Low-Carb Tips

1. Start your diet with a food diary, record everything you eat during the day, what you were doing at the time, and how you felt before the meal. That tells you about yourself, your temptations, the emotional state that encouraged you to snack that particular meal. Periodically looking back in the diary from time to time will show you just how much you actually eat, and where you could possibly cut back.

2. If you use food as a reward, like so many of us do, establish a new reward system. Buy yourself a non- edible reward. Write down everything you eat - - everything - including what you taste when you cook. If you monitor what you eat, you can't go off your diet. A must have in any low carb diet, is a reliable tracking system, where you keep track of every crumb eaten throughout the course of the day.

3. When hunger hits, wait 10 minutes before eating and see if it may pass. Set attainable goals. Don't say to yourself, "I want to lose 100 pounds." Say, "I want to lose 7 pounds a month." Get enough sleep but not too much, around 8 hours a night is recommended for the average adult.

4. Try to avoid sugar at all costs. Highly sweetened foods tend to make you crave more. When baking, use Splenda in place of regular table sugar, a great tasting sugar substitute that can be found, along with about any other low carb snack at your local grocer.

5. Drink six to eight glasses of water each day. Water itself helps cut down on water retention because it acts as a natural diuretic. Taken before meals, it dulls the appetite by giving you that "full feeling." Diet with a friend or support buddy. Support groups are important, and caring people can help one another succeed. Start your own, even with just one other person if need be.

6. Instead of eating the forbidden candy bar, simply brush your teeth. If you're about to cheat, by all means allow yourself a treat, but make sure it's a low carb treat. Literally hundreds can be found right down at your local Wal-Mart. Always make sure you have ample low carb snack on hand.

7. Substitute activity for eating. When the cravings hit, go to the "Y" or health club if possible, or dust, or walk around the block. This is especially helpful if you eat out of anger. If you live alone, make sure your home is entirely void of high carb foods. It's a bit harder in a family setting, but you could put all temptations out of eyesight.

8. If you're a late-night eater, have a low carb snack, such as some pork rinds or a few cheese curds, before bedtime to cut down on cravings. Keep a glass of water by your bed to quiet the hunger pangs that wake you up.

9. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time. Your weight fluctuates constantly and you can weigh more at night than you did in the morning, a downer if you stuck to your diet all day. Make dining an grand event.

10. Don't ever grocery shop when you're hungry. You'll only buy more high carb impulse foods. Avoid finger foods, cookies & candy that are easy to eat in large amounts. Avoid consuming large quantities of coffee & diet sodas, which are so easy to overdo. And this includes alcoholic beverages.

11. Keep plenty of crunchy foods like raw radishes, cauliflower & brocollli on hand. They're low in carbs, and are very satisfying and filling. Leave something on your plate after each meal, the old "clean your plate" theory no longer holds true.

12. Lose weight for yourself, not to please your husband, your parents, your kids or your friends. Make the kitchen off-limits at any time other than mealtime. Always make it a point to eat at the dinner table, never while watching tv, or working at your desk. Concentrate on eating every mouthful slowly and savoring each morsel. Chew everything from 10 to 20 times and count each individual mouthful!

13. Never, ever, skip meals. This is perhaps the most important low carb diet tip at all. If you skip a meal, it signals to your body that it may need to store fat in case the next meal does not come soon. You can actually lose more weight by eating each low carb meal in the day and several low carb snacks, rather than skipping one, believe it or not.

14. If you are just beginning the low carb diet, limit your carb intake to the suggested rate of 20 grams a day or less over the first two weeks. After only a few days of doing this, your appetite will decrease dramatically.