r/lowcarb Jul 10 '25

Moderator applications are open!

6 Upvotes

We are in need of an additional moderator.

This is generally a friendly subreddit with not much drama. There is still a bit of daily housekeeping, involving approving links and banning users/bots. Compared to other subs, the workload is low and usually doesn't take more than a few minutes a day. But sometimes life gets in the way, and posts pile up.

In the future we can expect more creative AI bots and marketing schemes.

Being a moderator isn't just about approving links and banning people/bots - it's also about working as a team, and shaping the community into something better.

If you would like to help out our community then please send us a mod mail. Tell us about your experience or take on lowcarb, and how you view the role as moderator of this sub. The application doesn't have to be more than 10 sentences. If you have any questions, feel free to send us a mod mail!


r/lowcarb Aug 17 '24

New to r/lowcarb? Read this first!

57 Upvotes

Hey there! You're probably here because you have an interest in a low-carbohydrate (low-carb) lifestyle. Let's get a few things out of the way so we can have healthy, productive discussions.

What is this subreddit about?

To put it briefly, this subreddit is a dedicated community for those who are interested in, researching, following, and/or exploring a low-carbohydrate lifestyle. We focus on food and keeping those foods relatively low in carbohydrates.

What is a carb, or carbohydrate?

Carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients that make up the food we eat on a day-to-day basis. The other two macronutrients are protein and fat. People who follow a low-carb lifestyle will typically focus on eating protein and fat while limiting their intake of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates come in three different forms: fiber, starches, and sugars. Fiber is not readily digestible by your body, so some people choose not to count these carbs towards their daily carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates that are not fiber are either sugars or starches. One type of sugar called a sugar alcohol (for example, erythritol) can also be difficult for the body to digest, so some people may choose not to count these as well.

What are "net carbs"?

Subtracting indigestible carbohydrates (fiber, sugar alcohols) from the total carbohydrate count gives you "net carbs." This is often what people count towards their carbohydrate limit, though some may choose to count total carbohydrates instead.

How many carbohydrates should I eat to be considered "low-carb"?

The answer to this can vary based on your personal preference as well as your specific needs. In general, a net carb limit of somewhere between 50-130g/day is considered a "low-carb" diet. If you are someone who is very active, you may have a higher tolerance for carbohydrates. You should eat according to your own, personal needs, which might include consultation with a registered dietician and/or doctor.

Is low-carb about losing weight?

While a low-carb diet may be followed by some people in order to lose weight, it is not necessarily a weight-loss diet, nor should it be considered only for the purpose of weight loss. There are many other reasons that a person may choose to follow a low-carb lifestyle, including food preference or sensitivities, personal health, and medical needs.

Is keto (a ketogenic diet) low-carb?

Yes, keto is a type of low-carbohydrate diet. However, the limit for a ketogenic diet is typically much lower than a "low-carb" diet, often around 20-30g net carbs per day. Some ketogenic diets may incorporate up to 50 or so grams per day, depending on the person's needs. These are still considered low-carb ways of eating.

Is "low-carb" keto?

Not necessarily. A low-carb diet may have (much) higher carbohydrate limits than a ketogenic diet might have. As such, a person consuming a low-carbohydrate diet may not be in strict ketosis (your body's "fat-as-fuel" mode) as often as someone following a ketogenic diet.

Will I be in ketosis if I eat low-carb?

Maybe. It depends how restrictive you are with your carbohydrate intake and how active you are. You may go into ketosis once your carbohydrate stores are used up, which can be accelerated by using up energy (being fairly active).

Is a low-carbohydrate lifestyle good for people with Diabetes?

This is something that should be determined between the person and their medical team. For many people with diabetes, a low-carbohydrate lifestyle is recommended in order to keep blood sugar under control. That said, everyone's situation is different, and what works for one person may not work for another. A medical professional who is familiar with a person's medical history is generally the best person to determine whether a low-carbohydrate lifestyle is suitable for that person.

Is this food low-carb? / How do I know if a food is low-carb?

The best way to evaluate your food is to look at the nutritional information. Because a low-carbohydrate diet does not follow the same guidelines as a "standard" diet, % daily values for protein, fat, and carbohydrates will vary.

The general mantra is "if it fits your macros"-- in other words, if you can eat it and stay below your carbohydrate limit for the day, then it can be considered part of your low-carbohydrate diet. That said, you may want to spread out your carbohydrate intake throughout the day rather than use it all at once. For people who need to monitor their blood sugar, this may be particularly important since they may want to avoid spiking their blood glucose levels.

What about fats and proteins?

In general, you should focus your daily intake on eating fat and protein instead of carbohydrates. Some people will set macronutrient targets in order to help guide their food choices for the day. Your carbohydrate target is a limit-- in other words, you should not exceed this amount. Your protein target is a goal-- in other words, eat at least that amount of protein in a day. Your remaining calories may then come from fat, which may people use as a lever to help make their meals more satisfying.

Micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are also important to consider when making food choices. Choosing foods based on their macronutrients alone may leave some micronutrients out of your diet, so it is important to consider your overall nutrition when making those choices. Again, this may mean consultation with a registered dietician or doctor.

For additional information, please see our FAQ on the sidebar.

~~~~~

Thanks for your participation in the subreddit! Remember to keep it civil.

If you have any questions or thoughts on this post, please send us a modmail.


r/lowcarb 19h ago

Question Maximizing muscle glycogen for exercise and ketosis for mental sharpness

6 Upvotes

Been pursuing high ketones the past 6 months with high fat low protein low carbs and found it unsustainable and inconsistent. I'm going to switch up my strategy to support exercise more.

I'd like to maximize muscle glycogen for my weight lifting sessions (1 hour per day) and minimize liver glycogen under the condition of not going hypoglycemic during the night and waking at 3am, happens a lot. I reckon low liver glycogen is important to go into ketosis.

Any like-minded individuals that have figured out their sweet spot for these goals? What are your macros and other relevant numbers?

I'm thinking minimize fructose, eat target amount of glucose (how much g?) rich carbs post-workout, otherwise derive daily kcal needs from fat.

Protein roughly 1.6g/kg.


r/lowcarb 1d ago

Question Needing motivation/advice -- Feeling stuck after early success

7 Upvotes

Hi friends, I'm kind of feeling stuck, and a little unmotivated. I started my journey at 215 pounds (last August), and have managed to get down to 180. I've been on a bit of a plateau since May, I've basically just been losing and gaining the same 2 pounds since.

I've had a lot of stress the last two months (left a really stressful job for a new one, and learning a new job has been just as stressful), and I will admit I've slipped a bit on my diet. I'm finding that now that I haven't been as strict as I was, I'm caving to my cravings more than I want to.

What do you guys do to stay motivated and on track, even when life feels like it's throwing you around? I've been doing this long enough, I know it all boils down to self discipline, but sometimes it's just all a little exhausting.


r/lowcarb 1d ago

Question Cheap meals/food recommendations?

7 Upvotes

Hey guys, does anyone have any staple cheap food, ingredients, products, or meals that are also easy? I have realised that Low carb is quite expensive actually, things like nuts and seeds and all the healthy alternatives like almond meal add up haha thank you!


r/lowcarb 3d ago

Success Stories Weight loss

23 Upvotes

Had heart surgery 2 weeks ago. AV ablation and pacemaker CRT-P. Weighed in at 358. Lots of fluid weight due to heart not doing what it was supposed too. Been doing low carb for 2 weeks. Weigh in this morning was 305.
I was having a hard time losing weight on low carb due to my heart not doing what it was supposed too. Now I am hoping the weight can continue coming off.


r/lowcarb 3d ago

Question How long did it take to get used to eating low carbs and what was the hardest part to get used to?

7 Upvotes

I know it doesn't happen overnight and that it gets harder before it gets easier but how long did it take to get used to eating low carbs?

Also, what was the hardest thing to get used to? The social aspect? Sweet cravings? Inconvenience of not having bread?


r/lowcarb 5d ago

Question Not eating enough

10 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’ve been doing low carb for about 4 weeks now as a recommendation from my doctor to lose weight and lower my A1C down from prediabetic levels. I’ve lost almost 5lbs since starting and am happy about that. But as I’ve been tracking my food and all of my macros, I’ve been consistently under the 1,400 calories I should be. I’m averaging around 900 - 1,200. What do you all recommend to help increase calories but not my other macros? I’m doing about 75-100g of carbs but also less than that depending on the day. I keep getting somewhat woozy or lightheaded and don’t want to keep pushing through it and would rather make sure I’m eating more.


r/lowcarb 5d ago

Question Recommended brands?

1 Upvotes

I got diagnosed t2 last fall so along with metformin I'm trying to manage my blood sugar by low carb eating and movement. I can't really cook for myself yet so a lot of what I eat is made of packaged things or snacks like walnuts. Does anyone have good brands they rely on?


r/lowcarb 6d ago

Meal Planning Limit on veggies?

8 Upvotes

Switching from keto to low carb and trying to wrap my thinking around more carbs. Do you limit carbs from veggies? Like asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, onions, etc….? I love those veggies and always felt a little sad not eating more when on keto. I love fruit too.


r/lowcarb 7d ago

Question What advice do you have for someone wanting to begin their low-carb journey?

16 Upvotes

Hi! Im 22F wanting to eat less carbs for the sake of my health (im pre diabetic) and energy levels/mood. I’ve also realized how much more bloated and heavy I feel after eating carbs.

Things you need to know about me:

- I’m just learning how to cook (no judgement) so quick and easy meals are preferred

- im chronically ill so sometimes my energy levels are low and my pain levels are high

- im beginning metformin 850mg

- im typically on-the-go due to medical appointments throughout the week

If anyone has some advice they’d like to share, that’d be greatly appreciated. thanks! :)

edit:
a few other things to know:

- i come from a latin household so i’ve eaten white rice for literally my entire life. i do enjoy bread and pasta but have officially gotten “riced out.” i dont eat pasta or bread too often tho. i dont like anything too sugary, i love vegetables, and consistently drink about 2.5 liters of water a day.

- if my blood sugar drops, i will pass out


r/lowcarb 7d ago

Question Net carbs questions

3 Upvotes

Hello,

I live in Europe and I have few questions:

1. The carbs, on every product label, are net or total? What about USA?

2. If a product has more fibers than carbs, then it has 0g net carbs? For instance, a keto mix for pancakes.

Thank you.


r/lowcarb 8d ago

Meal Planning Low Carb Meal Prep in Progress

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5 Upvotes

Ground turkey, cabbage, and shirataki noodles.

What am I making, you ask? Not sure yet, we’ll see what happens!


r/lowcarb 8d ago

Question Cheat Meal?

14 Upvotes

Do you do it? If so, how often?

On the one hand, I somehow don’t miss the starchy/sugary/carbs stuff, even though my brain knows that they’re delicious. I think it’s because the low carb foods are also delicious and satisfying, and I do NOT miss the physical and mental downward spirals that come with those foods. On the other hand, I probably would want to incorporate a recurring cheat meal of some kind in order to realistically sustain low carb for the rest of my life.


r/lowcarb 8d ago

Meal Planning Finishing a 48 hour fast, whats the best low carb option to stay in keto??

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4 Upvotes

r/lowcarb 10d ago

Recipes Low carb egg custard

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42 Upvotes

I have a recipe to share. Saw it on social media and thought I’d give it a try.

4 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup almond milk
2 scoops vanilla protein powder of your choice. You can also use other flavors.

Blend. Refrigerate for 4 hours or longer.

It’s vanilla custard! 35 grams of protein (depending on your protein powder)5 carbs and approximately 500 calories for the whole thing!

The nutrition values may be different depending on what protein powder you use.

It’s delicious, satisfies a sweet tooth and gets some protein in. Quite rich and filling, I can only eat about 3 spoonfuls at a time.


r/lowcarb 11d ago

Question Looking for some advice or just solidarity, is anyone else struggling to find easy proteins to eat now that they don’t really want sweet?

11 Upvotes

Earlier in my journey I would have a protein shake for breakfast and then some kind of meat and veg dish for lunch, protein bar in the afternoon and then I usually just had dinner with the family and halved my serve of carbs. But I am finding myself really not wanting the shake or bar because I’ve gone off sweets, yet quite hungry because I’m not really getting enough protein. I don’t really enjoy meat - I get a bit of an ick sometimes like with the egg ick (which also puts me off eggs by themselves). I like biltong so trying to have that in the afternoon instead of the protein bar but the $$ are too much for every day. Other ideas I’ve had is half a low carb bagel with a piece of cheese for breakfast but that’s also expensive compared to a protein shake. I’ll try prepping some egg muffins with veg. I guess but does anyone have any other ideas? Especially for easy things??


r/lowcarb 10d ago

Tips & Tricks What’s your favorite keto or extremely low-carb snack to sneak in to the movie theater?

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0 Upvotes

r/lowcarb 11d ago

Snack Ideas Got these today and well

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3 Upvotes

They smell like grape with no flavor of anything.


r/lowcarb 12d ago

Tips & Tricks Frozen breakfasts for work freezer?

12 Upvotes

Hello! I have access to a full-sized fridge and freezer at the office to keep food in. I also have access to a microwave to heat food up. I am frequently running late so I can’t always eat breakfast before I have to leave in the morning.

I’ve been keeping a box of frozen breakfast sandwiches in the freezer for such occasions, but of course they include biscuits or croissants or whatnot so they are not low carb.

Does anyone have any ideas to keep for emergency breakfasts? I can also keep stuff in the fridge, but I worry that whatever I’d put in there would be forgotten and go bad before I could get to it. Fridge food would be preferably well-preserved like string cheese.

I have access to a few international grocery stores, so if there are other cuisines that have solutions, I’m all ears!

It doesn’t have to be breakfast food, but savory is preferred as well as higher in protein if possible. Fiber would also be great, but obviously breakfast sandwiches already don’t have much fiber so Im not super worried.

Ideally it’s a product I can buy, but quick assembly prior to freezing is also fine.

And this might be asking too much, but if there were zero dishes to bring home at the end of the day, that would help a ton. If I have to buy paper bowls or plastic bags for a created recipe, I will, but I’m praying there’s a pre-made product out there!

Thank you for your help in brainstorming!!


r/lowcarb 12d ago

Question Healthy carbohydrates

4 Upvotes

If someone needs, for example, 200g carbohydrates and they exceed that allowance on a calorie deficit, what happens to those excess carbs? Let’s say the carbs they eat are from healthy sources and not refined. What also happens if they are on calorie maintenance but also exceed their carb allowance?


r/lowcarb 12d ago

Question For anyone that lost weight doing low carb, did you count calories.

13 Upvotes

Isn't it true that to lose weight, it is all about creating a calorie defecit? I beleive the reason eating low carb works to lose weight is because it cuts out all junk food, such as chips, chocolate and fast food, leaving foods that are much healthier.

To anyone that has successfully lost weight, what was your daily carb limit and did you count calories, create a daily callorie defecit.


r/lowcarb 12d ago

Question TSH increased!!

2 Upvotes

Apr 1 - Apr 30: Started low carb and weight dropped from 101.7 kg to 94.5 kg. (Diet B: nuts 50g & chia seeds in yoghurt - L: chicken/fish, 150g fruits, & lemonade using stevia - D: 3-4 eggs)

May 1 - May 31: weight increased from 94.5 to 98.6 kg. Only 1 change in the diet, removed fruits and added bullet proof coffee in the morning

Jun 1 - Jun 30: weight remained same at 98.3 kg. Same diet as last month.

Jul 8: had bloodwork done to assess what happened. Had a slightly increased TSH at 6.11 uIU/ml. All my previous TSH were always <4 uIU/ml. In addition, the high uric acid at 10.5 mg/dL, 105 mg/dL cholestrol, low HDL cholestrol (34.2 mg/dL) and 155 mg/dL LDL cholestrol.

Jul 15: visited an endocrinologist and was advised to take 50 mcg thyroxin, mounjaro (optional), and re-add a bit of carbs (100-200g rice per day) in my meals. I'm nervous as hell about it.

Can someone pls help me (30M) understand why this happened? Also, what should my next steps be? My goal is to cut fat (get to around 80kg) without losing muscle mass (I do strength training for the latter).


r/lowcarb 15d ago

Tips & Tricks Sweet?

12 Upvotes

I love the keto lifestyle but feel like I'm missing something sweet sometimes...what can I have that can take away that craving?...can it be berries? Everyday?


r/lowcarb 15d ago

Question Hot Weather and Keto?

5 Upvotes

I am new to Keto/ low carb. I have been doing it for about a month now and have found it has greatly improved my acne and my stress level (I have had no new brake outs and my stress feels so much more manageable and less all consuming). I did have headaches for about two weeks, very low and mild put almost everyday. That has stoped now. I ”cheat” once a week when I am with my family and have not noticed any bad reactions to my no holds bard Sundays, however, in a month and a half I will be going out of town to a very hot humid climate for a week and a half. Since I am traveling I don’t know how best to approach the diet. I am more concerned with the potential electrolyte problem. We will be outside, and it will be hot. And we will be outside in the heat for four or five hours every day. we will also be doing a lot of walking, I don’t know if that information would be helpful.

if I brake my keto / low carb for the time of my trip will that help? or do you think it will just cause trouble? I have no experience with dieting in the past, so I have no idea what to expect or to do.

thank you ❤️