by Olivia Elsom

Created on: January 10, 2008

When starting a low carb diet it is crucial to bear in mind that it's likely to be a radical change to your eating habits. Most people eat far too much carbohydrate, particularly containing refined sugars, so it's only natural that your body will react to this change. It's also important to view a low carb diet as a long term commitment rather than a short term solution.

It's very common to hear people complaining about feeling unwell when they attempt to follow a low carb diet, and one of the most common reasons for this is not drinking enough water. Drinking at least 2.5 liters of water a day is essential to maintaining good health. As you will be eating more protein than usual, being well-hydrated will ensure your kidneys are processing the protein efficiently and will also help to prevent constipation occurring. Another positive benefit of drinking plenty of water is that it will help to reduce the level of ketones released in your breath, which can cause breath odor.

Another reason that people often feel unwell is that they are becoming deficient in some nutrients, particularly minerals such as potassium and magnesium. This is more common in the induction phase of a low carb diet where the carbohydrate intake may be restricted to a very low level, but of course it deters many people from continuing with their diet. Taking a balanced vitamin and mineral nutritional supplement is advisable, at least at the beginning of the diet and until you become familiar with the nutritional values of the foods you can eat.

A very common low carb diet mistake that many make is disregarding their calorie intake. Whilst it's true that you don't have to count calories you should also be mindful of your overall calorie intake. When low carb diets first became popular there was a tendency to portray them as an "all you can eat" type eating plan. This is not the case, you should eat enough food to satisfy your hunger, but you should not be eating excessive amounts. By the same token you should make sure that you ARE in fact eating enough. As high protein foods tend to take longer to digest it's likely that you will feel much less hungry than you ever did before. It's important not to skip meals and never to go for longer than six hours without eating (unless you are asleep of course!) as this will destabilize your blood sugar levels.

Don't be disheartened if you are not losing lots of weight. Your weight loss may not be registering on the scales but you will likely be losing inches from your frame. Low carb diets have a tendency to do this. Don't weigh yourself on a daily basis, in fact it's best if you don't even weigh yourself on a weekly basis. It's too easy to become demoralized and be tempted to stray from the low carb path if your weigh-in doesn't show the results you want!

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