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The best advice to start off with when you are following a particular low carb plan, such as the Atkins Diet, is to save yourself a lot of trouble and read the book. Read the book thoroughly – Yes! All the way to the end. It is essential that you have a good understanding of the "How and Why" the diet works and what you can eat on the plan. This is important! Nothing can make you feel worse than starting a new diet plan and thinking you have been following it correctly, when only to realize later you were eating the wrong things or the wrong amounts. When this happens, let’s face it, people get discouraged and give up. Don’t give up! Learn from your mistakes and go on. With that in mind read on for more keys to your low carb dieting success.

1. Pick a low carb plan and - Once Again Read The Book! Study the plan. Know what your carb limit is. Atkins during the induction phase (the first two weeks of the plan) suggests keeping carbs to a maximum of 20 grams per day, usually consisting of allowable vegetables. Yep! Salads. (That usually amounts to about 3 cups of salad a day.)
   
2. Be prepared to change your entire attitude on dieting. Low fat is not where it’s at. Do not be afraid to eat fat, in fact you must eat fat to burn fat. If you have followed low fat diets all of your life, this will be a hard habit to break. Remember you must also eat fat to stay in ketosis. – when your body burns stored fat for fuel. For more on Ketosis, not to be confused with Ketoacidosis – Click Here!
   
3. Keep track! Use and keep a food diary or journal, at least until you get the hang of low carbing. I suggest using Fitday.com. It is simple to use and keeps track of everything you eat and more. It also shows what your fat to protein ratio is for the day. It is very important especially during induction to keep your carbs to maximum of 20 grams to get started right and to start burning the fat. Become a food label junkie read them all, you might be surprised what you have been eating all along. Don’t forget to subtract the fiber and remember all carbohydrate counter’s do not subtract the fiber. Some do, some don’t. Fitday.com, for instance does not subtract the fiber, so to get your actual "Net Carbs", don’t forget to subtract the fiber!
   
4. Know what you can eat and stock your kitchen with those items. Don’t get stuck starving with nothing that you can legally eat. Be prepared and pick out foods you really like. The low carb way of life is luxurious compared to the old low fat – low protein fad.
   
5. Drink plenty of water. The Atkins Diet acts as a diuretic, so you must keep yourself hydrated, not to mention the fact that the more water you drink the better for your weight loss. Some people recommend that you drink 8 glasses of water a day plus 1 glass for each additional 5 lbs. you have to lose. Others say you should take your weight and divide it by 2 to get the total ounces of water you should drink. Bottom line – just drink water!
   
6. Last but not least – Exercise! Walk, Ride, Run, Sweat, - do whatever it takes to get moving! The more you move the more you lose! Hey! Even if all you do is walk around your living room, it’s better than nothing.