I didn't exercise when I first started on a very low carb diet, mainly because I couldn't! For a few weeks before your body adapts it can really zap your energy.

No, in my case it's been almost all diet, and then when losses slowed a little (from 4lb a week to 2lb) I started lifting heavy weights twice a week. I spend a max of maybe 30 minutes on a cardio machine in a week (taken in 5 or 10 minute bursts). 3 days a week I walk to and from work, that's about 50minutes/1 hour a day. It's hardly a punishing exercise regime! Enough to keep me healthy and energised.

As for watching what I put in my mouth, that became a LOT easier once I'd got over the carb/sugar addiction. Atkins induction (for example) is pretty much going cold turkey on sugar. After a week of cravings and withdrawal, I found that I could take or leave candy, chips, ice-cream etc. When I do have something carby/sugary, I often find it just isn't as wonderful as I remember, and I can easily walk away. Please understand that before, I ate chocolate every day, Domino's pizza at least once a week if not more....my lunches were chips, soda and a sandwich. I eat none of that now, and have no desire to do so- there's no feeling of deprivation whatsoever.

HTH!

Starting out, the most exercise I did was walking my dog. I knew i needed to do something, but also knew, from experience, intense exercise made me ravenous. For me, 80% of my weight loss has been via the diet -- the exercise is to just keep fit and work off stress.

On December 8, 2011 I started Atkins again for the 3rd time, topping out at 296 pounds. For the first several weeks, all I did was induction level carbs and I lost 18 pounds in that three weeks. Then around the first of January 2012 (new years resolution) I went back to the gym. I've been working out pretty hard, for me, 3-4 times a week. Conversely, the weight loss has come to a grinding halt. Since returning to the gym basically 8 weeks ago, I've only lost an additional 5 pounds. My diet remains the same, however I try to eat back my workout calories. My diary was set at 1700, though I just changed it to 1690 a couple days ago.

My saving grace is that I started with a tape measure from day one in the gym and I tape every week on Sunday mornings. Even though I haven't been losing weight, I've been definitely losing inches. I feel much better, my clothes fit better, I'm much stronger, happier. I know that at some point, the muscle I've been building back up which is counter balancing my weight loss, will hit that point where I start to lose faster again.

I am 40 years old and it's certainly true what they say, the older you get the harder it is to take off. I'm constantly in ketosis, though sometimes the lower end.