Here are the nuts and bolts of the Banting diet:
Eat enough animal fat
This is central to Banting. Animal fat does not make you fat, and you need to eat it. Small amounts at a time make you feel full and stop you from overeating.
Eat enough vegetables
Vegetables should be your bulk-food and this means that you must try to have veggies with every meal. Green vegetables are the best – low in carbs and full of nutrients.
There are a great many different vegetables on the green list. Make sure that you get variety in your diet.
For the first week or so of banting you may need to snack periodically, if only to keep your sanity.
If you do, make sure that you have banting-friendly snacks at hand.
Don’t lie to yourself
Eating carbs that are perceived to be proteins, like legumes, baked beans, peanuts and quinoa, will undermine your Banting attempts.
Pay attention to the red list – the forbidden foods.
Don’t over or under-eat
New Banters get nervous about the idea of not snacking and tend to go overboard at mealtimes.
Don’t worry about this. As long as there is enough fat in your diet, you will soon, without effort, be eating moderately-sized meals that will carry you through to the next meal.
Don’t eat too much protein
It cannot be stressed enough. Banting is not high-protein eating.
No more than 80 to 90g of meat or fish is what you should be eating with any meal. If, on occasion, you eat at a steakhouse, choose the smaller option on the menu and don’t be anxious.
Be alert!
Many ostensibly “healthy” products and ready-made meals are full of carbs. Before you buy something, check the label. Five grams of carbs is the cut-off. If the carb content is higher, don’t buy it.
The nuts on the Green List are low in carbs and great snack foods, but don’t go overboard.
Control your dairy
Dairy is good for you, but it does have carbs.
