If you are thinking of dieting and think that the Low Carb option is for you, you may have already read up on lots of tips and advice to help you on your way. An additional resource to be recommended is to get hold of a copy of a low carb counter book. These are available in handbag size so you could carry it with you wherever you go for easy reference.

Before planning out your meals and your shopping list it is a good idea to make yourself a coffee or other preferred beverage and sit down in a comfortable chair to study your little book of information. My bet is that you will be very surprised just how high a carbohydrate value some foods have. I did this exercise and could see from my armchair just where I had been going wrong in trying to lose weight. For example, for breakfast I thought that I was being very good by starting the day with a glass of unsweetened grape juice and a bowl of honey nut cereal with milk - in comparison to my house-mates coffee and croissant.

The reality was that I was in fact consuming three times as many carbohydrates than my friend for the following reasons:-

1 croissant = 26.8 grams of carbohydrate Black Coffee - Zero carbohydrate Total Carbs per breakfast = 26.8

60 grams honey nut cereal - a massive 62.6 grams of carbohydrate 1 250 ml of unsweetened grape juice = 26 grms of carbohydrate 250ml skimmed milk = 11 grams of carbohydrate Total Carbs per breakfast = 99.6 !

As you can see - there was a massive difference between my/my friends breakfasts - and there I was envying her the croissant feeling that I would much rather be enjoying that than my own bowl of cereal.

That is just one example - highlighted because I now had a carbohydrate counter in my possession.

Armed with this new-found knowledge I planned all future meals around the carb counter and never went shopping without first having knowledge of the carb content of my list. I also carried the little book in my handbag so that I could check out the carb content of any potential impulse buys whilst out shopping.

Of course there are many more complex carb counters on the market such as digital machines etc., - but if you just want straight to the point information about carb values of most of the foods we eat then keep it simple and put the extra money saved toward a new outfit for the slim new you !

As with any diet though - before embarking on it you should consult with your doctor, especially if you have pre-existing medical conditions.