The Low Carb Diet Works Guide...

Eating low carb is actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Here's some essential guidelines :

1) Try to keep your carb count under 10 grams of NET CARBS per meal - Your carbs should come from veggies.

Net Carbs are the total carbs MINUS any fiber. For example, 1 cup of raw broccoli has 6 grams of total carbs, but it also has 2.5 grams of fiber. So the NET carbs equals 3.5 grams of usable carbs.

By subtracting out the fiber, you actually get to eat more carbs. This way you could eat 2 - 3 cups of raw broccoli per meal (2 cups = 7 grams of net carbs), or cook that same broccoli with butter and a dash salt & garlic powder for a tasty low carb side.

2) Eat Protein, Fat & Veggies at each meal - Avoid ALL grains while eating low carb.

Protein Usually 0 grams of Carbs	Veggies 1 cup - Carbs vary	Fats Usually 0 - 1 gram of carbs
Chicken Fish Beef Pork (i.e. bacon) Venison Duck Eggs Seafood	Spinach Broccoli Zucchini Cauliflower Carrot (1 medium) Mushrooms Kale Lettuce Asparagus Radishes Celery Peppers Green Beans Cucumbers Olives	Butter Olive Oil Full fat cheese Cream Ghee Lard Coconut Oil Coconut Milk

3) Eat nuts and berries very sparingly - they are higher in carbs and can slow or even stop weight loss.

4) Eat every 3 - 4 hours to help manage & prevent low blood sugar patterns - except when you're sleeping :)

5) Have Low Carb Snacks handy (cheese stix, bacon, hard boiled eggs, etc.) - eat them when you are hungry

6) Drink WATER or HERBAL TEAS (including green and black tea) or BLACK COFFEE

7) Avoid sugar, honey, and artificial sweeteners

8) Avoid preservatives - Especially in deli meats and bacon. Also try to buy organic whenever possible

9) Use salt, pepper, fresh herbs and dried spices to help season your food for max flavor. You can also use condiments like mustard, mayonnaise, vinegar, dill relish, salsa and a tiny amount of ketchup.

10) Get exercise 4 - 5x per week (walking, weight lifting, swimming, jogging, hiking, etc.)

11) If you'd like, take a break every 2 or 3 months for a week or two. I do this and have lost a lot of weight over the last year. You'll gain some water weight back, but it'll come off again once you resume low carb.

12) Be prepared and GET PAST THE FIRST WEEK - For most people, that first week is the hardest part as you wean yourself off of sugar and lots of carbohydrates. Be well stocked and have a good low carb plan.

13) After you've lost the weight you wanted to lose, then slowly re-introduce more carbs. Ultimately there will be an optimal amount of carbs you can eat and still maintain your weight.

That's all there is to it!!

Of course, we also have a Low Carb Diet Plan complete with simple low carb recipes to help you get started. And the low carb blog is worth keeping an eye on and we're always adding new stuff to the site as time allows.