1. Buy a book - Atkins is the most popular but there are many different varieties of this diet. A particularly good one is The Carbwiser Plan by Dave Mills

2. Get a blood test - you need a base line, tell the doctor you are worried about your cholesterol. I got a printout of my results, as a comparison, for when I go back for another test

3. Have a party - invite all your friends to eat up your low-fat, high carb foods.

4. Go shopping for low carb foods -meat, fish, eggs, cheese, cream, vegetables (broccoli & cauliflower), sugar free jelly, peperami, nuts.

5. Plan the first few meals.

6. Have your photo taken - this is so you can have your 'before and after' pics on my site!

7. Weigh yourself, naked, first thing in the morning after you've been to the bathroom.

For the first couple of weeks keep your carb intake to 20grams or less. You can then start introducing more carbs until you find a level were you stop losing weight, then drop back down to the previous level. The aim is to have a balanced diet that you can live with long term.

A typical days meals on this diet are:

Breakfast:
Bacon and eggs, mushrooms, small sausage
Lunch:
Salmon, tuna, cheese or meat with salad
Dinner:
Meat or fish, and vegetables
Dessert:
Sugar free jelly, fruit and fresh double cream
Snacks:
Peperami, pork rinds, nuts

You can eat as much meat, fish and eggs as you want.
You can have butter, cheese and cream.
You must drink loads of water, at least 3 litres.

Some of the benefits of low carb dieting are:

• Boosts energy levels
• Improves sleep patterns
• Lowers blood pressure
• Lowers cholesterol levels
• Less joint pain
• Clearer skin