Hello everyone, I want to start a low carb high fat diet to lose weight and feel better. I hope that will then mean I can generally exercise more and slowly introduce a more normal diet once the weight is lost.

This is what I have in my yes and no list for now, any advice appreciated.

Allowed
All meat (I dont eat fish)
Eggs
Butter
Cheese
Veg - Tomato, Onion, Mushrooms, Spinach, Lettuce, Avocado, Green/Runner beans, Celery, Cabbage
Plain yoghurt and creams
Water plus tea or coffee (no milk)

Avoid
Milk
Fruit
All sugar
Potatoes, Bread, Pasta, Rice
Porridge and cereals
Chocolate and sweets, fizzy drinks or juice
Fruit yoghurts or ice cream
Veg - Carrots, Peas, Beetroot, Parsnips, Sweetcorn
Beans
Flour
All alcohol
Ketchup, brown sauce etc

I also know my personality and reading labels counting carbs etc isn't going to be for me, I will soon tire of that. Can this be avoided by just following the basic principles above?

Perfect LCHF list. Yes, you don't have to count carbs, though you might be careful not to overdo any one food, particularly cheese which some binge on. Enjoy the freedom.

Many thanks, is mayonnaise ok to eat on this diet?

Yes, the plan I follow limits amount of mayo, but any reasonable amount is fine.

Depending on how low-carb you want to be, you might want to limit yogurt, tomatoes & tomato products, and onions.

You don't have salad dressings on the list - store-bought can be pretty high carb, but homemade ones are simple and can be low carb. I have a couple that I make regularly; two have a vinegar & oil base, one is a simple aioli that my son says tastes like ranch. Tho sometimes if I'm out of dressing & not feeling up to making more at the moment, I just plop some mayo on my lettuce.

Thanks again guys, I have looked at Dr Westerman programme and he says 2 cups daily of Bouillon or "clear broth" is very important.

The closest I can think of in England is an Oxo cube but in the ingredients they contain sugar. Bit confused on this one...

Oxo cube, small amount of sugar but also wheat and corn flour and some other weird stuff. But it mainly salt, and that's the point, probably OK. The salty broths in a can or box are fine too. (I know you have those, I lived in London five years way back in the dark ages ) Check Campbell's UK, buy the salted, not low sodium, broth or consumme.

The 2 cups of broth are a fast and tasty way to assure you get enough salt to avoid the "LC flu", count as a fluid too. I also use Pink Himalayan salt and sometimes grind some and eat it off my hand, avoiding all funky ingredients in a cube.

Whatever works to get some salt, you might like these simple reasons and tips about starting LC:
http://holdthetoast.com/content/wel...-world-low-carb

The clear broth is to ensure you get some salt in your diet. Personally I don't have that issue as I eat a lot of salt anyhow in things like bacon, and when I roast meats I always add salt.

Your list looks good. As for counting anything, I count carbs only but I have desire for 15-20 gm carb limit (I count all carbs not just sugars). Then if I mess up and eat a few more I am still within the 30 gm recommended range.

Be careful with mayo as some contains a high carb content. Helmans is my favourite and is about 1.6 % carb and I'll eat maybe 100 gm at a time.

Likewise with cheese and cream, they can be very highly calorific which can slow things down so it is worth making a mental note of how much you are eating of them. When you get used to double cream in your coffee it is easy to get through a fair bit in a day :-).

Thanks guys lots of helpful advice so far!

Are all herbs and spices ok I know most have some level of carb in them but with the, for instance, sprinkling of thyme I had on my chicken last night I would think the count was negligible.

Also what's the deal with Lentils, seen so much conflicting info on those!

I count the carbs in herbs and spices using my fitday account - dried thyme runs at 1 net carb per flat tablespoon (3 carbs less 2 g fibre) so a "sprinkle" would only be a fraction of that.

AS for lentils, according to fitday they have 4 net carbs per ounce, so if you are only eating a couple of ounces they would not be too high in carbs to add to your menus.

However some of us have problems eating legumes, so maybe test your body's reaction by adding a small amount every other day and see how it reacts.

I believe you will soon find out that low-carb, high-fat is the "normal diet" I find if I stray at all I start to gain around the middle. My exercise level has never varied much since I started.

You will also need lots of salt -- especially when you first start or cramps and fatigue can result. See the Salt Thread.

You can make your own LC Ketchup (recipe threads or search on-line) I find my brisket only diet a bit dull without occasional spice, eggs, garlic or hot peppers. I even gave up Duke's mayo -- it's made with Soy oil

The last 14 years has showed me without a doubt that this diet within limits had to become my "normal" diet. It is stricter to drop weight, but it can't change all that much to maintain. There is NO going back to how I ate before, otherwise I put weight right back on. My formerly "normal" diet is what added the weight, over and over. Lesson learned.

The best advice I can give it to get far, FAR beyond a list of foods. If you can take the time to educate yourself about why this works, and why the debit/credit calorie hypothesis is flawed? It will help not only with sticking to that list, but to learn how to go beyond and figure out what works for YOU. Personally why I like Dr. Atkins' plans, and the rungs/levels he takes you through, although elimination diets are hardly something he invented. Problem is when people go on induction, think that's it, do great, and then don't know how to maintain.

It sucks having to lose weight twice. Or three times, forty-six times.. Yeah.

And it gets that much harder every time, plus you are a bit older, a bit lighter and need less calories.

That's pretty much what I do. No normal serving of any food I eat has more than four carbs. That's how I count. I counted once and eliminated anything that might get me in trouble. Do eat your veggies though, just the low carb ones.