How to Eat 30 Carbs Per Day

Low-carbohydrate diets have taken center stage in the health and fitness industry in the last decade and are based around the idea that the human body works better without difficult grains and sugars to digest. Eating under 30 grams of carbohydrates per day can be difficult. Grains and sugars are a large part of the modern diet because they are widely produced, accessible and inexpensive. You can still eat under 30 grams of carbohydrates a day by focusing on vegetables and lean proteins while avoiding Western staples like bread, pasta, high-sugar fruits and dairy products.

Things You'll Need

• Pan
• Olive oil
• Mixed vegetables (your preference of mushrooms, bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers and green beans) washed and chopped into quarter-sized pieces
• 2 bowls
• Spatula
• Fresh green lettuce or spinach
• Grilled chicken breast or canned chicken, salmon or tuna
• Lean protein like chicken breast, beef, lamb or pork

Breakfast

Cook a low-carbohydrate omelet for breakfast by lightly sautéing vegetables before incorporating them in the omelet. For the vegetables, heat up half a tablespoon of olive oil in the pan, add your washed and chopped vegetables and cook on medium heat until the vegetables are slightly soft and very lightly browned. Put the vegetables in the bowl and put the pan back on the stove with another half tablespoon of olive oil for the eggs.

Scramble the eggs in another bowl and make sure the pan is hot when you pour the eggs in. Sprinkle your vegetables in the pan with the eggs and allow to cook until the eggs near the edges of the pan begin to look dry. Use your spatula to fold the omelet in half and gently transfer to a plate. Pair your breakfast with black coffee or tea and water.

Build your lunch salad by tossing the lettuce with your mixed vegetables, another half tablespoon of olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Sprinkle your grilled chicken breast or canned chicken, salmon or tuna on top of your salad.

Cook your lean protein by heating half a tablespoon of olive oil in your pan on medium-low heat, adding the meat and cooking until browned on both sides. Adding spices like salt, pepper, sage and/or basil will add dimension and flavor to the fillet.

Finish cooking your dinner by cooking a heaping pile of vegetables just like in step one. The key to keeping your carbohydrate intake below 30 grams of carbohydrates is larger volumes of vegetables and regular amounts of protein and fiber to keep you feeling full and energized.

Measure out 1/4 cup of almonds, cashews or Brazil nuts for a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack if you feel hungry. Be careful not to eat more nuts than this, as it is very easy to go over 30 grams of carbohydrates as well as your recommended amount of daily calories with snacks like nuts.

Measure out half a cup of a lower carbohydrate fruit like blueberries or raspberries if you have consumed less than 30 grams of carbohydrates and feel like eating something sweet after dinner. Again, be careful not to eat too much, as fruit tends to be much higher in sugar than vegetables or lean proteins.

Tips & Warnings

• When making your lunch salad, adding cheese, balsamic vinegar or typical salad dressing might push you over 30 grams of carbohydrates for the day, but these ingredients are good for adding flavor.
• Low-carbohydrate diets often leave people feeling tired if they are not used to getting most of their energy from lean proteins and healthy fats. Eating less than 30 grams of carbohydrates per day is not recommended in general, and particularly not for athletes or people who live very active lifestyles, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

5 Reasons Women Avoid Birth Control And Whether They're Valid

Some women are saying, ‘IDFWU’ to the pill, but what’s their reasoning? And more important… is it valid?

I still remember watching an episode of 16 & Pregnant where the tiny blond chick with a promising future in gymnastics gets pregnant and decides to keep the baby. She couldn’t have been more than 5 feet tall, 100 pounds on a day full of nothing but ingesting fatty carbs, and when her mom asks her why she didn’t want to go on the pill, she blames the prospect of weight gain.

“I didn’t want to get fat,” she says shyly. Then together, mother and daughter look in the full-length mirror at her 8-month-along pregnant belly and laugh uncontrollably.

But the tiny blond chick isn’t alone. In fact, she is representative of the vast majority of sexually active women. One of the most common reasons women don’t go on birth control pills is that, like her, they “don’t want to get fat.” This widespread and intense fear of putting on a few pounds can actually dictate women’s choices about their reproductive health.

In the event that a young woman decides she doesn’t want to take birth control pills and subsequently avoids all other protection — whether voluntarily or by accident — this decision could very possibly result in an unintended pregnancy. In that case, her initial aversion to contraceptives as a control choice is rendered invalid; in short, she’s going to gain weight anyway: She’s pregnant.

Putting on a bit of weight is hardly the sole reason some women opt not to take birth control. Women cite many different reasons for avoiding contraceptives. Below, HelloFlo debunks common reasons why some women choose to avoid birth control pills.

Reason No. 1: “I don’t want to get fat”

Weight gain was, once upon a time, a genuine concern for women on the pill. But this specific side effect is characteristic of earlier versions of oral contraceptives. Nowadays, weight gain is no longer a legitimate side effect for pills that contain progesterone and estrogen, though rumor still seems to perpetuate this idea.

Reason No. 2: “It might make me depressed”

Birth control screws with your hormones — that’s what it’s meant to do, as it uses estrogen and progesterone (or a combination of the two) to suppress ovulation. They thicken the cervical mucus, which makes it nearly impossible for sperm to pass into the cervix, therefore blocking pregnancy. But a potential repercussion of voluntarily altering your hormone levels is a fluctuation in your natural hormonal balance, which could result in depression. For women taking birth control, the risk of developing depression increases by 10 percent.

Reason No. 3: “Birth control causes cancer”

It’s true taking oral contraceptive pills raises a person’s risk for developing certain kinds of cancer, like breast cancer. By the same token, it’s also true that taking oral contraceptive pills lowers a person’s risk for developing other kinds of cancer, like ovarian and uterine.

Reason No. 4: “I don’t want to put chemicals in my body”

We’ve all heard at least one female friend say it: “My body needs a break.” Being exposed to any sort of chemicals or hormones runs its risk, but the validity of “giving your body a break” is often disputed by specialists. Birth control works on the daily; it doesn’t build up in your body over time. As soon as a person ceases taking birth control, hormones leave the system and a person is susceptible to pregnancy.

Reason No. 5: “I’m not at risk for getting pregnant”

Two of the top three reasons women don’t use contraceptives include “a misjudged risk for pregnancy” and “infrequent intercourse.” In fact, 36 percent of women who experience unplanned pregnancies cite their reason for not using birth control as “thinking they couldn’t get pregnant,” an excuse that proper, informative sex education could clear up. As far as “infrequent intercourse” as a justification, sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Coconut Water for Weight Loss

Compared to other types of drinks, coconut water is low in calories, but it's not calorie-free. If you're looking for a natural drink to add to your weight-loss diet, coconut water makes a good choice, as long as you stick with the waters without any added juice or sugar. Always consult your doctor before going on any weight-loss diet.

Coconut water is the liquid you find when you open up a fresh coconut. In essence, coconut water is the actual juice of the coconut, not to be confused with coconut milk, which is a mixture of coconut water and coconut milk and is much higher in both calories and fat.

Coconut water without any other added ingredients is a low-calorie drink. One cup contains 45 calories, 0 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbs and 1 gram of protein. If you're lucky enough to get fresh coconut water, you'll also get some fiber, which is helpful when trying to control hunger on a weight-loss diet. One cup of fresh coconut water contains 2.6 grams of fiber.

The drink is also a rich source of a number of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, calcium, potassium, magnesium and manganese. However, the amounts vary greatly between the fresh juice and ready-to-drink coconut water, with fresh juice a better source of the minerals and ready-to-drink water a better source of vitamin C.

If drinking coconut water helps you create or maintain a negative calorie balance, then it may help you on your weight-loss diet. For example, if you drink 1 cup of coconut water instead of 1 cup of orange juice daily, you save almost 90 calories. If 1 pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, swapping your OJ for coconut water can help you lose 1 pound in about six weeks.

When drinking coconut water as part of a weight-loss plan, count and track the calories in the drink to stay on target. Coconut water is also a source of sodium, and the amount may vary from brand to brand. Sodium not only causes you to retain water, but getting too much in your diet may increase your risk of hypertension. Read food labels and go for the brands with less sodium.