Low carb diets consist of high protein, low carbohydrate meals that help in controlling your weight. Weight loss happens because these diets avoid foods that result in excess calorie intake that is stored as fat in the body. Low carb diets generally include moderate amounts of meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, fruits and vegetables. They avoid processed foods and foods such as potatoes, rice, grains, corn that are high on carbohydrates.
There are several low carb diet plans from which you could choose one. The Harvey-Banting diet plan is perhaps the oldest going back to 1862. The Atkins diet plan formulated in 1972 is one of most widely known plans. Other plans such as Protein Power, Schwarzbein Principle and Life Without Bread are of more recent origin.

The Atkins program does not consist of just one diet but is series of plans that people could apply in a sequential manner, progressing from one to the other. The plan also allows for people with special problems such as high metabolic resistance or food intolerance. This program aims at restricting processed and refined carbohydrate intake while encouraging unprocessed foods that are rich in nutrients, along with the consumption of nutrient rich supplements. The carbohydrate intake is initially restricted to 20 grams a week and is progressively increased in small quantities till the ideal quantity is reached. The entire procedure is divided into four phases, with an initial phase that triggers a high rate of weight loss followed by the next phase when the rate of weight loss is more gradual and maintained at a steady rate. The last few pounds are lost at a slow pace in the third phase, while the fourth phase aims at maintaining the target weight.

Protein Power plan aims at restricting the intake of refined carbohydrates like grains, and starchy vegetables, and those with high sugar content. The plan allows other vegetables and a limited amount of alcohol. The Schwarzbein Principle focuses on a low carb diet that includes the required quantity of fats and proteins but shuns stimulants such as coffee, tea and alcohol. The approach believes that there is no "ideal" weight that is applicable to everyone, but that each person has to settle at the level that is appropriate to him or her. The recommended intake of carbohydrates for an inactive person is 15 grams per meal. The intake may be increased for people with higher levels of physical activity.

Although there are many plans and different approaches, all low carb diet plans advocate a cut on carbohydrates in the food. This is replaced in most plans with fats and proteins. Several low carb recipes are available from books and Internet sources. Many Internet sources provide a variety of recipes that are available free of cost. In addition there are a number of forums and blogs dedicated to this subject from where you can find something ideally suited to your taste and requirements. The recipes cover breakfast, lunch and dinner and a variety of items such as meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables and fruits, baked items, and so on. You can easily get a list of these sites (and books) by typing "low carb recipes" in your search engine.

Low carb diets can help in controlling your weight. There are many low carb diet plans, all of which advocate a cut in the carbohydrate content in the food and replacing these with the right type of fats and proteins. A variety of low carb recipes are available on the Internet.