We’ve all heard a great deal in the past year about the
“Atkins Diet,” Low Carb Dieting,” and so on. I’m here to
tell you, however, that “diets” don’t work – we need to
turn our eating habits into a lifestyle. Notice the word,
“habits….”

As with many people, I have tried various “diets” over
the years – some worked, some didn’t. I have found low
carb to be the most effective - but once I reached
my weight goal, I said to myslef, "Now what? Keep on the
diet?" Or, "Can I 'liberalize' a little bit now?" Here
is a simple way to understand the issues at hand...

There are two basic factors in weight loss and maintenance:
1. Carb/calorie intake
2. Exercise

We can increase or decrease weight loss by increasing or
decreasing in either of these two areas. Therefore, for
maximum weight loss, one should exercise 4+ days per week
and maintain a stringent “weight loss” level eating plan
(less than 1800 hundred calories and/or 20 grams ofcarbs
per day. Once one reaches a weight goal, it might be
possible to decrease a little bit in exercise or carb/calorie
intake, but not much!

Herein lies the challenge. Many people reach their weight
loss goal and say to themselves. “Oh boy, I can eat desert
now.” Or, “Great, now I don’t have to exercise anymore!”
WRONG…

The key point is that to maintain our weight, once lost, we
must adopt a lifestyle, in our case, a “low carb
lifestyle.” How does one adopt this lifestyle?

One Key we need to develop our internal motivation – “Why
do I want to reach and maintain a certain weight?” For
appearance? For health? A combination of the two?”

Write down your reasons. Flesh them out a little bit. Why
are you concerned about your appearance? What specific
health issues are you concerned with? Keep this written
motivation statement and refer to it often.

Next, just get into the mindset, “I do not eat carbs – I
don’t like sugar and starchy food is unhealthy.”

Just as important, develop the idea that, “I exercise
regularly.” Make these two affirmations a part of who you
are. Tape them to the bathroom mirror, inside your car, to
your desk at work and so on. We need to get serious about
this.

There are four more Keys - Information, Fitness, Nutrition
and Support. There is not enough space here to discuss
each key. Please visit http://www.lowcarb-lifestyles.com
to better understand all five.

To develop a low-carb lifestyle, we need to commit to
restricting our carb/calorie intake and to motivating
ourselves regularly and stick to it. Simple ideas – now,
get to it and begin your low-carb lifestyle!

About the Author

Henri Schauffler is the founder and webmaster of
LowCarb-Lifestyles.com, an online community that gives
low carb dieters the tools they need to succeed - for
life. Visit http://www.LowCarb-Lifestyles.com and sign
up for the f.r/e/e eCourse, "How to Live a Low Carb
Lifestyle."