LOW CARB LIVING - Getting started!

12 points of light to help you get started. . . 1 Be mentally prepared. This isn't easy, but YOU CAN DO IT! 2 Go to www.atkins.com and start tracking what you eat. Put your meal into the Atkins site BEFORE you eat, and check where you are on your daily intake. It's easier to make adjustments earlier in the day. 3 If you are able (if you live alone), get rid of the bad stuff, throw it away, take it to a soup kitchen, feed it to the dogs, give it away to your friends who are not into low carb eating. 4 Make things ahead. 5 Shop and read labels. 6 For a treat, save up your carbs (eat stuffed celery, eggs and cauliflower all day) so you can splurge on a dinner. You can eat really well if you still have 15 carbs left to consume for dinner. 7 You WILL get full faster! Better not to put too much food on your plate, but if you are full and there is still stuff on the plate, leave it for a snack (or throw it away, or give it to the dog).. 8 This is a program to enhance your overall health. Losing weight is a side-effect of low carb living, Take it from me, it will be harder to do if your only goal is weight loss. 9 What about exercise? If you don't already exercise, now is not the time to start. Give it a few weeks to get used to the new way of eating. Exercise will make you hungrier so be prepared. No carb loading! It just doesn't work. 10 Focus on what you CAN have, not on what you CAN'T have. How about a thick hamburger topped with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese? Or six fat shrimp poached in half a stick of butter? Or steamed broccoli dripping with homemade cheese sauce? 11 Journal daily. One sentence is enough. Record your mood, any new aches & pains, and note the ones that have gone away.  12 Weighing: Save it for one day a week. If you weigh daily and you lose, you will have a tendency to eat an extra treat or two. If you gain, you could feel cheated – you were good and you still gained, so why try? Once a week will even out the daily fluctuations.