Hamburger salad (a salad with a hamburger patty on top). Or just the burger patty.
At fast food outlets, order “just a burger patty please” (or two or three).
Order sandwiches without the bread. Order wraps without the chapati, tortilla, etc. Or throw the bread away.
Pizza, just the toppings (no crust).
Bacon and eggs, no toast, no potatoes. Order fried, poached, or boiled eggs so you’re not served some scrambled premix that contains carbs.
Any meat (roast, chops, etc.), with no potato, rice, or noodles. Ask what the vegetable is (broccoli or cauliflower OK; carrots or corn not OK).
Order just a salad, oil and vinegar on the side. If no oil and vinegar is available, Italian dressing is probably safest.
Bring your own meat, fish, or cheese and discretely put it on your salad.
Chicken Caesar, no croutons.
In some restaurants, cooked vegetables might be your best bet. Even vegan restaurants should have something like this.
If everything is breaded (e.g., KFC), you can scrape off the breading.
Ask for extra butter if you want it. Ask if it’s real butter (not margarine).
Don’t worry, most food servers and cooks have heard it all and will accommodate you if they can. But don’t expect them to understand what a carb is; it’s up to you to tell them exactly what items you want or don’t want.
Buffets are good if you can control yourself around all the desserts. Most have some plain protein foods (roast beef, baked salmon), although I did stop at a buffet restaurant in the Midwest that had just meatloaf, etc. Some (not all) Chinese buffets are also problematic because everything is mixed together.