My daily routine for years was go to work, buy two donuts and a diet coke, eat fast at my desk lol, and then at lunch I ate food from the hospital cafeteria-high carb food! Midafternoon? Vending machines were everywhere and we all bought candy or chips. At one point in time I stopped and took count and I was taking in 300 carbs a day!
I've since dabbled with low carb for years-still do-but I retired a year ago and my wake-up glucometer readings are now 90 points lower than my last working days-I sure miss those donuts, though. I have yet to find an acceptable donut :-)
Rice in soups or casseroles-high carb. Pasta-high carb. Potatoes-high carb. Bread-high carb. Regular soda pop and fruit juices-high carb.
Sugar is interesting-you can have your sugar and eat it too. If your dr tells you to eat less sugar you need to fire right back at him and say, don't you mean carbs? Do you know of anyone who sits and eats a cup of sugar? No. But I bet we have all eaten a cup of potatoes rice or pasta or bread....
I buy individually wrapped penny candy and keep it in a jar. One after-dinner mint for example is very satisfying and I have no urge to eat 20 afterdinner mints lol.
You are in far more danger from potatoes rice and flour than you are from sugar. (Danger-regular soda pop and fruit juices are the exception-too much sugar in them unless they are a diet version.)
I have a new appreciation of taking a baby aspirin or two per day. Cherry-flavored baby aspirin is just like dessert so make it your after-dinner mint!
All veggies were not made equal. Avoid corn and this includes popcorn.
Did you know you can easily make a pizza crust these days from just cheese, or a cauliflower version? Low carb.
Did you know that boiled cauliflower (with the water pressed out of it) and a little cream and butter salt and pepper added to it tastes exactly like mashed potatoes!
Kale chips or baked turnip chips, seasoned correctly, replace potatoe chips-let's face it-the salt is what we want.
Soup with mushrooms instead of rice-low carb.
Bread? If you really need those slices of bread for morning toast or whatever try buying those packaged loaves that say Italian Light on them-net carbs is usually ~6 per slice, which is low carb.
Pace yourself-eat low carb foods throughout the day-don't stuff your furnace full of carbs all at once and expect it to hold you, plus your blood sugar will zoom higher when you download alot of carbs all at once.
Plan ahead for snacks. Excellent midmorning and midafternoon snack is a sharp cheddar cheese stick and a handful of pecans. Net carbs for snacks should be 15 total.
I need pleasure from food so don't obsess too far-diet salad dressing is awful IMO-and so I still use my beloved Kraft Thousand Island-2 tablespoons is only 4 net carbs! I hate lettuce but who knew, I love broccoli slaw, or that new power blend slaw which includes raw brussel sprouts.
Milk? Skim milk is not your friend-it has added sugars. Half and Half or Whipping cream are much better choices-you can dilute with water if worried about the cholesterol without adding sugar.
Beer is not your friend-there are other alchohols with far less carbs.
If you like to bake, experiment with all of the (expensive) low carb flours out there-Bob's Red Mill flours for example. Nut flours, Seed flours, Bean flours. The recipes are mostly word of mouth and these are very tricky flours to bake with but it can be done.
Oatmeal. Flaxseedmeal. Oat or Flax flours have an interesting added benefit-they are so absorbent that they will suck up the carbs your body is processing, and their fiber will 'eliminate' the carbs more quickly. They also suck up the cholesterol. Your lab results will dramatically change if you make these flours a part of your daily routine. Add a Tbsp of flaxseed meal to your morning bowl of oatmeal. Add oatmeal and or flaxseedmeal to your meatloaf instead of rice or bread or crackers. You can even slip some into your spaghetti sauce. Baking exclusively with these flours is quite tricky.
Meat Oils Creams Nuts Cheeses are pretty much fair game for you and they make you feel full.