Low-carb eating for beginners: which foods contribute what
ca. 20 Minuten
The essentials
Moderately low carb means up to 35 percent of energy or no more than 140 grams a day. For comparison, according to the German Federal Centre for Nutrition, the usual requirement is about 225 grams for women and 290 grams for men. So it's about halving the amount, not giving it up.
The more important factor is the type of food. Compared with white flour products, whole-grain products provide more nutrients and fibre, and the recommended fibre intake is at least 30 grams a day. If you only reduce the amount and leave the type unchanged, you lose precisely that fibre.
First, you'll read what low carb means in numbers, followed by a table showing carbohydrate content, three common misconceptions, a comparison with the ketogenic version, and an honest section on how to tell when this way of eating doesn't fit your everyday life.
What to expect in this article
1. What low carb means in numbers
2. Why the type matters more than the amount
3. What disappears when you cut things out
4. Which foods provide how many carbohydrates
5. Where cutting things out is unquestionably useful
6. Three things people keep getting wrong
7. What a low-carb day looks like in practice
8. What really happens when you lose weight
9. How to tell when it isn't right for you
10. How to find out what suits your body
11. Limits: what a DNA test cannot do
12. What you can change starting tomorrow
Frequently asked questions
Sources
What low carb means in numbers
The term is vague, and that is the first problem for beginners. It ranges from a slight reduction to a ketogenic diet, with a fivefold difference in between.
The consumer advice centre draws a useful line. A moderately low-carb diet is one in which up to 35 percent of energy, or no more than 140 grams a day, comes from carbohydrates (2022). Anything below that is a different category.
The baseline comes from the German Federal Centre for Nutrition: More than half of daily calories should come from carbohydrates, around 225 grams for women and 290 grams for men (2025). Going from 225 to 140 is a noticeable change, but not one that cuts out entire food groups.
Key point
Low carb is not a way of eating but a range. Without a number, someone talking about it may mean 140 grams a day, or they may mean 25.
Why the vagueness of the term comes at a cost
Anyone who decides to eat low carb without having a number in mind is guided by product descriptions. But those are based on the strictest version because it promises the biggest difference.
The result is a change that is harsher than necessary, cuts out more than makes sense, and therefore ends sooner. Having a number in mind prevents that. Forty grams less of a side dish is a different undertaking from giving up bread.
Once you’ve worked out the 140 grams, you’ll also notice that an ordinary day is often closer to that figure than you might think. For many people, the biggest single source isn’t bread, but a drink.
Why the type matters more than the amount
Here is the sentence that makes the biggest difference for beginners, and it comes from the Federal Center for Nutrition.
Documented source
“Whole-grain products are especially valuable for our bodies. Compared with white-flour products, they provide more nutrients and fiber.”
Federal Center for Nutrition (BZfE)
Carbohydrates, as of 28.02.2025
The sentence sounds harmless, but it has an inconvenient consequence for low carb. Whole-grain products are high in carbohydrates. If you reduce the amount and cut whole grains first, you lose exactly the nutrients and fiber that make these foods valuable.
The DGE lists whole-grain products, vegetables, fruit, legumes and potatoes as high-quality sources of carbohydrates. Four of these five groups are on the chopping block in many low-carb guides.
What this means for the order of changes
For beginners, this gives a clear order of priority. First, change the type of food: swap white flour for whole grain, and white rice for brown rice. Only then reduce the amount, focusing on foods that contribute little anyway.
This order costs nothing and loses nothing. Reversing the order lowers the number on the label and reduces fiber at the same time.
What disappears when you cut foods out
The DGE guideline for fiber is at least 30 grams a day for adults, based on a fiber density of at least 14.6 grams per 1,000 kilocalories (calculation as of 2021).
Fiber is found almost exclusively in foods high in carbohydrates: whole grains, legumes, vegetables and fruit. Meat, fish, eggs and cheese contain none. A diet that reduces carbohydrates while leaving everything else the same inevitably reduces fiber intake too.
This is not an argument against low carb. It’s a reminder of what needs to be planned when making the switch. Someone who eats 140 grams of carbohydrates a day, prioritizing vegetables and legumes, meets both targets. Someone who gets 140 grams from white bread meets neither.
How to recognize a low-fiber change in diet
A simple way to check: Look at what on your plate has replaced the carbohydrates. If it’s vegetables and legumes, you’re still getting fiber. If it’s meat, cheese and eggs, you’re not.
Both qualify as low carb by definition. Only one also meets the guideline of 30 grams of fiber; the other does not. No number of grams on a package makes this difference visible.
Which foods provide how many carbohydrates
The following overview assigns food groups to the three levels based on a daily budget of 140 grams. Documented amounts are included where available.
| Food group | Level | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Vegetables, all kinds | allowed | The DGE lists vegetables among high-quality carbohydrate sources. With a 140 g budget, they make little difference |
| Meat, fish, eggs, cheese | allowed | Virtually carbohydrate-free, but they also provide no fiber |
| Legumes | allowed | Listed by the DGE as a high-quality source. The most important source of fiber that stays within the budget |
| Whole-grain bread | reduced · 39 g per 100 g | Two slices of 50 g each use up around 39 g, or well over a quarter of the daily budget |
| Whole-grain pasta | reduced · 61 g per 100 g | A 100 g serving, dry, contains 61 g, or almost half the budget |
| Whole-grain rice | reduced · 74 g per 100 g | The highest value in the overview. Half a serving fits; a full serving exceeds the rest of the day’s allowance |
| Potatoes | reduced | Listed by the DGE as a high-quality source. No documented content in the sources reviewed |
| Fruit | reduced | Also considered a high-quality source by the DGE. With a 140 g budget, there’s room for one or two servings |
| White-flour products | cut out | The first item to cut back on: lots of carbohydrates with fewer nutrients and less fiber than whole grains |
| Sugar and sweetened drinks | cut out | The only item the DGE also recommends limiting regardless of low-carb diets: under 10 percent of energy |
| White rice, regular pasta | cut out | Not because of the carbohydrates, but because the whole-grain version provides more despite having a similar carbohydrate content |
One thing stands out in this overview: the “cut out” column contains different items than in the ketogenic version. There, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, legumes and fruit are all on the chopping block. Here, they’re reduced or allowed.
That’s the practical difference. At 140 grams, a side dish is factored in; at 25 grams, it isn’t. To see what the strict version looks like, read the article on the keto diet.
Where cutting it out is clearly worthwhile
Low-carb advocates and professional societies agree on one item: sugar. The German Federal Center for Nutrition (BZfE) states that too much sugar is harmful to health. In the long term, excess sugar can contribute to overweight and significantly increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (2025).
The same source calls sugar a source of empty calories because it contains no vitamins or minerals, and points out that it harms teeth.
The scale: A consensus paper by the German Nutrition Society (DGE), the German Obesity Society and the German Diabetes Association sets a maximum intake of free sugars at less than 10 percent of total energy intake (2018). At 2,000 kilocalories, that’s around 50 grams a day.
Why this is the best place to start
If you don’t know where to start with low carb, start here. It’s the only item you can cut out without incurring a proven downside, and the only one for which professional associations also set an upper limit.
Everything else involves a trade-off between fewer carbohydrates and less fiber. There is no such trade-off with sugar.
Three persistent claims
Common belief versus established fact
Common belief
“Carbohydrates make you fat.”
Established
The DGE recommends that more than 50 percent of energy intake come from carbohydrates as part of a balanced diet, and lists whole-grain products, vegetables, fruit, legumes and potatoes as high-quality sources. Sugar has its own upper limit of less than 10 percent of energy (DGE, DAG and DDG, 2018).
Common belief
“The pounds melt away on their own with low carb.”
Established
Weight loss is usually between 5 and 10 percent of starting body weight within twelve months, and at first people mainly lose 2 to 3 kilograms of water (consumer advice center, 2022).
Common belief
“Whole grains are off-limits on low carb.”
Established
Compared with white flour products, whole-grain products provide more nutrients and fiber (BZfE, 2025). With a budget of 140 g a day, two slices of whole-grain bread at around 39 g fit in.
What a low-carb day looks like in practice
Two examples calculated against the 140-gram budget. They show how much can fit.
A day that works
In the morning, scrambled eggs with vegetables and a slice of whole-grain bread with around 20 grams. At lunch, fish with half a portion of whole-grain rice, or 50 grams dry, with around 37 grams. In the evening, salad with legumes and cheese. Plus an apple in the afternoon.
This day stays under 140 grams, includes bread, a side dish, fruit and legumes, and also provides the fiber. It differs from an ordinary day mainly in the portion sizes of the side dishes.
A day that goes over budget
The same day with a full 100-gram dry portion of whole-wheat pasta instead of half a portion of rice comes to 61 grams from that alone. Add two slices of bread at 39 grams and a sugary drink, and the budget is used up before dinner.
The difference between the two days is not in the choices, but in the quantity of side dishes and in one drink. That is the actual adjustment with low carb, and it is smaller than its reputation suggests.
What really happens when you lose weight
The initial success is real and regularly overestimated. The consumer advice center notes that people often lose weight quickly at first on low-carbohydrate diets, but initially lose mainly two to three kilograms of water (2022).
Three figures to put things in perspective
140 g
Maximum amount of carbohydrates on a moderately low-carb diet
30 g
Recommended daily fiber intake to aim for
5 to 10%
Weight loss as a percentage of starting weight over twelve months
Sources: Consumer advice center, 2022; German Nutrition Society, reference values for fiber, basis for calculation as of 2021
Why the number seems smaller than it is
Five to ten percent may sound like little. At 90 kilograms, that’s four and a half to nine kilograms over twelve months. That’s an amount that holds up in everyday life, unlike the promises circulating in the same week.
IQWiG adds a warning that applies to every type of diet: Many diets fail to produce long-term results or even cause a yo-yo effect, in which weight is higher for a while after the diet than it was before (2022).
Chapter at a glance
Moderate low-carb means no more than 140 grams of carbohydrates a day, compared with a typical requirement of 225 to 290 grams. Over twelve months, weight loss is usually five to ten percent of your starting weight, including two to three kilograms of water weight at first. If you keep the recommended fiber intake of 30 grams in mind, you won’t lose more than carbohydrates.
Why twelve months is the right benchmark
The number from the consumer advice center refers to one year, not four weeks. That’s unusual for diet figures, and makes it a more honest benchmark: it describes what’s left after twelve months, not what the scales show in the first month.
When you measure a change by this number, you’re automatically checking the right thing: not how quickly it works, but how long you can stick with it. According to IQWiG, that’s where most diets fail.
How to tell it isn’t right for you
Four signs suggest this change isn’t working in your day-to-day life. First: You eat lunch in a cafeteria where the side dish is a fixed part of the meal. Second: You do endurance sports and notice a drop in performance after two weeks. Third: Your digestion changes noticeably because you’ve also cut out the fiber. Fourth: You’re now eating less vegetables than before because you’ve cut back on the wrong things while counting.
The third and fourth points are the most common and the most avoidable. Both happen when the amount is reduced without anyone paying attention to the composition.
For people with diabetes, the consumer advice center adds an important point: diets that reduce carbohydrates should not be tried without first consulting a GP or diabetes clinic (2022). If you take medication whose dosage is adjusted to a specific carbohydrate intake, changing your meal plan also changes how that medication works.
How to find out what works for your body
Whether a change lasts depends less on the method than on how well it fits your everyday life. A DNA test by mybody®x (MYBODY Lab GmbH) can offer some guidance, with a clear limitation.
DNA test from saliva
DNA Metabolism Analysis | Includes 28-day plan & recipe book
According to the product page, it provides insights into genetic factors and helps identify foods that fit your everyday life. The product page does not say how many carbohydrates are right for you. The test does not provide a diagnosis or predict weight-loss results.
Laboratory analysis: 15–25 business days after sample receipt
Product page information, accessed 08/28/2026
The test includes the MY FOODBOOK with 60 recipe ideas tailored to your individual results. It shows how to turn a result into actual meals, rather than another list of forbidden foods.
Low carb is more suitable if …
you cook for yourself and decide the portion sizes of your side dishes yourself.
you already eat plenty of vegetables and legumes and get enough fiber from them.
your biggest sources are sugary drinks and white flour. Then the change starts exactly where professional associations also draw a line.
Probably not if …
you have diabetes and take medication without first speaking to your healthcare provider.
you already eat a low-fiber diet. Then the change lowers a level that’s already too low.
you’re hoping for quick results. The documented range is five to ten percent over twelve months.
What the three examples have in common
Neither of the two daily examples nor the exclusion criteria are ever about willpower. They’re about cafeterias, portion sizes, drinks, and who helps cook dinner.
This is easier to manage with low carb than with the ketogenic version, because the limits are less strict. Having a side dish in half portions is a compromise that works in almost any cafeteria. Giving it up completely isn’t.
So if you’re torn between the two, don’t decide based on which one sounds stricter, but on what fits into your week.
Limitations: what a DNA test cannot do
A DNA test describes a predisposition, not a certainty. It does not provide a diagnosis or predict weight loss. The product page makes no statement about how many carbohydrates are right for you, and this article does not claim anything that isn’t stated there.
This article also has limits in terms of its content. The verified sources did not include an explicit assessment of low carb by the DGE or the BZfE. These institutions discuss the carbohydrate guideline and food quality, not opposition to reducing carbohydrates as such. This article does not gloss over that distinction.
And the overview in Chapter 4 categorizes food groups; it does not replace a nutrition facts table. The verified sources provide no figures for potatoes or fruit, so no numbers are given for them.
What this article deliberately does not claim
It makes no claims about the effects of low carb on blood sugar, blood lipids, or other metrics. The verified sources contain no statement that an editorial team could cite on this, and a study without interpretation by a specialist institution is the weakest basis for an advice article.
It also gives no carbohydrate content for potatoes, fruit, or vegetables. The verified sources don’t provide figures for these, and we don’t estimate.
What you can change starting tomorrow
If you take just one action away from this article, make it this: switch varieties before reducing quantities. White flour for whole grain, white rice for brown rice, sugary drinks for water.
The reason is simple. Of all the steps in this article, this is the only one where you don’t lose anything. Reducing quantities takes away fiber along with carbohydrates; switching varieties adds some.
It started with the question of which foods work for a low-carb diet. The complete answer is: almost all the foods you know, in smaller portions and a better variety. That’s less dramatic than most guides suggest and much easier to stick with for longer.
Frequently asked questions
How many carbohydrates are allowed on a low-carb diet?
The consumer advice center describes a moderately low-carbohydrate diet as one providing up to 35 percent of energy, or a maximum of 140 grams of carbohydrates per day (2022). For comparison, the BZfE gives typical requirements of about 225 grams for women and 290 grams for men (2025). At around 25 grams, the ketogenic version is significantly lower still and belongs in a different category.
Which foods should I cut out first?
Sugar and sweetened drinks. This is the only category for which professional associations also set an upper limit: less than ten percent of total energy, or around 50 grams a day (DGE, DAG and DDG, 2018). BZfE also states that too much sugar is harmful to health and that sugar contains no vitamins or minerals (2025). Everything else involves weighing the options; this category does not.
Can I eat bread on a low-carb diet?
With a budget of 140 grams a day, yes. According to BZfE, whole-grain bread contains around 39 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams (2025), so two slices of 50 grams each use up just over a quarter of the daily allowance. Whole grains are the better choice because they provide more nutrients and fiber than products made with white flour. With the ketogenic version, at around 25 grams a day, even one slice is too much.
How much weight do you lose with a low-carb diet?
Weight loss is usually between five and ten percent of starting weight within twelve months (consumer advice center, 2022). The rapid loss at the beginning consists mainly of two to three kilograms of water. IQWiG notes that many diets fail in the long term or cause a yo-yo effect, in which weight later rises above its previous level (2022).
What is the difference between low carb and keto?
The amount—around five times as much. A moderately low-carbohydrate diet means up to 35 percent of energy or at most 140 grams a day, while a ketogenic diet means around five percent or about 25 grams (consumer advice center, 2022). In practice, this means that with a low-carb diet, bread, side dishes, and fruit are still on the menu in smaller portions, while with keto they are cut out. The consumer advice center also sees no advantage to the ketogenic version over the moderate one.
Next step
A starting point, not a rule
If you want to know which foods suit your genetic predisposition, DNA metabolic analysis can provide some pointers. It does not replace medical advice and cannot tell you how many carbohydrates are right for you.
View DNA metabolic analysis View the strict versionRead more
You might also be interested in
The strict version, with around 25 grams of carbohydrates a day, and why the consumer advice center views it critically.
Because reducing carbohydrates increases the proportion of protein, it’s worth looking at the figures behind it.
Sources
- Federal Center for Nutrition (BZfE): Carbohydrates (as of 28.02.2025) – bzfe.de
- Consumer Advice Center: High-fat and high-protein diets (as of 10.02.2022) – verbraucherzentrale.de
- German Nutrition Society (DGE): Reference values for fiber intake (basis for derivation: 2021) – dge.de
- German Nutrition Society (DGE): Reference values for carbohydrate intake – dge.de
The direct quote about whole grains, the carbohydrate content of whole-grain bread, whole-grain pasta and brown rice, the daily amounts of 225 and 290 grams, and the statements about sugar are from source [1]. Information about a moderately low-carbohydrate diet, weight loss, water loss and the note for people with diabetes is from [2]. The guideline value for fiber is from [3], and the guideline value for carbohydrates and the list of high-quality sources are from [4]. The recommendation to limit sugar to less than ten percent of energy intake comes from the consensus paper on quantitative recommendations for sugar intake in Germany by the DGE, German Obesity Society and German Diabetes Association (2018); the statement about the yo-yo effect comes from the IQWiG article “Weight Loss Programs and Medications” (2022). Both are attributed in the body text and are therefore not included in the numbered list. Information about price, sample type and what’s included comes from the mybody®x product page, accessed on 28.08.2026. All sources were accessed and checked on 28.08.2026.
mybody®x Editorial & Expert Team
Nutritional science Nutrigenetics Laboratory diagnostics Blood test interpretation
This article was created by the mybody®x editorial and expert team. The team brings together laboratory diagnostics, nutritional science and the interpretation of blood tests. You can find out who contributed on the authors page.
Published on 15.10.2025 · Last updated on 28.08.2026
The content is for general information and does not replace medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Reference ranges depend on the laboratory, method and age – the information on your test result is always authoritative.
