Carbs, carbs, carbs. They're the talk of town in the dieting world. The gist is to go for good carbs over bad ones, but do you know of these common foods with hidden carbs that could be messing with your diet?
If you're trying to lose weight, check out these highly consumed foods with hidden carbs, along with healthier alternatives that will help you to shed the pounds without sacrificing complete cut-out of these foods from your diet.
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Recommended resources
- Keto-friendly sweetener* so you can have the sugar without the empty calories
- All-natural almond nut butter* for that rich goodness without the added sugars
- Convenient, low-carb, on-the-go snack* for energy
What are hidden carbs and why are they bad carbs for weight loss?
It's almost common knowledge that refined flours and sugars, such as white bread or sugar-laden sweets and desserts are the kinds of carbohydrate foods to avoid for weight loss.
Hidden carbs are the lesser known foods that contain these not-as-ideal forms of carbohydrates that might not be intuitive, unless you regularly look at the nutrition facts to see how much sugars or the amount of refined products are present in the food you consume.
The amount of sugar is mainly what throws a diet off. It's easy to eat a lot of these kinds of unseemingly sugar-laden kinds of foods, which can cancel out your diligent efforts to cut out the more obvious kinds of carbohydrates like white breads or white sugar.
Now let's get on to that list, shall we?
Salad dressing
You may be patting yourself on the back for eating a low-carb salad, but be careful with that dressing! Here's a low-carb ranch dressing recipe. (via Together as Family)
Condiments
Along the same lines as the dressing, be careful of other unsuspecting condiments that you put on your foods. Instead of the generally carb-heavy ketchup in the bottle (which has a lot of preservatives anyway), opt for this homemade version. (via Whole New Mom)
Reduced fat peanut butter
These surprisingly less healthy carbs come from being more processed. Stick to the all natural stuff. Here's a homemade, all-natural nut butter recipe, which admittedly, does take a while to make. If you'd rather find an appropriate store bought version, here's a really affordable, popular almond nut butter*. (via Happy Money Saver)
Yogurt
Regular yogurt is an easy to miss carb, being high in sugars. Go for this homemade low-carb "yogurt" instead, which uses sour cream, heavy whipping cream, and a sweetener. (via Hey Keto Mama)
Breading on deep fried foods
Sometimes people can forget that the coating of deep fried foods is basically all carbs, making this an obvious but overlooked culprit. If you still want that yummy crunchiness from breading, go for grounded almond flour* instead.
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Protein bars
Although these bars are high in protein, some are tricky and are high in carbs as well. Quest bars* are known for being low-carb. Here's how you can make it on your own and customize to your taste buds. (via Keto Connect)
Starbucks coffee
Wish these weren't, but these drinks are another hidden carb to look out for. Okay, not all the drinks are off-limits, but some of the popular favorites are (here's looking at you, frappucchino). Know which ones are and aren't diet-friendly. (via Peace, Love, and Low Carb)
Conclusion
That rounds up the main hidden carbs to look out for if you're new to a low-carb diet for weight loss, like starting out with a paleo diet or are a keto diet beginner. Be aware and use these healthier alternatives instead to shed those pounds.
Continue Reading: Food & Diet posts →
- Best Healthy Carb Substitutes for Weight Loss (that actually taste good)
- Easy Paleo and Keto Dessert and Snack Recipes (with 5 or fewer ingredients)
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