I started with Atkins, though I've given CAD and The Perfect Health Diet official tryouts in my "stadium." Still with Atkins, but moved into Paleo with dairy for the summer; and dropped another 5 pounds that way.

I've read the books for South Beach and Protein Power, too. I've done extensive online reading on Paleo, and have my eye on Mark Sisson's The Primal Blueprint book. These are all plans that have worked great for different people.

It doesn't matter which plan you choose; as long as you stick with it. It seems to be the nature of low carbing that most people wind up on their own custom program by the time successful Maintenance is reached.

As a former binger myself, let me reassure you that you can get a grip on it with low carb eating.

For me, Atkins explained the science and offered the Carb Ladder; a great way to discover how certain foods affect our bodies and our weight loss. Now that I'm down to the last 15 pounds, it's Paleo principles that seem to help the most.

We all urge that newbies pick a plan and read the book and stick with it! That's because "winging it" doesn't offer a structure that lets you evaluate your progress, or learn anything from the process.

That's when it gets confusing.