 grams of digestible (net) carbs per 1-oz (28-gram) serving and also some protein:

Almonds: 6 grams of carbs, 3 of which are fiber.

Peanuts: 6 grams of carbs, 2 of which are fiber.

Macadamia nuts: 4 grams of carbs, 2 of which are fiber.

Hazelnuts: 5 grams of carbs, 3 of which are fiber.

Pecans: 4 grams of carbs, 3 of which are fiber.

Walnuts: 4 grams of carbs, 2 of which are fiber.

Cheese: Less than 1 gram of carbs.

Celery and peanut butter

If you’re a fan of peanut butter, then you’re going to love this snack idea! Eat This, Not That says to snack on celery and peanut butter — yummy! If you’re not careful, however, peanut butter can make your carb levels go high quickly. Eat peanut butter in moderation, and you’ll have a tasty snack.

Peanut butter toast—whether you left that childhood favorite in the past or still slather that spread on whole wheat every morning before work, there’s a better way. Reach for sticks of celery instead. You won’t just be slashing your carb levels, but ridding yourself of a major morning calorie count as well. We recommend subbing in some almond butter while you’re at it for some seriously nutritious noshing.

Cheese crackers

Forget crackers; Diabetes Daily says to eat cheese crackers! While on a keto diet cheese crackers are perfect because they’re high in fat and should eliminate any craving you have for high carb crackers!  

Snack on cheese crackers. It’s easy to make very low-carb crackers. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet and make little disks of shredded cheese. Make sure they’re not stacked too high in the middle or they won’t crisp evenly. Now broil them for about 7 – 10 minutes. Alternately, you can microwave them for about 30 seconds.

Eat more fat

Finally, VeryWell Fit discusses how eating more fat (which is the premise of the keto diet), can help you stay fuller longer and increase weight loss. If you’re afraid of eating fat don’t be! There are a lot of healthy fats that you can eat that have excellent health benefits.

I can hear the cries of protest now, but hear me out! Yes, people who eat a diet that's lower in carbohydrate usually eat more fats. But believe it or not, this is a good thing. Fats fill us up and make it less likely that we will overeat, especially in conjunction with consuming less carbohydrate (a diet that is very high in both carbs and fats is probably not a good idea). We need fats for our bodies to run smoothly. And there is absolutely no reason to think that adding fats to our diet is a bad thing. Even leaving the debate on saturated fats aside, you can add fats from such sources as olive oil, nuts, avocado, fatty fish, and flax seeds.

There are always ways to stick to a low carb diet, and we hope these tips helped you learn a few techniques that’ll work for you while on the keto diet. To receive a FREE copy of the Body Reboot book, help us cover the cost of shipping. Visit this page today and see if there are any copies left.

Sources: Healthline, Eat This, Not That, Diabetes Daily, VeryWell Fit, Style Caster