Atkins Diet Tips For over 20 years, Doctors and diet experts have said the Atkins Diet formula of sparing carbohydrates and loading up on fatty foods has been a free ticket to the hospital, usually by means of a heart attack. But now, some of the same researchers who long scoffed at the diet are putting it to the test, and they say the results astonish them. Rather than making cholesterol soar, as they feared, the diet actually appears to improve it, and volunteers take off more weight.

Atkins Diet Tips to Help You Lose Weight:

1. If what you are eating has less than 1 carb, count it as 1 carb just to be sure.

2. Totally avoid caffine at least for the first two weeks on the program.

3. Drink a MINIMUM of 8 glasses of plain water or seltzer daily.

4. Don't weigh yourself more than once a week.

5. Take starting measurements as well as weight - sometimes you'll lose inches before pounds.

6. Avoid any type of "low carb" sweetener for the first two weeks.

7. Don't compare your loss to someone else's - this is a YMMV thing (your milage may vary).

8. Stalls are common around the third week so don't panic.

9. If you follow your plan closely and don't lose any weight, consider Candida as a possibility and avoid vinegar, cheese, mushrooms and any other fermented food.

10. Have bloodwork done before starting so you have a comparison.

11. Cholesterol can be elevated in the first few weeks til your body adjusts - make sure your doctor knows that you're doing low carb and when you started.

12. Don't blame the diet if you don't read your plan book -- blame the diet if you don't read the labels -- Don't blame the diet if you don't follow the diet.