Hi,

I am considering starting a low carb diet and after reading about the Schwarzbein plan, it seems the most logical choice for me. I bought Atkins' book yesterday (complete impulse buy) and while some of it sounds good, other aspects bother me as I am not out to loose a whole bunch of weight. Unfortunately I currently live in Mexico City so will not be able to buy the book the Schwarzbein Principle. So I have some questions I was hoping you could help me with:

I am 5ft 6in and not sure how much I weigh (don't have a scale) but guess it to be around 125 or 130lbs. So I am not unhappy with my weight although it could be distributed differently!

What does make me miserable is that I am completely addicted to sweets and carbs. My ideal snack would be half a box of Corn Pops. Oh I can see the horror on your faces now I have to eat frequently or have bad headaches, am moody, depressed, lack energy, don't sleep well, the list goes on. I also have a mild form of irritable bowel disease which is what has prompted my search for a new way of eating.

In your experience can these symptoms really be cured by a low carb way of eating? Also how would you recommend that I go about it since I want to break the dependency on sugar but don't want to loose 10 lbs in a week either? Atkins induction period seems too rash for someone who wants to loose body fat but not loose too much weight either. Also because of my IBS I need quite a bit of soluble fiber in my diet (I already take Metamucil).

I would really appreciate your recommendations on how to get started, what to cut out and what can be left in! I know that I will need to experiment and find what works for me. But some positive feedback on the SP would help.

Thanks in advance.