|
___________________________
|
Where Do I Even Start?
|
The first thing you have to realize if you are considering going on this type of diet is this: you *can't* do it overnight. You can just say "Oh, this sounds good. Tomorrow I will start this." It isn't even possible. Your refrigerator is still crammed with bread and yogurt and milk and cookie dough. Your freezer has ice cream and corn and an apple pie and Toaster Struedels and more cookie dough. Your pantry shelves are stocked with Doritos and rice and canned soup and Spaghetti-Os.
You can't begin this diet, at least not successfully, without taking a goodly chunk of time to plan and prepare for it. You need to acclimate yourself to the changes and rid your house of every possible scrap of carbohydrate intake. You will not be successful on this diet if there is still the temptation of that bag of Mesquite BBQ potato chips in your home.
|
|
___________________________
|
So When Can I Start?
|
I recommend allowing yourself at least two weeks of preparation time. Two weeks gives you the time to prepare both mentally and practically for the huge change that this diet entails.
Week 1 should be spent ordering the necessary nutritional supplements and specialty foods you will need. You should also begin to start using-or-losing the foods that will no longer be allowed. [This, of course, assumes that you live alone or that the entire household is going on this diet. If you are surrounded by a family that will still be eating as normal, I warn you that you are going to have a much harder time succeeding. But it *is* still possible, so don't lose hope.]
Week 2 should be spent trying to gradually switch over to a mock-version of the true low-carb diet. If you normally have 2 donuts for breakfast every day, it'll be quite a shock to just cut them out completely that first day. Try backing down to just one during those last few days, adding in a couple slices of bacon or a hard-boiled egg instead. If you use caffeine, you should attempt to wean yourself off that as well—caffeine is NOT allowed during the first two weeks at all, and only on a limited basis after that. You should also, during Week 2, make sure that you remove all carbohydrate sources from your home. And I mean *everything.* Don't keep that unopened bag of chips, telling yourself "But it's still good for 3 months, surely I'll be able to eat it then." You'll be munching on it the second day, when your body is craving that carbo fix it is so used to, and you'll be derailed before you ever leave the station.
|
|
___________________________
|
But What Do I Do With All This Food?
|
This is another reason I recommend giving yourself at least two weeks to start this diet. In that time, you can use up a large portion of the carbohydrate sources in your home, beginning to switch to the allowed foods gradually. But yes, you will reach the night before the diet starts and still have that tub of ice cream in the freezer and that bag of softshells in the fridge.
If they are unopened food items, give them to neighbors or family. Take the non-perishable items to your local foodshelf dropoff location—think how happy they'll be to receive several bags full of canned goods and grains. But everything else? The opened chips, ice cream and Oreos? Toss 'em, brothers and sisters. Chuck them into the garbage and don't even think twice about it. The 10 or 30 or even 100 dollars you're throwing away are mere drops in the bucket if it helps you achieve success. If the food is there in your house, you *will* eat it, so why tempt yourself unnecessarily?
In short, don't make starting the diet any harder than it has to be. Rid your home of the obvious sources of 'falling off the wagon,' and you'll be surprised at how easy it is to stay on track other times. Your monthly Donut Friday at work won't be a temptation anymore for you, if you haven't had a donut at home for a few weeks beforehand.
Now, continue on to the Pre-Diet Timetable section for some suggestions on starting your new life smoothly and successfully.
Main Page
|