Low carb days can be the trickiest days of the FWTFL program – however, with a little plan they’re actually quite easy! To help you out/give you some inspiration for those days, I’m sharing an example of a FWTFL low carb day meal plan I follow.
Since Monday’s are low carb days with FASTer Way to Fat Loss I thought it was the perfect time to share this post! It is all about the low carb life – how to rock those days. Including tips on how to get in all the fats + protein you need without going over on your carbs. If you’re new to FWTFL or still deciding on whether you want to join in, you can read about my experience and check out a comparison of FWTFL and BBG to gain a little more insight. And as far as low carb days, those are a thing because one of the key nutritional components of FWTFL is carb cycling. Some days you have regular macro days where you eat ALL of the carbs and other days (two out of the week) you have low carb days where you aim to stay under 50 net carbs per low carb day.
To give you an idea of what that looks like, typically my carbohydrate goal is 193g for a regular macro day. For a low carb day, my goal for carbohydrates is 49g or less. To find out what my goals were I used the My Fitness Pal app – I also use that to stay on track every single day. I plug in every little thing I eat so I stay in line with my macro goals – like the carbohydrate goals mentioned above.
Low carb days are definitely learning experiences. Figuring out what has a lot more carbs than you thought and will have to wait for a different day of the week or what has minimal carbs and is totally acceptable to dive into! I have honestly had a total blast figuring this out – it’s kind of like a game to me. Therefore, I have created a couple of FWTFL low carb meal plans that a follow pretty regularly. I’ve mentioned this before but I am a total creature of habit. Once I figure out a meal I really like, I eat it until I am completely tired of it. Therefore, these low carb meal plans I’m sharing are basically what I eat every single week on Monday and Tuesday – typically just switch up dinner a bit – for Joshua’s sake.
*Disclaimer:: I am in no way a licensed dietician. This post is sharing from my personal experience and what works best for me.
FWTFL Low Carb Day Meal Plan
Low Carb Recipes I Love
So for the most part I keep thing pretty simple when it comes to low carb days. I just find that to be easiest and what keeps me within my carbohydrate goal. However, on occasion I like to spice it up (especially for Joshua) and try out a new recipe. We typically end up not having one or two of the ingredients so I play around a bit and recommend you to do! Have fun with it – after all, it’s like a game, remember? 🙂
Also, make sure you’re adding everything into your My Fitness Pal App prior to making to make sure the recipe does in fact work with your low carb goal for the day! This is where planning ahead definitely comes in handy.
Cobb Egg Salad
Low Carb Burrito Bowl
Tuna Salad Stuffed Avocado – I just switch out the tuna for shredded chicken
Grilled Lemon Herb Mediterranean Chicken Salad
Salmon Party Rolls – actually haven’t made these yet but making it happen this week. They look/sound amazing!
How to Eat Low Carb When Eating Out
Opt for meat and veggies – beef, chicken, salmon – fish is a great option for low carb days as it’s high in protein and also fats
Indulge in healthy fats – avocado, salad dressings, nuts, cheese
Salads are almost always a good idea – just skip croutons and baguette if it comes with one
Pro tip: If you’re totally lost as to what to pick, use your My Fitness Pal app. That app is truly my best friend when eating out. I use it every single time and it really helps me to figure out what the best choice is! More times than not it’s a salad or simple dish with meat and veggies but other time I’m surprised as to what will work into my macros. So spend a few minutes adding in menu items you’re eyeing and see what works. If you can’t find the exact dish (if you’re eating at a chain it’s easy, local or small business not so much) then find something similar or plug in each ingredient.
Low Carb Day Tips & Recommendations
Plan ahead! It is so easy to go over your carb goal if you don’t plan ahead for these days. Try to plan out your breakfast and lunch at least, that way you have room to play a bit with your snacks and dinner. Or if you know what you’re having for dinner, plug that in first thing and then figure out what to eat for breakfast and lunch. Doing this will truly make life so much easier and also help you stay under goal a lot better than going meal by meal.
If one meal you have planned is going to be a little heavier on the carbohydrates then plan for the other two meals to be super low carb.
Peanut/almond butter, coconut oil, and olive oil are your best friends on low carb days. Figure out ways to incorporate them into your meals! Personally, I’m all about peanut butter in my smoothies and then paired with coconut oil for fat bombs (perfect treat for low carb days), and olive oil for dressings or to cook veggies or salmon with.
If you’re going to be drinking alcohol reach for a spiked seltzer or boozy water. Wild Basin Boozy Water has only 1g of carbs per can – obviously my drink of choice! Or you can opt for Michelob Ultra which has only 0.2g of carbs.
If you have any low carb tips, I would love for you to share them in the comment section! I am always looking for new low carb recipes to try and will probably tire of my breakfast + lunch go to meals soon so I’ll need some inspiration!
I’m doing TRIM (basically the same) and low carb days are actually my favorite. It’s the days I can eat steak, avocado, cheeses and peanut butter. Who can complain about that?! Need to try these fat bombs you keep talking about!
xo Jessica
My Style Vita
With you girl friend! Love indulging in all of that – especially peanut butter – it is my obsession haha. And yes, you need to! They are so easy and really good.
xo Laura Leigh
This is so helpful! I’m not in any fitness program but there are days I know I should have a low carb day and I never know what to make!
http://www.rdsobsessions.com
So happy to hear you found it to be helpful! Definitely agree, low carb days are important here and there.
xo Laura Leigh
I’ve been trying to get back into my healthy ways so this was a great inspo post!!
Yay! Happy to hear that!
xo Laura Leigh
These are some great ideas. I too am working on finding a good balance between my macros. Also, need to add collagen to the mix. Does this have any weird after taste?
❥ tanvii.com
Thank you lady! I honestly love this collagen mix – I don’t notice it at all once it is truly mixed into my water. Also, when it is mixed into something like a smoothie – you definitely don’t taste it at all! I tried another kind and HATED it – it was so disgusting, had such a gritty texture and weird flavor to it. So this one is my go to for sure!
xo Laura Leigh
I just made your fat bombs and they are ?! So thankful for these posts. They’re really helping me get the hang of this cycle quicker!
Xo
Taylor
http://Www.reeseshardwear.com
Oh my gosh yay! I am beyond thrilled to hear that gal. Happy to help!
xo Laura Leigh
Definitely not doing FWTWL, but I do love my collagen peptides! I mix in my daily smoothies.
They’re great, aren’t they? Definitely love the benefits of them.
xo Laura Leigh
This such a great idea. I use MyFitnessPal to track everything, but carbs are so hard for me to give up!
XOXO
Cathy
Thank you Cathy!! Definitely is hard but starts to be kinda fun and it’s only two days a week!
xo Laura Leigh
Making your fat bombs for next week!! And YES, olive oil and almond butter are like my right-hand gals on low carb days haha!
-Morgan
How 2 Wear It [] http://how2wearit.com
Yay!!! You’re going to love them. Yes, those two are SUPER helpful for sure.
xo Laura Leigh
These are great snack ideas – bookmarking this for later!
Yay happy to hear that!
xo Laura Leigh
Great ideas! I know it’s a 8 hour eating window so what time do you eat these meals? (ie- is the breakfast meal at 12 pm, lunch at what time? , etc) and do you work out fasted?
Thank you Theresa! I typically eat breakfast between 11-12pm (depending on what time I stopped eating the night before), lunch between 2-3pm, and dinner right around 7pm. Sometimes I work out during my fast other times I work out between 12-2pm right before lunch.
xo Laura Leigh
Honestly, this post made me hungry! But it also made me want to watch what I eat even more.
Haha whoops! But that second part is good 🙂
xo Laura Leigh
Great post! Im sure so many people doing the FWTFL plan will be inspired by the meal ideas!
Aw thank you Lee – I hope so!
xo Laura Leigh
Having a meal plan I’m sure makes life so much easier, and I would really be struggling with a low carb diet.
Chic on the Cheap
Definitely agree with that! It is luckily only two days a week so it isn’t too bad!!
xo Laura Leigh
Ok this is AMAZING. Although I’m not doing FWTFL, it’s always good to watch the carbs! Definitely going to try these recipes with my mom!
The Champagne Edit
Aw yay!!! Thrilled you enjoyed it and will be trying out the recipes. Can’t wait to hear what you think!
xo Laura Leigh
Okay def stealing some of these low carb recipes!! They sound amazing!
They’re pretty great! Hope you enjoy them!
xo Laura Leigh
I needed this post! I haven’t started FWTFL yet (aiming for the March start date!) but have been watching what I eat over the last few weeks. Can’t wait to give some of these ideas a try!
Rachel
http://www.hello-her.com
Oh that is so exciting gal! Definitely keep me posted once you kick it off!
xo Laura Leigh
These recipes sound delicious! I love living a healthy lifestyle and even though I’m not on a diet, these sound great and I would totally make them on a regular basis. I’m a creature of habit too and I repeat meals so often! lol
Thanks for sharing!
XO
Emily
https://emilygodoy.com/
Thank you gal! Happy to know I’m not the only one who is a complete creature of habit when it comes to food haha. Hope you enjoy these recipes!
xo Laura Leigh
What are you general measurements for your protein smoothie? Thanks!
I use one scoop of collagen powder, two tablespoons of peanut butter, a handful of spinach, a dash of cinnamon, and a cup of almond milk. Hope that helps!
xo Laura Leigh
What are your protein and fat macros on low carb day?
My protein goal is 80g and fat goal is 120g
xo Laura Leigh