Tips for Sticking With It

Don't tell anyone but your doctor and your immediate family what you are doing.

We've had people tell us, straight out, without knowing us or what we're really doing, "You're gonna die." Hey, the best convincer is reality. So why not lose some weight and get healthier before you tell everyone in the world you're on a low carb diet? In our opinion, it'll make your life a whole heck of a lot easier. This is also important if you have created a habit of saying you're on a diet, and then not sticking with it. You need to convince yourself that you can do it, before you tell the world. Keeping promises you make to yourself is the foundation for keeping promises to others!

Use caution in pizzerias and convenience marts.

Unlike eating out while on a low-fat diet, eating out the low carb way is pure joy. Get a bunless cheeseburger with bacon, mushrooms and sautued onions and a big salad. Or go to a buffet place and have several types of meat and veggies. In our experience, however, we don't find anything we can eat in pizzerias or convenience marts. Even meatballs and chicken parmesan have breadcrumbs. Just about every snack-type item is a carb, except cheese sticks and beef jerky. Even most of the so-called Protein Bars sold now still have a whopping amount of carbs. So don't go into either of these places hungry!

Don't be so rigid that you break - stay flexible and you'll survive.

If you go to a wedding have a small piece of that wedding cake. Or a piece of pizza at your child's birthday party. Or an ice cream on a 100 degree day. Just don't do it every day. For a while we had a treat about once a month. But be careful. After a while, we found that one treat lead to a day of high carbs. So now we do it only on very special occasions. It takes time to get back into ketosis, so think about how badly you really want that sugar. It may not be worth it!!!

Try keeping a food diary. (My Confession)

Yeah, I know, it's a pain. But let me confess to you that for a few months I was lying to myself about how many carbs I was really consuming. The carbs were getting back up there and I was saying, oh, yeah, its just a stall. Right. It was an addict covering up the same old addictive behavior. Thank goodness I came to my senses. Part of what did it was that for a week I kept a food diary. And all of a sudden, the weight loss started again. Amazing- not. You don't need a fancy diary. A notebook will do. Either way, it keeps you on track.

Stay Creative In the Kitchen

As someone who's been married for 18 years, I'll definitely agree that a good marriage needs a little creativity to stay exciting, if you know what I mean ;-) Likewise, if you are going to stick with your low carb eating plan, you've got to stay creative in the kitchen!

Some essentials:

• a good low carb cookbook
• low carb baking supplies (soy protein powder, flaxseed or flaxseed meal, polydextrose (marketed under the brand name "Litesse")
• low carb sugar replacements like Splenda, nutrasweet or Stevia (an herb classified by the powers that be as a "supplement", but it adds a sweet taste)
• spend some time on the web each month searching for new low carb recipes and check our Recipe Files frequently to see what tasty new items have been added.

Experiment with cheese.

There are so many kinds and flavors. You can really make it fun for the whole family by learning the story behind some of the cheeses, how they are made and where they come from. (Remember that cheeses do have some carbs, so count! Also, cheese with wine in it, like the cheddar with port wine we see at our supermarket, tend to be quite a bit higher. You might want to avoid those.)

What about my kids?

Only your pediatrician can give you advice about specific concerns regarding your children, their diet, and their weight. However, I think the health community is in general agreement that our kids do eat too much sugar, and that excessive amounts of sugar are not good for them. You might want to check out these two books listed at the end of this article. 

Get involved in some type of support group.

Grass roots Low Carb Support Groups are springing up all over the country...see if there is one in your area. And, by all means, become an active part of our forum - both reading and posting. Many many people have told us over the years that the support they receive from their on-line friends has been the difference between quitting and sticking with it!

Carbohydrate-Addicted Kids: Help Your Child or Teen Break Free of Junk Food and Sugar Cravings--for Life! author: Rachael F. Heller,Richard F. Heller asin: 0060929502

Feed Your Kids Well: How to Help Your Child Lose Weight and Get Healthy author: Fred Pescatore M.D. asin: 0471349631