Adopting a low carbohydrate (carb) diet has been a weight loss strategy for over 150 years.
Choosing low carb foods may help people consume fewer calories and lose excess fat.
Carbohydrates, along with protein and fat, are one of the three macronutrients. They provide glucose, which acts as the main source of energy for the body. However, eating too many carbs without burning them off as energy can lead to fat storage.
Finding low carb snacks and meals can be challenging. This article provides some low carb snack ideas and tips for incorporating them into the diet. It also discusses the benefits of eating a low carb diet.
What are no-carb or low carb snacks?
Almost all foods contain some carbohydrates, but some contain very few. These are no-carb or low carb snacks.
To reduce carbs in the diet, people can choose whole, minimally processed foods, such as:
fruits and vegetables
nuts and seeds
meat and fish
eggs
dairy foods, such as whole milk and yogurt
beans, lentils, and other legumes
Depending on their daily carb allowance, people may need to limit or avoid some of these foods.
Eating whole, minimally processed carbohydrates like these has health benefits that can help prevent conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Carbohydrates also provide fiber, which is essential for digestion.
Low carb snack ideas
For people trying to follow a low carb or low calorie diet, having access to healthy food can help keep them on track. Preparing snacks in advance is a good way to avoid reaching for less healthy convenience foods when hungry.
The following chart provides some low carb snack ideas.
Eggs | Meat and fish | Fruit and vegetables | Beans, nuts, seeds |
boiled eggs | meat or fish jerky | apples and cheese | bean dip |
crustless quiche | turkey roll-ups | vegetable sticks | crunchy chickpeas |
savory muffins | tuna omelette | kale chips | steamed edamame beans |
frittata | tuna fritters | celery and peanut butter | hummus |
egg wraps | chicken bites | fruits | tamari pumpkin seeds |
omelette | salmon salad tacos | berries and plain or Greek yogurt | nuts |
Benefits of low carb snacks
Low carb snacks can be helpful for people wanting to lose weight or maintain their current weight.
When a person eats food containing carbs, the body breaks the carbs down into glucose, raising blood sugar. The body uses some of the glucose for energy and stores the rest in the liver as glycogen. When glycogen stores are full, the body then stores excess glucose as fat. Over time, this causes a person to gain weight.
This process is not unique to carbs. Consuming excess protein and fat can also lead to fat storage.
Low carb snacks do not cause blood sugar to increase as much as carb-based snacks, so people are less likely to have blood sugar spikes that lead to fat storage.
Low carb snacks are often high in protein, which helps people feel fuller for longer. When people feel full, they are less likely to want to eat, which can help them stick to their health goals.
Protein takes more time to digest than carbs and stays in the digestive tract longer, providing energy over an extended period. Refined carbs provide a fast release of energy and exit the digestive tract sooner, whereas complex carbs that are high in fiber provide a slower release of energy and take longer for the body to absorb and digest.
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Tips for eating low carb snacks
The key to sticking to a low carb eating plan is organization. This begins with planning what to eat, making a shopping list, and preparing food in advance.
For example, at the weekend, a person might plan what to eat the following week. This may include easy-to-grab, low carb snacks to store in the fridge or take to work and their main meals.
Once they have planned what to eat, they may write a shopping list with all the necessary items. This might include pre-prepared, low carb snacks or the ingredients they need to make them at home.
Cooking large quantities of snacks and freezing them can save time. Many low carb snacks, such as savory muffins, freeze well, and a person can take the snacks they need each day from the freezer in the morning.
If a person wishes to lose weight, it is a good idea to check roughly how many calories their snacks contain. Even low carb snacks can cause weight gain if a person consumes more calories than they burn.
Summary
Eating low carb snacks can help people avoid the blood sugar spikes that can lead to storing fat. Many low carb snacks contain protein, which can help people feel fuller for longer.
Examples of low carb snacks include hard-boiled eggs, crustless quiche, vegetable sticks with a bean-based dip, and nuts.
Planning and preparing snacks is a good way to avoid reaching for carb-based snacks that may not align with a person’s health goals.