I notice that the following HAVE to be strict for me, or else I stall (I'm still in induction, moving to OWL this week):

1. 10+ glasses of water a day

2. go on a walk at least 2 times a week, preferably three

3. only 1 to 2 cans of diet coke a day. (still trying to cut this out). Aspartame really affects my weight loss, I've found this out through drinking massive amounts of diet coke, and trying to get away with things like sugar free jello.... stalls me out right away.

4. Three meals a day, period. If I skip breakfast, I screw myself up. If that happens, I force myself to eat something in the evenings. From what I understand, if you limit meals because you aren't full, you are not getting enough calories, and that makes it harder for your body to burn the fat (starvation mode).

5. No cheating and eating foods off of the approved foods list. I tried eating low-carb chocolate bars. STALLED. even though they only have 1.4-2 carbs per bar. Had to stop. Also - maybe re-read the induction chapter. Not to point fingers, but 2 of my close friends thought they could eat cantelope (??) and strawberries on induction. When they told me how GOOD they were being on Atkins and told me about the fruit, I just about fell through the floor. Make sure you aren't eating any fruits or nuts yet, no matter how low the carbs.

I don't know if any of this will help, but I just wanted to share my experiences of what I must do in order to lose.

Good luck to you!
Missy