You really kinda DO need to like whole foods, veggies and protein in order to do this particular diet easily. That being said......if you make sure to have plenty of variety and be creative with your dishes and meals, it makes it MUCH better and easier to stick to.
And the first week absolutely CAN be tough....but it gets better after that, generally speaking. What happens is that for the first 2-3 days, your body is burning up your stored glycogen (which is your carb stores) and THEN it goes into fat-burning mode...which creates the ketones. Ketones are a by-product of fat burning. Once in fat-burning mode....and if you stay on plan...you can literally lose any and all cravings you used to have for sweets, sugar, chocolate, pasta, bread, etc.
But for the first few days that you're burning up the glycogen, you are still in a carb-burning mode (the body burns carbs first...and then fats) and you can still have the cravings......AND the frequent hunger...which, IMO, is the even bigger issue.
When you eat the simple carbs and are in carb-burning mode...your pancreas will send insulin into your system....and it will quickly lower your blood sugar and you get hungry much faster.
AND, it is this constant spiking of insulin and serious fluctuations in blood sugar levels that is also thought to be at least partly responsible for causing diabetes, insulin resistance, etc. Just over-works the pancreas.
So yes, the first week can be challenging. But if you stick with it, it gets MUCH better for most people. You just have to hang tough in the very beginning. Honestly, I eat like a thin person now. It's amazing, really.
deena
