What is YOUR #1 tip that you'd give someone starting or thinking about starting Low Carbing and why?

Marlaine's #1 Tip - Be consistent and patient!!

It takes time for your body to adjust to the new way of eating. Consistency will shorten this time period. It will also help you to break habits and control food addictions. You'll acheive your best success by staying consistent. You may not reach your goal as quickly as you'd like to (wouldn't we all like to be slim, trim and healthy overnight????), so you'll need to learn to be patient and keep at it. Remember......slow and steady will win the race!!

Start eating whole foods. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX as they say. It was eating things from boxes that contributed to my weight gain for sure. While convenience foods, if you can find them in low carb are necessary occassionally, try to have your own little bags ready to grab if time is short.

Akiwican

P.S. Nice thread Marlene

Whaddaya mean it won't happen overnight?? Where's my instant gratification? Where's my microwave, Minute Rice, SUV, me, me, me lifestyle??

Yes, just kidding, LOL

Friday

My #1 tip is definitely the same as Marlaine's: STICK TO THE PLAN AND HAVE PATIENCE!!

My #2 tip is: At least for the first couple of months, keep count of your food intake on www.fitday.com so that you can track your carb intake and make sure you're getting enough calories (10-12x your body weight). Later on, use it again for a month or two to make sure "carb creep" isn't responsible for slow-downs in your rate of loss.

Since Marlaine and Teri have snatched the Patience and Persistance tip, and Akiwican my other favourite, how about these...

1. Be willing to take responsibility for every action, thought, deed and result in your life.

Start with baby steps. Just be willing to be willing, then graduate to being willing, then to doing, then to being. Time will pass in no time at all.

2. If your not losing fat pounds, keep low-carbing and take a break for a while from fat loss and take on something else .

Work on your emotional, mental, spiritual and other physical aspects. Work on losing some emotional, mental and spiritual fat.

Oh, and learn how to count carbs!

Karen

It will really enhance your results. Cardio helps burn the fat, and having increased muscle mass burns fat. Also exercise is a great stress release.

Jen

For those of us with over 100 lbs to lose, LC will not only be a diet but something we should live with the rest of our lives. So the "it's not a race" mentality is most important. If you only lose 30 lbs a year, so what? Just think how you would feel now if you had "only" lost 30 lbs a year for the last 5 years

POSITIVE SELF TALK ...Get rid of the negative...find the things you like about yourself and focus on that.

THROW OUT THE SCALES ...or at least hide them away...do not weigh everyday...this can be so disappointing when you watch it go up and down throughout the week! Weigh once a week at a maximum. Same time, same place.

My tip? Love the food you're eating. Sometimes you have to force yourself to eat that salad or broccoli that you might not particularly want, but overall, you should make sure that you have plenty of food around that really appeals to you. That's crucial to escaping the "Poor me, I'm deprived" attitude. Corollary: Love the exercise you're doing. Don't force yourself to do something you hate - instead, change your strategy and find something you like better. Just as there isn't one "correct" eating plan, there isn't one correct exercise plan, either.

Research, Research, Research, Knowledge is your best weapon . Read the low carb plans you are interested in and open your mind to what they are telling you. Follow them and do not start (tweaking) your plan too early, give it time, as your body needs time to adjust and your mind needs time to take it all in!!


Cindy


PS....Great thread Marlaine

I always keep "munchie" foods in the house. Porkrinds, salsa, sourcream, cheeses, cream for whipping, splenda and various dips for my veggies. It's nothing for me to polish off a bag of nacho's(porkrinds) with sourcream or melted cheese and sasa as I'm making supper if I have the growlies happening.

Be inventive...baked potatoes use to be my FAV...becasue of the butter and toppings. Now I put the same toppings on cooked veggies. It's my comfort food.

Ask questions..lots of questions.

cin

Especially sat-fat. I don't know how many posts I have read from people who are afraid to add fats to their food lists. Fats add flavor and make the food we eat that much more satisfying. Without a good amount of fat, low-carbing is as hard to stick to as a high-car/low-fat diet.

;-Deb

My #1 tip would be:

Don't underestimate the power of water!

We have heard it all our lives, drink your water, blah blah. It is like one of those white noise things, we tend to ignore it.

I have personally noticed a big difference in weight loss when I am drinking my water - if I slack off I tend to stall.

Trust the program...don't be afraid to ask questions!

Oh...and all the great wisdom from everyone else of course...

Lisa

Low carb for your health. If this eating style stops the breathing problems, the sleepy problem, the aches and pains problem then stick to it, who cares if the weight slides off slowly for some.
I rather be a healthy me now than the sickly me then.