Gallery: 5 Easy Ways to Ditch Carbs in the New Year

When it comes to fad diets, the first rule is always:

1) Eat less carbs

But I'm here to tell you, not all carbohydrates are bad. The carbs we should be cutting? Enriched white breads, refined sugars & sweets, pastas, sugary drinks, crackers, etc. We need good carbohydrates (whole grains, legumes, and fruit) to provide us with energy to get through long work days and to re-fuel after tough workouts.

Abby Langer, R.D., told SELF that there's nothing to fear about carbs:

"We went completely overboard on carbohydrates in the '90s when fat was 'evil,'" she said. 

As Langer went on to say, the problem with carbs isn't that they're bad, it's that they're bad when we eat too much of them. 

So, if you're looking for ways to cut bad carbs from your diet and keep the good ones coming, here are a few tricks. Continue eating all the foods you love, just without all the starch!