After two days of back to counting calories, a friend asked "aren't you hungry?".
"Yes! Very."
A long conversation ensued about trying a No Sugar, Low Carbohydrate (NSLC) diet. She had me convinced. It was new for me. Very different than any diet I've done before. But I agreed to try it for 2 weeks. And, to be truthful, I found out some surprising things.

1. Read labels: I started on the first day by using my winging-it-know-it-all-about diets attitude. I thought I knew where added sugars were and when thickeners or fillers were being used in the things I was eating. I was wrong! What I found out was shocking! The Food Industry had made a sugar addict out of me. As I started to read the labels, I found there was sugar in almost every processed food I had been eating - from sausage to mayonnaise. I was horrified.

2. NSLC Diet is easy: I thought I already knew how to eat healthy. I lost 55 pounds 8 years ago by counting calories (a cumbersome and tedious way to diet!). I learnt so much before with my success, so I thought I could do it again. But my life changed and my new job had so many more responsibilities and with that came stress. I didn't have time to think about what my next meal would be. But with NSLC I didn't have to count. Dieting became simpler. With just a few, simple rules, I was eating healthy meals.

3. I can't eat carbohydrates and be thin: I still have things to learn about being healthy. Yes, as mentioned...thought I knew it all. Turns out, some of our metabolisms can easily process sugar and carbohydrates. Then there's the rest of us hosers who store those sugars as fat because our metabolisms simply aren't burning as hot. I'm one of the hosers.

4. I was an addict: Yes. A sugar addict. Detoxing from sugar made me sick: headaches and nausea. I found myself on the metro one evening with my head reeling. It was scary.

5. I need to eat more often: I added some almonds mid-morning and a piece of cheese or a hard boiled egg or nuts mid-afternoon. Keeps me from being hungry - ever!

6. Alcohol: regardless of low sugar content, keeps me from losing weight.

7. NSLC diet gives me bad breath: Not too bad. I mean, it doesn't keep people out of my office...

8. I can be smug: I find myself looking at overweight people who are eating pizza or bread with their salad and thinking "if they would only give up carbohydrates...". I think I'm better than they are.

9. I walk a lot, to and from work, but if I'm going to lose faster I will need to exercise more.

Almost forgot to mention the good news. Down 1.9 kilos (a bit more than 4 pounds) in two weeks.

Welcome Jude
All good points, particularly #2. Instead of weighing, counting calories, or macros, or even carbs, you can just follow a simple list of allowed foods. It is much easier to "abstain",( no thank you I do not eat sugar) than struggle with every decision (is one cookie OK for a snack today?) you're doing great with those rules...almost into Onederland.