6 Tips to Survive Your First Month on a Low Carbohydrate Diet

I’m a huge fan of low carb diets. I’m not picky as to which one - South Beach, Atkins, Protein Power - they all have merit.  They all work too, and are sustainable ways of eating in the long run.  But that does not make them easy. And no matter how much enthusiasm you start with, that first month can be rough. Here’s how I survived.

1. Don’t allow yourself to get hungry. Seriously, this is the single most important secret to success. These are NOT calorie restricted diets.  Trying to monitor caloric intake and allowing yourself to get hungry is a set up for disaster.  There are a number of scientific reasons, but the psychological ones are more pressing. If you are full with good quality fat and protein, you’ll walk right past that doughnut without a second thought.  But let yourself near that doughnut when you’re hungry, and it’s all out war. Your mind is saying “you need this” and your pancreas is shooting out insulin, you’re salivating and your will is crumbling. It’s over - you never had a chance. Stay full, and keep low carb snacks on hand. Nuts are salty, crunchy, and satisfying.

2. Drink lots of water.  There’s a natural diuresis that takes place with low carb diets and the likelihood of dehydration is significant. And if you actually get into ketosis, the water will help flush things out. I used a rule of thumb - weight, in kilograms = ounces of water.  So for a 220 lb individual, that would be 100 kg or 100 ounces of water (around 3 Liters). It takes focus, but it makes things a lot easier.

3. Eat enough salt. Hand in hand with the diuresis is natriuresis, or salt loss.  It’s easy to become weak, tired, and dehydrated without adequate salt intake.

4. Don’t exercise. Wait, what? Promoting a healthy lifestyle without exercise?  Well, yes. At first. Your body is adjusting to a metabolism where fat is the primary fuel source as opposed to carbohydrates. This process, coined “ketoadaptation” can take weeks to months depending on your level of carbohydrate restriction and fat intake. During that time, you may feel tired and listless. Exercise will be difficult if not impossible and it can be discouraging enough to call the diet quits.  Just be patient. You’ll be able to go all out soon enough. We’ll discuss exercise in future posts.

5. Avoid sugar free foods. You heard me. No sugar free chocolate, no sugar free Atkins bars, no sugar free gummy bears. None of that stuff. (I don’t have a personal opposition to sucralose or stevia, but that’s a debate for a different day). The main issue is, of course, the dreaded sugar alcohol maltitol. Besides the disgusting gastrointestinal effects, some people absorb maltitol similarly to real sugar. As such, many low carb experts suggest counting roughly one-half of the grams of maltitol as part of your net carbs.  Why is this so important? Because it will stall your weight loss and leave you feeling frustrated.

6. Avoid the scale. The scale is a big ol’ liar that will discourage you. You may lose 3 inches off your waist and your pants need a rope around them to stay up. You may feel stronger and better rested than you have in years. You may have fantastic mental clarity and have lost that late afternoon crash.  But because your body is shifting fluid around, the scale won’t move, and you’ll feel like the diet’s a failure and give up.  Throw your scale out. Or at least hide it.

These tips helped me survive the first 4-6 weeks of my low carb diet until I really got into the swing of things.