It’s hard to get healthy when most of the world encourages unhealthy eating. It’s difficult saying no to the doughnut at a friend’s house or delicious pasta after a long week at work. However, it’s the sugary and unhealthy carbs that are causing a weight epidemic that’s impossible to ignore. Many people have begun to cut out carbs and are finding not only do they lose weight, but they feel healthier due to some factors. It turns out that many times carbs are what is causing health issues from heart disease to diabetes. You’re probably wondering how to cut out carbs when they're already the main focus in your diet. At first it may not be easy, but in the long run, eating fewer carbs can lead to higher health rewards. It can also help you lose a ton of weight! There’s a low carb, high-fat diet that has worked for many people. In addition to weight loss, a high-fat, low carb diet known as the ketogenic diet can help increase your energy, decrease body inflammation, and may even prevent heart disease! In the Body Reboot book, we discuss how decreasing your carb consumption leads to incredible health benefits. This technique of reducing carbs in your diet will help you get healthier and stay healthy going forward.

A study in 2015 by Nutrition did a study on carbohydrates and whether decreasing carbohydrate consumption would help those with diabetes. They concluded that not only does a low carb diet help with weight loss, but it also leads to a reduction or not needing any medication.

The inability of current recommendations to control the epidemic of diabetes, the specific failure of the prevailing low-fat diets to improve obesity, cardiovascular risk, or general health and the persistent reports of some serious side effects of commonly prescribed diabetic medications, in combination with the continued success of low-carbohydrate diets in the treatment of diabetes and metabolic syndrome without significant side effects, point to the need for a reappraisal of dietary guidelines. The benefits of carbohydrate restriction in diabetes are immediate and well documented. Concerns about the efficacy and safety are long term and conjectural rather than data driven. Dietary carbohydrate restriction reliably reduces high blood glucose, does not require weight loss (although is still best for weight loss), and leads to the reduction or elimination of medication. It has never shown side effects comparable with those seen in many drugs. Here we present 12 points of evidence supporting the use of low-carbohydrate diets as the first approach to treating type 2 diabetes and as the most effective adjunct to pharmacology in type 1. They represent the best-documented, least controversial results. The insistence on long-term randomized controlled trials as the only kind of data that will be accepted is without precedent in science. The seriousness of diabetes requires that we evaluate all of the evidence that is available. The 12 points are sufficiently compelling that we feel that the burden of proof rests with those who are opposed.

Healthline recommends eliminating sugary drinks that can lead to weight gain and a host of other health issues. Just one can of soda has 38 grams of carbs, which is why it’s best to stay away from this sugary drink.

They're high in added sugar, which is linked to an increased risk of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and obesity when consumed in excess.

A 12-ounce (354-ml) can of sugary soda contains 38 grams of carbs, and a 12-ounce sweetened iced tea has 36 grams of carbs. These come entirely from sugar.

If you want to eat fewer carbs, avoiding sugar-sweetened beverages should be one of the first things you do.

If you want to drink something refreshing with a taste, try adding some lemon or lime to club soda or iced tea. If needed, use a small amount of low-calorie sweetener.

To cut out carbs Eat This, Not That recommends getting enough sleep. It sounds easy enough, but when you’re sleep deprived you’re more likely to make mistakes and eat more carbs.

“Skipping out on proper sleep can cause the body’s levels of the hormone, leptin to drop. This sends a message to the brain that there is a shortage of food and increases your appetite, making starchy comfort food more appealing. Do your body and waist a favor and make sleep an important part of your arsenal against high calorie, carb-rich comfort food.” — Jay Cardiello, celebrity fitness and nutrition expert and star of ABC’s “My Diet Is Better Than Yours”

In 2010, Ann Internal Medicine did a study on whether a low-carbohydrate and a low-fat diet would be effective for weight loss. They concluded that even though it is possible to lose weight on a low-fat diet, a low-carbohydrate diet also decreases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, making it the better option for losing weight.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of 2-year treatment with a low-carbohydrate or low-fat diet, each of which was combined with a comprehensive lifestyle modification program.

Results: Weight loss was approximately 11 kg (11%) at 1 year and 7 kg (7%) at 2 years. There were no differences in weight, body composition, or bone mineral density between the groups at any time point. During the first 6 months, the low-carbohydrate diet group had greater reductions in diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride levels, and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lesser reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and more adverse symptoms than did the low-fat diet group. The low-carbohydrate diet group had greater increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels at all time points, approximating a 23% increase at 2 years.

Conclusion: Successful weight loss can be achieved with either a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet when coupled with behavioral treatment. A low-carbohydrate diet is associated with favorable changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors at 2 years.

To start cutting out carbs, VeryWellFit recommends making a plan and deciding on what other foods you can eat instead. Vegetables still contain a moderate amount of carbs, but you’ll be focusing on vegetables that have fewer carbs, which is the majority of healthy, green veggies that are available. Another way to cut back on the carbs is by eating more fat! That’s what the keto diet is all about. The good news is that fat is naturally satiating which means you’re not going to be as hungry. If you’re trying to lose weight, this is a bonus!

Surprised? Don't be. People usually greatly increase the number 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.

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.

When you’re cutting back on your carb intake, it is vital to avoid packaged snacks and instead, Medical News Today says to find low-carb options such as eggs that can help curb your appetite.

Packaged snacks can be disastrous on a low-carb diet. Most dried, packaged goods will contain flour, sugar, or refined starchy ingredients, for example, potato or corn.

As tempting as they may be, it is probably best to avoid packaged snacks unless they come from whole-food sources, such as a bar that has only fruits and nuts.

When looking to cut carbs, a lot of people face the difficulty of what to snack on.

Most packaged snacks are going to be high in carbs from ingredients that include potatoes, grains, and corn. Having low-carb options on hand may help to resist the urge to snack on less healthful foods.

Some healthful snacks to have on hand include:

almonds
hazelnuts
walnuts
cheese
hard-boiled eggs
Eggs may be especially helpful as part of a breakfast or early snack. Eggs are low in carbs and high in protein, which may help a person feel full for longer throughout the day.

Trying a low carb and high-fat diet may be just what you need to get your health back on track. If you think it’s impossible think again because after decreasing your carb intake to around 50 daily carbs or less a day many keto dieters report that they no longer crave carbs! Learn more about this diet and how it may help you reach your weight loss goals. Right now we're currently giving away free copies of the Body Reboot book. We desire to increase awareness about bad habits and how they can get healthy! Cover the cost of shipping, and we’ll send a copy to your door FREE. Go over to this page to see if there are any copies left.

Sources: NCBI: Ann Intern Med. 2010, NCBI: Nutrition. 2015, Healthline, Eat This, Not That, VeryWellFit, Medical News Today