You’ve got to find a way not to cheat on a low carb diet. You’ve got to keep your calories under stupid (below 1500 calories a day, or so). This is easy for most patients, by using structured portion control, whether 6 ounce frozen ground sirloin burgers from Costco, or 200 calorie quarter pound hamburgers (no bun) from McDonald’s. The hard part is finding a strategy that allows you not to cheat (binge) on sweets and starches. 25% of patients can follow a low carbohydrate diet of dead animals and 5% vegetables, without cheating. It takes 3-5 days for most of these patients to adapt. Another 25% can follow the diet, by adding up to 2 pounds of fruit, once a day, to curb sweet and starch cravings. The other 50% of patients need help to control their sweet and starch cravings, usually in the form of prescription medication diminishes carbohydrate cravings.