While it is true that on the MDS Program we do not recommend meal plans or measuring food or counting calories, it is true that if you are insulin resistant your chances of losing weight on a low carbohydrate diet are higher.
Listen to your body. “Eat when you are hungry, drink when you are thirsty.”
In the sections below are food and drink that you may consider avoiding or minimizing.
All Sugars
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Any food with added sugar
- Processed food with added sugar
- Junk food with added sugar
- Jams and Preserves
- Some Sauces (check nutritional label and ingredients)
- Fructose (sugar in fruit)
- Some Salad Dressings (check nutritional label and ingredients)
- Cocoa mix
- Molasses
- Honey
- Jaggery
- High-fructose corn syrup and foods made with it
- Syrups
Baked Goods and Sweets
- Cookies / Biscuits
- Cake
- Pie
- Brownies
- Donuts
- Pastries
- Muffins
Candy
- Chocolate Bars
- Hard Candy
- Milk Chocolate
- Cotton Candy
- And all others made with sugar
Packaged/Processed Snacks
- Flavoured Nuts
- Pretzels
- Rice Cakes
- Breakfast Bars
- Cheese and Crackers Snacks
- Raisins
- Potato Chips
- Tortilla Chips
- Popcorn
- Pop-tarts
- Granola Bars
- Twinkies
- Cupcakes
- “Heathy” Nut Bars
- And other boxed snacks and products
Dairy
- Flavoured Dairy
- Added Sugar Dairy
- Fruit At The Bottom or Sugar Added Yogurt
- Whole and Skim Milk
- Soy Milk
- Ice Cream
- Margarine
- Pudding
Sugary And Starchy Fruit
High Sugar Fruit
- Oranges
- Kiwifruit
- Pears
- Pineapple
- Plums
- Cherries
- Grapes
- Figs (Also Starchy)
- Bananas (Also Starchy)
- Mangoes
- Tangerines
- Pomegranates
- Dates
- Applesauce
- Dried fruit (worst choice as it has very high concentrations of sugar from the drying process)
Medium Sugar Fruit
- Blueberries
- Coconut Meat
- Cantaloupes
- Watermelons
- Nectarines
- Papaya
- Peaches
- Apples
- Grapefruit
- Honeydew Melons
- Guavas
- Apricots
Starchy Vegetables
- White Potatoes (French fries and potato chips)
- Sweet Potatoes or Yams
- Corn
- Peas
- Squash
- Root vegetables not advised for very low carb diets (beets, carrots, parsnips, rutabaga, turnips, butternut squash, and winter squash)
Grains And Other Starches
- White Rice
- Bread, Bagels and English Muffins
- Croissants
- Tortillas
- Pasta
- Cold Breakfast Cereals
- Oatmeal
- Cream of Wheat
- Porridge
- Barley
- Amaranth
- Millet
- Quinoa
- Spelt
- Couscous
- Bulgur
- Rye
- Muesli
- Crackers
- Pizza
- Corn Starch
- Pancakes
- Waffles
- French Toast
- White Flour
- Whole-Wheat Flour
- Rice Flour
- Corn Flour
- All Whole Grains Too
Legumes
- Pinto Beans
- Black Beans
- Kidney Beans
- Chickpeas
- Navy Beans
- Lima Beans
- Baked Beans
- Lentils
- Soy
Drinks
- Soda
- Juice
- All Sweetened Drinks
- Artificially Sweetened Beverages
- Sweetened Or Flavored Tea
- Sweetened Or Flavored Coffee
- Frappuccino Coffee Drinks
- Milk Shakes
- Root Beer Floats
- Malts
- Frozen Coffee Drinks
- Sports Drinks
- Beer
- Sweet cocktails – (Pina Colada, Daiquiri, Mai Tai, Bloody Mary, Margaritas, Screwdriver, White Russian, Rum Drinks etc.)
- Wine coolers and alcopops