Getting Started Right

So, you're thinking about getting started on a low carb diet? Not sure which plan to pick? Not sure if you should tell your doctor what you're thinking? Just not sure if low carb is for you? Well, let's see if we can't help you a bit...

First step: decide which low carb you think will work best for you and read up on it. The most popular plans are the Atkins Diet, the Carbohydrate Addicts' Diet, Neanderthin, the Suzanne Summers plan and the Schwartzbein Principle. Other low-er carb plans are Body for Life, and Lindora Lean for Life.

What's the BEST plan? Who knows! It depends on you. The two most popular plans with our visitors are the Atkins Diet and Carb Addicts plan. We're not associated with either plan, so we'll just give you the briefest overview as we understand it and give you the links for the real meat (pun intended).

On the Atkins diet, carbs are very restricted especially in the first two weeks. However, some foods that are not allowed on the CAD plan are allowed on Atkins.
On the Carb Addict's diet, certain foods are not allowed at all BUT you are allowed a "reward meal" at dinner, when you can have carbs within reason.
Some people find the Atkins diet too restrictive to follow, while many others (like me!!!) find that restricting the carbs leads to more control over eating behavior.
CAD advocates love the fact that they can look forward to that reward meal and have a small piece of cake or whatever they're craving. Others have trouble stopping once they get started.

For full info on the Atkins Diet see The Official Atkins Diet website , and get a copy of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution and read the whole thing (not just the section on induction, please).

For the whole story on CAD go to The Official Carbohydrate Addicts Homepage and get The Carbohydrate Addicts Diet Book and study it!
For links to the homepages of the other diet plans, check our links section.

As far as reading up on your plan, you can check out our Amazon Search, or go to your public library and borrow them. You need to become knowledgeable so that you can make a good decision. Please don't be like so many people who visit our site and have obviously not read the book that explains the plan they are following... That’s the fastest road to failure!

NEXT: Get a check up. Most people who are very overweight don't go to the doctor because they are afraid they'll get lectured about their weight. Do it anyway. If you don't feel good about your doctor, get another one. This is just too important to neglect. While you're there ask if there is any medical reason why you couldn't try a low carb diet. Make sure you have read up on low carbing before you go - so you can answer questions intelligently. Make sure your doctor knows that you'll be eating LOW carbs, not NO carbs.

As soon as your doctor gives you the ok, GET STARTED THE VERY NEXT MEAL. I mean it. Procrastination will kill you, literally. If you are married, get your hubby's support, or better yet have him do the diet with you, if only for the first two weeks. That’s the hardest. And by the way, be prepared for him to drop the weight like magic while you struggle on... that's just the way it seems to be for many of us (including Bob and I!). Don't let it depress you - you’ll catch up eventually.

Believe that you are worth the effort that this is going to take. The majority of the struggle is mental... read all you can about being the best you can be. The scriptures of your faith (if you have one) are your best resource. We have an article about personal growth - take a look at that, too. I really feel with all my heart that losing weight is not the magic pill that makes everything better. It's one step in the process of fully becoming who we are meant to be - not the end of the journey. But if this kind of stuff doesn’t appeal to you, then pass it by. I’m not here to push it. I’m just sharing what’s in my heart.

Change your shopping and spending habits immediately. In fact, go shopping for the diet the day BEFORE you start. We now shop at a store which carries mostly high quality meat, produce and dairy and very little else. Such specialty stores seem to exist in many areas of the U.S. Most of our food budget is spent on these items, so it just makes our life easier to get them all in one place. We also stock up on items like low carb meal replacement bars, low carb baking needs, and low carb snacks so that we don’t feel deprived and go off our diet. Grabbing a toaster pastry or donut at the convenience mart is just too easy, so prepare for temptation! We also have a whole article devoted to shopping tips and a downloadable and printable shopping list in the downloads section.

Get yourself a few good low carb cookbooks and find out about ways to modify traditional recipes to make them lower in carbs. Check our "Recipe Files" as a good source of ideas. Become familiar with things like arrowroot (used as a thickener instead of flour or cornstarch), soy flour (much lower in carbs than wheat flour), pure peanut butter (most national brands have high fructose corn syrup added!), and sucralose (low carb sweetener) - these pantry items help you make your low carb cooking exciting and tasty. For your convenience, we have links to all these and more in our Links section under "Low Carb Products". The surest way to blow your eating plan is to make the same meat and salad every night. Boredom in the kitchen will kill you!

Don't try to go it alone. Get support! Get involved in our community by posting to our Forums and join us. It will support and encourage you. And who knows: before long, you may be inspiring others!

 Losing 20 or so pounds in the first month is easy for many people; sticking to the diet long term to lose 80, 90 or 100 pounds is much more challenging. Keep yourself excited about the world of LowCarbing by visiting lots of low carb sites. 

More Tips

• Drink at least 8 8oz glasses of water daily.
• Don't weigh more than once a week.
• Take starting measurements as well as weight, and measure weekly as well. Sometimes fat loss will show on the "tape" when it is not showing on the scale.
• Remeber that if you start an exercise program, you will develop muscle, and that will mask fat loss. Don't worry about it - just keep on going!
• You CAN eat too much protein...just eat until you're satisfied - don't stuff yourself! Women usually need to eat less protein than men to lose, so if you're doing this with your spouse or boyfriend, keep that in mind!

Never give up on your dream!

Living the Low Carb Life: Controlled Carbohydrate Eating for Long-Term Weight Loss author: Jonny Bowden asin: 1402718608