It's great that you two can do it together. Is there a specific approach you're taking or a target carb intake?

If not, then start by keeping it simple: eliminate any food not found in nature, and that includes pretty much anything "processed." Don't fear natural fat.

Oh, right. I forget that there are low carb people who don't aim for keto.

Do you have a plan? I mean, are you just going low carb, or are you following Atkins, Protein Power, or any of the other plans out there?

I don't follow a specific plan, but I'm supposed to be eating low carb (defined by my doctor as under 100g carbs per day, but I'm aiming for ketosis so I aim for under 30g per day) with no almonds, artificial sweeteners (including stevia), or grains.

It really depends on your needs. A lot of us are doing it for health reasons as well as weight loss.

If you have a healthy metabolism, then you have a lot of flexibility.

If you like veggies, then try "The Calorie Myth" or one of the Paleo books.

The new Atkins book seems pretty good.

@Twibbly and @kristen_karg I don't know if either of you suffer from carb/sugar cravings, but I did massively. I started out with he goal of 50-100 grams of carbs a day, but couldn't kick the cravings. I had to drop below 35 grams per day (50 grams on a heavy veggie day), to kill the cravings. After a month I realized how close I was to keto and took the leap below 25 grams per day (usually net if adding veggies). There were adjustments to both stages, but my quality of life has improved in ways I can hardly quantify in that timeframe. I'll soon have blood/lab work results to support all the non-scale victories I've achieved.

KnitOrMiss wrote: »

@Twibbly and @kristen_karg I don't know if either of you suffer from carb/sugar cravings, but I did massively. I started out with he goal of 50-100 grams of carbs a day, but couldn't kick the cravings. I had to drop below 35 grams per day (50 grams on a heavy veggie day), to kill the cravings. After a month I realized how close I was to keto and took the leap below 25 grams per day (usually net if adding veggies). There were adjustments to both stages, but my quality of life has improved in ways I can hardly quantify in that timeframe. I'll soon have blood/lab work results to support all the non-scale victories I've achieved.

I had issues with carb cravings until I cut out all the sweeteners (well, and this past weekend, but that was vacation and I didn't properly prepare). 30 grams is normally my total carbs, and it's generally under that even.

If you can make a go of it for 1-2 months, it'll become a habit, and you'll be on autopilot after that.

If you've seen Elf, with Wil Farrel, there's the scene where Wil Farrel says, "I love to smile. Smiling's my favorite." and his new boss says "Make work your favorite."

That's kind of what happened with me. I made a conscious decision not to try and pine for my old favorite treats. "Make bacon your favorite."

Also, from my personal experience I'll warn you that my husband and I are terrible co-enablers when we diet together. This time I'm doing it on my own and I've mentally accepted that my husband will have mashed potatoes and bread and the other things I thought I might miss, and that I was a separate individual and I didn't have to join him. Very quickly we started preparing separate meals. I didn't feel "dragged" into anything he wanted to eat, and it's been an amazing change. Right now I'm 25 days into eating under 50 g carbs a day (usually it's closer to < 30), and I never made it this long without a slip-up in the past. You can do it together, but be responsible for your personal success, don't try to match each other in both successes and set-backs.