hi there. i'm new (not to low carbing). i'm starting the plan tomorrow and wanted advice/tips/stories from anyone interested. please visit my journal and say hi too!

hello and welcome, this low carb lifestyle works believe me, I'm losing weight by doing cardio and keepin my carbs under 20... goodluck with it

Hi there and Welcome.

I'm not new to low-carbing, did it for a few months last year and lost 30 lbs, then fell off the wagon big time, struggled to get back on for 6 months and meanwhile gained back every lb i'd lost. I restarted on October 9th and I've been doing good ever since. 4 more lbs and I'll be back down to my lowest weight in years.

My advice: 1. be very very VERY strict in the beginning. Kill those cravings. I never thought it would work so well, but it has. After 3 weeks, I barely miss carbs at all.
2. When you do get a craving, try not to endulge. if you absolutely must, at least eat something low carb, like a lc candy bar.
3. if you happen to cheat, do NOT use it as an excuse to cheat for the rest of the day (or weekend, month, etc.) and restart later. cheating for one meal is better than cheating for days. it will only be harder to get back on the plan the longer you cheat. believe me, I've struggled with this before. One time I accidentally drank some non-diet soda. I used it as an excuse to cheat the whole day!!! I've finally realized that no matter how bad whatever I ate was, its better to get back right away than wait to restart. you have not blown the whole day by cheating for one meal.
4. since you have relatively little weight to lose, be patient, it may take some time. but every one of those lbs will be noticeable!

sorry for being long-winded, but I am excited that this plan is finally working for me! Best of luck!