Let's face it. We all want to be the best we can be. But do you really know what you need to do to make your body run properly? To make it function as God intended? To make yourself look and feel younger? To feel good and to have great energy so you can focus on living the life you dreamed? Well, what you need in your life is balance.  

A small word with big meaning that permeates almost every aspect of our lives. Most of us try to find this balance, especially when it comes to food and drink. We try to balance our intake with work, exercise, and play. We want to feel good, to look good, and to be actively engaged in the activities we love for many more years to come. Being a person who is mindful of maintaining or regaining good health, you know it is imperative for you to look at how well you balance your intake with your output. Your body must be well-fueled to meet both your physical and mental functional needs while not overindulging. But let's go a step beyond that and look at the concept of the quality of that intake.   

How do low-carb living and healthy carb choices fit in here? Think about it: how you feel is not always how you are...you can think you are fine, but there may be things developing in your body that just haven’t yet become symptomatic. This may be evidenced by a person who feels great one minute and then has a heart attack the next. In your everyday life, you need to keep building and rebuilding your body at its cellular level. Your body is an amazing collection of trillions of cells needing a balance of good fats, nutritional carbohydrates, wild/grass-fed/organic protein, whole-food vitamins, and proper minerals to help it build and rebuild. Keeping your immune system functioning at its optimum level is not an option if you hope to live a healthy life. Low-carb living can help support how long you live and how long you live healthy.

In low-carb living, keeping your carbohydrate intake low while eating nutritional carbohydrates is one of the keys to a successfully healthy life. As we look at the foods we love and have eaten for years, we might think: "I would like to eat healthier, but I just can't give up my comfort foods, my favorites.” Well, guess what? You don't have to do that!  Surprise! You, yes YOU, can take your existing comfort foods, and turn them into healthy, low-carb living meals. They will be so tasty you will wonder why you haven't made these changes to your eating habits earlier.  High-carbohydrate foods, especially processed foods, fill your diet with unhealthy and high-calorie junk that provides little or no nutritional value.  They, in fact, have been linked to diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Restricting carbohydrates has also been shown to help with weight loss. You don't have to sacrifice the taste and comfort of the recipes you have held dear and enjoyed for so many years. You simply replace things like processed foods that are high in bad carbohydrates with nutritionally superior foods which contain healthy carbohydrates to begin your low-carb living. Our bodies need carbohydrates, that is a scientific given. You just need to know which carbohydrates to pick. To help you out, here are some examples of low-carb vegetables and fruits:

Top 12 - Low-carb Vegetables 
1. Broccoli
2. Cauliflower
3. Cucumber
4. Collard greens
5. Asparagus
6. Kale
7. Spinach
8. Celery
9. Radish
10. Brussel sprouts
11. Arugula
12. Zucchini

Top 7- Low Carb Fruits
1. Berries 
2. Avocado 
3. Lemons 
4. Limes 
5. Cherries 
6. Granny Smith Apples
7. Green Bananas

Now is the best time for you to start to live a better and balanced life through low-carb living. Evaluating your world of food choices is an important step, and also a great tool to assess where you are at this moment. Select the best ingredients for your food choices. When you know what to order or to avoid on a restaurant menu, you possess the power to make the right choices. Wrong choices, unfortunately for you, can yield bad results. Right choices, fortunately for you, can yield good results. Your choices can give you the freedom to feel and look better by supporting your body so that it may serve you well for many more years to come.

Educate yourself: learn how to make these low-carb living changes and then make them.  This is a great opportunity for you to reach for your health goals. You don't have to sacrifice the foods you love. Just start by taking that step to eat foods low in carbohydrates that taste good and are really good for you. While you're in the Charleston area, you should check out some of these restaurants for some low-carb options:

492

Sesame Burgers

Butcher & Bee

Your Pie. 

Your Pie has a great gluten free pizza that hits all of the taste notes of a traditional pizza and fits perfectly into low carb living lifestyle.  You will love it.  It will make you wonder:  Is low carb living really this easy?  


If you feel like making your own recipes, these are some of my favorites to start on the low-carb living journey. 

Low Carb Pizza Crust Recipe:  It is a tasty and nutritious winner that will become part of your recipe library. You can't miss with either choice.
The Best Salmon Cake Recipe Ever: This is a great way to get more Omega 3 fats in your diet.  
Keto Stir Fry: This is a great recipe for low-carb living, it’s loaded with healthy fats to keep you full and satisfied.  
Low Carb Fettuccine: Whether you are following a Ketogenic, Paleo, vegan or vegetarian nutrition plan currently this low carb fettuccine recipe can be made accordingly.