If you've gotten this far... maybe you do have the right stuff!

So many make Low Carbing their New Year's Resolution... for a few days. They don't know about the transition our body makes from burning sugar, to burning fat. They cheat right away because they miss "treats," not understanding that the cravings go away if we don't feed them. But if they hang in this far, they still might be making Newbie Mistake #1: the FEAR of FAT.

FAT is our friend.

Yes, I know WebMD and your own doctor and your friends and your mother and that weight loss show on television all tell you that fat is what made us fat. They tell you they know how we can lose weight. And you've tried and tried and it doesn't work.

Maybe you're like me, and you've started to wonder if they are wrong. They are!

If, like me, you counted calories and avoided fat and exercised like a fiend and nothing good happened; stop doing what doesn't work. I lost sixty pounds without exercising (because of a bad hip.) And I did it by lowering carbs and eating more fat. (And I have the low triglycerides and great blood sugar readings that show this works better than low fat.)

So ignore that advice that never worked. And I mean ignore it all, completely, and reset your head. For decades now nutritional science has been derailed with a wrong theory that never has worked. If it worked, we wouldn't be in the middle of an "obesity epidemic," would we?

After struggling for decades I now have a slim, happy, productive body. And I've kept the weight off for going on eight years now. Others on this board have even more dramatic stories!

So don't fear fat. Add it to every meal. When you are hungry, it means your body needs MORE FAT. I lost and I maintain at 80% fat. (If you aren't tracking, you don't know what you are doing, do you?) Your own percentages may vary, but the biggest mistake everyone makes, starting out low carb, is still listening to bad advice. Don't reach for the skinless chicken breast and the low-fat salad dressing. Don't fry without the right oil and don't run away from butter.

Fat helps your body burn fat. There's your answer.

Eat fat to reduce the "low carb flu"