jules420,

Don't consider LCing it as a 'diet'. Consider it the beginnings of a new WOE and your new WOL. Make this new WOE your friend, not your enemy. Make every effort to change your habits to include only those foods that aid in your goals. Exclude all foods that don't.

Your health is dependant on what you eat. Thinking about this as a 'diet' is what makes people fail. It isn't a 'diet', it should be an event so life changing that once you're on it, it becomes old hat. In fact, once you're on it, you shouldn't even think about eating or binging on 'regular' foods. Because now, your regular foods are LC.

Psychologically, I know it's hard to break the habits. Especially when there's no immediately evident reason when you do. Physically, once you are on the diet, your body will go through changes in the way you perceive foods. Once your body has become accustomed to a LC diet, you will be less hungry and crave empty carbs much much less. In fact, there were times initially that I wasn't hungry at all. I had to eat something when I wasn't hungry.

However, the first few weeks are the hardest as your body undergoes a series of changes. The first being sugar withdrawal (yes, sugar is addictive). The next being conversion of intake carb-based energy to fat burning based energy. During the transition, you may feel lightheaded, crave food badly, feel lethargic and feel tired among others. But, after you reach over that hump (between 2 and 7 days), you will likely feel the best you have in years. It's really pretty amazing once you're over that hump.

During the transition, however, it's very easy to revert back thinking something is horribly wrong. Before you're over the hump, this is a the crucial time which will tempt you to cheat.

If you get the urge to cheat, drink or eat something sweetened with an artificial sweetener or stevia. This always curbs the sweet tooth. If you need something baked, make something from almond flour. Almond flour is low in carbs, high in protein. If you need to snack, eat nuts (plain)... not honey roasted or other sugary varieties.

Beef jerky is a great treat if you can find it without too many carbs. Be careful, though. Manufacturers of beef jerky tend to use lots of sugars in their marinades. Best is if you can dehydrate the jerky yourself. Very easy to make, actually.

Anyway, these are a few tips. Keep in mind that you want to think of this as a life and health changing event. Not simply a 'diet'. The word 'diet' has connotations that imply a temporary state to be discarded later. This isn't something you discard. You will need to remain on some form of controlled carb diet forever to maintain your weight even if you do start adding some higher carb foods back in later. However, you won't be going back to eating pizzas, pasta and burgers and fries in the future. Not unless you make it yourself without all the carbs.

As far as exercising, I lost around 40 pounds through LC without stepping foot into a gym or adding one additional bit of exercise to my daily routine. After about 50 pounds, I started adding in weight training to help speed the process along. After all, muscle helps burn fat.

Good luck.