Anyone who has been on any type of low carb diet knows that the first few days are the most difficult.  If you can get through three days, it gets so much easier.  After five days, the chemical reactions within your body make the low carb diet incredibly easy and rewarding.  In about a month, after you hit the first plateau, things get difficult again. 

I am on day two.  In my experience, this is the toughest day of the diet.  I feel irritable and weak.  I have a low grade headache, which stubbornly resists Tylenol.  Hoping to stay motivated, I have been thinking about all of the reasons why I love a low carb diet.  It's my own late night top ten.

1. It works FAST.  One of the best things about low carb is that you will see dramatic results very quickly. After four days, the puffiness in my cheeks will be gone.  I will just look in the mirror and know that something is working. (don't bother to tell me that it is water weight. It doesn't matter, seeing my cheekbones is a motivator).

2.The cravings will die.  After a few days the intense carb cravings will die a quick ( and I hope painful) death.

3. You can eat until you are full. One of the most attractive things about almost all low carb diets is that there is usually a restriction on what to eat, not how much.

4. You can eat cheese.  I love cheese, you can eat bacon too!

5. You will have more energy.  Again after the dreaded first few day, your energy level will increase. 

6. There are specially made low carb products.  This is a huge improvement in just a few years.  They may not be that easy to find, but they are out there.  I really like Edy's no sugar added ice cream.

7. Low carb diets make you more organized.  In order to be successful at low carb dieting, you need to plan ahead.  There are very few options available when you are driving around at 3:00 in the afternoon.  When you commit to low carb, you commit to planning ahead!

8. You actually loose weight.  A lot of weight, 134 lbs, to be precise.

9. You will lower your blood pressure.  When I am on low carb, my blood pressure is the envy of nurses everywhere. (or at least in my doctor's office)

10.  Strange unexplained benefits.  for some reason a lot of amazing things happen in my body on this diet.  My skin is smoother and has a more even tone, my PMS is more manageable, and my mood is lighter.  I have read about these things and how excess insulin can cause them, but it still seems weird.

Now I am motivated, and craving cheesecake.  It's still only day two.