There are many obstacles in the road when you start a low-carb or keto diet. Family and friends who provide peer pressure and the nagging desire to snack are two biggies. But even bigger than those is the long list of foods you should avoid on a low-carb diet.
If this is your first time on this type of diet, you might not know what foods you should be avoided to help you succeed.
» You might be interested in Are Grapes Keto Friendly?
A lot of high-carb foods might seem harmless, until you look into the nutrients and see they are starch heavy or packed with hidden sugars.
The best way to avoid these food obstacles is to arm yourself with a list of the foods you should keep away. This will help you slash them from your grocery list or remove them from your fridge and pantry.
We’ve made a complete list of the foods you should avoid on a keto diet. And we’ve even made a printable version for you!
>> You might check out 10 Simple Ways to Cut Sugar from Your Diet( Without Losing Your Mind.)
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
- High-fructose corn syrup and foods made with it
- Syrups
Baked Goods and Sweets
- Cookies
- Cake
- Pie
- Brownies
- Donuts
- Pastries
- Muffins
- And all others
Candy
- Chocolate Bars
- Hard Candy
- Milk Chocolate
- Cotton Candy
- And all others made with sugar
Packaged/Processed Snacks
- Flavored Nuts
- Pretzels
- Rice Cakes
- Breakfast Bars
- Cheese and Crackers Snacks
- Raisins
- Potato Chips
- Tortilla Chips
- Popcorn
- Pop-tarts
- Granola Bars
- Twinkies
- Cupcakes
- And other boxed snacks and products
Dairy
- Flavored Dairy
- Added Sugar Dairy
- Fruit At The Bottom or Sugar Added Yogurt
- Whole and Skim Milk
- Soy Milk
- Ice Cream
- Margarine
- Pudding
- Cottage Cheese
Sugary And Starchy Fruit
Medium Sugar Fruit
- Blueberries (acceptable in small quantities)
- Coconut Meat
- Cantaloupes
- Watermelons
- Nectarines
- Papaya
- Peaches
- Apples
- Grapefruit
- Honeydew Melons
- Guavas
- Apricots
High Sugar Fruit
- Oranges
- Kiwi fruit
- Pears
- Pineapple
- Plums
- Cherries
- Grapes
- Figs (Also Starchy)
- Bananas (Also Starchy)
- Mangos
- Tangerines
- Pomegranates
- Dates
- Applesauce
- Dried fruit (worst choice as it has very high concentrations of sugar from the drying process)
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 Starches
- Any Fried Food
- 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
Drinks
- Soda
- Juice
- All Sweetened Drinks
- Sweetened Or Flavored Tea
- Sweetened Or Flavored Coffee
- Frappuccino Coffee Drinks
- Milk Shakes
- Root Beer Floats
- Malts
- Frozen Coffee Drinks
- Sports Drinks (unless zero calorie)
- Beer
- Sweet cocktails – (Pina colada, daiquiri, mai tai, bloody Mary, margaritas, screwdriver, white Russian, rum drinks etc.)
- Wine coolers and alcopops
Final Thoughts
This is a thorough and comprehensive list. We didn’t leave anything off. So you can print it and use it as a guide to help you avoid the foods you shouldn’t consume on a low-carb diet.
Let us know how you’re getting on with your new eating lifestyle. Do you find it difficult to avoid these foods or easy?
Read More About a Low-Carb Lifestyle
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Laura is dedicated to a low-carb lifestyle after losing 52 pounds on the keto diet. As many of us do, she struggles with her weight and has found that one of the only diet lifestyles that allows her to maintain a healthy weight is a low-carb diet. She shares her favorite low-carb recipes here that are both easy to make and full of flavor, so you don’t even miss the carbs.
So strawberries are allowed but blueberries aren’t? That doesn’t sound right.
Hi Ann, it’s not that blueberries aren’t allowed, but they are a medium-sugar fruit, so they have to be consumed in much smaller quantities to be within the realm on a keto diet. Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are lower in total and net carbs than blueberries, so they’re preferred to blueberries.